I have so many projects going on right now and have told myself, “No More.”  I’m sure you’ve all said that to yourself at some point or another.  However I am following Pat Sloan and Jane Davidson’s Splendid Sampler.  They release two new blocks a week and have bonus projects as well.  I simply do not have the time to join in, but every now and then something strikes me and I just HAVE to do it.

First was this wonderful pincushion, a bonus project. http://www.thesplendidsampler.com/2016/02/11/meet-the-splendid-sampler-designers-4/

Now, I have never made a cathedral window block before.  They honestly made me a little nervous.  But I just had to give this a try.  I pulled down a basket of fat quarters that my wonderful Mother in Law gave me that I new would just be perfect.

The fabrics are “Sew…A Needle Pulling Thread” and “Quilting Companions” by Cat Williams and “Stitching in the Woods” by Robin Betterley.

Fabulous, aren’t they?

Here is what I learned while making the block;

• Iron very carefully.  You want your edges to line up as exact as possible to the guidelines you ironed into the fabric.

 

• Make sure your center points line up and meet as close as you can.

 

• When you begin folding back the fabric do not force it as far as it can go.  You may want to show off as much as the peeking fabric as you can, but this warps the block a bit.

 

* Instead, just turn them gently and pin them down.  You will still get plenty of your peek-a-boo fabric

 

 

• When you fold back the ‘petal’ fabric the raw edges of the triangle fabrics may show.  Use a small scissor or seam ripper to tuck it back under the petal when you put the block on your machine.

 

 

 

• Holding the petal down with my finger, I just sew right along the edge of the petal.

 

• Here they are, all sewn.  So pretty!

 

 

 

• When sewing the back, press the seams open.  I find this helps with the hand stitching later.

 

• What to fill the pin cushion with?  There were many suggestions on the Splendid Sampler Facebook page and I did some googling.  Crushed walnut shells seemed to be popular and easy to find at a pet store.  Some suggested going to a local hardware store and asking for sawdust.  There were also suggestions of fabric and batting scraps, but I like weight to my pin cushions so I went with the suggestion of play sand.  Also, I had it on hand, so I can keep going with the project!  Remember to use play sand, not beach sand.  Mine is unused and has been stored in bucket, so I knew it was safe to use.

 

• Give it some shakes to make sure the sand gets into the corners.

 

• I cut a 4 inch square piece of batting to put on top of the sand.  I couldn’t imagine trying to sew this shut with the sand spilling everywhere.

 

• Remember when I pressed the seams open?  I used the press marks as a guideline for sewing it shut.

 

• Voila!!!

 

I am thrilled to tell you that I am no longer scared of cathedral windows!!  In fact I have fallen in love with them!  I had to  make more, it was addictive.  These are for my two high school friends who I am doing a quilt a long with.  We live in three different states and I’m so thankful for the internet and this quilt a long to bring us together.  (I’ll be posting about this quilt a long soon)

 

Of course I made one for myself too!

 

 

I took mine a step further by adding a thread catcher to it.  I used the pattern found at http://mypolkadotapron.blogspot.com/2011/05/thread-catcher-tutorial.html?spref=bl

I love it!  I carry it with me all over the house when I do hand stitching.  I guess I just need to make more so this one can live on my sewing table, because now….

 

I FINALLY HAVE A BERNINA!!!!!!!!!!!