Hello all, Mary Ellen here.

Have you got your new dress and Easter bonnet all set for Sunday? LOL! Are you also in the generation that got all new regalia for spring–not just a dress and hat, but also new shoes, lacy socks, a new slip and …

This week’s tip from Material Rewards is about putting coping borders on your quilt blocks. I just had to do that for a piece I’m making from several embroidered blocks. It’s a good technique to have in your arsenal.

Teri and Marty will talk to you about several ways to use this technique when working with panels. The one example they didn’t mention where I think coping borders would be equally helpful is for those of you who participate in block swaps. We all know that even if it was agreed in the rules of the swap that everyone’s block would be a certain size, lets say 12.5 inches, you will actually get quite an assortment of sizes in the blocks swapped. Makes for a pickle when you’re trying to assemble those swapped blocks into a quilt top.

Those of you who have been at this hobby awhile may remember Mary Ellen Hopkins and her “personal private measurement”.  Basically her philosophy was that as long as you were consistent in your seaming, it didn’t matter if your 1/4 inch seams weren’t exactly 1/4 inch. Not true! … unless your entire project will be made exclusively of squares all the same size. Those swapped blocks I referenced above might each have consistent seam widths, but if each quilter has her own personal private 1/4 inch, the collection of blocks will not play nicely together.

Here’s a link to Teri and Marty’s video about coping borders: click here.