The Grand Convergence Experiment - Quilt Top Done!

It's hard to believe that just a little more than 2 months ago, quilting daughter, Stephanie, began The Grand Convergence Experiment.

And what a difference!

For those who have followed, this project began when Stephanie took out an "ugly" quilt and wanted to do something special with it.

One of Ricky Tims' books happened to be sitting around, so she got the idea of turning her ugly Irish Chain quilt into a Grand Convergence quilt. And Grand it is.

As you read down the blog, you will see how she got from there to here. And, actually it was fairly easy.

Once the blocks were re-constructed, she added borders to each block that would make them cock-eyed. Next was to simply sew the blocks together just as you would any other quilt.

The biggest decision was how to do the borders. As with so many things having to do with quilting, best laid plans and measuring still didn't create the perfect border.

She wanted to put the 9 patch squares next to the quilt top. She measured carefully, and she sewed what she thought were perfect 1/4 inch seam allowances. But when all of the little 9 patches were done, they didn't fit right.

Thus, the purple strip between the quilt top and the 9 patch border - just the size needed for the 9 patches to fit evenly around the quilt.

Another quilting problem solved.

And then there was the back. When it came time, she didn't have enough of one fabric for the back. So she created a pieced back.



She allowed me to pre-shrink the Hobbs Heirloom batting, and now the quilt is layered and ready for the next step.

Now, all that's left is the quilting. It will be interesting to see what she decides about that. Both of us are hand quilters. But she may want to finish this quilt in relatively short order.

Time will tell - I'll keep you posted!

Happy Quilting!

Penny Halgren
www.How-to-Quilt.com
www.TheQuiltingCoach.com

The Grand Convergence Experiment - Borders on the Blocks

Borders on the blocks? Don’t you mean sashing?

Not exactly.

When all of the converged blocks were complete and trimmed, it turned out that they were various sizes.

As the blocks were sewn together, it was apparent that there would be some variation, partially because of the number of seams in the block, and also depending on the position and / or angle of the seams.

For example, the block with the curved strips running from top to bottom ended up being more of a rectangle than a square. And the block pictured above should have been about the smallest because it had the most seams in it.

The surprise was that there was one set of blocks that was a full inch smaller than the others. Stephanie rejected my idea of just adding a small piece of fabric around the block to make it the same size as the others.

However, she liked the idea of setting the blocks on a diagonal; mostly because she doesn’t like traditional sashing.

The first step was to make sure that all of the blocks were trimmed so the sides were even.

Then, she cut rectangles 5 inches wide by 15 inches long. Cut on the diagonal, the long side of the half-rectangle triangle fit on the sides of each of the blocks. The one block that was significantly smaller did get a 1 inch border added.

These triangle pieces were added to each side of the blocks. The result was that each of the blocks was square, the same size, and the converged blocks in the center were placed on an angle.

Because the converged blocks are square, and the resulting blocks on an angle are square, all of the blocks are at the same angle in the quilt. Somewhat boring, but not much choice.

Happy Quilting!

Penny Halgren
www.TheQuiltingCoach.com
Where Quilters Connect

The Convergence Experiment - Block 4

There it sits on the flannel wall, yet another block with lots of little, curved pieces.

Even with the curves, this block can be sewn together just as a regular patchwork block.

Because I like to work in columns and then rows, I identified two columns to start with. The lone column will be sewn on separately.

First fold over the fabrics in the right side of a pair of columns so that the fabric is right sides together.

Take these 6 pairs of patches to your machine and chain sew them together.

Because these were gentle curves, it was not that difficult to keep the ends matched. And as I sewed, I didn’t get the bubbles and tunnels I got when I sewed the longer and more curved pieces.

Using the same technique as with the longer curved pieces, match the edges of the patches, sew somewhat slowly and curve the pieces as they feed into the sewing machine.

Once you have sewn the patches together, carry them back to your flannel board and open the pairs up. You do not need to cut the threads between the patches. And, in fact, keeping the threads attached will help you keep the patches in order.

Next, sew these two sets together so you have rows of 4 patches.

Again, by keeping the threads between the rows attached, you will be able to keep the patches in order.

Fold the final column of patches onto the rows, and sew them together. Once this is done, you should have 3 rows with 5 patches sewn together in each row.

Next, you will sew the rows together. The first step is to fold the top row down onto the middle row, right sides together.

This is a somewhat longer curve, although it is pretty gentle, and doesn’t require too much adjusting. I was able to match the seams and face the seam allowances in opposite directions, just as in any other quilt block.

Once the top seam is sewn, open up the two rows, and then fold up the bottom row onto the middle row, and sew that seam.

This, too, is a gentle curve, and doesn’t require much adjustment. You should also be able to face the seam allowances in opposite directions in this row. Just check to see how they were sewn in the previous row to prevent any possible cross-overs.

Once sewn, open the bottom row, and you’re done.





Happy Quilting!

Penny Halgren
www.TheQuiltingCoach.com
Where Quilters Connect