Blocks 13 and 14 - Log Cabin and Courthouse Steps

These 2 blocks are some of the most time consuming easy blocks that there are. There's no shortcuts, each strip has to be sewn on individually. Between cutting each strip to size, organizing so that the right strip got sewn on to the right side at the right time, sewing and pressing I could have made dozens of other blocks. I'm not sure that I'd have the patience to make a whole quilt of blocks like these but I do love the way that they look.

The first block is Log Cabin and it finishes to 10 inches and there are 19 pieces of fabric in the block. The center is cut 2 3/8 inches square and each log is 1 3/8 inches wide. This is one of the reasons it took longer. It is harder for me to cut to eights as it is quarters. I have to concentrate and triple check before cutting.

I would alternate blocks. First, sew a strip onto block A, then block B. Then iron block A and sew on a strip. Then iron block B and sew on a strip. The weirdest thing happened. Block A would be the perfect size and block B would be a little small. The more I concentrated on getting the 1/4 inch seam allowance right, the more off it got. But, I cheated! I cut the outside strips big so I could trim down if needed. On block B, I needed.

The next block is Courthouse Steps and it also finishes to 10 inches with 21 pieces of fabric. It's similar, yet different.

For this block the center is cut 2 1/8 inches square and the strips are the same size 1 3.8 inches wide (except for the outer blocks which I cut wider so I'd have some extra fabric around the edges). This block goes a little quicker because you can sew to strips on between ironing but it's still time consuming.

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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

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

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!

Erica's Stitches

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