All right, all right!! It is week two of the Mod City Center Quilt Along. This week is the week to prepare your fabric the way you prefer. Some options are prewashing, ironing with water and ironing with starch. Currently, my process is starching and ironing both sides of my fabric. I hang them over my quilt rack to dry completely before I cut into it. I really like how this firms up the fabric a bit. Tell me how you prepare your fabric in your Instagram progress photo using #MCCQAcutting; I would love to hear about it. I usually don’t have a special way to organize my cut pieces, but for this quilt there are so many different sizes. I decided it would be easier and less confusing if I sorted all of the pieces and kept them together. Let’s take this week for cutting and organizing all of those crazy pieces.
Cutting and Organizing your pieces
As I cut out my pieces, I cut out each block at a time. This is the time when you get to if you want all of your colors to be scrappy (twin and queen) or if you want each outline in a square to be the same color. It takes a little more planning to get this right. Below is a summery of the pieces in each outline.
Central Park Block has one outline
- Outline 1 – B and C
Hacienda Block has two outlines
- Outline 1 – E and F
- Outline 2 – G, H, I and J
Shopping Center Block has three outlines
- Outline 1 – L and M
- Outline 2 – N and O
- Outline 3 – P, Q, R and S
Courthouse Steps Block has three outlines
- Outline 1 – U and V
- Outline 2 – V and W
- Outline 3 – W and X
- Outline 4 – X and Y
Tools to help you sort
Because I am always trying to save money, I look for things around the house to help me out. What did I find to help with cutting and organizing? Painter’s tape and plastic gallon Ziploc bags. After I cut all the pieces I needed for a letter in a block, I pinned them together. I took a marker and wrote what letter it was on my painter’s tape then taped it to the set. After all of the letters needed in a block were cut, pinned together, and labeled, I put them in a big Ziploc bag. I used a marker to write what block was in the bag and then I went on to my next block. This made it so easy for me when I went on to putting my blocks together.
This is something I always try to do: be aware of what might get me frustrated and plan around it. A great example of this is if I start making multiple errors, I walk away and come back to it later. Usually this happens late at night, so I come back to it the next day. I just to go to bed. Sometimes, it’s not lack of sleep; sometimes my head is just not in the right space and that is okay. I think we all have our off days.
Enter to win
Share your progress for this week’s topic cutting and organizing on Instagram using #modcitycenterquiltalong and #MCCQAcutting (each week this one will change). The more weeks you participate, the greater your chance of winning. When I reveal the next step, I will announce a new winner here on my blog. The prizes will get larger as the quilt progresses, so stick around.
Winner Winner Chicken Dinner
The winner for week 1 is @valarichmond. WoooHoo!
Privacy on Instagram
Since I want to make this a fun and interactive experience, I would like to use Instagram. If you don’t have it and need help setting it up, let me know. To participate, please make your Instagram account open to the public. If it is not public, I won’t be able to see your photos and won’t be able to pick you in giveaways. If you have issues with this, I understand. Direct message me and let me know.
Can you still Join?
Of course!! I want this to be a laid back and fun experience. It is ok if you miss steps; life always gets in the way and that is okay. If you would like to learn more about the Mod City Center Quilt Along, click here.
