Hello Quilters!!
The Dear Son BOM quilt-a-long is underway and I have so much to share with you over the next several months that I’m bursting at the seams.
The pattern was emailed to subscribers on Friday Jan 31. If you haven’t received yours, please email me at rebeccamaedesigns@gmail.com so I can get that taken care of for you.
I’m going to dive in here and show you Chapter 1…
SHINE BRIGHT
Now, as some of you may know, I put a lot of thought into the first words on my quilts… In my mind it sets the tone for where I’m going and what I want to express to the recipient (aka ‘the boy’ lol).
I want him to shine and excel in his life, I want him to show up, have a presence, fill a room and radiate light. I know, sometimes I’m over the top, I’m a sentimental gal, but I want all those things for him… and more.
It’s all good stuff…
But now I must get this program off the ground. So let me show you where we will begin filling in this layout…
We are starting right in the center and we will be working our way out in all directions… (left, right, up, down). Sometimes in rows and sometimes in a group of blocks. Because of the text placement it makes it a bit tricky to just work row by row so we will continue to add on to what we have in place as we move forward.
Now, I know selecting fabric for this quilt is tricky… and I honestly almost went in another direction but I’m determined to work from my stash and not buy any more fabric! (I’m crying right now lol) All kidding aside, I’m thrilled with my decision because these scraps take me back to several other quilts… and I’m loving that.
Let’s look at my inspiration fabric for a moment…
After looking at my fabric, I decided I will begin in the center of my quilt with warm tones and as I work my way up and down, I will transition in the other cooler tones. Look at the image below, make sense? Also, there is a center design that will radiate out, which is where we will begin…YAY! I’m so pumped for this quilt… I hope you are too!
The text applique this month is a little tricky so I’ll share how I worked on mine with you…
First of all ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS cut your applique background slightly larger (at least 1/2″) than the size required because IT WILL SHRINK when you do all that applique stitching.
I marked out the finished size of my block with a white chalk pen, as well as a center line to help me with placement. It might be a little hard to see in the picture, but it’s there… I made sure to keep the edges of my applique at least 1/4″ away from the marked lines (finished edges). Also, keep in mind we will be adding triangles to the the four corners of this square so pay close attention to your placement.
I use steam-a-seam lite 2 fusible for my text/lettering and I’ve actually never used a stabilizer on the back of my fabric before, but I will tell you that if you think you might need (or want) a stabilizer, this would be the block to use it on… there is a lot of stitching in a small area so If you think you might have puckering or gathering or are new to applique, you’ll be happy you added it.
Some of you may wonder if I press my seams open or to the side. Personally, I press open in most cases. I just find that my block lies flatter. It can compromise the seam tho, and it’s entirely personal preference. So, I use a short stitch length and I press open (mostly) but I also press to the side when that makes sense. Whatever your preference… get yourself some Best Press (or alternative) – you will save yourself so much frustration.
I just want to mention a couple other tips since we are working with a lot of half-square triangles and small bits.
Before you begin:
Check your seam allowance! Make sure it’s an accurate 1/4″.
Put a new needle in your sewing machine.
Treat yourself to a new rotary blade… you want to be cutting accurate pieces and you probably haven’t noticed how dull your blade is. I’m giving you permission lol… do it!
Thanks for following along! If you’d like to join in this quilt a long you can sign up with this link:
See you next month!!
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I can’t explain how excited I am for this! I have two boys (double the blocks!) and saw you Dear Daughter pattern and was all I love this I wish there was something for boys. And a week later you announced it!! Colors will be tricky but I think so worth it! Thank you for doing this, hearing you talk about the why behind your planning of these blocks makes me see you get how special the boys are and this quilt will not disappoint.
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Thank you Kelley… I’m equally excited and I’m glad you can see that I get it… because I truly do! I’m pouring everything I’ve got into this quilt :)