Some I think are beautiful and some are kind of blah. Regardless, I have made the commitment to not let the effort of the quilter who cut all these diamonds go to waste! I am going to see how many different baby quilts I can make out of these diamonds. (yes, I am getting to the Y-seams, hang in there!)
So here is the start of my Diamond Chronicles #1! I decided to go with star shapes for the first one. As you can see in this picture, the fabric with stripes on it is a little larger than the rest of them so I'm going to have to be careful to measure and trim everything before I sew them together.
I decided to go with pairs so each star has three different fabrics with the matching pairs being directly across from one another. I sewed together 8 full stars and two half stars to be part of a baby quilt. Amongst the stash that I purchased, I found some yardage of a solid sky blue fabric. I cut about 30-something more diamonds out of that to go in between the stars. Like this . . .
I am having a terrible time getting the colors to show correctly. I'm also noticing I probably should have paid more attention to the shades of yellow I was using. Some of them are really washed out and some are more vivid. Not all yellows are created equal. Well, this will be a learning journey. I also noticed on the half star on the bottom, the two repeated fabrics are not across from each other as they should be. Maybe I'll do better on the next one.
Yes, this pattern means LOTS of Y-seams! I am plunging in and this will be a perfect practice quilt for that particular method. I'm pretty happy with how most of the Y-seams are turning out. There are a few less than desirable but we won't talk about those and press on! I'll show you the ones I'm excited about!
And here we have three rows of stars hanging on the ironing board and ready to be sewn together. This will be the true challenge! Not just Y-seams, but inverted Y-seams! I've watched several tutorials about this and here are the two things that have helped me out the most.
1. Before you begin, it is best to mark a 1/4 inch line on the back of all the diamonds on every single side. (this is not to scale)
2. As you are sewing the diamonds together, always begin and end 1/4 inch from the edge of the diamond where the 1/4 inch lines that you drew cross each other and make an "X". You will find this will save you much seam ripping and gnashing of teeth.
Now these are just tips, you may want to go find a full blown video tutorial to see the entire process but if I can do it (I consider myself somewhere in the range of beginner to intermediate quilter) YOU CAN TOO!
So that is my first installment of the Diamond Chronicles. My goal is to have this top finished within a week so I can show you that and what I plan to do for Diamond Chronicles Episode #2.
I got some great ideas from you fellow blog readers out there! If you want to see the ideas that were mentioned, you can read the comments on this post.
I'd love to hear some more diamond ideas if you have them!
Linking to:
That looks like a lovely way to use those yellow diamonds! I love the blue in between the yellow stars - that was the perfect choice to pull all the yellow prints together.
ReplyDeleteI think all the different shades of yellow are just perfect! It has that richness that comes from scrappiness, while keeping to a defined blue and yellow color scheme. Looking great so far! Keep rockin' those Y's, Janice :)
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you are finishing the other quilter's projects!! I hope someone will do the same with all of my unfinished projects when I go. You are rocking the Y seams and I love the yellow and blue together! You are going to have some beautiful baby quilts in your near future!!
ReplyDeleteNo ideas just admiration for your yellow diamonds and the auction haul! I love your project and how you are approaching it. I think the variety of yellows within the blocks will make the top "sparkle" once it's all together -- scrappy tops often don't look like they are working until you get enough of it corralled to really appreciate the variety (more is always better!). Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteYou are way braver than me girl-not doing Y seams here, LOL
ReplyDeleteBeautiful job! You will be a whizz at y seams.
ReplyDeleteYou are light years ahead of me in the piecing department - I've never tackled a Y seam at all! This quilt will be lovely! I like the blue background you've chosen.
ReplyDeleteWhat about using the larger diamonds to make a table runner or some small thing? The blue is just perfect with the yellow fabrics and you’re doing a great job. Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteI like how you have organized the fabrics within each star. I think I've only done a couple Y seams in very small projects. You have no fear!!
ReplyDeleteKathleen, kakingsbury at verizon dot net
Janice, you are the STAR of the Diamond Chronicles!! I like that mix of yellows, and I think it's MORE interesting to have the variety of yellow shades. This is awesome, that you are finishing this other quilter's UFO. Isn't that our worst fear -- that we die before we finish our projects?! I love the blue you chose to set off the yellow prints, too. It freshens it up and puts YOUR imprint on the quilt.
ReplyDeleteyou have no idea how much I love that little rose on yellow fabric! I seem to be stuck in an era! Maybe because Grammie Rose had yellow wallpaper with roses on it in her bathroom upstairs, the one we could go poop in, but not in the downstairs bathroom! Memories!
ReplyDeleteThat was certainly an auction you couldn't pass up! And great job finishing up someone else's project - it will look great when you're done!
ReplyDeleteI'm not a fan of Y-seams. I understand what to do, but it doesn't always work out. But I'll keep trying.
ReplyDelete