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Sunday, August 29, 2010

Crazy curves!

I am no stranger to piecing curves but this kind of curved piecing was new to me. 'The Quilt Show Episode 204' starts with Ricky Tims demonstrating his improvisational curves. When I first saw it I thought " That looks interesting but not enough to try it!" But this blog has a purpose...to get me to try new things so I tried it and I am so happy I did!


The whole idea is to cut smooth curves and just sew them together. You don't worry about any seam allowance. I started with a 3-1/2" square and cut a curve in the one side. I cut the next piece matching the curve and sewed them together. I used a little less than 1/4" seam to sew them together.


As you can see it looks like it is going to be a problem...

But it isn't...a little squirt of water and a hot iron and ...



The block is remarkably flat. It is about 12" 'square'!

I do have a few tips. Each piece I added was made extra wide until I got a feel for it. Each side you'll end up cutting a curve out of it so you don't want to shortchange yourself. You don't use any pins for this technique. When you start sewing use your needle down position. You'll be stopping a bit until you get a feel for your hand motion. My left hand held the underneath fabric and the right hand held onto the top fabric. It is a bit of a juggling act to line up the top and bottom but it doesn't take long to get a feel for it.

My mind is swirling with the possibilities, both simple and VERY complicated.

I would have missed out on an amazing technique. Thank you Blog!
And thank you Ricky Tims!

Happy Stitching!

3 comments:

  1. That looks like great fun Ann!I am just back from hols and catching up like crazy with bees... Hopefully get more time to delf into EQ7 first and then the quiltshow. I am on a free membership at the moment as I thought it would not be the right time to join just before the hols! We will see what happens when I get a bit more time!

    This reminds me of the technique Ricky used in the Rhapsody quilts. No pinning there either!

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  2. Wish my curves looked as smooth as yours Ann.

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  3. I"ve heard his classes are really good. I love the look of these curved log cabins!

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