What could be better than a block that has both piecing and applique. I love combining the two. Block 6 was designed by Carrie Nelson and you can get the pattern by visiting Carrie's blog post which is linked here: http://blog.modafabrics.com/2017/04/blockheads-block-6/ Now that I am all caught up, it was hard waiting for the next block to be released on Wednesday. Of course that does give me time to work on some other things that were being neglected last week. I am using Garden Notes designed by Kathy Schmitz for Moda with a cream Bella Solid for the background as the main fabrics in my blocks. This fabric line is the touch of spring to brighten my day here in the still cold and snowy Pacific Northwest. A sunflower will be a great addition to my garden of blocks. I did feel like this sunflower needed a touch of brown so found a perfect one in my stash that even has a bit of yellow in it. I decided to begin with the applique circle. I have wanted to try a new method for some time now and this seemed the perfect opportunity. I traced the inner circle onto a piece of Pella lightweight interfacing and cut around it with a 1/4 inch seam allowance. I layered my fabric right side up and placed the interfacing on top. With a lot of stopping and turning I stitched on the line that was drawn on the interfacing and then clipped around the curves. Now I need to turn it rightside out; a careful incision on the interfacing will allow me to do that. A view from the back and the front after turning and pressing. A sunflower just needed a bee in the middle. I will set my circle aside now, while I work on piecing the rest of the block. I have two D rectangles stacks as I decided I wanted to add another dimension to this block. I cut 4 of each for my D rectangles. First thing to do is join my A and B squares. These units will measure 2 1/2 x 1 1/2. Being careful about the placement of my A/B unit I need add a C rectangle to each. These units should now measure 2 1/2 x 2 1/2 inches. A little note about my machine settings. I like to use a small stitch length. On my machine a length of 1.9 equals 12-13 stitches per inch. I like this size because my seam ripper...I think I have decided to call him Jack like another quilter in the group... Jack will still fit easily into the stitch on those not so rare occasions that I need to remove some stitches. And I love the needle down position! Okay, back to the Sunflower block. I use the remaining A squares to make the petal units. Whenever I need to sew on the diagonal I take the time to mark a line on the back of my squares. This is a line that will stay in the quilt so I use a pencil to make my marks as it does not show through. Each D rectangle needs an A square added. For these units to come out correctly all of the diagonals need to go in the same direction. Notice where my needle is here and the way I have laid the unit for chain piecing. It is important to have the needle land just to the right of the drawn line. Before trimming off the extra bits I flip the triangle over to make sure it completely covers the rectangle underneath. If everything looks good I trim 1/4 inch from my seam line. I wanted to show you what can happen when your stitching does not fall to the right of you drawn line. That little bit of black showing through shows how you lose fabric to the thread width and the fold when you try to stitch right on the line. Though it does not look like much, especially with these smaller blocks, it can be enough to throw off your finished size. Back to our units: These all get pressed towards the rectangle and should measure 2 1/2 x 1 1/2 inches. Now I can sew my "petals" together. I want all of my check fabric to be on the same side for the look I am going for. I pressed these so that the point at the top would not be folded over on itself. I like not having a bulky seam at that top point. These units should also measure 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" Now I lay out all of my pieces to start sewing the rows together. If possible I like to sew with the side that has seams facing away from my needle as I approach. This is not always possible but when it is I go for it. I have pressed the top and bottom rows so that the seams face towards the outer units. The middle row is pressed towards the center square. I used to try to get away without pinning but have found it is the best way to make sure my seams match. It is hit and miss for me without the pin. I place my pin about 1/4 inch in so that I am sure that where my seam will be is held together the way I want. With the block all pieced I can pin my applique circle in place and stitch in place by hand. I like using Kimono silk thread for hand applique as the thread just disappears into the fabric. (And I just happened to have the perfect blue for this on hand.) Not yet sure what I am going to do with these tiny things. These are the triangles that I trimmed off of the petal units. I used them for my leaders and enders when I was chain-piecing. Those are going to be mighty small, but I need to make another mini. Until next time... Happy Quilting!!
Well, we are on the home stretch now. Block 7 of the Snowy Day Sampler! You can find the Instructions for this block here: https://www.nationalquilterscircle.com/article/block-7/ If you have been following along with me for the first six blocks you know I always start with starched fabric since I prewash everything. I did not use starch at all until I began working with smaller pieces a few years ago and it made such a difference in my accuracy that I do it with everything now. I begin by drawing a diagonal line on the lightest of my 5 1/4 inch squares. All is ready for sewing some Half Square Triangles. Stitching a quarter of an inch from each side of the drawn line. Just need to cut on the drawn line to yield two Half Square Triangles (HST's). I have pressed them all to the dark side and now they need to be trimmed. I love this Creative Grids Ruler I picked up earlier this year. I love them because they do not slip on the fabric as I am cutting, and this particular one has 1/2" markings which I am enjoying with these blocks. As you can see our units are oversize and need to be trimmed to 4 1/2 inches. I trim the side and top, then rotate the block and repeat the process on the other two sides. It is very important to place the diagonal line on your ruler right on the seam line of the HST to achieve sharp points. I lay out the units in the order they will be sewn together. Sewing the two rows together. When sewn together the inner squares need to measure 4 inches across. (I started with 4 1/2 inch squares, and since each side lost 1/4 inch to the seam I am left with 4 inches.-I am married to a mathematician and it has rubbed off a bit after 33 years.) These two rows are stitched together so I will lay them aside while I work on the next bit. The first pieced quilt I ever made was a log cabin. This block has a half-log cabin in it which is a nice one to play with as it is very forgiving and there are no points or seams to match. I start with the square and my first two "logs." With right sides together I join the shorter log to the square. After pressing this towards the log I can then add the longer one. When done, this unit should measure 6 1/2 inches square. Sometimes a little trimming is necessary to maintain the straight edges. If needed, lay your ruler on the seam of the log and trim it to 2 1/4 inches. Round two-same thing different fabrics. Stitching my short and long logs to the unit. When pressed the unit should now measure 8 1/2 inches square. Confession time: I stitched these and measured and I was off 1/4 inch so I restitched and was still off. That just does not happen to me and I cannot figure out why I am so off in my measurement. Back with my seam ripper and hopefully third time will be the charm. But no, I am still almost 1/4 inch off. Hmmm-pulled out my ruler and measured the shorter log that was giving me troubles. I had cut it the wrong size-I feel silly. So after checking all of my other logs I was able to proceed with success. Round three with my next fabric. It is easy to lay a log on the wrong side of the unit, so always check placement. The unit should now measure 10 1/2 Inches. And the last two logs are ready to roll. I sew them just like the previous ones. My half log cabin should measure 12 1/2 inches now. Here is what the back and front look like. I place the half log cabin with the previous rows. The two units on the bottom need to be joined first. No seams to match but I still slow down over those HST seams to keep a straight line. Here I am adding the top row to the rest of the block. There is one seam to pin, though I added a second pin in the middle just to help hold things together. I am still trying to have my needle go right over the intersection where the half square triangle blocks meet. And there we have it; Block 7 is done. I still have not been able to get my maroon to come out the way it looks in person. It's color shows up much better in the photo above where the wrong side is facing up. How is your version of A Snowy Day quilt coming? Have you started to think about how you are going to put yours together or how you are going to quilt it? I am trying to decide whether I want a bed size or lap size. Just not sure yet, but I will have to decide soon. Until next time.... Happy Quilting!
Block 5-Coronation was designed by Lisa Bongean. She has an alternate method of doing this block which you can see on her blog as well as get the directions for the method I am using. https://lisabongean.com/2017/04/05/block-5-blockheads-2/ I confess I went shopping on her website. I absolutely love Creative Grid rulers and she has one with 1/8 inch markings that I just had to have. She links to these on her blog post if you are interested in taking a look. I am slowly replacing all of my rulers with Creative Grids brand as they just do not slip when cutting fabric. I have discovered a nifty solution for slipping rulers though-shelf liner, the rubber like kind- a little square of that under my ruler makes a huge difference. It also works well under my foot pedal, no more chasing it across the room. Wow-I am glad I took up the challenge with Block 1 and made a couple of mini's. These 1 1/4 inch squares do not seem quite as intimidating now. I find the key to success with this block is heavy starch and sewing slowly. More than ever you want to have an accurate scant quarter inch seam. If you are off by a little it will make a noticeable difference with these tiny pieces. I made my A and B pieces slightly larger than what is called for in the pattern. Mine are cut 1 7/8 x 1 7/8 inches which will allow me to trim them down to the correct size. Pulling out my trusty sandpaper clipboard and Sharpie I draw a diagonal line on all of my A pieces. I like the sharp point on these fine line Sharpies and since I am going to be cutting on the line I do not have to worry about it showing in my quilt. With right sides together I place an A on top of a B. I have skewed these slightly just to show you, when I sew them they will be stacked perfectly on top of one another. To make these units I sew 1/4 inch from both sides of the drawn line. After they are sewn I cut on the diagonal line and press to the dark side. Lining up the diagonal line on my ruler with the seam on these units I trim them to the required 1 1/4 inch. First trimming off two sides. then I rotating the unit to trim the remaining two sides. Perfect little half square triangles are now the correct size for Block 5. Okay, now I take the units I just made and the C pieces to begin creating the Four-Patch units. (Ever since the Splendid Sampler last year I think of these as little butterflies.) All I need to do to create these Four-Patch units is sew a C to my Half-square Triangles. Once that is done I press them open and lay them out to sew together. These should now measure 1 1/4" x 2." This is where I like having my seams pressed to one side. When I put the units together the seams lock each other in place. I still place a pin just to make sure though. When I come to these seams I slow my stitching down a good bit until I get over the "hump." I have pressed the Four-Patch units open and check to see if they are 2" x 2." Give them a little trim if needed. I will use a unit that is just a hair off, but if it is too small I would pull out my seam ripper and move my seam over about a needle's width depending on how off the unit is. Cute little butterflies playing on my design wall. Step 3 in the directions has us making Flying Geese units with the D and E pieces. Marking a diagonal line on the D squares using a pencil this time. This is a line that could show through on the quilt so no Sharpie here. The pencil tends to want to grab the fabric as I make the line which is where the very fine sandpaper comes in-it helps to keep the fabric from moving. To make the Flying Geese units I start by placing one D square on the E rectangle. I am going to sew with my needle landing just to the outside of the drawn line. Before I trim away the extra I flip the resulting triangle over to make sure that it covers the B rectangle. These all do so I can trim away the extra by placing my ruler on the stitching line and cutting 1/4" away from those stitches. Press towards the dark side. Being careful to make sure the diagonal line is going in the right direction I lay the next A square on my rectangle. Once again I stitch right beside the diagonal line all the way to the end of the square. Trimmed and pressed I now have my Flying Geese units measuring 1 1/4" x 2." Yay! Now to repeat that process with the F and G pieces. These will measure 2" x 3 1/2" when done. Back to the tiny pieces to make the center section of this block. Here the leftover C squares get added. I am sewing slowly today for accuracy sake. I sew the rows together first, pressing the seams on the top and bottom rows towards the center and the middle row towards the outside. Pinning at the seams I slowly stitch the rows together and am pressing these seams open. I had to trim just a bit to get my center block to measure 3 1/2" x 3 1/2." Time to put this baby all together. It is so easy to place one of the butterflies in the wrong direction. I caught this one before I sewed the rows together. Oh, how I wish that happened every time! (Bottom left) Once again I pressed my top and bottom row towards the center and the middle row towards the outside. The pieces just seemed to lay better that way. I was having a discussion the other day about dealing with bulky seams and learned that some quilters take a hammer to them. I might have to give that a try one of these days and see how it goes. I can just see myself knocking them into submission. Lol. Just like in the center block I am going to press these final seams open. Blocks 1, 2, 3, and 5 are done and I am feeling very accomplished. Block 5 is a bit challenging but taking it slowly one step at a time sure helps. Now I can take a break and enjoy looking at all the finished blocks on the Moda Blockheads Facebook page until next Wednesday. Whew! Until then... Happy Quilting!!
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