This week's block was designed by Carrie Nelson. You will find the pattern and another variation of it on her blog post which can be found HERE. I like the variation she shows on her blog and might have to do that one as well, after all this is my year for HST's. This block went together so easily, which I greatly appreciated after Lisa's more challenging block last week. And I am feeling better so things just went smoothly with no silly mistakes because I wasn't thinking very well. I did not make any changes to the cutting directions with this block. You will need to draw diagonal lines on the back of all the A and C squares. This first part will look quite familiar if you did Block 35-this is the same as the center of that block. This time we will be making four of these Square in a square blocks. Start by placing an A square in one corner of the B square. I like to stitch just to the outside of the line rather than right on top of it. Next I fold over the triangle to make sure that it completely covers the larger square. Using a ruler and rotary cutter I trim 1/4 inch from the seam line. And I press towards the large square. Now I repeat those same steps with the C squares placed on the opposite corner. Stitch, check, trim, and press towards the large square. These steps need to be repeated with the remaining A squares with one small change... I prefer to press these seams open. It gives me less bulky seams which I think helps to achieve the sharp points we want when the block is sewn together. Before moving on I take time to trim if needed for a nice 3" square. Now I lay out all of my pieces and will sew the rows together. I find it best to sew with the sqsuare-in-a-square block on top. I can see very clearly where I want my needle to fall as I sew to ensure I do not lose my points. I am pressing the top and bottom row towards the rectangle and the middle row towards the center square. To join the rows, I match up the seams, which will want to "lock" into place with one another and hold them with a pin. Again I am sewing with the square-in-a-square blocks on top. This is one area where it helps to have the needle down option on my machine. I sew right up to the pin. stop, remove the pin, and then continue sewing. The needle holds everything in place while I carefully remove the pin and I do not break any needles sewing over the pins. (I got a broken needle jammed in the bobbin area last week and thought I had broken my machine!) I pressed these seams towards the middle as well. I think this is a really cute block and it was so quick I may do another one just for fun. By changing the fabrics around one could achieve several different looks with this one. Maybe this week I can get caught up on another of the blocks I missed over the summer.
Here's hoping! Until next time... Happy Quilting!! Debra
the I was getting over a bug when I started this block, and so I took it rather slow as I seemed to be prone to mistakes. So let's start with the center square of this block. For this I need the 4 A squares and 1 B square. And just like that I see that I labeled these wrong in my photograph-at any rate draw a diagonal line with a pencil on the smaller squares. (I have one A square cut 3 1/2 x 3 1/2" and four B squares cut 2" x 2") Start by placing one of the smaller squares right sides together with the larger square. Sew right along the outer side of the drawn line rather than right on top of it. I always flip the sewn sqaure over to make sure it covers the larger block underneath before trimming the excess away. To trim just lay your ruler with the 1/4" mark on the sewn line and trim away leaving a quarter inch seam allowance. I pressed towards the yellow square. Add the next square and sew in the same way, trim, and press towards the yellow square. This is a good time to make sure you still have a square that is 3 1/2" x 3 1/2"-I find I often need to trim a little bit to get it square. I added the last two squares in the same way except I pressed the seams open so that there was less bulk. My center square is done and I have made sure it is still 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" Next I worked on the corner squares. I cut two C squares 2 3/4" x 2 3/4" and two D squares also at 2 3/4" x 2 3/4" On the C sqaures I have drawn a diagonal line in preparation for making Half-square triangles. This was the year of the HST for me it seems, and this project has been no different. Like we have done many times before sew 1/4" from each side of the drawn line. Cut apart on the diagonal line and press towards the dark side. Trim these to measure 2" x 2". Now that I have the easy parts done it is time to tackle those tricky little triangle units. As I said, I tried to follow Lisa's directions but every attempt was too small at the point so on to the paper piecing method. You can download my pattern for these HERE. With the paper patterns cut out leaving some extra beyond the outer line I prepare my fabrics. E and F fabrics are first cut 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" (for E cut 3 and F cut 1) and then two diagonal cuts are made to get the triangles. From the C fabric cut 2 squares 4" x 4" and then make two diagonal cuts. I like to use newsprint for my paper-it comes in 8 1/2" x 11" size so is perfect to run through the printer. Placing the first piece is always the trickiest when paper piecing. On the wrong side of the paper place your F fabric so that it covers F1 completely. Holding it up to a light helps you see how it looks. This fabric gets placed right side facing you. When you are satisfied with its placement put a pin parallel to the line where F1 abd E2 meet. I have labeled the Paper piecing pattern with the letter of the fabric being used followed by the order in which it will be sewn onto the paper. At your cutting mat flip the paper with the fabric pinned in place so that the paper patter is now on top. Using a postcard or similar weight paper line it up along the line between F1 and E2. Use the postcard as a straight edge to fold over the paper pattern along the line-leaving the fabric on the mat. I have taped the postcard to my Add-A-Quarter ruler and just flip it down over the postcard. I now will have a perfect quarter inch from the sewing line on the paper and trim off the extra fabric. Now I place an F triangle on top of the E triangle right sides together. Notice that I have the upper edge of this triangle about a 1/4" from where the seam line that is visible through the paper. Before I sew I take a quick check to make sure that my fabric will cover the entire E2 triangle and give enough extra for a seam allowance. (I have cut my pieces plenty large so that this should not be a problem.) It is a matter of personal preference whether or not to put a pin in to hold the new piece in place. I personally do not like to pin and so just carefully flip everything over at my sewing machine. When paper piecing I will use a much smaller stitch length, setting my machine to 1.5 or approximately 20 stitches to the inch. By doing this the paper will tear away from the fabric very easily. Starting at the very outside line I will stitch across the line between F1 and E2. The fold line I made in the paper is a nice guide to follow across the area where I do not have a line marked. I stop about 1/4" from the other side of the line. At this time I remove the unit from my machine and clip all of the threads. Since I need to make four of these I go ahead and do the same step on each at the same time. One cannot exactly chain piece these things but at least I am doing the same step with each. Press towards the new dark triangle. You will always press towards the piece you just added. Back at the cutting mat I line up the next line I will sew-E3-with the postcard and fold the paper over on this line. As you fold the paper back you will need to genlty pull the stitching loose from the paper. Just like before I use my handy ruler to trim the excess. Now I lay another E triangle in place, checking to make sure it covers E3. I start approximately 1/4" from the start of the line and sew across to the outer line (the line that is outlining the whole unit) Press towards the new triangle. Each time I add a new piece I do these same steps: 1-Use postcard as straight edge to fold along next sewing line 2-Line up ruler along folded edge to trim fabric 1/4" from the fold 3-Place new fabric piece checking to make sure it covers the area 4-Sew along line-stopping and starting 1/4" from the beginning and end of the line. 5-Press towards fabric piece just added. With that in mind I move on to E4 Line up the final E fabric triangle to be sewn in place. Starting and stopping 1/4 inch from the sewing line...and here is what things look like so far. Almost done. Repeat our steps for C5. Place a C triangle checking to make sure it covers the entire area all the way out to the outer line, which is our seam allowance line for the unit. After checking to make sure everything will be covered and carefully flip the whole thing over and stitch along the line. Just one piece left to add and these little cuties will be complete. Fold, trim, and lay the last piece in place. The last step is to trim along the outer line of the unit. I do not need to worry about measurements when paper piecing but these should measure 2" x 3 1/2" at this point. Just for fun I tried one with my Bloc Loc ruler but it really isn't necessary as we have the exact line we need to cut on already marked for us. Finally all of the pieces come together and I am ready to sew the block together. I pressed the top and bottom rows towards the outer triangle squares and the middle row pressed towards the center. Almost forgot to reset my stitch length back to the one I like for piecing. As mjuch as I do not like to pin, I still will pin my seams where they meet. They tend to lock in place on their own when pressed in opposite directions but I really want to make sure everything stays in place. A challenging but very pretty block- I am glad I made the effort! A new block is out today and I sure hope I have time for it tomorrow.
Let me know if you give the paper piecing a try-it really is my new friend. I tried to be as clear about each step as I could, but if you have any questions about my process please feel free to comment or contact me. Until next time... Happy Quilting! Debra Jan Patek designed this cute little log cabin house. This is a photo from her blog of how she envisioned the block. She has a great little step-bypstep on her blog showing how to use her method of applique. You can read it HERE and also get a copy of her pattern. After much thought I decided I wanted to change it up a bit to fit my garden theme and I came up with a little cottage which uses the fusible applique method. Using a light box I traced all of the pattern pieces onto the paper backing of my fusible. I flipped the pattern over so that all of the pieces are reversed and then numbered them iaccording the order they will be added to the background piece. Using my iron I fused all of the pattern pieces onto the wrong side of my chosen fabric. Once the pieces have cooled I cut them out . I have cut my background piece a little larger than the finish size: 7" x 7" Since I am using a light colored backgroung I am able to easily see the pattern when I lay it underneath the fabric. I have found the center of both the fabric and the pattern and line them up to get ready to start placing the parts of my cottage on the background fabric. I begin by placing all of the pieces onto my background working from the back to the front of the design. I will not iron them until I am sure I have everything just the way I want it. Everything is in place and ready to be fused to the background with my iron. I decided a garden cottage needed a window flowerbox so added that as well. I always place a piece of stabilizer onto the back of an applique. I find the stitches are much smoother and more uniform that way. I will be using two stitches-always beginning and ending with a straight stitch. I have set the length to 1.9 and moved the needle over two positions to the right. I also use the needle down feature on my machine. I will work from back to front as I stitch around the applique pieces-using the same order that I placed them. So beginning with the hill I take a few straight stitches towards the spot where I want to begin my buttonhole stitch. Once I reach my starting point I lift the presser foor, keeping the needle in the down position and pivot the work around. This is a good time to clip both the top and bobbin threads to keep the work looking neat. Now I will begin my buttonhole stitch. My stitch length is 1.9, width is 2.0 and my needle is in the center position. I want to start with my needle right along the outer edge of the piece I am appliquing in place. The straight part of the buttonhole stitch needs to run along that edge. Once I have made it around to the other side of the applique I pivot and take a few straight stitches and a locking stitch to finish off. I move on to the chimney next. You can see where I took a few straight stitches to get started. I clip the threads out of the way before pivoting and starting my buttonhole stitch. There is a little trick I use when I come to a corner like this. I stop the buttonhole stitch at the end of the straight part of the stitch, before it takes the bite into the applique. With my needle down I pivot and line up the edge so that the buttonhole stitch will now go over the straight part of the stith I jsut made. It is taking the "bite" just not into the chimney. Here you may be able to see how that "bite" portion of the buttonhole stitch is landing on the edge. When it comes back for the straight part of the stith it will be in exaclty the right place along the edge of the applique. I finish off with a straight stitch once I reach the roof applique-just like I did on the hill, a few straight stitches back over the buttonhole stitches and finish with a locking stitch. Now I am moving on the cottage itself-again starting with those straight stitches before pivoting around to do the buttonhole stitch. I have done the buttonhole stitch up to this point but because I do not want to use my blue color thread on the door I am just going to do a straight stitch across the bottom. I am lazy when it comes to starting and stopping a stitch so if I can avoid it I do. Now that I have worked my way across the bottom of the door I can pick up with the buttonhole stitch again and continue around the cottage. At this point I have decided a little garden cottage needs a cute trim along the roof. With my needle in the down position I switch back to my straight stitch. I have cut a length of lace trim and will attach it now with a straight stitch across the bottom of the roof. When I get to the other side, I pivot back around and switch to the buttonhole stitch. Now I will go back over the lace with the buttohhole stitch and continue on around the entire roof. Once I am back to where I started the buttonhole I finish off with a few straight stitches ove the buttohole stitches. Now I am on to the window and I am going to play a bit with it. I started with a few straight stitches, and because the flowerbox is so tiny I use straight stitches to go completely around it. I want to add some window panes so I use straight stitches to move to the center of the window and go right up the middle of it with a straight stitch. (Getting out of my comfort zone by not having a line to follow!) Again, because I hate stopping and starting I use the straight stitch to get around to the side and create the other window panes across the middle. Next I just go around the entire window with the buttonhole stitch. On to the little red door using the exact same method of straight and buttonhole stitches. All that remains is the moon. I am going to do this in the same way. The only difference comes with those very narrow points. My buttonhole stitch wil be too wide so I will need to make some adjustments as I go. Of course the other option is just to sew the whole thing with a narrower stitch width, but where is the fun in that? lol. As I approach the points I decrease my width a couple of times. I found that at the very tip I needed to use a width of 1.6. The tricky thing with this way of handling the points is to remember to widen the buttonhole stitch gradually back to 2.0 and then repeat the same decreasing/increasing thing at the other end. Though, honestly, I think I am the only one who ever looks at my stitching that closely, so if i foget to adjust it is really not a big deal. I am pretty pleased with how this came out but I still want to try Jan Patek's version-perhaps in a mug rug for the winter. A cozy llittle log cabin in the snowy woods might be in my future. I hope you have fun making your little house.
Until next time... Happy Quilting! Debra |
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