Stormy Seas Week 5

We're in week 5 folks -- which means we are 10 days from the big holiday....how can that be?? Where has December gone??? It's flying by!!!

Week 1 : November 17 - November 23 - Bag # 1 Assembly - Done

Week 2 : November 24 - November 30 - Bag #2 Assembly - Done

Week 3 : December 1 - December 7 - Bag #3 Assembly - Done

Week 4 : December 8 - December 15 - Bag #4 Assembly - Done

Week 5 : December 16 - December 22 - Sewing Curves - Starts Now!!!

Week 6 : December 23 - December 29 - Final Assembly

If you have been diligently working you should now have 4 corners ready to go!

And that completes all of the paper piecing we are going to do for this project! Everything else is assembly! This week has quite a bit of homework. We have 16 interior curves, 16 exterior curves, 4 corner curves, and 20 S curves, so while you paper piecing is complete, we still have a ways to go.

First, we have to assemble the curves. This is the part that I teach most often -- there are some simple tricks to make them faster, and more accurate.

First, we are going to prep our curved pieces....we start by placing the concave piece on top. In this pattern, that is the pieced corner square or the spiky circle. We will use the same method for the curved piecing for both of these.

1. Line them up with the concave piece on top, with right sides facing. Line up the upper left corner, so that the left edges are straight. 

2. Thread the pins along the straight edge. I use two pins to make sure that they don't "work their way out", and I use an in-out-in format to ensure a solid pinning.

3. Then I turn to the other side, and repeat the same actions on the right hand side. At this point, it will look like a hot mess. 

4. Once both side are secure, we will turn our attention to the curved edge itself, starting at the right edge (the one you just pinned), apply about an inch of glue to the convex edge, and then bend the concave edge to match the convex edge. You will be "pleating" the concave piece (the one on the top) as you go around the edge. Continue this procedure, adding an inch of glue and adhering the edge as you go.

5. When you are done, your unit will look like this. You are now ready to sew a quarter of an inch from the edge of the curve. So, tonight's homework is to prep all of these, and visit us tomorrow regarding prepping your machine before sewing.  

To be honest, I tried to make a video of this process, if anyone is interested, please let me know and I will find someone to help me record it!!!  

So, happy curve prepping everyone!!!

See you tomorrow !!!

Catherine