Another Tools Tuesday . . . .

So for those of you stopping by for the first time, one of my summer goals was to clean out my tools, templates, and rulers drawer; and then, any item in the drawer that I didn't know how to use would not go back into the drawer until I determined how to use it or decided if I would use it. 

This week's tool is the Petal Shapes ruler by Darlene Zimmerman for EZ Quilting

I don't remember why I bought this ruler, I don't remember ever wanting or needing to make petal shapes, although with a blog name of Cupcakes n Daisies maybe I just had daisies on my mind when I bought it, more likely, I thought I could use it to fashion some sort of ice cream cone appliqué project.

As with my other rulers, I found little guidance online when it came to instructions for using this ruler or or finding any projects that required this ruler.  The Petal Shapes ruler did come with this 6 page pamphlet that was luckily still attached to the front of the ruler.

According to the chart provided, I can make flowers ranging in size from 1 inch to 9 inches, sounds pretty good to me!

  I decided to make a 5 inch flower block.

The instructions were few but good enough.  Cut wedges first, 

then cut  the curve.  

I struggled a little here, the lines on the side of the curve are supposed to help you center the wedge.

Each one of my cuts was a little different, even though I thought I lined up each wedge the same.

No worries, I just stacked them up and trimmed them all.

Then I sewed them together, easy peasy.

And this is what I got!!!

Hmmmm, something's not quilt right with this flower, is it me or the ruler?

This is the picture on the front of the directions, and sort of what I was expecting.  It must be me, who would sell a petal ruler that doesn't yield petals?

So I decided to give it another try.

I looked at the directions again and decided I didn't cut the curve quite right.

This should do it!

My first attempt is on the left, the second on the right!

Still doesn't look like a flower to me!

So I tired one more time, going for the 9 inch size, so I wouldn't have to wonder how to line up the wedge when I cut the curve.  And I did get a petal shape.

So I'm curious about this Petal Shapes ruler, it does make an OK 9 inch flower but what about the other sizes listed on the chart, didn't anyone test the other shapes, is it me or is it the ruler?

As with all my Tools Tuesday posts, be sure to add any experience you've had with the Petal Shapes ruler, this one is a mystery to me, and probably not going back into the tools drawer!

A friend suggested I call these posts "Terrible Tools Tuesday", I think I'm starting to agree!

Added Later:  I contacted Darlene Zimmerman for some help with this ruler.  The ruler will make a wonderful large flower but the curved top of the template does not work for smaller flower petals, not enough curve.  This ruler does make traditional dresden plate blocks, just ignore the curve.  So I'm relieved to hear it wasn't me, it was the template.  This ruler is also sold to folks who do scrapbooks and has some other uses, it wasn't made just for quilters.

Darlene responded quickly and pleasantly to my note and asked me to pass along that more free patterns and how-to videos are going to be added to the Simplicity.com site soon for her rulers. That will be great!

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BOM Rehab . . .

I am so happy that Sinta is hosting this weekly BOM Rehab.  If I accomplish nothing else during the course of the week, I'm motivated to at least work one Northern Lights block into my schedule.

This week I decided to make the spool block, it goes with the general theme of things in my sewing room right now!

These are big spools, this block is 16 1/2 inches.

Here's how it looks surrounded by the setting blocks.

 

Two focus blocks done, 5 more to go!

You know how I said Free Spirit Medley looked better in the pictures than in real life, the total opposite is true of this project, I can't take a picture that captures the soft, mellow, loveliness of this project, but trust me, it's going to be a beauty!

Here's the pattern cover that came with the project, and what I aiming for.

The majority of the fabrics that I'm using are Lumiere de Noel by French General for Moda and some Park Avenue by 3 Sisters for Moda.  Older lines of faric that I had on hand that I think work well together.   I have also been able to use 3 different pieces of the fabric that came with the BOM.

This pattern is by Marti Michell, here is her version.

I just love seeing the same quilt made with different fabric.  If these two quilts were hung side by side, I'm not sure you would notice that they are made from the same pattern.

Hey, Mary Caldwell, you won the Spools pattern but I don't have a way of contacting you, please send an email to me at cupcakesndaisies@gmail.com with your mailing address. THANKS!

If I don't hear from Mary by tomorrow I'll pick another winner.

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Hot mess with a side of bliss . . . .

So this is where it ends, at least temporarily, with Free Spirit Medley.

I'm just not happy with my fabric selections for the center of this quilt.  And with so much piecing yet to come with the borders, I don't think I want to risk that I might come around and like this sometime  down the road.

I do think I've figured out where I went wrong.  I'm not crazy about two of my blue choices, but I could live with them, it's the background, it's distracting and looks messy.  I think I need to use one background, not a solid, but something with a little print to it.

I do like the light blue and red geese in the pinwheel blocks and the light brown and dark blue fabric colors for the stars.

It looks better in this picture than it does in real life. 

I was working with fat quarters and a layer cake, but I really need some yardage of the simpler blue fabric pieces.

So while I regroup I thought I would work on my Spools project, have you heard, there's a Spool-Along Sew-Along going on!

I'ved decided to use some Bliss and some Marmalade for my spools. 

I'm so excited several folks have decided to sew along with us, there are going to be some very interesting finishes with some of the creative fabric choices that are in the works.

Mary Caldwell is the Spools pattern winner, Mary, drop me a note with your address, your comment didn't have your email address.

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Spool-Along Sew-Along

I mentioned in an earlier post that the pattern "spools" by Camille Roskelley for thimble blossoms was on my Summer To Do list.  A couple of friends mentioned they wanted to make this adorable quilt too so we thought we would have ourselves a little Spool-Along Sew-Along.

Then Nicole mentioned the Spool-Along Sew-Along on her blog and some folks asked if they could join in.   Ya know what's more fun than sewing with a few friends, sewing with a few more!

Then Camille mentioned our Spool-Along Sew-Along on her blog, and some more folks thought they would like to join in.

So just in case you hadn't heard, there's a Spool-Along Sew-Along going on and your invited to join in too!

Here are the rules, there aren't any!  Just make this quilt and send a note to Nicole, Lisa or myself and we'll blog about it.  At the end of the summer we'll have a little parade and a giveaway of some sort.   We'll blog about finishes and updates every now and then, it's summer, so it's an easy peasy lemon squeezy sort of affair.  You don't need a blog to join us.

So pick out some fabric, get the pattern and let us know how you're doing.

Don't have the pattern yet, I have an extra one, leave a comment on this post to be eligible to win it. I'll announce the winner on Friday.  In your comment let me know what fabric you think you would like to use to make your spools quilt.

Lisa's got a jump start on Nicole and I, visit her blog if you've not seen her spools.

Finally, I've created a Pinterest Spools Board with 3 very cute finished Spool quilts, I hope to add yours to the list!

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Tools Tuesday - Tri-Mate

Are you up for another Tools Tuesday?  This week I'm blogging about the Tri-Mate by Joy Hoffman for EZ Quilting.

This tool is for cutting triangles that are four times as long as they are tall!  When I first read online the purpose of this tool I thought, "good grief, what would I do with a long skinny triangle".  So I asked around and found out there are several things you can do with a long skinny triangle. (Thanks Sinta & Carrie)

You can make these these blocks

or make a jazzed up sashing or border.   This tool works with the Tri-Recs ruler, which is why it is called the Tri-Mate.

I thought I would try adding a border to a simple star block.

Technically you're supposed to cut a strip 1/2" wider than the finished height of the desired triangle.  For example, a triangle with a 2" finished height is cut using a 2 1/2" strip.  Since I was just using scraps I didn't bother cutting strips.

Quick and Easy!

Slide the ruler down to the bottom edge of the strip to trim the corners to make alignment simple when joining the triangles.

So here's a simple 6 1/2 " star block, 

that I turned into a 9 1/2" star block with a fancy border.

The next time I'm wanting to make a block larger, instead of adding simple square sashing, I think I may give this a try.

I'm keeping this tool and I think I'll use it!  My only complaint is the poor job the EZ Quilting website does in providing examples of what you can do with this tool, it does however provide good directions on how to use the tool, for free.  (an improvement over the Starmaker 8 website)

If you have an experience using this tool, good or bad, be sure to share it with us!  Thanks so much!


My friend Sandy at Textile House has caught the Tools Tuesday bug and blogged about an interesting ruler she uses regularly, be sure to check it out!

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