dear son chapter 6

DEAR SON

I hope you are all doing well and adjusting to whatever your new normal is. Maybe it’s sewing all day! Wouldn’t that be nice.

I have Chapter 6 of the DEAR SON QUILT to share today! BE WILD

I have to share that sometimes a word (like wild) gets in my head and I start thinking about the meaning… then I go to the dictionary (aka google) to actually look at the meaning… I mean, I’m not saying I want the boy to be unruly, untamed or barbaric as a couple of the definitions suggest…. but I want the boy to own up to these aspects of the definition:

going beyond normal or conventional bounds
indicative of strong passion, desire, or emotion
living in a state of nature and not ordinarily tame
expressive of wilderness
a wild, free, or natural state or existence

I’m not asking too much am I? Hahaha… I want him to experience life to the absolute fullest, and the best part is… so does he.

You might be wondering where this all fits in to the quilt… well you can see right here…

I must admit, this section kicked my butt a little. The blocks are not difficult but I was a little careless sewing and my 1/4 inch was off a smidge and I had to re-make a couple blocks. So,word to the wise, these blocks have small parts so seam allowance is extra important this month. Also, you’ll need to think about pressing each block seams in opposite directions for ease when nesting the seams when you join the blocks together into the row…

And as usual I cut my background 1/2″ larger in both directions (or 7″) to allow for shrinkage from all the stitching.

I used a removable chalk marker and marked off the cut edge (at 6 1/2″) and the finished area (at 6″) plus a four inch center row to guide my applique letters. When the applique was done, I use my 6 1/2″ square ruler to make the final cut which is usually a little larger than the original 6 1/2″ markings due to the shrinkage.