The Modern Quilt Guild's blog has a new post today (part of the ongoing 100 Days of Modern Quilting feature) with my tutorial for this lovely block, which was adapted from this lovey pillow by Heather Bostic.
Here's a peek at a project I'm working on using the blocks. Most of these were made with assorted orange and gray scraps from my stash. The background is Kona Charcoal.
I finally put Jacquie's June Block in the mail today.
Jacquie sent two solids and a bold IKEA print and asked that we make rectangular blocks.
I made mine using the same basic pattern that I used for these pillows and was happy with the way it turned out. Hopefully Jacquie will like it too!
While I'm talking about stuff made with IKEA fabric, I'd like to show off two great prints that I found last week (both regular mid-weight cottons). Here's one with giant houses all over it.
And here's one with giant birds. I'm not sure yet what I'm going to make with these (especially since they're so big!) but I love the prints.
These are Amanda's blocks for Bee Imaginative. Unfortunately, my photos were taken after dark. If you follow the link to the bee's Flickr Pool, you can see other blocks to get a better idea of the color -- particularly of the yellow solid!
Amanda asked for Flying Geese blocks, which was a fun change of pace. She said the geese could be flying "any which way."
This block is not my original design. It's almost exactly like this block by Jennie/sunflowerquilt, which is one of the photos Amanda linked to in her instructions.
Then, I made this more conventional version.
I hope you like them, Amanda!
I made the top of Hiromi's mini quilt using the same technique I used for this quilt, and which I described in this tutorial.
The sketch I drew was for a grid 10 squares wide and 15 squares tall. I counted up how many of each color I needed and cut enough 2" squares of those, plus the white background squares, to make the quilt top.
One thing I did differently than the tutorial (and which I did for the Stamp Collection quilt too) was to draw a grid onto muslin, rather than directly onto the fusible interfacing. This is easier to draw, easier to see, and has the bonus of being reusable. Win, win, win!
I drew my 2" grid with a Sharpie. If you try this, keep in mind that a) it will get all over your ruler,* b) it may bleed through onto your mat or table, and c) it may be kind of fume-y when you iron over it. Don't hesitate to use something other than a Sharpie. Just be sure that whatever you use is not water-soluble. You don't want the steam from your iron to make it bleed all over your project!
*I easily cleaned the edge of my ruler with a bit of nail-polish remover on a cotton cosmetic ball. Using an acetone-based product is probably not be the most advisable way to clean an acrylic ruler, but I washed it with dish-soap and water right after and it doesn't seem to have been damaged.
I created a pressing area by laying an old towel on my work table, with the muslin grid on top. The towel needed to be totally flat, so I cut off the hems, which had shrunk weird in the wash and were preventing the edges from laying flat.
I then placed lightweight fusible interfacing (I use the lightest-weight Pellon) over the grid, with the glue side facing up. I trimmed away the edges of the interfacing, so that it was the same size as the grid I drew on the muslin. (I did this so that, once I laid down all the fabric squares, there wouldn't be any extra interfacing poking out that could get stuck to my iron.)
After this, I followed the same directions I provided in the tutorial, using my sketch as a guide for where to place the different squares.
Note: You can see in the above photo that I used two pieces of interfacing, which I simply overlapped. If you do this, make sure the pieces overlap in the middle of a row, rather than on a gridline/seam allowance.
Here's what the squares looked like once they were laid out and ironed onto the interfacing.
One important lesson I learned while making the Stamp Collection quilt is that the process is way easier if your squares are just barely the correct size. A scant 2", if you will. If the edges of your squares extend beyond the edges of your grid, they will start overlapping weirdly, which will make it more difficult to accurately fold and sew the rows. If you see any of your squares overlapping, don't hesitate to use your scissors to trim just a hair off the top and one side before replacing them in the grid.
Here's an example of how cleanly the rows fold, when none of the squares overlap.
Here's what it looked like after I'd sewn about half of the vertical seams.
Here are the vertical seams after being trimmed and pressed open.
Here are the horizontal seams before trimming and pressing.
And here's the back of the finished top. Look at all those pretty seams!
And here's the finished top!
I know just how I'm going to finish this, but I'm going to keep you in suspense . . .
ETA: Ack! I just noticed that I made a mistake in my grid! The pink "line" has a square that should have been placed one square diagonal from where it is. I've never tried to take one of these blocks apart before, but I think I'm going to have to now, or it will drive me crazy! Okay, I took it apart (very easy) and fixed the problem. Photos are below. Much better!
My first attempt at a block is not bad. It could use some work, but I've definitely found the technique I'm going to use for the rest of the quilt.
When I first started thinking about making an Orange Peel block, I considered the different ways the components could fit together. I decided that I definitely wanted each almond shape individually pieced into a square, so that the primary and secondary block patterns would be identical.
l tried piecing a couple of blocks with patterns I made. They came together fine, but I didn't like the extra bulk at the corners where the solid pieces overlapped. So, I decided to try piecing the almond shapes into a solid square, similar to Dale Fleming's Six Minute Circles, and loved the results.
Note: Dale Fleming's original technique is described in the linked tutorial and in more detail in her book, Pieced Curves So Simple. I'm going to show you some photos of how I adapted the technique to my purpose, but please refer to Dale's original tutorial and book for more details on the basic pinless piecing technique (which is amazing!).
I gathered the materials I would need which, for the almond shape I was making, included a compass and a 5.5" square ruler.
Instead of making the freezer paper template described in the linked tutorial, I traced my 5.5" square ruler onto freezer paper and then drew in the quarter-inch seam allowance. (So, basically, I drew a 5" square inside a 5.5" square.)
I then used my compass to draw the almond shape. To duplicate this, set your compass to draw circles with a 5" radius (or, more simply, so that the point sits on one corner of the 5" square with the marking end just reaching the other).
Note: Freezer paper comes on a roll and doesn't easily lay flat. That's why it's taped to my table.
The finished almond shape looked like this.
l then cut out the almond shape, trimmed the freezer paper template to about 6" and ironed it to the wrong side of a piece of Kona Snow.
For the almond shapes, I cut 5.5" squares, as they should be easy to match up with the 5.5" square I drew on the freezer paper template.
When cutting the notches, I made a cut at each point, as shown above, and then pressed the notches outward toward the two sides of the almond shape.
I started sewing at one of the points and sewed around one side of the almond shape first, backtacking a couple of stitches at the beginning and end of my seam.
The tutorial says to use a zipper foot, but I just used my (very narrow) regular piecing foot.
Here's what it looked like when one seam was finished. I then repeated the same process on the other side.
Once both side seams were sewn, I folded back the solid fabric and made a few stitches (forward and backward) to reinforce the points.
I trimmed away excess fabric in much the same way I would have for a circle, trimming away the tips of the points at either end of the almond shape (much as you would if clipping corners before turning a pillow or bag right-side-out).
I ironed toward the center, starting with one side. I tried both clipping and not clipping the print fabric and found that I preferred the results when I did not clip the edges of the print fabric before pressing.
I then pressed the other side toward the center. As mentioned in the tutorial, pressing the seam allowance toward the center gives the appearance of an applique.
I trimmed my block components down to size by using my 5.5" square ruler. (Note the placement of the diagonal line on the ruler.)
Once I had four block components, I was ready to sew them together! My original sketch had the block components coming together in circles like this, but I decided to piece this blocks in a starburst pattern instead, to test how much bulk was coming together at that center point. (Answer: Not too much!)
Here they are sewn together! This was actually the most difficult part of the process, since the bulk of the curved seams fought my sewing a scant quarter inch seam allowance right up against them.
You can see here that they aren't quite aligned perfectly, but I'm hoping my technique will improve as I work on more blocks!
Today is the fourth and final installment of my block-along series for Sew, Mama, Sew's Quilting Month II.
Today I'm making a very basic, wonky cross block.
And here's a shot of all four of them together! To recap, here are links to all four tutorials:
Foundation-Pieced Spiderweb Blocks
Thank you to everyone who quilted along with me!
Check out Sew, Mama, Sew today for the third week of the Quilting Month II Block-Along.
This week we're making a Dresden Plate block. It may look complex, but each step is actually very achievable!
Check out Sew, Mama, Sew today for the second week of the Quilt Month II Block-Along!
And have you seen Jacquie's awesome tutorial for making Spiderweb Blocks with selvage? Check it out on her blog.
These are blocks that I made for two quilting bees that I participate in. These bees are already full and in progress, which means that you can't join them. However, if you'd like to get involved in a virtual quilting bee (it's really fun!) check out this post for more information.
Do these blocks look familiar? I feel like it was kind of lame of me to copy the basic style of the blocks I made for Ashley's Block Party month last year, but Amber had faved them in Flickr so, when she also requested blocks in the manner of Denyse Schmidt's Drunk Love Quilts, I decided to recreate the blocks I made for Ashley in Amber's fabrics. These are for the Bee-autiful Bee.
Here's the first one. (Not nearly as wrinkly in person as it looks in these photos!)
And here's the second. This one is my favorite!
But wait, there's more! Julie of {Bee} Imaginative also wanted wonky log cabins, so I made slightly larger versions for her.
Here's the first one. I'll admit that I was a little worried about that mod Hawaiian print when I first saw it, but I think it looks great in both blocks. (Great fabric choice, Julie!)
And here's the second one.
And this is a little silly. For his month of {Bee} Imaginative, John asked for blocks to make a modern Dear Jane sampler quilt. I really disliked the blocks I made for him initially (didn't even photograph them, actually!) so here are two new blocks that I made to send along belatedly.
Here's a mini New Wave block.
And here's a mini Map of the States Block.
Hopefully these work well with the contemporary sampler concept!
To be fair, it's probably more like an Improv Block, twice removed, but still awesome!
I used hand-dyed fabric and scraps of a few coordinating quilting prints.
I was inspired by the (Not So) Crazy Quilt in Joelle Hoverson's Last Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts to interpret Denyse Schmidt's "paper bag technique" with a loose plan. I didn't follow Joelle's pattern, and I added a step to integrate a print fabric into each block component, but my general approach was similar.
I really need to re-cover my design wall. It's covered in strings!
The dye process used for these solids was inspired by the Sequenced Overdye System in Katy J. Widger's book, Color Wheel Fabric Dyeing. (A great introductory dyeing book for anyone interested in creating a lot of different colors of fabric from just a few colors of dye.)
I wanted to dye a similar array of colors on a smaller scale and without overdying, so I turned to a process that I've used many times over the years: beer cup dyeing. My idea was to dye 12" x 11" squares in 25 plastic beer/keg cups. I set the beer cups up in a grid and created a formula to add different amounts of Golden Yellow and Light Red dye solutions to each column and row. This process resulted in 25 different colors that, while not as beautiful as what might have been produced by overdying in general and Katy's process in particular, were perfectly serviceable for this project.
Please let me know if there's any interest in a more detailed post about beer cup dyeing. Like I said, it's not a very professional approach, but it can be a fun introduction and is great for people working in a small space. (I used to do beer cup dyeing in the bathtub of my tiny apartment!)
You may have noticed a lot of references to books in today's post! Besides being inspired by great books, I was inspired by Rebekah's new-ish Flickr Group, Putting Idea Books to Use.
I'm pretty happy to have come up with a viable (for me) improv block process. I'm going to use it to finally, FINALLY, finish my Project Improv quilt for Jacquie!
