Hi. You don't say exactly what kind of block pillow so I'm assuming it's a nine-block in a box of some sort.
The blocks should have very straight sides, 90 degrees to the top and bottom. If you have padded the blocks with felt or anything, the padding should be only on the top square surface and bottom square surface -- not on the sides. The covering on the sides needs to be as thin and flat as possible so two blocks can fit together without any air spaces. When the blocks are in their box/base, you may need to insert a spacer between the blocks and the edge support to push the blocks tightly together. This can be a strip of anything sturdy that's the width needed -- thin wood like a tongue depressor, cardboard, plastic. You will have to squeeze your blocks to see how thin or thick a spacer is needed. You might have to do this on two edges of the pillow. You might still have the tiniest of spaces at the cracks between the blocks. You may need to set your pins at a slight angle if a pinhole lands right on the crack. I have heard of some people putting a layer of felt under their pricking when working on a block pillow. This adds just a bit more support when working across the cracks. If the blocks are carefully covered, there should be a minimal space to deal with. The main thing is to keep the sides very flat and smooth. No extra padding. The blocks will then fit closely enough that it's not much of a problem to slant a few pins. Alice in Oregon -- getting ready to go to Sweet Briar Lace retreat and see tourist sites in Virginia ----- Original Message ---- From: Debora Lustgarten <drac...@primus.ca> To: lace@arachne.com Sent: Wednesday, June 10, 2009 7:44:19 AM Subject: [lace] How to squeeze together the blocks Dear Arachnes, I just got a block pillow and wonder if you could offer any hints, tips or tricks to make those blocks squeeze closer. My main concern is the gaps between blocks and how best to avoid them. The pillow in question sits on a pressboard base with plastic edging, and I've wrapped the blocks with quilting cotton fabric. All comments will be much appreciated. Cheers, Debora L. Toronto, Canada - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
