Hive 5 - October - Teacup Block for Kelli

 Hello Quilters, 

This month, I am asking for your help to make a teacup quilt for my mother in law. Yes, I am sorry, you've already made a teacup this year. However, my mother-in-law collects teacups, and this will be a very special quilt for her. Her favorite colors are pink and blue, so I picked a palette to suit those. 

This is a low volume block. As you can see from my sample blocks, some backgrounds make the cup pop more than others. I used my lightest pastel, and the block came out a little washed out. The pink looks much better. Either way, I am going to love it, and so will my MIL. 

The materials:

• At least three fabrics
• One pastel
• One white, cream, white-on-white
• One fabric of choice for the heart
• Printed FPP pattern I created linked here.  
• Washable glue
• Desolving pen or chalk
• A tiny amount of iron-on interfacing (double or single-sided). Let me know if you need some, and I will mail it to you!
• Paper scissors
• Cotton thread to match your heart farbic. 
• Hand-sewing needle (unless you stitch it down by machine)

The concept:

This quilt is inspired by the "Teacup with with Embellished Vintage Hankies" on the Quilting Cubby. My mother-in-law loves doilies, embroidered hankerchiefs, etc. A few years ago, I had a loved-one pass away, and she used to make all of these lovely things. Since then, all of these hankies and doilies have sat in a box. I want to get those out, and make something out of them for someone who will appreciate it. 

Inspiration picture from Quilting Cubby.

You will send me a 90% completed block, leaving off the bottom portion so I can add the doilie/hankerchief at the bottom. Please send piece A4 unattached. Since this quilt will be dry-clean only, feel free to embellish your block with 3-D elements. You can also use vintage fabrics or shirting that are sometimes off limits.

The skills:

For this month, we are using FPP (Foundation Paper Piecing) and raw edge applique. We also did some FPP this year for Laurel's economy block. The premise is this same, but there are a few more pieces. I have provided instructions below. Feel free to reach out if you get lost. I'd be happy to Zoom and sew with you!

This block is technically illegal because there are 13 pieces (more than 10), but when I timed the block, I completed it in under 50 minutes both times. This includes printing the pattern and hand-stitching the heart.  

When it comes to the heart, you can use any applique technique you want, but I am going to show you a raw edge applique technique, and I hand-stitched the heart down because I don't have a zig-zag function on my main machine. Feel free to machine stitch, embroidery stitch, or use needle-turn. You might even get wild and do padded applique.

The Fabrics:

The colors for this quilt are pastel and white. Please use the same fabric for all background pieces. You can make the cup (B2, B3, B5, B8) different from the saucer (A1), or you can make them a matching set. Mine are matching. Since this is not going to be washed very often (if at all), you can use shirting, or antique fabrics. Stick to cotton for the cup and saucer, please. I am open to velvet, felt, buttons, crochet etc. for the heart. 

• Background: Pastel - Solids, blenders, batiks, or small print (as long as the white still stands out from the background). This is the color marker [1] on the pattern
• Cup and Saucer: White - True white, cream, white on white, white with a small print as long as it is not too busy with the background. This color is marked [2] on the pattern. 
• Heart: Quilter's Choice! Please pick a scrap left over from a project that you made with love.

Keep in mind you will need about 13 square inches of white for the cup and saucer, about a fat quarter of pastel for the background, and about 2-5 square inches of scrap for the heart. 

Here are my pastels. I have a small stash, so you do not see any prints. Prints are okay. Pastels include pink, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, teal. I love the batik in the middle, but I probably won't use it because it reads a little brown when combined with the other colors.

Whites and creams can inclue white on white, batik, solid, or small print pattern. Please no black and white.  Again, I keep a small stash, so my image does not represent the full range of options.

Instructions:

Prepare the pattern: Start by printing the pattern and trimming the excess paper to reduce bulk. Then, glue edge # 1 together to form Part A, and glue edge #2 together to form part B. I used an Elmer's washable school glue stick. I have used tape in the past, but it will gum up your needle a little. 

printed

trimmed

glued into sections A and B

Cut fabric for piece A4: With your background color, cut a retangle 12.75 x 4.75. Set aside. You will not attach this to your block. I wrote a big X on this pattern piece to remind me not to add this section to the block.

Piece A4 cut and set aside

Paper piece section A: start with piece A1, and piece in numerical order. As a reminder, the first piece of any section (eg: A1, B1) is placed on the backside of the pattern, right side up. I usually glue this piece in place. When you hold your pattern and fabric up to the light, you should be able to see th the fabric covers the entire area. 

I am checking through the window to see that the fabric covers all of A1

A1 is glued to the backside of the pattern with the right side of the fabric facing up.  

1. Once you have this piece glued or pinned in place, fold your paper back on the line between A1 and A2. Use a small ruler to cut the fabric at 1/4 inch past the fold. 

I am using the Quilter's Magic Wand to trim my piece to 1/4 inches. 

Align the background fabric for piece A2 right right sides together on the cut line you just made. Pin or hold pieces A1 and A2 together. Then, stitch on the solid line using a small stitch length. Using a small stitch length allows you to tear the paper off more easily later. 

The background piece A2 is aligned along the 1/4 seam allowance with right sides together. I am getting ready to sew through the paper directly on the line between A1 and A2

1. Once the pieces are sewn together, use your iron to press A2 up. Repeat this process for A3. 

Pieces A1, A2, and A3 are all sewn on an pressed

Trim section A: cut along the dotted line across the top and two sides. You can leave the bottom untrimmed, or cut 1/4 inches below the line between A1 and A4. 

When trimming, I leave 1/4th inches on all sides. I cut off A4, leaving only 1/4 inches of seam allowance. You can leave A4 on if you are not sure what to cut.

This is how section A looks once it is trimmed

Paper piece section B: As before, start by pinning or glueing piece B1 to the back pattern, right side up. Be sure it covers the entire area for B1. Fold on the lines between B1 and B2, and trim the fabric 1/4 inch from this crease. Align piece B1 and B2 along the 1/4 seam that you just cut. Sew on the solid line of the pattern, and then press B2 open. 

Here is B1 in place. 

Now, B1 and B2 are aligned along the seam allowance. 

Repeat this process in numercial order until you have all of the B pieces sewn. 

Here, the pieces B1-B8 are sewn together

Tip: For me, the hardest part of this block is managing the bigger pieces B8, B9, and B10. Sometimes, you stitch the piece, flip and sew it, only to realize the fabric is not big enough or its the wrong angle to cover the entire pattern piece. I resolve this by starting with cuts of fabric that are much bigger than I need. This increases fabric waste, but it avoids me having to start over on a piece. 

When you are working with the bigger pieces, your fabric can also shift before you get it to the sewing machine. Just use a pin to secure it in place. 

Here is how I pin bigger pieces of fabric in place. I stick a pin through the paper and both layers of fabric.

Since I didn't have a background piece long enough for B10, I sewed two pieces together. It's okay if your block has extra seams. 

Here is section B completely sewn together. 

Trim section B: Now you can trim Section B along the dotted line!

Here is the block looks now that Section B is trimmed

Join Sections A and B: You can sew A and B together along the dotted lines. Gently pull the paper from the seam on both sides, then press. Usually, people reccomend pressing the seam open for FPP. I almost never do. Press in the driection that makes the most sense to you. I pressed towared the saucer.

You can see I have pulled the fabric from the seams to make them lie flat

And here is the block all sewn together! Remember, you do not attach A4 to the rest of the block. 

Make the heart: pick a scrap of fabric left over from a special project, and cut it into a 2-5 inch square, depending on how big you want the heart to be. Cut your interfacing slightly smaller. Then, iron your interfacing to the back side of your heart fabric.  

Draw a heart with a desolving pen or chalk on the interfacing. If you'd prefer symmetry, you can fold the fabric in half and draw half of a heart. I do not mind wonky hearts. 

This fabric is a scrap left over from my signature quilt that served as the guestbook at my wedding. I cut this one 3x3. The purple heart on the pink block was cut 5x5. I'd like a variety of small and large hearts on the final quilt.

Here, you can see I have applied the interfacing and drawn a heart. I used single-sided iron-on interfacing because it's what I have. Double-sided would be even better. The purpose of the interfacing is to keep the fabric from fraying.

Attaching your heart: Cut out your heart, and glue or pin it in the center of your cup. If you used double-sided interfacing, you can just peal off the paper and iron it in place. 

If you are using a machine, just zig-zag stitch to topstitch your heart in place making sure your zig is inside the heart fabric and the zag is outside the heart.  If you use a machine, remember to backstitch before you start to secure your stitching. You do not need to remove the paper when stitching by machine. You could also choose to embroider or use a fancy stitch. I am going to stitch by hand. 

You can use a blending thread color or a contrasting one, depending on the aesthetic you like.

If you are stitching by hand, gently remove the paper from piece B8. Run your needle through the backside of the heart, only catching the cup fabric. Then, tie a knot on the backside of the fabric. None of your tread should go through the heart yet. 

I'v removed the paper from this section. Here's my knot on the backside

bring your needle to the front side of the block, barely inside the heart. Then, bring your needle back down, barely on the background and ajacent to where your stitch came up. Continue around the edge of the heart. I use the same stich to attach my binding. I am going for small, nearly invisible stitches. Once you get all the way around the heart, tie a knot on the backside of the block again.

Here is what the backside of my block looks like. I am not a perfect hand stitcher, and I am not expecting yours to be perfect either

Your block is done! Please leave the paper on the block. It will help stablizing everything as I am adding the doilies. The block should measure 12.75 x8.5 inches, not including A4. 

my finished block

When I sew on A4, these blocks will be 12.75." I tried to make them 12.25" but MATH. I am an English person...what can you do? 

Embellish, if you want: You can add lace, rick-rack, buttons or 3D elements if you'd like. 

Thanks for sewing with me this month!

Kelli from Los Angeles