Saturday, June 12, 2010

Buggy Barn help....

Let's start at the very beginning...
a very good place to start

in this case we start with a freezer paper pattern

All of these crazy buggy barns patterns start with you tracing a full size pattern

here is mine....for star crazies optional setting






now comes my first mistake on my first attempt of this pattern some years back

The pattern says to cut out along the outside rectangle on the freezer paper pattern. Ok. I did..

Then you put all of your fq's right side up and iron the pattern to your stack of fat quarters.

so far so good

THEN...i added another step

a step NOT included in the pattern

I cut along the entire outside of that pattern and trimmed all that extra fabric off

DON'T DO IT




your fat quarters should look like this after you have followed the pattern
and moved the top background pieces to the bottom.


he he.. i had on my radio and i was dancing to the tunes..

hey, see that little parenthesis up there on the top left..

that's one my leader/ender pieces that i lost and didn't find until i was downloading the photos...lol

Do you use leaders and enders? If not, this pattern is a great time to start cause there are some very sharp points coming up. and you all know what leaders and enders are right?

Just a little scrap of fabric folded in half and you sew through it after you finish a seam.
That's an ender...then when you sew your next seam it's still there holding your threads and it becomes a leader... got it.. it keeps those sharp points from getting
sucked into that little hole in the sole plate..


and yes, I use my left foot on the foot pedal. and yes, i am right-handed.
but i use my right leg for my knee lift and if i am using my knee lift sometimes i would
hit the foot pedal and my fabric would sew all wonky..
so i learned to use my left foot
really!
it's ok


So now we are going to sew the first two pieces together

those two that the hand model is pointing out

i don't remember her being there, but it has to be a model cause

my hands surely aren't that old looking...



I picked up the two pieces and and have off set the seam by 1/4 inch

Offset (verb) which means that the ends of the two pieces are not even. the top one is 1/4 inch down from the end of the bottom one. See that?


geez...here's a better photo...for those old eyes we all seem to acquire before we even
realize it..

see the little 1/4 there on the left? (don't look at the hand models lack of manicure, I really
need to do more interviewing..)


Now I have sewn the seam and pressed. It doesn't matter on these patterns which way you
press... really it doesn't ...
cause you aren't EVER matching seams, like EVER...

but gosh...look at that... it's not a straight line there on the right..

let's fix that...

trim so it is all even..


this is all i had to trim off


now, let's add the next piece


and again it is offset by 1/4 inch

(i got fancy and used my wingdings on my camera software and it kind of looks like an arrow)


sewn, pressed and now needs trimming


easy peasy


and the third piece


and press and then trim..


yada, yada, yada.
I did it a bunch of times..

sew, press, trim
sew, press, trim
sew, press, trim
sew, press, trim

and ta da...

only one seam left to sew


and here is the finished block


and here is the next block..


did it help?

and next time...i promise to get a better hand model..
you know you get what you pay for

and she didn't get paid

but i might need a manicure

Nancy

please tell me this helped SOMEONE... cause it took like freeking forever to stop to take these photos and get them all in the right way and try to type and everything...




15 comments:

Edna said...

This is an awesome tutorial! I have had this pattern waiting to be done for a while and now I feel more confident starting it. Thank you so much for your time and effort!

Rhonda said...

Nancy, do you hear me applauding your tutorial.....excellent job! Now I understand what to do.
Yes, I always used starters and enders....that way I never have to pick up my needle unless to change the bobbin.
You have given me an idea about the using the left foot for my gas and right knee for the "lift" thingy.....I've been struggling with that for awhile....I'd nearly wear myself out only using the right foot and right knee.
This is why it's great to share the wonderful methods.
You go girl!!!!!
I'm going to post a link to your blog about the great tutorial.
It will be on our "WackyPack" blog.

Peg - Happy In Quilting said...

Nancy that was just fantastic...great tutorial...thanks s much....

Roselie said...

Great job! Yes, it did help because a visual is always more helpful. THanks.

Sharon (Stitches on Mars) said...

Hi Nancy
Fantastic tute...now I know what you were talking about :)
I had never heard of enders and leaders before either, though I have lost fabric down that little hole...sometimes my machine gets a little sucky LOL
Hugs, Sharon

Darlene said...

Wow, wonderful tutorial Nancy - thank you so much! I felt like I was in class with a very good instructor.

Always use a starter & ender - makes life so much easier.

One little question, please - how many fat quarters did you cut at the same time?

Calamity Jane's Cottage, Bonnie said...

Nancy, thanks for the tutorial, I cut out and made these blocks and ended up quiting. Maybe, I can dig them out.

Trudi said...

Yep .... it deinitely helped! Great tute! I use leaders and enders too, but I've taken them one step further, I always have a project cut and ready to piece as a leaders and ender project, much like Bonnie Hunter, so I end up with two quilts for the price of one!

Anonymous said...

I have made a version of this pattern and did not offset my seams. Let me get it right....so you always lay the top piece 1/4" down from the bottom piece....and it will work out?
Thanks for the tutorial..
Regards from Gail in Wa State

Mary on Lake Pulaski said...

Great tutorial Nancy! Thank you for taking the time.

Brenda said...

Don't laugh at me but you lost me on step one. I reread it over and over... outside triangle, inside traiangle? What the ????Movie, please? LOL! Oh, never mind, I'm never going to get it! =(

Thimbleanna said...

It helped ME! That was great! And you're too funny. I know just what you mean about your hand model. The weirdest thing happened to me recently -- I must've been sleeping when someone snuck (it's a word) in and put wrinkles on my hands and face. That really whizzed me off!

Plum Cox said...

Just heard about 'buggy barn stars' (OK, I'm slow to catch up on things!) and this tute is great - thank you!

Jean(ie) said...

THANK YOU! I bought this humungous BB pattern and the crazy method just terrifies the matching seams outta me.

Thank you!

fjm said...

Your post is very helpful. I'm taking a class soon and I wanted to know what to expect. Happy quilting!