quilt – ooobop

This is my latest quilt block from The Art of Quiliting magazine, issue33. This is the Double Pinwheel or Beginner’s Joy. There appears to be a few different designs of the same name when I did an online search but the fundamental elements of a small pinwheel within a larger pinwheel remains constant.

Switching the dark and light toned fabrics allegedly makes the sails revolve in opposing directions although I can’t really see it in this one!

The order of events were to stitch together the green gingham patches with the small white triangles and then stitch the red floral pieces to the small crimson triangles. These triangles were then joined along their diagonal edges to make the four quarters of the block. The four quarters are laid in their final positions so that the pinwheel appears to be rotating clockwise and then pinned together and sewn in two pairs along the centre seams. Finally the two halves are sewn together with the final seam pressed open.

I fully intended to show this one as step by step process but completely forgot. Will try to do that with the next block – block 27 which is a simple but cute nine-patch and a little rest from all those points!

Name: Double Pinwheel or Beginner’s Joy
History: Beginners Joy was first recorded in the early 20th century and apparently reflects the maker’s delight in joining the 16 pieces together accurately… I get that!
No. of pieces: 16

Progress report:

Block 1: The Double Four Patch
Block 2: The Whirlwind
Block 3: The Sailboat
Block 4: The Shoo-fly
Block 5: The Trafalgar
Block 6: The Windmill
Block 7: The Chequer Square
Block 8: The Diamond Square
Block 9: The Cactus Pot
Block 10: The Sawtooth Star
Block 11: To come!
Block 12: The Windmill Sails block
Block 13: The Basket of Flowers block
Block 14: Susannah
Block 15: Road to Oklhahoma
Block 16: Chequer Star
Block 17: Nelson’s Victory
Block 18: Fair and Square
Block 19: Diamond Pinwheel
Block 20: Whirligig
Block 21: Old Maid’s Puzzle
Block 22: Whirlwind Square
Block 23: Windblown Square
Block 24: Basket of Flowers block revisited
Block 25: Churn Dash
Block 26: Windmill Square
Block 29: The Windmill Sails block
Block 30: Double Pinwheel

Windmill Sails or Louisiana quiilt block — Windmill Sails or Louisiana block

I began making these quilt blocks when my very lovely neighbour bought me a subscription to the Art of Quilting magazine… about 7 years ago now – and it has remained a WIP for some time since. But progress has been resurrected thanks to New Crafthouse #sewyourselfsustainable and Sewisfaction #seweverdayseptember Instagram challenges. They both prompted a declaration of #slowestmake and I can’t think of anything else that would ever take me as long!

I’m pretty sure the reason I’m dragging my heels is because my love for sewing dresses is tenfold more, but I don’t want this quilt to remain as an unfinished pile of blocks in a basket, pretty as they are. I want it strewn across my bed like this:

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Need a bit of help constructing your blocks? Fear not, Angela from Crafts at Home is on hand with her youtube tutorials. Here’s the link to Old Maid’s Puzzle from issue 23: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDr6GO5GJQo #quilt #Quilting #patchwork #sewing #sampler #crafts #blocks #tutorial #artofquilting #theartofquilting

A post shared by The Art of Quilting (@theartofquilting) on Jun 16, 2016 at 10:49pm PDT

So this lovely block is another colourway of the Windmill Sails or Louisiana block. The magazine usually gives a short history of each design but there wasn’t one included this time. Presumably because its exactly the same as block no. 12 and they might have hinted at a repeat! A bit cheeky of the publication really. They’ve just sold me the same template with different fabrics! There is, however, an additional template included for a Dresden Plate cushion cover. But hey I’ve got a quilt to make, don’t need any further distractions!

You’ll note I’ve skipped blocks 27 and 28. I’m guessing at some point I separated them out of the pile to encourage me to crack on but I haven’t a Scooby where I might have put them.

Luckily Hachette are still selling back issues and I’ve just ordered the missing ones at a reduced rate here. Just in case they are lost in the ether.

So fingers crossed I am back on track and the next one will appear soon!

Name: Windmill Sails or ‘Louisiana’
History: Each of the fifty states that make up the USA has its own emblematic quilt block. This represents the southern state of Louisiana
No. of pieces: 16

Tag: quilt

Double Pinwheel quilt block

Progress report:

Windmill Sails quilt block v2

Progress report: