Jesse Tree Quilt-Noah's Ark

I shared awhile ago about an upcoming quilt adventure I was excited to take part in.  Jen Frost of Faith and Fabric put out a call for volunteers to join in her Sew Along.  She has designed all of the blocks for a quilt called the Jesse Tree Quilt.

The blocks are 8 inches and they are all paper pieced blocks. I did not realize that when I signed up to be a few stops on the hop, but it has been good to get back into the swing of paper piecing.  I will share a few tips with you later in this post. 

Here are a few details from Jen:

OUR SHARED JOURNEY

What makes this so much more than just a quilt-along is what follows once the quilt is done. That’s because the journey doesn’t end on November 28th when we finish the last block. Instead, we shift our focus from a time of work to a time of waiting; the word Advent means “coming”, and is derived from the Latin word adventus. As we wait for the coming of Jesus’ birth on December 25th, we’ll spend each day of Advent taking the time to prepare our hearts and minds. Each day, from November 29 to December 25, you’ll receive a short devotion, reflection, and prayer. We’ll be looking in a new way at the blocks we created, focusing this time on the salvations story behind each and finding Christ each and every step of the way. 

Here’s the quilt along schedule…with devotions beginning on November 29th as we begin the advent season.

• October 26: The Journey Begins as we sew blocks 1-5
• November 1: We celebrate All Saints Day as we sew blocks 6-10
• November 8: We cross the half-way mark as we sew blocks 11-15
• November 15: We move into the New Testament as we sew blocks 16-20
• November 22: We finish the sewing part of the journey as we sew blocks 21-25
• November 29: We begin the season of Advent as our daily Devotions and Reflections begin, arriving each morning in your inbox from November 29th through December 25th

To learn more about Jen's vision and to purchase the pattern visit her blog post HERE.

It has been too long since I have done any paper piecing.  I actually purchased a couple of classes through the old Craftsy and found them most helpful.  Carol Doak in particular has a style that just makes sense to me.  I had to re-watch a bit to remember how to go about the process, lol.  But once I got back in my rhythm things went along smoothly.  Jen lists this block as "advanced beginner".  I've decided that is definitely me!
So here is my finished block:

I am glad I started with this one to get back in the swing of things. When paper piecing I set my stitch length to 1.5 on my machine.  That is a LOT of little stitches in an inch.  This allows the paper to tear away easily from the fabric after I have sewn everything.  For my foundation paper I use plain newsprint that comes in 8.5" x 11" sheets, which are perfect for running through my printer to make the foundation pattern.

I found this video that Margo Clabo made for The Quilt Show where she demonstrates using the Add-A-Quarter ruler, which I love.  This little trick took me from frustration to success when I was learning.

I have actually taped a piece of card stock to my ruler so that they stay together and I just flip the ruler back and forth as needed.  You get a glimpse of the tape here while the ruler is flipped up out of the way.

Then I just flip the ruler down after folding my paper back and trim the seam allowance.

There is a tricky part that comes when you work on section B.  Here I have the first piece laid out and trimmed.

But to get the next piece to lay straight across on the foundation paper you need to place it as shown below.  (I moved it over about 1/4 inch from the top edge of my blue fabric.)  I neglected to take a photo after pressing, but trust me it works.  Another tip: instead of pins I use my glue stick and just put a couple of small dots of glue to hold the two fabrics together.

I am so glad I took Jen up on her offer make this quilt with her.  And I am thankful that I did not realize when I signed up that it was foundation pieced or I might have skipped it and I would have missed out on a fun day in my sewing studio thinking about the promises of God and how faithful He is.  Today was a day when I really pondered how I am not enough.  I can never be everything others want me to be.  I struggle often to be the me I think I should be.  It is hard to let go of that and lean into God who makes up for what I lack on so many levels.  I have found Him to be faithful and true in my life both when the rains are pouring down and when the sun is shining brightly. 

For those who may be visiting for the first time I do have a free BOM happening now.  Star Light, Star Bright is this year's theme.  You can find all of the previous months patterns HERE.  New blocks are released the first of each month which is almost here as well.  Wow.  The days are flying by.

I hope you have a blessed day
and Happy Quilting!