Top Stitching

I'm nearing the end now - just a few more trips to the sewing machine and the quilt will be done. Today I am sewing rows 7, 8, and 9 to rows 10, 11 and 12. First pin and sew the seam; press open the seam, and top stitch on each side. That's what you see in this picture. The next step will be difficult - sewing the first 6 rows to the last 6 rows. The hard part is not the sewing, it's just handling all that fabric. I'll have to call in backup support for that!

Row Upon Row

After all the squares are made, they get sewn into rows. When the rows are complete, they are sewn together to make the quilt. I have to be so careful to sew the squares and rows in just the right order to make the pattern. I always spot the light blue piece on the square. Put it on the left; next row, put it on the bottom; then on the left again. When the quilt is complete, you'll see pinwheels of the light blue and the yellow dancing around the quilt. To make sure I keep everything in order, I put a safety pin in the top left corner of each row until it is sewn to the next row.

Sewing the Blocks Together

Each time I got ten blocks made, I sewed them into a long row. First I had to make sure they were in the right order to make the pattern. As you can see I alternated the directions of the blocks. To sew them together I matched them up, back to back, making sure the edges were just right. After sewing the blocks together I pressed the seams open on the right side and top stitched on each side of the original seam - three rows of stitching for each seam!

Building the Block

This is how the quilt begins - as one square. Each block consists of a backing piece, batting, and the top which is made of six small pieces. I'll need 120 of these squares to make a twin quilt (and I only have 7 left to do!) First the batting is centered on the "wrong" side of the backing. Then each of the smaller pieces in added one at a time. The first piece is placed 2 1/2 inches from the edge. The next pieced is placed on top - right sides together. This is stitched down and flipped over so that the "right" side shows. Then the next and so on. Because I am stitching through all three layers at once I won't have to do any quilting. When the squares are all stitched together, the quilt will be done.