Lancaster Season

This year our quilt guild, Pieceful Hearts Quild guild in N. Augusta, SC is doing Kim Shaefer's Lancaster Season as a block of the month (BOM). I volunteered to do the demos of the quilt as we go along.

The quilt is a great Christmassy quilt but by changing the center medallion you could adapt it to any season you like. I'm using fabrics that I already have in my stash. Since the focal point of this quilt was a pointsettia I chose a bronzy colored pointsettia print as my color inspiration and for the final border fabric. Some of the fabrics have metallic gold in them also and hopefully will add a glow to the finished quilt. I'm really excited to see how this finishes up. We are having our quilt show in October 2009 so I'm hoping those of us who are making this will have them finished in time to hang by then.

The central block is made on a 15 1/2 inch piece of fabric. The pattern uses machine applique technique so I traced the individual pieces onto freezer paper first then pressed them onto the fabric I was using. Since I didn't want a stiff appliqued piece I used Misty Fuse instead of one of the other products available. Misty Fuse is much lighter and still gives you a bendable product when you are finished and I would highly recommend it especially when layering of fabrics is involved. Cutting out individual pieces AFTER you have add the fusible web is much easier than precutting and trying to follow around the piece, it also avoids the jagged edges and leaves a much cleaner cut. Doing a preliminary layout before adhering any of the pieces is suggested just to be sure everything will fit properly then iron away! I shortened my zig zag stitch on the machine to 2.0 and .45 and stitched around each of the individual pieces in coordinating threads. Amazingly the little gold centers were not a bugger to stitch either!! I had forgotten to take a pic of the final finished block before giving it to Marie to take to the morning meeting next week...oh well I'll catch it on the next installment....