Saturday, April 23, 2016

Sweet Gum Leaf

Oh the torture....  I started on this block right away.  The dreaded Y seam did me in.  I stacked all the pieces for the block on a design board and put it up.  Then yesterday I was checking out blogs and visited one of my favorites Fun with Barb .  She is also doing Barbara Brackman's BOM Westering Women.  However she is doing her blocks to finish at 9".  She did her block using HST.

I was going to do the same and then I remembered a pattern I saw for 8 pointed star where you didn't have to do Y seams.  So thanks to Barb for her inspiration.


Top diagram is the block directions from Blockbase.  The bottom is how I redrafted the block.  What a difference in sewing but not in how it looks.


I appliqued the stem.  It took about 20 minutes to sew the block.  I spent over an hour trying to get one Y seam made.  Love this block.


Next month I am going to be having a giveaway.  What you don't know is that for the last 6 months I have been testing blocks for Quiltmakers 100 Blocks Vol. 13.  I so enjoyed it.  For my participation they have sent me 3 issues of the magazine.  One for me and two to give away.  So stay tuned and watch for the giveaway the beginning of May.

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the weekend.

Hugs, Cathy

10 comments:

~Kris~ said...

Your leaf block turned out so nice. Can't even tell you added extra seams. Did you paper piece it?

Looking forward to the next 100 Blocks magazine.

Rebecca in AK said...

I love your Sweet Gum Leaf! Great idea for sewing it up. I had not planned to join the WW sew along but after seeing this block I have decided to. I need to catch up. How exciting to be a pattern tester!

Janet O. said...

Very nice job! I go out of my way to avoid the Y-seams. : )Your block turned out very well.

Karen in Breezy Point said...

I'm not a fan of Y seams either--the HST's are a much better way to go! Your block looks great!

Barb said...

great solution! It looks just like the original

Allie-oops Designs said...

Well good for you on doing it that way - I'm all for easier, and would avoid Y seams like the plague, lol! Turned out beautifully. How lovely that you've been testing blocks, you've done well keeping it secret!!

Lori said...

yay! For no y seams~! Bummer it took that long to remember there is a different way,

Needled Mom said...

It looks perfect without the Y seam.

Testing those blocks must have been a really fun project.

Danice G said...

Oh! 'Wish I'd seen this method before worrying with the y-seam for my block. Thank you for the tip. Your block looks gorgeous :)

Roxanne said...

Who says procrastination doesn't pay?
I'll be doing my Sweet Gum your way!