1st Block! (Again) & New Quilt Names

I've finished re-drafting all the blocks in Jane's quilt. After doing all the center blocks, I decided that I might as well go all the way and do the triangles and corners as well. The triangles are bit more challenging than the blocks, so I've been using Quilt Assistant to draw the blocks, then I export them to PJ5 projects. In EQ5 I convert them to motifs for my custom layout. A custom layout is the only way I could figure out to replicate the triangle and scallop borders in EQ5.

Finally! On to sewing the newly drafted blocks!

Since the blocks I've already made are only 4 1/2" in size and already quilted, and I need 5" blocks for the newly re-drafted patterns, I have to start over again with BLOCK 1 for the new quilt.

Here is a picture of my first sewn block using my re-drafted patterns of Jane A. Stickle's quilt.
TATRWJ - Row 5, Block 5
Completed on Jan. 1, 2010 (13pcs)
TATRWJ - 1 Block, 0 Triangles, 0 Corners, 13 Pieces

TATRWJ - Row 5, Block 5 - Block Construction
Originally I had planned to just piece the curves, but I decided to practice applique and try something different.

I printed the pattern onto freezer paper, then I cut all the pieces apart and pressed them onto the wrong sides of my fabric. Since my pattern is colored, it was pretty easy to figure out which pieces went onto which fabric.

For the first sewing step I joined the 4 inside melons at their outer edges. Then with the freezer paper still on the fabrics, I pressed under the seam allowance on the inner edges. Then I reverse appliqued the joined piece onto the center section.

The freezer paper edges helped me to keep a nice round edge as I sewed, and it was easy to butt the applique up to the freezer paper of A1 that I could feel under it. So it was easy to tell if the pieces were where they should be. Now I had a nice completed inner circle.

Using the same technique, I sewed one applique piece to each of the corners pieces. Again the freezer paper inside made it much easier than I had anticipated. The four corner sections were then joined into a square with a hole in the center.

I pressed under the seam allowance on the circle using the freezer paper to get a good edge. Then using the same technique again, I appliqued the completed circle onto the square outer section. And voila, done! And all without any curved piecing whatsoever.

I had read tons of tips on applique before starting this, and I'm much more pleased with it than with my previous attempts at applique. The tips that helped the most, were (a) taking the next stitch a tiny bit BACK from where the needle came out, and (b) making sure to keep the stitches just UNDER the edge of the applique.

I also found the freezer paper extremely helpful. And since there were no enclosed pieces, I just peeled off the freezer paper when I was done. I will definitely use this method again where I can.

New Quilt Names

I've decided that the name of the new quilt I'm going to make from my re-drafted patterns is going to be:
     "Trip Around The Rainbow With Jane"
           "TATRWJ" for short.

After considering what to do with the 7 blocks in the smaller 4 1/2" size, I came up with this wallhanging in EQ, which I call "Starting With Jane", since these were my very first Jane A. Stickle blocks.
Starting With Jane - Wallhanging (Layout in EQ)