Creative articles about quilting

Temperature Quilt-Along – January 2025

Dear quilters, January is already over and the first 31 days of the BERNINA Temperature Quilt-Along have been sewn together. How have you been? Have you already sewn up the first month of the year or is there still a piece on your sewing table?

It was a very cold January here with lots of sub-zero temperatures. I was very pleased when I was able to use the matching fabrics. Did you feel the same?

Well wrapped up in warm clothes, the icy days could also be enjoyed outside the sewing studio. Early in the morning with the rising sun in front of the snowfield:

Or on a trip to the mountains with fabulous ice sculptures.

There were also beautiful things to see from the warm living room. I could watch the birds at the bird house from the couch:

Is this your first time hearing about the Temperature Quilt-Along? Then welcome! We will sew a Temperature Quilt together. This quilt represents the daily temperatures you have measured throughout the year and tells your own personal weather story in 365 blocks. You can join in and sew along at any time.

Would you like to take part? Wonderful! Then read the announcement article with all the information first.

On the following page you will find an overview of all the articles that have been published so far: BERNINA Temperature Quilt-Along – all previous articles.

Develop a sewing routine over the month

In the last post, I told you about my evening routine for recording weather data and transferring it to the worksheets.

So far, so good. I have been dutifully collecting the data night after night, transferring it to the forms, coloring in the boxes and also cutting the fabrics for the Snowball and Flying Geese.

Last year I gained experience sewing the test quilt. So I can roughly estimate how long it will take to sew 30 blocks. So I start by collecting the fabric cuttings evening by evening. I pin the Flying Geese directly onto the FPP templates and note the date on the adhesive tape.

I pin the snowball cut-outs to DIN4 sheets with pins. The date is stuck to the fabrics here too.

And here are the painted worksheets. How did you organize yourselves? Do you do it differently or similarly or maybe just like me?

As the end of the month approaches, I absolutely have to have finished sewing for the report here on the blog.

If you’re as anxious as I am, here’s a tip for sewing the snowballs efficiently:

Sew snowball blocks in a chain

I love working efficiently. First I sew the two blanks for the day block together. One after the other. This technique is called “chain stitching”. The thread is neither sewn nor cut in between, but the blocks are sewn one after the other directly under the presser foot.

Then I separate the individual blocks with the thread scissors and rearrange them in the correct order based on the date. The painted worksheet is the additional control.

Next, I shorten the corners. The sections are in the bag. Some of you have already shown great ideas for further processing these sections, which is great.

Iron block by block and place each “pair”, which is sewn together to form the arrowhead, right sides together.

The small, harmless pile of January blocks is lying on the push-on table. The first 10 days of January are hanging on the design wall, with the worksheet for the check next to it.

Then I start sewing the individual pairs together.

When the third pair didn’t fit this time either and I had to unravel it again, I thought to myself: Oh no, this is not a sewing day! But I have to get through it. Because a sewing night after a failed sewing day rarely gets any better.

It turned out fine. The swearing gave way to an approving grumble. You can do it if you want to.

The January row is growing:

Sew the Flying Geese together

Sewing the days in the Flying Geese was much easier using the FPP technique. I’m sure you’ve read my instructions.

By folding the FPP template beforehand and thanks to the precisely cut fabric pieces, the whole thing is not only very accurate but also quick.

In the picture sequence that I am attaching, you can check once again whether you are carrying out the work steps correctly according to the instructions

The cut fabrics are dated and pinned in place, with the FPP template next to them:

One by one, I sew the individual flying geese onto the FPP template. Now it’s step by step again:

The rectangular blank is placed flush with the edge of the last finished Flying Geese, pinned and sewn on with a 1/4” seam allowance and 1 mm stitch length. I secure the seam ends. I turn the pattern, fold the pre-folded paper over and trim the excess fabric with a 1/4” seam allowance.

I place one of the two side corners precisely onto the shortened center piece. It fits 100%. I sew it on and then iron it. Then I work the opposite corner identically.

The pressed corner pieces may also need to be shortened. So I turn the pattern over and shorten to 1/4” seam allowance. Then the next Flying Geese is sewn neatly and accurately onto the FPP pattern.

Finally, I’ll give you an idea on how you can incorporate another design variation into your quilt using 2 Flying Geese blocks:

Cut two individual blocks plus 1/4” seam allowance from the FPP template.

Then fold the paper along the two diagonals.

Stick the day’s date on the back of the FPP template. Then sew two individual blocks as for the block of five.

The two individual blocks are sewn and put together in the way I will insert them into my monthly series.

I lay them right sides together and sew along the pre-printed line on the FPP template. I secure the seam ends as usual with the Flying Geese.

The seam allowance is pressed apart and the block of two forms an upside-down square.

Here you can see my two January series in Snowball and Flying Geese. The calm solid colors reflect this month very well and I really enjoy them.

I am no less pleased with your cooperation and your enthusiasm for this joint project!

It’s difficult to estimate how many of us there are now. Based on the fabric orders from Andrea and the feedback on social media, I assume there are at least several hundred sewers, not only from Germany and Switzerland, but from many other countries. Quilters from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Brazil and the USA have joined. We are quite a creative bunch, don’t you think?

Frequently asked questions – FAQs

  • What is the purpose of the numbering on the FPP pattern?
    The numbering makes it easier for you to sew the individual fabric parts in the correct order. It is the usual numbering for a Flying Geese.
  • Can I choose a different cut size for the Flying Geese?
    Of course you can. We work with a uniform strip width of 2.5” for both quilt variants in the Quilt-Along. The official instructions are worked out and implemented using this strip width.
  • What additional sewing accessories do you recommend, Jutta?
    I have a wool felt ironing mat, a small iron and a small cutting mat that fits on the sewing table. I use an add-a-quarter ruler to cut back the seam allowances when flying geese.
  • What stitch length is used for the quilt variations?
    The snowball is sewn with a 2 mm stitch length, the blocks of the flying geese are sewn on paper with a 1 mm stitch length. I will share the stitch length for sewing the monthly rows of the Flying Geese together in the February post.
  • Is ironing done with steam?
    No, ironing is done without steam, ironing temperature: cotton.
  • Pre-wash fabrics or not?
    You can find the information on this in the article on the start of the Quilt-Along. I do not pre-wash my fabrics.

I wish you all a wonderful February. Look forward to the first early bloomers in the greenery!

Happy Sewing,
Jutta

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  • Danica H. EditEditing comments on the BERNINA blog is only possible after logging in with a blog user account. Sign up now or create a user account if you do not have one yet.

    Hooray, January blocks are all done!  I really like the contrast of the colors and added two darker shades to reflect the -10F and -4F temps we had in January.  It was a brutal, cold January for northern Ohio.  We rarely experience below 0 temps.  Robin—I had the same challenge as you when first piecing together the flying geese.  I have since increased the sizes of the fabric squares to give myself wiggle room.  For the triangle pieces, and to keep things simple, I cut a width-of-fabric strip 3” wide.  I then cut the pieces into either 3.75” lengths for the smaller triangle sections and 4.75” lengths for the larger triangles.  The 3” x 3.75” squares are large enough to complete both of the smaller triangle sections.  I line up the 3” x 4.75” fabric piece so that it extends at least 1/4” over the edges of all the fold lines.  Extra fabric gets cut when adding the next sections of fabric and when squaring the completed block sections.  Hopefully, this helps you.

    • Robin Cronin EditEditing comments on the BERNINA blog is only possible after logging in with a blog user account. Sign up now or create a user account if you do not have one yet.

      Danica, Thank you!  I had come to the conclusion that the fabric needed to be cut larger so it is nice to have some other parameters identified.  I will try the framework you have laid out.  I appreciate your input.

       

  • Robin CRONIN EditEditing comments on the BERNINA blog is only possible after logging in with a blog user account. Sign up now or create a user account if you do not have one yet.

    I’ve been doing some test squares with the flying geese as I’ve never done paper piecing before.  I’ve had a bit of difficulty because the pictures are not clear on where and how to line up the initial rectangle on the template.  Some pictures seem to show them on the seam allowance line, others on the bottom of the paper.  I also can’t tell where the important place is to line up the triangles.  Using the measurements given the pieces seem barely big enough, but maybe I’m not lining them up right?  Are they supposed to be at a 90 degree angle from the base and over the angle lines also?  As I sew on the lines (prefolded and perforated with a cutting wheel) they don’t always line up well at the top.  What am I doing wrong?

  • Kris Cook EditEditing comments on the BERNINA blog is only possible after logging in with a blog user account. Sign up now or create a user account if you do not have one yet.

    Where I live in Northern California we’ve had a fairly mild January, so my flying geese are very similar. I’m making a different size flying geese block than the provided pattern, so I’m using individual papers for each day. I write the date on the front of the papers, and that is working for me in keeping the dates in order. I also wrote “Jan 1” in the seam allowance of the first block, until I got further along and felt more comfortable. I’ll be stitching the final week of January tomorrow, and I’m loving this quilt along. Thank you, Jutta!

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