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

Curved Blocks in the Grand Convergence Experiment

There it sits on the flannel wall, these curved pieces seemed a little more challenging.

Not because they were curves, but because it was hard for me to figure out exactly how I was going to sew them together because of the point.

It took Stephanie to point out the best way to do it. And once she did, it became obvious.

She split the block into two sections at the point where the curve went from one side of the block to the other.

The idea, then, is to sew the pieces in each of the sections together, and then, sew the halves together to complete the block.

Beginning with the bottom two pieces, fold one section on top of the other so the right sides face together. I chose to fold the pieced section on top of the yellow batik fabric. That way, I could keep track of the seam allowances on the pieced section, and make sure they all stayed facing the same direction.

It looks very much like sewing two triangles together in that there were little dog-ears sticking out.

One of the big differences is that the only part of the raw edge you can line up is about 1/2 inch long. After that, the pieces begin to curve and become un-aligned.

This block will be sewn together in the same way as the first block with the wavy pink batik. As you sew, you will need to adjust the fabric, lining up the raw edges and moving the fabric around so it will go under the needle straight.

In doing that, you will create little bubbles and tunnels. Just be sure that the seam allowance remains flat so you don’t sew in the puckers or tucks.

The key is to keep the edge flat so that you don’t stitch any puckers or pleats into the seam.

Once the first seam is stitched, follow the same procedure to sew the other section together.

Now with both halves sewn together, you can sew the center seam, and your block will be complete.

Fold one half on top of the other, facing right sides together. If you want the center seams to line up, you will want to begin sewing the halves together in the center.

Beginning about 1/2 inch before the spot where the seam allowances meet, put your sewing machine needle in the fabric.

Line up the edges of the two sections and begin sewing, using a 1/4 inch seam allowance.

Because the pieced block is on the bottom, I need to watch the seam allowances on that section to be sure that they stay facing their original direction.

Once the seam is sewn from the center to the edge of the block, take the pieces out of the machine, and repeat the process with the other half of the seam – stitching from the center to the edge of the block.

The block is done! Actually, pretty easy.

This finished block ends up being a rectangle, and the edges do not line up, with the batik being longer than the pieced sections. These will need to be trimmed before it is sewn to make the quilt.


Happy Quilting!

Penny Halgren
www.TheQuiltingCoach.com
Where Quilters Connect

www.How-to-Quilt.com
Specializing in Information for Beginning Quilters

Sewing Curves in the Grand Convergence Experiment

Sewing curves presents some interesting challenges, especially when the pieces have curves going both "in and "out."

These relatively gentle curves are somewhat easier than sewing tighter curves or circles. The Ricky Tims way is to simply sew, and not worry about keeping a 1/4 inch seam allowance.

Ricky also believes in ironing the strips to get them to lay flat. The key word here is iron - not press, like most quilters.

Instead of trying to describe with words how to stitch these pieces together, there is a short video showing you exactly how to sew them.

Watch the video on YouTube

Penny Halgren
www.TheQuiltingCoach.com
Where Quilters Connect

www.How-to-Quilt.com
Specializing in Information for Beginning Quilters

The Grand Convergence Experiment - Sewing the First Block

There it sits on the flannel wall, just waiting for me to garner the courage to begin sewing – all of those curved pieces.

And so it began one Friday evening. If Ricky can do it, I can, too.

Beginning with what I considered to be the easiest block, I took two of the curved pieces, and placed them right sides facing together.

As you can see in the picture below, the edges of these pieces do not line up at all, and I will need to adjust the fabric as I sew.

When I got it to the machine, it was easier than I thought it would be.

Without using any pins, I lined up the ends of the strips. They looked very much like sewing two triangles together in that there were little dog-ears sticking out.

Unlike Ricky, I sewed rather slowly, adjusting the fabric every inch or so. I kept the bottom fabric flat, curving it as necessary so it went through the needle straight.

The top fabric was adjusted often, and frequently it had little bubbles in it as it curved around to match the edge of the bottom fabric. The key was in keeping the edge flat so that I didn’t stitch any puckers or pleats into the seam.

A little tunnel

Flat seam

Once the first seam was stitched, I removed the strips from my machine and took them over to the ironing board to press.

Ricky believes in ironing fabric, not that whimpy pressing. So, I ironed the seam allowance to one side. In this case, it was the strip fabric, since it is a solid piece of fabric, not pieced.

One of my rules about pressing seam allowances is to avoid pressing seam allowances to a side where there are a bunch of pieced patches, when I can press the seams to a side where there is just a strip of fabric.

Once those strips were ironed, I returned the section to the flannel wall.

The second pair of strips was removed and taken to the sewing machine to sew together.

After experiencing success with the first seam, the second pair was much easier to sew.

I used the same technique – holding the bottom fabric flat while adjusting the top fabric as necessary to make the curves.

Once the second seam was done, I carried it back to the flannel wall to enjoy.

And the last seam was easiest of all. Using the same process, I stitched the center seam to create the finished block.

Observations –

• The finished block is no longer square. Stephanie observed at one point that since there are different numbers of patches in these blocks, that they will be different sizes. We have not addressed that issue.
• Although the striped pieces are shorter than the blue and green pieces, this has nothing to do with the sewing. As I compared them to the other block that was cut the same, I saw that for some reason the striped fabric is just shorter. Stephanie is out of town now, so she’ll be surprised when she returns – or maybe not. (She may have figured that out days ago. Or, maybe she cut it that way.)
• The pieced blocks (the 9 patch blocks in this quilt) do change shape somewhat because of the seam allowances being removed. It will be interesting to see some of the other blocks that are cut into the pieced blocks in different shapes.

Happy Quilting!

Penny Halgren

www.How-to-Quilt.com
www.The-QuiltingCoach.com

Fabric for the Grand Convergence Experiment

Shopping day arrived, and Stephanie and I met at our local quilt shop, that happens to have a ton of fabric.

Since the teal fabric in her "ugly" quilt is a batik, she decided that the fabric to converge should also be batiks.

Looking through the selection of batiks, she came up with 3 fabrics that she liked.

Each one was chosen for a different reason. The purple and fuscia mostly because those are two of her favorite colors, and the yellow because it will add some light contrast.

Because we weren't exactly sure how this quilt will go together, we decided to get 1 1/2 yards of each fabric.

Each of the squares is approximately 18 inches square. It will take 1/2 yard just to cut the two 18 inch squares. And, since we don't know what we will do for borders, we decided to get enough extra to have some flexibility. Plus, Stephanie said "I like those fabrics, and wouldn't mind adding them to my stash."

Next it was time to cut the squares.

Since this took no creativity at all, she allowed me to cut the plain squares of fabric.

First, I folded the new batik so I would be able to cut an 18 inch square from it.

Next, I laid the ugly quilt square on top of the layers of fabric.

And, finally, I cut around the outside of the ugly quilt square.

We now had 2 beautiful batik squares of each color to match with our ugly quilt squares.

And, we're ready to do the fancy cutting - but I'm leaving that up to Stephanie. After all, it's her quilt.

Happy Quilting!
Penny Halgren
TheQuiltingCoach