The day started out great. It was a perfect early autumn morning with blue skies, a slight breeze, and lots of promise. It was a good day for starching jelly rolls! They didn’t take long to do at all, and don’t they look festive drying in the fresh air?
Here is a tip for you if you ever are starching jelly rolls. I laid the strips out very close together (but not overlapping). I could do seven at a time on my towel. I sprayed one side thoroughly, then very carefully flipped them over to the other side and sprayed that. Then, onto the drying rack they went. It took no time at all to get the job done.
I was so excited to get up to the sewing room and make my first block from Chelsi Stratton’s Corn Maze pattern. The pattern is well designed and very appealing to work with. You do cut the “log”strips to size before sewing around the center pumpkin unit, so there isn’t room for error. That isn’t my favorite way to make log cabin blocks, but I figured I’d give it a go.
I did make my first block, but wasn’t happy with my degree of accuracy. The block size is very large, at 16.5″, and mine did not measure that when I finished it. This had nothing to do with the pattern, which is well written and clear. I am just used to using foundation paper or a Log Cabin trim ruler when I make these blocks. The slightest wobble in my stitch or seam allowance has a ripple effect that throws things off.
I took a break from the project for a while and put my thinking cap on. There is no foundation paper or trim tool in that 16″ size. So, what I decided is to use the Creative Grids 12.5″ Log Cabin trim tool and scale my blocks smaller. I will end up with the exact same look as Chelsi’s quilt, just with smaller blocks.
The trim tool counts on you having an extremely accurate starting square from which all the “logs” and trimming are based. As luck would have it, the center square for the 12 inch block is 3.5″. So, I made pumpkins.
The top two blocks are what I made for the 16.5″ blocks. I will not be using them. Those 12 little guys are my perfect 3.5″ center starting point for my 12″ log cabin blocks!
I knew my center pumpkin blocks had to be dead on 3.5″, and my little Cute Cuts trim tool helped me achieve that.
The other thing I did to ensure accuracy was to not trim away my corners on the pumpkin section of the block. When you do those flip-and-sew corners and trim both layers away from the underside, things can be slightly wonky. (In my experience). So I trimmed that middle section and left the print fabric alone as my foundation base. And those blocks came out really nice and accurate.
My new Creative Grids ruler is supposed to come today, and I hope to get a couple of blocks done and see how they look!
18 Responses
You gotta love pumpkins! I did not trim bottom later on flipped corners once, but I think that they showed through the top layer. Maybe it depends on the size? Anyway, I never did that again.
I am just amazed (jealous) of how many quilts you can work on at 1 time.
Do you read several books at a time too?
I used to have three books going at once: Kindle, a physical book, and an audiobook. I just haven’t been listening to the audiobooks much lately, so now it seems I just have two that I am reading at a time. I read my Kindle in bed and the physical book on the sofa or outside on the porch.
I love those creative grids trim tools! I should get the bigger one. Or maybe wait when I have a project??
I’ve got all the Log Cabin sizes now. I had the 10″ one and hadn’t even opened it!
lol….why wait, Jane? it’s always great to have just what you need in a drawer right when you need it!
Lots of great tips today! Thanks for the photo of the starched jelly rolls–they look like streamers at a party! That’s going to be an adorable quilt with the cute pumpkin centers. Glad you found a good solution to the size problem.
I hope it works. I don’t care if my quilt is more of a throw size. I have enough bed sized quilts anyway.
Yay – I love fall and pumpkin decor. I just wish our SoCal weather would reflect the season a little bit better. Today’s high is supposed to be at or near 100. We just try to stay calm and smile 🙂 . Those orange fabric strips on your drying rack are really pretty!
We are in for a bit of a heat spell too. Temps in the 90s over the next week or so. Come on, it’s October.
oh, man. I wish I had known your tip about not trimming the bottom fabric on a stitch flip corner. I had to do a bunch of 1.5″ ones on a pattern and I was unhappy with the results. I hate little stitch and flip!
I decided yesterday that I’m going to re-do all 12 block centers via hand applique. I wish I had done that from the start. I wasted so much time and was constantly frustrated.
It doesn’t always work if the bottom fabric showing through is an issue. I usually only do it with tiny pieces. These little corners are so small it isn’t noticable. Leaving the base block unit untrimmed really helps keep things square.
Doing the centers in applique is a really good idea. How beautiful the results will be!
Kimberly Jolly of Fat Quarter Shop many times cuts strips a little larger than required and then trims after she sews it in. I have picked up that tip and use it frequently. I often use Doug Leko’s ruler for the corner blocks and have some success with it. I imagine it works like the Creative Grids ruler.
You know, I thought about that. I know there are methods where you carefully trim each round to keep a log cabin block square. Sewing with longer strips and doing that makes sense.
You are talking about Doug Leko’s Simple Folded Corners Ruler. I have that in two sizes and don’t reach for it often enough. That would have been a good option for the corner squares on the pumpkins.
OOps- Doug’s corner trim tool is NOT the Creative Grids tool! Mixed them up. And I have the 10″ CC log cabin ruler and haven’t used it yet either.
Sue, you have it ready for that moment when you need it! Scouts/Quilters should always be prepared.
Love your pumpkins! I do wonder why some designers think they have to create a new way to make blocks when the old way works so well?
When making a 12″ or larger block, I sew another seam 1/2″ from the first corner seam, cut between them, and have an extra wee HST! Too cute and 4 wee HSTs per block. Perfect for small doll quilts.
Hugs!
When I starch my jelly rolls, it seems they “shrink” a bit…do you ever have that problem? If the pattern calls for using the full 2.5″ of the strip, I actually no longer starch jelly rolls before I use them, but I much prefer to work with starched fabric!
I have found that jelly rolls will shrink slightly in length when starched. A 42″ strip may shrink down to 41.5″.
However, I have never had them shrink in width. They stay consistently 2.5″ wide.