In quilt club we have been talking about designing and how to set your quilt blocks. It was agreed by all that it can be a complicated process. Blocks are arranged in various traditional and now very untraditional ways to achieve different effects. With the right setting even a simple block becomes interesting and exciting in the right setting.
For samplers sashing is often used to calm or control the collection of blocks. The simplest way to arrange your blocks of all the same kind is straight setting. This can also provide wonderful optical illusions. Alternating between plain or applique blocks and pieced blocks is a good way to reduce the amount of piecing you need to do. You can also add posts between sashing. They can be a small pieced block that works well with a pieced sashing or just a plain square. Last but not least for today is the "on point" design. These rows are sewn diagonally and have setting blocks on the sides and corners. It is helpful to sketch out your design on graph paper to see what you like best.
As you plan your design you might want to keep these concepts in mind: repetition in block design, shapes or fabrics, symmetry in design such as rotating blocks around a center, repeating blocks or mirror imaging, link patches or blocks so they appear as a single pattern, and blocks that are connected by the same visual properties.
That should give you a little to think about. It certainly makes my head spin.
Spent the day with 9-11 yr. old girls making chalkboard fabric placemats. They were not crazy about topstitching so I sang very badly made up songs about topstitching in an effort to make them either laugh or groan to make it go down easier. They all turned out very cute.
Enjoy singing your way through the tough parts of piecing,
Dee
I am sure your students loved your singing and I know it made the work go faster :)
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