Fan Quilt - CQJP2012, Feb. - TAST Herringbone

This is the second of the CQJP2012 completed.  I know it's a bit early, but I'm on a roll with these fan blocks. I really love new projects, and I have to admit that my other stuff is suffering a bit because this is so much fun.  

I'm trying to make the bottom part of the fan block a bit special and I think this bias silk ribbon works really well with the roses.

I'm also using Carole Samples book for some unusual seam treatments.

I filled this whole patch with herringbone stitches, Week 5 of TAST

Here are four blocks placed the way I will assemble the whole thing when finished. The fan pieces are all silk from ties or silk blouses.  I interfaced the silk with the knitted iron-on interfacing that Ali Aller uses on her blocks. 

I was always wary of tackling a fan quilt: too much measuring, too many places it could go wrong, but I came up with a little helper. 

The top right is a paper pattern I printed off the internet. The pattern measures 8" x 8".  The left hand piece is a heavy quilting see-through plastic sheet. I traced the fan pattern and an extra inch all around to make the block 10" x 10".  I made holes in this pattern to indicate the top and bottom of the fan pattern, and I use a disappearing pen to mark through the holes.  The other two pieces are the sizes of the individual fan pieces with hem allowance added, the larger is for the outside two, the smaller for the inside four. 

Basically, I pin the 8" x 8" paper pattern to the 10" square muslin, and then use the paper pattern to place each fan piece, and then sew and flip all the fan pieces in place.  Then I place a piece of cream fabric on the top, overlapping the top of the fan, and then mark dots through the holes on to the cream fabric to indicate the turn and hand sew line.  Repeat for the bottom.