Here we are, another month gone by.  I hope you enjoy reading about our next brightest star in the sky: Arcturus when you get your copy of the pattern.  This one actually goes together pretty quickly with the techniques I show you this month.

First we will be using the Quick Corner Triangle Method. The keys to this method are to make sure you have drawn an accurate diagonal line that goes from corner to corner and to sew just along the outside of the drawn line rather than right on top of it.

I want to take a moment and show you why I sew along the outside of the line.  The square on the left I have sewn on top of my drawn line.  The square on the right I have sewn just to the outside. (If you look closely you can still see the drawn line I used as my guide.

When I press the resulting triangles notice that the one on the left, where I sewed directly on the line does not quite cover the square underneath.  The one on the right covers it perfectly.  It always amazes me how just that little needle width of our stitching line can make such a difference.

Now, back to our Corner Unit...before proceeding to trim away the excess I finger press the triangle to make sure that it does indeed cover the square underneath. Since it does I will trim away the two layers underneath to get rid of the extra bulk.

Sometimes however, things still do not work out perfectly and you may see a bit of the square underneath.  There is a little trick we can do so that this unit will still be the correct size for the block.

If I trim away just the top layer of fabric and leave the base square intact it will ensure that my square ends up with the correct measurement.  It adds an extra layer, but it is not too much bulk for our finished quilt.  

I always double check to make sure that my block stays square as I add each triangle.

The other unit that makes this block go together so nicely is the Quarter-square Triangle.  We start out by just making two Half-square Triangles which, if you have been sewing along with me for any length of time, we have gotten pretty good at by now. 

This is the fun part...lay the two HST's so that the seam locks together and the dark sides of the two are facing opposite each other.

I then sew them with the seam pointing towards my needle.  This is just an added measure that helps push those two seams tightly together as you sew.

Once my units are pressed I trim to size using the diagonal line on my ruler to keep things squared up nicely.

And with just those two types of units we are ready to put the whole block together. 
I challenged myself with some fussy cutting to make
my baby quilt version of this block.

As usual my pattern testers delighted with their fabric choices:

To get your copy of this month's block click on the link below:
Star Light, Star Bright pdf patterns

I do want to encourage you to share a photo of your finished block with me on my Facebook Sew Along page at
https://www.facebook.com/groups/tuningmyheartsewalong/
For more fun projects to keep you busy until Block 5 comes out check out the blocks I have been making and sharing for my Passing the Days project:
​Passing the Days pdf patterns
And stay tuned for a Christmas in July blog hop coming the middle of this month.
​I hope you have a blessed day and...
Happy Quilting!!

What is it about being on the inside looking out?  We spend a lot of time looking out the windows onto our backyard.  I stop many times during my day just to see "who" has come by for a visit, and right now that means hoping to catch a glimpse of one of the new fawns.
When I saw the block I chose for Day 93 it reminded me of a window.  I really thought the name of the block lacked any kind of imagination though-it is simply called "New Pattern" and appeared in Peterson's Magazine in....wait for it...1857!

I decided to use a varriety of blacks for my dark fabric just because I am using up scraps.  That did mean I needed to be careful when I laid out the pieces to make sure I had the blacks matched properly.

I also went with a gray-on-gray print for the light fabric.  I liked the fact that it gave the impression of looking out at a garden.  However, if I had chosen a brightly colored print instead I think it would have been too much for the block and taken away from the overall sense, which is really quite peaceful.

And looked who showed up out my window.

Click on the link below to get a copy of today's block:
Passing the Days pdf Patterns

I hope you enjoy your day and wish you
​Happy Quilting!

Our male Anna's hummingbirds are keeping us entertained right now.  One in particular visits the fuchsias I have out side my studio window many times during the day.  His brilliant flash of color when the sunlight catches it just right-gorgeous hardly seems to do it justice.  So for day 90 I came across a block called Darting Birds.  I immediately thought of our hummer friends and the bold color that stands out against the green.

This is one of those blocks that has some bulky seams, there is just no way around it sometimes.  Even so my block lays pretty flat which makes me doubly happy.  
To get the pattern for this block click on the link below:
Passing the Days pdf patterns

A big thank you to one of the quilters making these blocks who pointed an error in block 87.  That pattern has been corrected in the files now.  

I also want to mention to those of you with a Joanne's nearby.  I had to stop in for some beads  to embellish a quilt that I will have ready for you in September.  If you need buttons-they are buy 3 get three free-I found some really cute ones for my quilt as well.  Also they had the Fiskars rotary cutters 40% off.  I came away with one of those as well.  At checkout I then was given two coupons: one for 50% off any item and one for 25% off my entire purchase online.  I love bargains!  Now to figure out how best to use those coupons!

I hope you have a blessed day and
​Happy Quilting!

We woke up to such a sweet surprise in our backyard this week.  This fawn was just a few hours old and still trying to figure out how to stand and walk on its wobbly legs.  They have gotten stronger each day and now this little one is bouncing and jumping through the tall grass like a pro.  I just had to find a block to represent one of the joys of June around here.  I looked for blocks with deer in the name, I looked for blocks with new, and baby, and finally landed on one that had nothing to do with the names I was looking for.  Instead I came across a block called Grandma's Hop Scotch.  It looked rather jumbled and I thought immediately of those wobbly first attempts at walking.  So block 84 I have named Wobbly.  

This one goes together a bit like a puzzle so the main thing is to keep an eye on the direction the various units are facing as you put them together.

When it comes to matching those points I used the little pinning trick I have shown you before.  First placing a pin through the tip of the one on top...

...and then putting it straight through the tip of the one underneath.

This holds them together so that I can place pins on either side and holds those points together as I sew.  (Remove the pins carefully before sewing over them!)

As I was finishing up this block the little oil light on my machine came on.  It comes on every 180,000 stitches.  So it is time to clean and oil my machine.  

I use a vacuum cleaner attachment to remove most of the lint, then use a tiny brush to loosen even more that I also vacuum up.  Now my machine is looking much better and purrs like a kitten.

With my machine ready to go I made Day 87's block Thursday.  I love this time of year for some of my favorite fruits.  The berries in Oregon are starting to appear, my apricot tree is looking very promising despite the snow and freezing temps we had this past weekend.  And cherries and apples and pears are growing as well.

I struggled with the color choices on this one.  At first I was leaning towards the colors of grapes which my current fruit bowl is overflowing with.  But I also have all kinds of berries and apples and bananas as well.  Then I stumbled upon some leftover strips of Tula Pink fabrics and decided to just make a colorful bowl.

There is a lot more difference showing in these fabrics before I made them into
1-inch  squares.  That is something to be aware of when working with large prints and cutting them down; the color values can drastically change.  This block went together really quickly.  I did repress one of the 4-square units to get the seam to lock together when I joined the rows and found I needed to pin all of those locking seams when completing the block.  Some days the seams just will not match together unless I pin them and I don'r have a clue why that is.  I hate pinning, but I really did not like the look of seams that did not line up when I pressed the block.

Click on the link below for the pdf's of these blocks.
Passing the Days pdf files

Have a wonderful  weekend and...
​Happy Quilting!

Day 80 actually fell on my brother's birthday so I made a cake in his honor.  I found an old block called Birthday Cake.  His favorite color is blue so I knew I would use blue in the block and found some other fabrics that seemed to say celebration.  I don't think it looks much like a Birthday Cake but it was fun to put together.

Day 80 was the first day for us in Phase Two of reopening.  That means I will start do a block every two days now.  

Click on the link below for the pdf patterns:
Passing the Days Patterns

Have a blessed day and 
​Happy Quilting!