scrappy churn dash block tutorial--pint sized

Today I'll be sharing a quick tutorial to make this pint sized scrappy churn dash block. It will finish at 4 1/4"!!!! If you make 4 of these blocks and sew them together, they will (should!) equal the size of one large scrappy churn dash block. (Tutorial here.) I've been mulling it over, and I'm planning on making one quilt using both block sizes. I think it's going to be super fun!!!

From the background fabric cut:
(1) 2 3/4" square for the center
(2) 2" squares for the corners
(4) 1" x 2 3/4" rectangles for the sides

From a contrast fabric cut:
(2) 2" squares for the corners

From scraps, piece several together, end to end, to make:
(4) 1" x 2 3/4" scrappy strips
(they are TINY!)

Cut each of the 2" squares (background and contrast fabrics) on the diagonal once. Pair one fabric of each and sew together to make 4 half-square triangles. Press seams open. Trim each half-square triangle to 1 1/2".

Lay out the pieces as shown above.

Sew the scrappy strips to the strips of background fabric. Press seams toward the background fabric.

Sew the block segments into rows. Press seams in the top and bottom rows toward the triangles. Press the seams in the middle row toward the center.

Sew the rows together to complete the block assembly. Press well. Use a bit of spray starch to press the block flat. Isn't that just the cutest??? If you only want to make one of these, you could turn it into a pincushion. If you wanted to make a lot more, they sure would make a cute quilt! Either way, I hope you enjoy this tutorial.

Happy Monday to you!

scrappy churn dash block--a tutorial

Hello! I thought that it would be fun to share a tutorial for making a scrappy churn dash block today. I originally planned to include this idea in my book, but I didn't like any of the versions I made while testing, so I switched gears and made the ring me quilt in it's place. I'm glad that things worked out that way, because I adore that quilt. I wasn't going to give up on the scrappy churn dash block completely, so today I revisited the idea. I'm pleased to report that I finally made a version of the block that I LOVE. Hurray!

For the background fabric, I'm using Quilter's Linen by Robert Kaufman in the color Ecru. (I have a whole bolt of this fabric, which is very exciting!) I love that it looks like Essex linen, but it's actually quilting cotton, which is easier to work with because it's less bulky.

From the background fabric, cut:
(1) 5" square for the center
(2) 3" squares for the corners
(4) 1 1/2" x 5" rectangles for the sides

From a contrast fabric, cut:
(2) 3" squares for the corners

From scraps, piece several together, end to end, to make:
(4) 1 1/2" x 5" scrappy strips

Cut each of the 3" squares in half on the diagonal once, to make a total of 8 triangles. Place one background fabric and one contrast fabric, right sides together. Sew to form a half-square triangle. Make 4 total.

Press the seams. (I like to press my seams open when making half-square triangles, but you can press the fabric in any direction you choose.)  Trim each half-square triangle to 2 1/2" square.

Place one strip of background fabric and one strip of scrappy patchwork, right sides together. Sew along one long side and press seam to the background fabric. Make 4 total.

Arrange the pieces as shown.

Sew the block units into rows. Press the seams in the top and the bottom rows toward the triangles. Press the seams in the middle row toward the center.

Sew the rows together to assemble the block. Press seams toward the center. The block should measure 9" square.

Here are my three original scrappy churn dash blocks that I made in the testing phases. Like I said, I wasn't thrilled with any of them, but they do make dandy hot pads. If you'd like to turn your scrappy churn dash block into a hot pad, you can use this tutorial as a guide. I like to turn orphan blocks into usable objects, because that means less clutter hanging around the sewing room.

 

If you give this block a try, I'd love to see it. Have fun sewing up your teeny tiny scraps!

 

Happy Monday to you!

biased-a quilt block tutorial

One of the quilts that I'm working on for my solids challenge is my biased quilt. I have had so much fun making the blocks, so I took some photos along the way that explains my process. I hope you find this tutorial useful. I can imagine this quilt stitched up in prints, too. I think it would be pretty fun!

Supplies needed:

A phone book (or other lightweight paper) for foundation piecing
Scraps!
A rotary cutter, mat and ruler
A glue stick
A scissors is optional, but helpful.
An iron.
Spray starch.
Also, a working sewing machine. :)

Before you get started, you need to choose a block size. My unfinished block size is 10" high (because it was the height of the phone book) x 6" wide (because it is the width of my ruler). No need to make it complicated!

Cut all your papers to desired size. I'm making 88 blocks, so my quilt will measure about 60.5" x 76" finished.

Please note, in most cases I used strings of fabric that measure between 1 1/8" and 1 3/4" wide.

Let's get started....

Take a glue stick and draw an angled line on the paper. (Sorry that you can't see the glue. It's transparent.) If you use enough glue to see it, that will be bad news for your quilt! You only need a bit to temporarily hold the fabric in place.

Place the fabric on the glue line and trim the extra fabric length with a scissors. I like to trim my scraps straight, rather than at an angle, because I'm more likely to use the little bits that way.

Choose a second string of fabric that coordinates with the first one. Cut to length.

Align the edges of the fabric on one side and sew a 1/4" seam, using the edge of the fabric as a guide.

TIP: Backstitch at the beginning and the end of the seam where the paper edges start and stop. This will prevent the stitches from coming apart when you are removing the paper later. (It's a lifesaver!)

Press the second string of fabric away from the sewn seam with a hot, dry iron.

Select another string of fabric and cut to length. Make sure that it extends from the edges of the paper about an inch on either end.

Repeat steps above to attach the third string to the block.

Continue to add strings to cover the entire corner of the paper, pressing after each addition. Remember to backstitch.

Once the paper is half covered, flip it upside down and add strings to fill in the remaining corner.

Once the block is completely pieced, give it a good press.

I like to use a little spray starch after the block is pieced to help stabilize it a bit.

Now it's time to trim the block down to size. Place the block face down on a cutting mat and use the ruler to measure the block when trimming, rather than using the paper to measure. I've found that the paper shrinks up a bit when piecing, so this is a good way to get an accurately sized block every single time.

Here you can see that the paper shrunk a bit...about 1/16 of an inch. Not a huge deal, but it sure is nice to sew blocks of the same size together.

Once the block is trimmed down to size, carefully remove the paper backing. Your block is complete!

Troubleshooting (or avoiding trouble):

Sometimes a strip gets a little wavy, for one reason or another. If that happens, it's not too difficult to fix.

Flip the block face down and fold the paper back.

Use a ruler and rotary cutter to straighten out the fabric.

Fold the paper back into place and continue to add strings and strips to the block. Having a straight edge makes it much easier to add the next piece.

TIP: When aligning a light fabric over a dark fabric, be careful to place the fabric on top ever so slightly over the edge of the dark fabric, to prevent shadowing.

Conversely, if you place the fabric as shown below, you will get an unsightly line showing through the lighter fabric after pressing, also known as shadowing. (It's a little thing, but also the kind of thing that drives me crazy in a finished quilt. Might as well avoid it if you can!)

This block had a little bubble issue....the pink fabric shown didn't lay flat when I added the next strip. Rather than press a crease into my block and leave it....

I removed the paper before trimming the block down, then gave it a good press to remove the wrinkle/crease. I was sure to use spray starch, too.

Then I trimmed the block down to 10" x 6".

In most cases, trimming the blocks before removing the paper is the way to go, although it is nice to have a way to fix it if things go awry.

 

I had a few questions about how I select colors for my blocks, so I'll touch briefly on that. Generally, when I am piecing blocks like this, I try to use a mix of lights, mediums and darks. I do a lot of auditioning for each block. As far as what goes next to what, I try to let go of my preconceived color ideas, but I find that I do place the same colors next to each other over and over at times. (I'm soooo not ready to blindly chose scraps out of a paper bag! I have too many control issues for that. ha!) My rule of thumb is, if the colors don't make me cringe when they are placed next to each other, sew it up! In this quilt, I found I had to keep cutting more and more lights to balance out the darks, because I didn't want the quilt to get too heavy and dark. So far, so good!

 

I think I'll leave it at that! I hope that you give this block a try! If you do, I'd love to see photos.

 

marmalade quilt--the beginning

Last weekend I had the opportunity to retreat with some of my friends at our annual Gruber's retreat. I believe that this was year 8! I'm so thankful for good friends from all over the country who were brought together through the internet and our common love of quilting! We have expanded our retreat to a 5 day stretch--what a treat that is! It still goes too fast. :)

My main project for this retreat, other than my pincushion a day (of course!), was to work on this quilt! I opened up a much loved (and hoarded) layer cake of Marmalade fabric by Bonnie and Camille. This stuff has been aging nicely in the stash, but it was finally time to use it. It hurt a little bit to pull the ribbon off, but I'm so glad I did. It was high time!!!! This fabric is sooooo pretty!

I mixed the layer cake with some good ol' Kona cotton in Snow. The FREE pattern is available here.....it's my cartwheels quilt from the Moda bake shop. I enjoyed sewing up these blocks!

I got all 84 blocks sewn together. This isn't the final lay out, but I'm glad I got a photo of all of them together.

I'd be curious to know what your most precious, hoarded fabric is in your stash. What is holding you back from using it? (No judgement here....I'm sure I will be able to relate!)

Hope your week is off to a great start!

big nines--a completed quilt

Welcome to finish it up Friday!

I finished up the hand binding on my big nines quilt this morning! My kids are done with school for the summer, so I have quilt holders available during the day now. That's pretty exciting! (For me, at least....I'm not sure that they are so thrilled about that. Hahaha!)

Yesterday morning I pieced a back and basted the quilt. It didn't take very long to quilt it, which was great. I kept the quilting simple by doing some free motion wavy lines to form a grid. I love this type of quilting. It's easy and quick and forgiving. It also adds a nice texture to the entire piece.

Most of the solids are Kona cotton, and the bright aqua on the right is a cotton couture by Michael Miller. ALL of the fabric came from my stash. (Hurray for that!)

This fabric is from my good neighbors collection. It matched perfectly and works very well on the back.

The quilt measures about 48" square. This is my 11th quilt finish for the year! Not too bad. :)

There is a simple tutorial for the big nines block here, if you care to make one of your own.

Now, it's your turn! Please link up your finishes for the week. Thank you for joining me for Finish it up Friday! Hope you have a great weekend! xo