Block 4 and 5 - More Simple Blocks

This next block looks like a 9 Patch but it isn't. Look closely, the center is one long rectangle (but it could be pieced as a 9 Patch). I found this block called Red Cross - just image it in red and white.

I would have made this block 2 but the block is 10 inches square and 3 does not divide evenly into 10. The squares were cut 3 7/8 inches which is not an easy number to deal with and I usually try to avoid.

As I'm progressing in the blocks I'm having more fun with the modern versions (after all, the traditional colors are a bit dull).

How's that for an explosion of color? I love the different circles crashing up against each other.

Now, back to the traditional colors. The next block is a variation of the traditional Shoo Fly block and it is a 9 inch block so no 7/8's to cut!

Both of these blocks (and many others) are made of brown and tan stripes. I had the hardest time finding stripes in these colors resembling the stripes in the original quilt. I basically took what I could get. Dealing with stripes can be fun. For the most part I'm trying to match the way the original was pieced. Here all the stripes went in the same direction but I accidentally put the center of the Shoo Fly going the wrong way. It's hardly noticeable and I tend not to get to stressed about details like that.

The corners of this block are half square triangles (known as HST's). There are tons of these in quilt blocks (in general) and many more will be coming up in this quilt. They are essential skill to master and there are instructions in almost any quilt book and countless online tutorials. One here is a tutorial for this block. It calls this colorway the Big O Block. I cut my squares 4 inches to yield blocks that will finish to 3 inches.

One thing to watch for is the corner triangles if you are using striped fabric. You are making 4 units so 2 need to lean to the left and 2 need to lean to the right. So, when you mark the diagonal line on your squares pay attention to the direction of the stripes. I was super paranoid when I made this block and I got the stripes lined up the way I wanted.

And again I went wild with the modern versions and I didn't have to worry about stripes. I love the dark fabric. I've seen different colorways of this fabric peeking out of quilts in books and magazines. I have it in pink with bigger circles that showed up in one of last weeks blocks.

Comments

It's about time - the big reveal

My bright quilt was finished in June but I wanted to wait until both were done before sharing the pictures. Quilting the blue quilt didn't take long but finishing the binding sure did. I did procrastinate a bit as it was too warm to have a huge quilt on my lap for most of the summer. After this, I'll probably do all the binding on my sewing machine (and stick to smaller quilts). Notice the cut-out corners? That was a challenge. I found instructions here and it looked easy enough but I wished I had practiced some. After a lot of finessing I finally got good miters but I could have done much better. The cut-out corners allow the quilt to hang nicely over the edges of the mattress and it's a perfect match for a full sized mattress. But, the top edge isn't even close to the pillows. I wonder how the quilt fit on the bed it was made for. Here, at last, is the original quilt that I was copying. I just noticed - all of the baskets are

Basted

A few weeks ago I was at the Local Quilt store basting my bright sampler. It's been ready to go for a while. I've been working on a baby quilt and it's now done. It's been a while since I've quilted so I'm glad I had a quilt to warm up on. Next I need to pull a folding table out of the garage and re-arrange my quilting space. This quilt will have a lot more drag than the baby quilt. I've also been looking at pictures of similar quilts looking for quilting pattern inspiration. I'm thinking of taking the easy way out and u se wavy lines like this quilt . I should start quilting next weekend!

The last 2 blocks and the tops are done!

I needed 2 more blocks to finish the gray version of the quilt. I ended up making simple 9 patch/half square triangle blocks. One is the yellow block in the lower left. Here it is closer up. When I made the half square triangles I had the red fabric going the wrong way so you are seeing the backside of the fabric. So the red in the triangles is a little lighter than the red in the center. It wasn't worth redoing. The other corner has a blue block and I managed to get the front of all the fabrics showing. So, here's what it looks like almost complete. And here's the blue version of the quilt. I've got the backing and the batting for the gray quilt (the backing is in the washer now) and I'm working on the thread to use for quilting and how to quilt it. They are too big for me to free-motion quilt. I don't have the space. As it is, quilting with the walking foot will be a challenge. These tops deserve so

Erica's Stitches

Search This Blog