It's hard to believe spring is just around the corner here in Northeast America, but the calendar tells us it is and we are starting to see snowdrops in our gardens as proof. In the spirit of spring, and new growth, we thought it would fun to do a prompt that challenged you to try something totally new to you within our Esther blocks. Is there a technique you have been wanting to try? Do you have an idea about how to spice up your Esther Block? This is a very open prompt, but here are a few ideas that might give you a jumpstart...
Machine sew your block:
Have you ever met someone who just blew you away with their take on something? Left you standing in awe with your mouth hanging open? Well that's how we feel about Mary Huey. When Mary posted her first blocks on Instagram and said she was machine sewing them, we were amazed!! For us, the whole reason to EPP these blocks is their complexity and set in seams.
We asked her all about it and she was happy to share her method. Â We were so enthralled that we asked if she would be willing to share with everyone. and she said, " YES!"
So without further ado, we'd like to introduce this month's guest blogger:
Mary Huey has developed a fabulous technique for machine sewing the set in seams found in the Esther block and has graciously shared her techniques with us in her blog: Quilting through Rose-colored Trifocals! Click here to read all about her inventive technique and see it demonstrated on the Esther block.
Maybe this is the new skill you try with this month's block? If you do, please tag Mary @hueymary in your post. Sara is excited for this - look for her to make a March block using this method.
Pattern Matching:
Love it or hate it, or never tried it? This can be a challenging technique but can lead to some very cool results. Sara is the pro and this technique and her method (click here to see) has turned Laura (who absolutely thought the whole premise of pattern matching was crazy) into a bit of a convert.
Pattern matching is basically cutting fabric and sewing it back together so that it looks like the original fabric.
This is an amazing pattern match block by Sara. She matched the 6 jewel shapes as well as the small half hexi's. You can see how effective this is- especially combined with Anna Marie Horner's beautiful echinacea print!
This is another block in progress by Sara. She chose to pattern match the 6 jewels as well as the whole hexagons using Tula Pink Parisville (DejaVu) Sea of Tears while she was writing up the pattern matching blog post. SOOO good!
Laura does not have the patience that Sara has when it comes to pattern matching so she just matched two of the jewels to each other three times. she used the same echinacea print as Sara did, but got a very different result.
What if you didn't fussy cut the shapes??? or Added Applique? or BOTH?
.. or tried something else totally new to you?
The sky is the limit with this prompt! For this block Laura decided she wanted to try something out of her comfort zone so she decided to NOT fussy cut most of block shapes (this was harder than you might think for her!) AND added an applique motif in the center. She had never appliqued a circle before, but really enjoyed learning something new.
So we invite you to go out there, have fun, and learn/ try something new this month!
When you have made your choices and assembled your blocks, please post them up on Instagram or Facebook! Tag us and use the sew-along hashtags to help us find and share your beautiful work!
@carve_stitch_repeat
@gatesmountainquilter
The Instagram and Facebook algorithms sometimes do strange things and we might miss your post - if we haven't commented or shared, please send us a message! We don't want to miss seeing anyone's work!
As always, please feel free to reach out if you have any questions at all - or if this prompt doesn't speak to you, make a block you love and share it up. No rules, just fun! Happy Sewing!