Hi! Remember me? I've taken the past few weeks at a slow blog pace but have been hard at work on some fun projects, such as this Melon Double Wedding Ring Quilt using the new Sizzix dies by Victoria Findlay Wolfe and Handcrafted fabric by Alison Glass. Between this and my Schnitzel & Boo mini swap project that I've shared process shots of on Instagram, I guess I could say I'm into curves!
I will admit — double wedding ring anything would have been further down on my bucket list had it not been facilitated by the ease of die cutting the fabric with the Sizzix Double Wedding Ring and Double Wedding Ring Large Melon dies. I used my Big Shot Pro with Extended Accessories to quickly and accurately die cut all the curves. Yay! When cut correctly, the curves sew together so nicely.
To make this 50 x 50" quilt takes 168 strips that are 3 1/8" wide x 6 1/2" high, and 16 low-volume pieces for the background. I had nine prints of low-volume fabric that I was able to get all the pieces from, which meant die cutting some full pieces and some half pieces.
I was a nerd and laid it all out first so it would appear random but balanced.
For each melon shape, sew five strips together using 1/4" seam allowances, as shown above. Press seams open. There are 32 melons shapes in all, eight of which will be cut in half to form the border.
I made a melon-shaped template out of a piece of white cardstock. It is 6" high at the widest point and 13" wide from point to point. If you plan on making a truly scrappy quilt, this will come in handy to ensure scraps will fit the die with full coverage.
Fold the sewn strips in half and finger press the crease. Line the ends of the crease up with the points of the melon die.
Roll the Sizzix sandwich (cutting pad, die with blades facing up, fabric and cutting pad) through the Big Shot Pro.
Yay! Footballs! Anyone a Seahawks or a Patriots fan? I grew up rooting for the Hawks but have lived in New England for so long. . . My husband reminded me to remember my current zip code. Also, the Ducks didn't win the title, but what a season! Victoria says she uses the term melons and footballs interchangeably. ;)
Anywho, after you've die cut all the melons / footballs, die cut 16 center shapes using the Double Wedding Ring die. Nine of these shapes will remain in tact. Six will be cut in half and one will be quartered for the border.
Each melon went right back up on my design wall after die cutting to ensure everything stayed in order.
After all the die cutting was completed, there was time to play with the layout a little.
To assemble the quilt, it is broken down into curvy rows that are sewn together. Follow the numbered pieces, above, to put each row together.
Glue basting curves is a popular technique, but for this I finger pressed the center of each piece, matched it up with its mate and simply pinned the middle along the crease. Sewing slowly, I finger pinned as I went, carefully matching up seams little by little. I only used the seam ripper a few times.
Once the rows are pieced, begin sewing the rows together from left to right. (Note: in the photo above I'd started sewing rows together as I finished them.) It goes together faster than it might seem, I promise!
Sizzix is giving away a Grand Prize (hint: A Big Shot Pro and all three new dies by Victoria Findlay Wolfe - no, seriously). Please don't miss this amazing Rafflecopter giveaway worth, well, a lot of money.
There are twelve stops on the blog tour. Each designer has come up with a unique project that showcases the versatility of the Sizzix Big Shot Pro and Fabi Quilting line. Don't forget to check them out — the variety of projects is pretty darn cool!
January 16th Jamie Fingal of Twisted Sister
January 16th Tracy Mooney of Generation Q
January 17th Elizabeth Timmons of Andpins
January 17th Nicole Daksiewicz of Modern Handcraft
January 18th Ebony Love of LoveBug Studios
January 18th Holly Hughes of Holly Gets Quilty
January 19th Marni Weaver of Haberdashery Fun
January 19th Leslie Tucker Jenison
January 20th Karin Jordan of Leigh Laurel - you are here!
January 20th Sue Bleiweiss
January 21st Jenny Doan of The Cutting Table
January 21st Victoria Findlay Wolfe of Bumble Beans
It was hard to cut into Handcrafted, but I'm so glad I did. I've decided to send this quilt top out to be quilted on a long arm; stay tuned to see the custom quilting!
