I have been completely obsessed with my discovery of an old UFO "Opening Day", a pattern by Carrie Nelson. This UFO was all cut out and all the flying geese for the star blocks were made. Back in the day, I wasn't that concerned about making flying geese with a super accurate method, and I certainly never considered starching my fabric before cutting it out.
These two issues are huge. I have come so far from 2010 in terms of my quilting perfectionism. I now always make my flying geese and half-square triangles slightly larger and trim them down to the desired size. Or use paper piecing. Additionally, I have embraced pressing my seams open for the most part, which makes my blocks so much flatter. I also only work with starched fabric these days. My accuracy and the look of my blocks is greatly improved.
Working with these kinda-sorta close to 2 1/2 x 4/1/2-inch flying geese units was awful. I tried starching the units with spray starch, but that shrank the fabric a bit, which I could not afford. Then I switched to Mary Ellen's Best Press, which gave the units a bit more body, but not the level of crispness I like.
(I'd love to hear from those of you who love Mary Ellen's Best Press. Tell me what it is that you like about the product. I definitely prefer to use spray starch prior to cutting out my fabric, but the Best Press seems like a good product to use while sewing or after the block is complete.)
So here's a funny aside. I am the first to admit that my math skills are definitely basic. However, I was pretty sure I knew my multiplication tables. For some reason I was figuring that if I made 8 blocks of each of my four colors I would end up with 36 star blocks, right? Um, make that 32. So of course I was short and had to come up with some additional fabric to make four more stars, plus re-do some flying geese that were wonky and to replace the center 4 1/2 inch squares that I shrank with the spray starch. Luckily my stash is vast and I actually found some great fabric matches.
Well, I've got my 36 stars done, and I am full of appreciation for my usual method of making accurate flying geese and working with nicely starched fabric. My next step is to make 126 more flying geese for a border. I can't starch the fabric, but I am going to see if I can come up with a way to use my cut-out pieces in a way that allows me to trim the units down slightly.
Overall, I am pleased with the way the blocks are coming together, but it's harder work than I'm used to!
Thank you for every post. I read them all. Yesterdays touched me very much. When I started quilting, I offered to make my mom a quilt.
She said thanks for offering but quilts reminded her of growing up in poverty during the depression. She was so proud of her store bought blankets! A few years ago she needed to go to assisted living and was able to take her bed and bedspread with her then she declined more and was moved to the skilled nursing wing with a hospital type bed.
My heart broke when I saw she was covered in an old faded discarded
Quilt someone had left behind. The next day I took her a new Stella Blue quilt finished coincidentally in her favorite colors. She was so happy to have it and proudly showed it to every nurse who came in.
We had come full circle. She would have been 100 this month.
Miss Rosie’s Farmhouse Favorites is very special to me and have made several quilts from that book
Posted by: June | March 28, 2023 at 06:01 AM
I use Best Press on my fabric too but I also add a product called Terial which adds more stiffness. I use about 2/3 Best Press to 1/4 to 1/3 of Terial. Terial used alone makes it stiff, Research it, I love it.
Posted by: Francine Fagan | March 28, 2023 at 06:31 AM
I use Best Press when I sew but don’t pre starch BUT you have convinced me to try it!!! Thank you! I too started that pattern ( love Miss Rosie patterns) but put it aside. Again thank you as I have pulled it! As to the math skills … I was convinced a couple of weeks ago that 60 x 4 was 360!!! Is it an age thing??? Love your blog Nicole!
Posted by: Kerry | March 28, 2023 at 06:50 AM
I fondly remember making Opening Day with Roman Holiday fabrics, it is one of my favorite quilt finishes. You're doing such a great job of tackling your UFOs! Amazing progress!
Posted by: Lisa D. | March 28, 2023 at 07:21 AM
I purchased Opening Day in my early quilting days but was put off by the number of stars and flying geese. So it remains un-used but still loved. Loved your first commenter's story, just a great quilt story. This is why we quilt, great quilts and great history handed down about quilts in our lives.
Posted by: Stephani in N. TX | March 28, 2023 at 07:37 AM
Bravo for your perseverance! You’ve inspired me to tackle my own UFO’s!
Posted by: Dona | March 28, 2023 at 07:38 AM
Thank you to June for sharing her heartfelt story about her mom. 💕
I use Unscented Mary Ellen's Best Press to 'remove' wrinkles & fold lines on fabric. I also use it when ironing shirts & blouses. It gives fabric a little body but not the stiffness that regular starch leaves. For spray starch I like to use Faultless. You're making great progress on your UFO's!
Posted by: Jan | March 28, 2023 at 07:49 AM
Do you wash your finished quilts to remove the starch or do you wash the top before it is quilted? I enjoy reading your blog and getting hints and tips about quilting. I also enjoy your book reviews!
Posted by: Linda DeMurh | March 28, 2023 at 08:20 AM
I use Mary Ellen's press the same way Jan does. I love those chocolate brown stars you've got going. Really lovely with the green and red.
We started playing board games during the pandemic. It was just something to do in the late afternoon to distract from all the awful news. We've kept it up. We've been playing Cribbage lately....turns out I can no longer add. ;p Seriously.
Posted by: Ina | March 28, 2023 at 09:37 AM
I always call finishing a really old UFO my Humility day - it also reminds me of how far I have come. I just finish the best I can then move on. I've learned a lot about "fixing" things to look okay even if they aren't. I've tried to finish my grandmother's UFOs - she died in 1968 - definitely making the best out of it I can. Love all your posts.
Posted by: Rebecca | March 28, 2023 at 10:30 AM
I use Best press before cutting and again each time I am pressing my seams open or to the side. By the time a block is done, that block can be stiff as paper. How I love to put those on the long arm! Nice and flat!
Posted by: Kathy Czuprynski | March 28, 2023 at 01:53 PM
This quilt is going to be great. I too love Carrie Nelson’s patterns. I can’t wait to see the finish.
Posted by: Leota Krantz | March 28, 2023 at 03:54 PM
Haha… you are giving me a chuckle because even as a kid i cannot keep it in my head what 8x7 is! Love the quilt… when i pull out a UFO, it’s like finding an old friend. Xox
Posted by: Carol | March 28, 2023 at 06:45 PM