Sewcialites II Finish Flimsy

Finally, the giant flimsy is done! This is a free quilt along by Fat Quarter Shop. All the free patterns for the 24 blocks are out together with the layout instruction. There are several layout available, and I have chosen the largest layout – 99.5″ square

You can find all about Sewcialites 2, a free sampler quilt along 2023 HERE>.

There are free video tutorials, so if you are a beginner, be sure to pick up all the tips Kimberly has for you as she sews the blocks in the videos. I love picking up various tips from different quilters as they teach me to become a better quilter.

While there’s no hard and fast rule in quilting, there are definitely some time-saving tips and piecing tricks that just make things easier that we can pick up by watching other quilters sew. 

I learned so much from sewing along the last round for Sewcialites I,

You can see my first Sewcialites quilt (also a free sampler quilt) HERE>

This round I’m sewing mine using a fat quarter bundle by Tasha Noel called the Quilt Fair!

and today, it is officially a finished flimsy. 

You can read a little oopsy I had getting this giant together below…

Quilting Tools and Notions I used:

• My trusted workhorse, Janome Horizon Memory Craft QCP8200
• I used Superior Thread Snow for piecing this quilt
• My favourite Ergonomic Rotary Cutter – this have saved my wrist a lot!
• Large cutting Mat
• Stripology Mini Squared Ruler – my current favourite tool for trimming units
• Wool ironing Mat (I have no issues with the smell, but sometimes it can burn if the iron is way too hot and no steam)
• Oliso Pro Iron (I love this Iron, it lifts as you let go, saving the wrist from too much work and it gives a good heat and steam)
• Portable Design Board
• Quilter’s Clapper
• Wooden Seam Roller

Lately, I have been loving this ruler for trimming! Definitely worth it in my opinion. I have been reaching for it a lot for all of my trimmings.

You can see a video of how I use this ruler to trim in this post HERE>

Piecing the Row together

Since my last post about this quilt, I had to take quite a break before finally getting the rows together and putting those rows together into a quilt I am not a big fan of this stage as I don’t really like handling large rows of quilt blocks. I tend to make a lot mistake here as I can’t really see the big picture when I am at the sewing machine. 

And so I did. Make a mistake. Not once, but twice, and I had to rip the long seams twice! Thankfully my seam ripper is still sharp and awesome, this took only a few minutes, but still, it was frustrating. I realized that while I had been careful about putting the rows together in sequence, when I had to pin the seams together I had pinned on the wrong side! 

Did you know taht you have to replace seam ripper often as much as you would have to replace your rotary blades? Yes, they get dull and I recommend to get a new one if you don’t get a smooth rip and have to stop every so often when ripping the stitches. This teal one is my current favourite. So easy on the hand and sharp!

My favourite Pins

I think I have found my favourite pins to use. I rarely use pin, but when it comes to piecing the rows together, I do need my pins. I pin on each of meeting seams, making sure they are well nested. These sharp long pin does the trick, and I use the magnetic wand to quickly pick up the pins around my sewing machine. That way, I can just pull them out as fast as I can and keep sewing the seams.

I am loving the Taylor Seville Magic Pins, there are various sizes, but my favorite is these regular quilting size (teal-headed ones). They are super sharp, and very fine. Works perfectly for pinning the seams to match. 

The magnetic wand is super fun to use! 

Finished Flimsy on the Queen Bed

Right after the last seam, I laid the quilt on the guest bed, a queen size bed. It flows right until the floor on both sides. This is a good bed size quilt for sure.

I can see a lot of empty area to show off some quilting design. I am going to be quilting with an overall quilting design, something not too dense as it will take forever to fill up this big quilt with small design!

The blocks were so much fun to piece and I love the sweet colours of the fabric line. 

I wish I had made a smaller quilt, but it was nice to have the large quilt too. I will be gifting this to my nieces to share on their bed. 

Plans for the back of the quilt

I bought the background fabric on sale for less than $7/yd HERE and was lucky to find a yardage from the same line of fabric on the SALE section. I will be piecing the backing together and put a lable on before basting the quilt for quilting. Till then, have a wonderful week ahead!

Find the free sampler quilt along 2023, Sewcialites 2 HERE>.

Come and join along, this is going to be a fun quilt-a-long with so many participants, there’s so many eye-candy to enjoy as well. 

Let me know what are your plans if you’re joining in too and use the hashtag #sewcialites2 on instagram and join the Facebook group HERE>

You can check out more Quilt Alongs for 2023 HERE>