Tuesday 9 December 2014

orange peel qal



I'm still chugging along on the Orange Peel QAL.

Orange Peel Quilt-Along!

I managed to get all my peels appliquéd and I even avoided a hole in my finger by finally getting used to wearing a thimble.  I have to wear it on the ring finger of my left hand (I'm left handed) as I find myself pushing the needle through with the side of my nail.  Without a thimble, the needle eye sinks into the space between nail and flesh.  Gross and painful.


The next task was to trim the blocks down and sew them together.  We deliberately made the blocks oversized at 6" so they could be trimmed down.  I read the instructions, then took this project with me to the next meeting of the East Midlands Modern Quilt Group where I promptly forgot the instructions and cut them all down to 5.5" which I think is a shade too small. 


Some of them took some major trimming down and were often sewn on at a funny angle, so I'm glad we did it that way.  I thought sewing them together would be a nightmare, and it was.  I had to unpick and sew loads, though I was only aiming for workable and not perfection!


The finished quilt is pretty big, for a mini.  If the blocks are 5" finished, there are 6 rows and 6 columns so that means it must be 30" square?  Give that girl a prize for her maths there...  Next stage is to quilt it.  I might attempt some FMQ in the backgrounds, not sure what I'll do for the actual peels.  Any suggestions?



Related posts

first update
appliquéing peels

10 comments:

Rachel said...

Maybe quilt it in the same pattern as the blocks, but shifted by half a pattern's width?

pennydog said...

Echo quilt the peel shape inside the peels?

Chantal Thibodeau said...

It's gonna look good. It's tough to match all those points. I did one and I machine appliqué the peels after the blocks were sewn together. Here is my version of a similar design, with an all-over FMQ in the background and a specific design in every peel.
http://courtepointemoi.blogspot.ca/2014/11/modele-de-pelures-dorange-orange-peel.html

Sarah in Stitches said...

It looks great! I love all the colors. Great job! :D

Fiona said...

love it... I have had one of these on my wannado lists for ages... they always look fantastic..... I wonder if you will need to quilt on your leaves.. when you have done the background you may find they look lovely and pop out the fabric... otherwise just a little wiggle down the middle?
Hugz

Jane said...

It looks fabulous, well done on getting it made into a top. Can't wait to see what you decide to do with the quilting

margaret said...

these are looking good I enjoy a bit of hand sewing

Jillayne said...

Love it - not an easy pattern at all and you did great! I'm tackling an orange-peel bag in the new year and looking forward to it - especially as all the peels are different sizes and some are even a tad wobbly - should be fun!

Celtic Thistle said...

Leaf veins for the quilting? Looking good.

Janice / Dancing with Sunflowers said...

Very cheerful. The colours are lovely.