11 February 2020

Hourglass tutorial and progress

I decided to use Sujata Shah's method of making improv hourglass blocks. Here is a quick tutorial. I layered two 9" blocks of fabric with both facing up.
I sliced them
shuffled the pieces
sewed the pieces together
pressed the seams toward the red.
stacked the blocks and sliced
sew together and press the seam to one side
For the frame around the hourglass I used the six minute circle method. First I cut a piece of freezer paper and drew a circle using a plastic lid as my template. The lid happens to be 6" across.
I folded my gray frame fabric into quarters and pressed the center to help center the freezer paper circle
I cut out the freezer paper circle on the line and ironed it onto the frame fabric
cut out the frame fabric circle leaving at least a quarter inch to 3/8". Clip the seam allowance around the entire circle. Don't clip all the way to the paper.
Press the seam allowance over the edge of the paper
put paper under the circle and with a glue stick smear glue on the seam allowance all the way around the circle
place your circle frame over the hourglass block. It might take a little fiddling to get the seam allowance placed. I would lift the frame and look underneath to pull the seam allowance so it is all the way under. You can always use a bit more glue if the seam allowance is not sticking to the hourglass block
With the hourglass block on the bottom, gently lift up the frame fabric and peel it away from the frame fabric.
Slowly and carefully tear the freezer paper. Work your way around the circle and remove the freezer paper. I have also not torn the freezer paper and reused it, but I seemed to have more glue on this one so it was just easier to tear it and carefully remove it.
put the block under the sewing machine need and start to stitch in the crease line. You can only sew about an inch at a time. Carefully work your way around the circle and adjust any clips that need repositioned.
Once the circle is sewn, trim the hourglass block.
Here is what it looked like after it was sewn
Here it is pressed and the framed trimmed to 12"
and added to the design wall.
I get two hourglass blocks with one yellow and one red 9" square. I don't know how big I am going to make this quilt and for now I am just framing one of the blocks.

9 comments:

Alycia~Quiltygirl said...

That looks cool - kinda like a secret code in the quilt

O'Quilts said...

VEry wonderful...great tute...encouraging

Quiltdivajulie said...

Like the hourglasses in the circles. Note: The hourglass method mentioned can be found in Sujata Shah's book Cultural Fusion Quilts.

Kaja said...

I like this idea a lot! Also, thanks for reminding me about the 6 minute circle - it might fit the bill for something I'm currently considering.

Cathy said...

Oh, I like this idea. Looks like beach balls.

Janie said...

How fun is that? You're off to a good start.

Mary Ellen said...

This is an interesting idea. Reminds me of Sujata Shah's technique for free hand cutting. I make a lot of quilts to donate to a local children's organization, so I might tackle this but use the blocks (squared up to a common size) without setting them into a circle.

Mary Ellen said...

Well, duh! If I had read the caption, I would have realized that you did use Sujata's technique!

Mary Marcotte said...

So improv hourglass blocks. Really? Why can't I see these possibilities?
I'm blaming it on not enough time playing in the studio and barricading myself in. Improv something, Mary!

Your blocks and circles are ingenious! My favorite thus far for this challenge.