Cool Rays • New York Beauties Block 2

After leaping around the line-up, we return to Block #2, but instead of the more traditional sew-it-in-rip-it-out, it’s made with freezer paper. Apparently this method is the hot new tutorial/class/method, and you could do a search to find a class if you want, but I still think that first block I did with freezer paper will help you get started. And more tips are on the second block I tried, too.

The Bizness: Since I’ve had this quilt in mind for a few whiles, the whole gamut is grouped together under the New York Beauties tab, above, and that’s where I’ll put most things. The pattern, however, resides at my pattern shop, as does the free handout that lists all the colors of Painters Palette that I used (it’s called the “Preview” on my pattern).

For Cool Rays, I decided to do a gradation of color (popularly called “ombré” these days) in the background behind the rays, so I picked out a range of greens, trying to keep the color changes smooth and in the same color family (a more yellowy-green than a bluey-green).

I used the method of trimming a sheet of freezer paper (off the roll) to about 8 1/4″ by 10 3/4″ and taping it to a piece of cardstick, or equivalent heavier paper. Then I sent it through my color printer, using the rear feeder for a glide path that doesn’t ask the paper to double-back on itself. Cut the pieces out, and you are ready to go. I can get five uses out of one pattern-printed-on-freezer paper, but for this block you only make four.

Hand-crease on all the lines, working from the printed side, then re-crease them from the back.

Keep trimming those seam allowances to slightly less than 1/4-inch. Again, refer to the blog posts linked above for a more detailed step-by-step version of how to use freezer paper.

Trim around the completed section, around the freezer-paper pattern. You’ll be left with four stacks of rays. Seam them together, matching up the red dashed lines. It helps me to line them up in the way they’ll go (on the right).

After using the tip of my iron to press in the marks of where to line up my pieces, I lay them out.

Pinned and ready to sew.

I pressed away from the light center quarter-circle on this one. On other blocks, I’ve pressed the seam allowances toward the circle, for more definition from the front. Experiment with what you like.

And By The Way Department: I’m so tired of that argument about pressing seams open or pressing seams closed — I just saw it again on another website, and I’m like Leave.It.Alone. There is no right or wrong, but only personal preference. Unless you are making for a group, or in a Bee and the Queen Bee wants it a certain way. Then do it her way.

All four blocks done! Now that I look at them like this, I wish I had swapped two of the greens. Sigh. I can’t even imagine remaking it just for that. The quilt will be fine.

All four blocks with my line of Number Bears, made for when toddlers lived here and I had to keep them quiet in church. The bears all snap together. The guys on the left have “casts” made out of more felt, as one of my kids ripped their hands off with too vigorous effort on the unsnapping of the colorful conga line. (This was in the those old days of mending and repairing.) This hangs around my sewing room, because I can’t bear to get rid of it. My youngest is old now, but I still keep it.

Progress so far. We’ve been making a block about every other week, so far, but the upcoming Eclipse may throw us off.

This website has an interactive link that really zooms in to show granular detail of how many minutes it will show totality in your location. After having done the Annular Eclipse in Utah last year, I know how quickly 4 minutes can pass while you are looking at this marvel. Maybe that’s why I’m doing this quilt? Because it looks like the sun in some ways? I do know that’s why I named the blocks the way I did.

And here’s what I like seeing the best: Status Report, with four blocks finished. The list is on the main New York Beauties page.

Happy Sewing!