Supply List for Storm at Sea/ Piecing with TRIMplates taught by Wendy Mathson mpty Spools Seminars Session I, Feb.24-March 1, 2019 The goal for this class is to learn how to make the traditional Storm at Sea block using my unique TRIMplate piecing method. This is a trim-after-you-sew technique using a custom set of rulers, suitable for students with basic piecing skills who are confident with rotary cutting. Advantages to TRIMplate piecing are: No cutting with templates: All pieces start as squares or rectangles that can be quickly and easily rotary cut from fabric strips. Faster than traditional piecing because pieces do not need to be perfectly aligned for sewing. Finished pieces are extremely accurate. It s easier to match points when sewing pieced units together. No bias edges on the outer edges of the pieced units. No foundation piecing; no paper to remove. Students will also have the opportunity to explore design possibilities using Storm at Sea blocks to create their own original quilts. Additional piecing options using these TRIMplate tools will be presented for working beyond the traditional Storm at Sea units (see page 3). What to Bring to Class Storm at Sea TRIMplates by Wendy Mathson IF you already have a set. These are no longer available from C&T Publishing or in stores. I will provide a set of 3 TRIMplates for you to use during class (shown at right). They will be for sale afterwards, but you have NO obligation to buy them. I will also have books for sale. Contact me if you would like either of these in advance. Sewing machine with a new 80/12 needle (I prefer Topstitch needles for piecing) Foot pedal and cord - on t forget these! xtension table for your sewing machine Quarter-inch foot for machine, preferably one with a flat bottom, without an edge guide or flange. OR know how to move your needle position to get a quarter-inch seam. Using tape on the throat plate or bed of the machine does not work well with this piecing method. Good quality piecing thread in a neutral color, plus several bobbins filled with the same thread. (Aurifil and Master- Piece by Superior are good brands) If you are driving, please bring a tabletop desk lamp and a multi-plug extention cord with surge protection. "There She Glows" Storm at Sea sampler by Wendy Mathson Traditional Storm at Sea Block Fabric for your project(s). Bring LOTS: verything you think you might possibly need and more. Basic sewing supplies: Fabric scissors, seam ripper, thread snips, fabric marking pencils, extrafine pins for piecing, and larger pins for pinning to design wall. Rotary cutter with new blade (45 mm preferred) Cutting mat at least 8" square 24" long acrylic ruler, plus any rulers you like to use for cutting squares and rectangles from strips Large flannel-backed tablecloth, or a piece of cotton batting to put on your design wall. (4' x 6' design boards will be supplied, but you need something for fabric pieces to adhere to.) Piece of fabric to cover your work area at night OPTIONAL You may find these items useful if you have room to bring them along A New Light on Storm at Sea Quilts book by Wendy Mathson; Available from C&T Publishing as a digital ebook, or print-on-demand softcover Turn-table cutting mat igital camera, or phone with camera Your own comfortable sewing chair or chair pad Pad of inexpensive tracing paper and set of colored pencils or markers for design play Classrooms will have irons. If you do bring your own it must have an auto shut-off feature.
page 2 Storm at Sea Basics The Storm at Sea pattern is made up of three pieced blocks: a rectangle, a large square and a smaller square. The rectangle is the iamond block. To distinguish the square blocks, I refer to them as Big SIS and Little SIS. (SIS is my abbreviation for Square-in-a-Square.) iamond Big SIS Little SIS You can create your own designs using the grids on the pages 4 and 5. Page 4 is what I refer to as the Traditional grid, where the units are arranged to form an all-over repeating pattern, as shown at right. You can think of this as Big SIS blocks set with iamonds as the sashing and Little SIS blocks as the cornerstones. Page 5 is what I call the ouble iamond grid. In this pattern, each block has one Big SIS, four iamonds, and four Little SIS, arranged as shown at right. When this block is repeated, two iamonds end up side by side next to each other. Four Little SIS come together where the corners of the blocks touch. ach grid has its own design potential, and both can give that intriguing optical illusion of curves made with straight lines. on t forget to consider turning your design on point. The angles look different, and sometimes the illusion of curves or waves is even more pronounced. You can also combine the two grids, so don t be afraid to cut and paste grids together. To play with color in the design grids, you can tape a piece of tracing paper on top, or make photocopies of the grids, and use colored pencils or markers to fill in the spaces. You can download pdf files of these grids from Quiltsbywendy.com/grids.asp In class I will demonstrate how to piece additional blocks such as the TIS (Triangle-in-a-Square) and KIS TIS KIS (Kite-in-a-Square). As you are playing with your designs, don t forget that you can mix in these and other pieced elements, such as 4-patches or half-square triangles. Two TIS units can replace one iamond unit. A Little SIS or a 4-patch can replace the A square in the center of a Big SIS, and so on. One interesting variation that has been quite popular recently is the Snail Trail block used in combination with Storm at Sea (right). I will teach TRIMplate piecing of several Snail Trail variations in class. Options for your class project(s) Students should have no trouble piecing at least a wallhanging-sized project during our seminar. Some may choose to work on a larger quilt, or on more than one project. The choice is yours, and you know your own pace. Many students prefer to have fabric pieces cut and ready to sew before class. Some of you may have questions about color, fabric selection, or design and would prefer to wait and cut fabric in class. ither way is fine. This handout should give you enough information so you know how much fabric to bring. What will you choose to work on during the 5-day seminar? You have several options: 1. Select a design from my website at QuiltsbyWendy.com/Asilomar.asp or my Pinterest board at Pinterest.com/sandiegoquilter/ storm-at-sea-quilts/ 2. Select a project from my book or another publication. 3. esign your own, using the design grids. ownload pdf grid files here: Quiltsbywendy.com/grids.asp IMPORTANT NOT: The TRIMplates have been redesigned since my book was published. If you choose a book project, the sizes to cut the, F, G and H pieces are different. Follow the cutting instructions and sizes in this supply list, NOT the ones in the book! ALSO, with the new TRIMplates you can now make blocks in 3 different sizes. I suggest you make your first project with the largest size, which is the size used in all the book projects. Then you have the option to try two smaller sizes if you wish.
Preparation before class: 1. ecide on your project(s) and contact me for an email consultation: wmathson@cox.net 2. Before cutting your fabric, iron well with spray sizing or starch. This adds stability, which increases accuracy and helps prevent stretching when piecing. 3. (Optional you do not need to cut before class). Read the Important Notes about Cutting below. Then refer to the cutting charts on the last page of this supply list. Cut and label the pieces for your project(s). TIP: I prefer to label my pieces by organizing them onto sturdy paper plates. Label plates, A, B, C. Put your A pieces on the A plate, B pieces on the B plate, etc. Plates stack easily and can be slipped into a zip-lock bag for transport to class. Be on the lookout for large square plates these are the best if you can find them. IMPORTANT NOTS ABOUT CUTTING B A C r G F r H page 3 Cutting the F squares: These will be cut in class using a TRIMplate for accuracy. Bring your fabric for the F squares, just don t cut them in advance. We will be using a different piecing method than the one in my book, so the book cutting instructions for F and G pieces will not apply. Cutting squares in half on the diagonal: This symbol on the cutting charts means to cut the square in half on the diagonal. This does not need to be precise just get pretty close. It will not make a difference if you do not cut perfectly from corner to corner. Trust me. These squares (B, C, and G) are cut oversize and will be trimmed down after sewing. Cutting the rectangles in half: Always cut rectangles with two pieces of the same fabric arranged same sides together (right sides touching or wrong sides touching). Cutting this way will yield 2 and 2 r (r = reversed) at the same time. It doesn t matter if you cut from right to left or left to right when they are cut with same sides together. r r Big SIS iamond Little SIS TIS I am sure you know how to accurately rotary cut fabric into strips, then subcut into perfect squares and rectangles. Wonderful! However, it takes time to be precise and I d like to save you some time. Many of these pieces do not need to be cut exactly. Gasp! Go back and read that last sentence again. Really! Only the A squares need to be precise. For all the other pieces, just get pretty close. That s right, you can layer B, C,,, G and H strips and cut 4 or more layers at a time. You don t have to spend time cutting exact size pieces when it is not important. 2 rectangles, same sides together 2 and 2 r triangles are the result
page 4 Storm at Sea esign Grid: Traditional block layout (imensions given are for Large Blocks) 3 9 18 27 36 45 54 63 72 81 90 99 102
page 5 Storm at Sea esign Grid: ouble iamond Arrangement (imensions given are for Large Blocks) 3 12 24 36 48 60 72 84 96
page 6 How Much Fabric? After you have designed your own Storm at Sea quilt, how do you estimate the yardage needed to complete it? I have developed a couple of charts for you to use to make this as painless as possible. (Take a deep breath. There s just a little math, but it s mostly just counting and looking at charts, so don t panic if you are math-challenged.) Step 1. For each fabric, count how many of each piece are in your design. This can sometimes be a bit tricky, so here s a tip: Tape a sheet of tracing paper over your design, or make a photocopy of it. As you count each piece, cross it off. You can even mark with different colored pencils for each fabric to make it clearer. Make a photocopy of the chart below, and write in the quantity for each piece. Glue swatches of fabric in the boxes on the left for reference. Step 2. Use the Yardage stimation Charts on the last page to estimate how many strips, or quarter-yard cuts, or full yards of fabric you need. For example, let s say with Fabric 1, you counted 24 C triangles, 16, 16 r (reverse), and 20. Look at the top Yardage stimation Chart for Large Blocks. Find Piece C. The chart shows you that one strip yields 18 C triangles. Since you need 24 C s, that is 2 strips cut from the width of fabric (about 40"). 2 strips x 4¼" = 8½", so round that up to 9" and write 9 in the Yardage column. B A C r G F r H Look at the s next. The chart indicates that strips can be either 3½" wide or 7" wide to get 3½" x 7" rectangles. ach 7" strip yields 11 s. Since you need 20 s, you need 2 strips. 2 x 7" = 14", so write +14 in the Yardage column. The triangles are cut in pairs. These are also cut from rectangles, so strips can be either 2½" or 5" wide. From the chart, one 5" strip yields 16 pairs of s. You need one strip, so write +5 in Yardage. Now add up the numbers in the Yardage column: 9 + 14 + 5 = 28". That s a little over ¾ yard, so I would plan for at least 1 yard to allow some extra fabric. You may want to use the Yardage stimation chart column for quarter yards. The chart indicates that a quarter yard yields 36 C triangles. So, a quarter yard is more than enough for 24 C s. Likewise, a quarter yard is more than enough for 16 pairs of s. It takes 2 quarter yards for 20 s. Using this method gives us 4 quarter yards = 1 yard, with extra built in. The last column of the chart, number per yard, is more helpful for larger projects. For example, if you need 98 A pieces from one fabric, 1 yard would be more than enough, since 1 yard yields 110 A s. Remember, these are estimates, not exact calculations. When in doubt, bring extra fabric. Bring extra fabric anyway. What if you change your mind? More fabric = more fun. (No, I do not own a fabric store.) If you have questions, contact me before class and I'll be happy to help. A B C r F G H Yardage Fabric 1 Fabric 2 Fabric 3 Fabric 4 Fabric 5 Fabric 6 Fabric 7 Fabric 8
The Cutting Size charts provide a quick reference for the size to cut each piece, which is also printed on each TRIMplate. The Yardage stimation charts show how many of each piece can be cut from a 40" long strip, a quarter yard, or a full yard of fabric. B C A Big SIS r iamond G F Little SIS page 7 H TIS Cutting Size Reference Charts Yardage stimation Charts Large Blocks iamond = 3" x 6" Big SIS = 6" Little SIS = 3" Piece Cut size * A *Be precise 3 ½" B At least 3 ½" C At least 4 ¼" & r 2 ½" x 5" 3 ½" x 7" * F *Use TRIMplate to cut an exact square G At least 2 ¾" H 3 ½" x 4" Piece Strip width # per strip # per quarter yard # per yard A 3 ½" 11 22 110 B 3 ½" 22 44 220 C 4 ¼" 18 36 144 & r 2 ½" 8 pairs 24 pairs pairs) 5" 16 pairs - - - 3 ½" 5 7" 11 112 pairs 11 55 F Use TRIMplate 15 45 195 G 2 ¾" 28 84 364 Cut 2 rectangles at a time, SAM sides together to make mirror image triangles. H 3 ½" x 4 10 20 100 Medium Blocks iamond = 2½" x 5" Big SIS = 5" Little SIS = 2½" Piece Cut size * A *Be precise 3" B At least 3" C At least 3 ¾" & r 2 ¼" x 4 ½" 3" x 6" * F *Use TRIMplate to cut an exact square G At least 2 ¼" H 3" x 3 ½" Piece Strip width # per strip # per quarter yard # per yard A 3" 13 26 143 B 3" 26 52 286 C 3¾" 20 40 180 & r 2 ¼" 8 pairs 24 pairs pairs) 4½" 16 pairs - - - 3" 6 6" 13 120 pairs 13 66 F Use TRIMplate 17 51 255 G 2 ¼" 34 102 510 Cut 2 rectangles at a time, SAM sides together to make mirror image triangles. H 3" x 3½ 11 26 121 Small Blocks iamond = 2" x 4" Big SIS = 4" Little SIS = 2" Piece Cut size * A *Be precise 2½" B At least 2½" C At least 3 ¼" & r 2 " x 4 " 2½" x 5" * F *Use TRIMplate to cut an exact square G At least 2" H 2½" x 3 " Piece Strip width # per strip # per quarter yard # per yard A 2½" 16 48 224 B 2½" 32 96 448 C 3¼" 24 48 264 & r 2 " 10 pairs 40 pairs pairs) 4" 20 pairs - - - 2½" 8 5" 16 170 pairs 24 112 F Use TRIMplate 20 80 340 G 2 " 40 160 680 Cut 2 rectangles at a time, SAM sides together to make mirror image triangles. H 2½" x 3 13 39 182