I finally worked up the courage to tackle a Metro Rings quilt!
(I took the picture indoors, as it will be quite a while 'til outdoor pictures are feasible again thanks to last week's blizzard!)
I certainly wouldn't have attempted this pattern by now, but it was custom piecing job requested by one of Kathy O.'s customers. Needless to say, I dragged my feet on this one since it was a totally new concept/process.
The key tool is this Quick Curve Ruler. It allows you to make a quilt similar in style to the traditional Double Wedding Ring pattern, but without the tedious cutting and piecing of the small wedge pieces. The QCR allows your to strip piece, then slice the curves with the ruler. Even so, it still takes a bit of time to piece one of these beauties!
I must say, I went from "I will never, ever make one of these quilts again" to "I need to make one for myself now!" (I have a Jelly Roll of Jen Kingwell's Gardenvale fabric that will be perfect for mine!) The piecing is a bit tricky. And, I had a terrible time getting my blocks to lay flat until I steamed and starched them heavily. (I didn't think to take pictures of the before and after.) I'm still now sure why; I'm pretty sure my piecing was accurate. The grain line ended up distorted as a result, but you don't notice it in the final product. When all is said and done, it's pretty impressive how everything turns out!
Some tips:
This video was helpful in explaining how to position your hands when stitching the curved pieces. Be sure to take care when lining up the ruler; if you line everything up correctly, your triangles should match perfectly. And, make sure you have plenty of starch on hand before you get started!
This quilt was custom made for some professional cowboy hat makers - how fun is that?! The red and block center triangles are right on! Kathy and her friend picked out fabrics that were perfect for the cowboy theme:
Can't wait to see what magic Kathy works with her long arm stitching!
PS - Now I want to make this quilt with the QC Ruler!!
You can order the Chic Country pattern here.
What a fun post! I'm quilting it now and I'll send photos when I'm finished. Thank you so much for the beautiful piece work you did on it!
ReplyDeleteThis pattern is very good, but it's not perfect. It is not your accuracy, as it happens to most everyone using this pattern and ruler. The designer told our workshop group, "it's not perfect, but it looks great". Yes, you have to starch/press the heck out of the blocks. I tossed 3-4 that I just could not use in my quilt. Yours looks fantastic.
ReplyDeleteThank you, that's helpful - I've been scratching my head, trying to figure out why my blocks wouldn't lay flat!
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