Circles in the Sand
It feels good to get back to the Long Arm. SusieQ is happy to be busy again. I'm enjoying the cooler weather, too. This weekend I'll spend some time winterizing my garden and straighten out the garage. I've collected a few too many boxes in these COVID times.
Selecting the Fabrics
This quilt is the February 2020 Skill Builder quilt. The fabrics I selected for this quilt are Cherrywood Fabrics. These luscious hand-dyed fabrics are the most unique cotton fabrics I've ever found. They have a sueded look to them that is unparalleled.
Dawn Hall developed the dying method and operates her business from a small town in Minnesota. I first discovered her fabrics at the International Quilt Festival in Houston. No quilt festival this year – COVID – but they are holding a virtual festival in December. Check it out here.
Stitching Circles
There is a bit of math to calculate placement for the circles on this quilt. I enjoy math. Always have and Geometry is my favorite. I know, big surprise there since I love quilting and quilting is basically Geometry.
While a bit tricky, placing the circles requires knowing just few numbers. First figure out the the size the circle needs to be. The amount of overlap and size of the square one this quilt, dictate the size of the circle. You also need to measure the distance from the top of the quilt, the distance from the side, and the size of the overlap.
So, the measurements you need are:
- The size of the circle
- The size of the overlap
- The measurement from the top to the placement of the first circle
- The measurement from the side to the placement of the first circle
Additional circles are placed using the overlap measurement, distance from the side and the top measurement plus the size of the circles already stitched.
The formula for additional circles:
(Distance from top + Diameter of Circle) - Overlap = 2nd circle placement
(Distance from top + Diameter of Circle) - Overlap + (Distance from side + Diameter of Circle)- Overlap = 3rd circle placement
I like how the circles overlap over the square on this quilt. Once programed and placed, it's fun watching the machine stitch out the circles. It's the easy part.
The Tricky Part
The tricky part for this quilt is the linear work around the circles. It requires a lot of trimming and lining things up. Then watching as the needle approaches each circle to make sure the stitches fall in the right place at the edge of the circles.
It doesn't look like it, but this design requires a bit of baby-sitting. I guess that's the pay-off for getting to watch the circles stitch out.
Next Project
There are a few projects to complete around the house so it may take me a bit longer to complete my next long arm project. I'm planning to work on "Winter Star".
I spent much of last night planning out the design plan for this quilt. I'm using a mixture of leaves and curls combined with line work for the background. It will take me a few days to complete.
How are your plans progressing?
Until till next time,