quilting – Page 2

September 27, 2012September 12, 2019

Fair and Square quilt block

Fair and Square is block 18 from issue 19 ‘Art of Quilting’. The name reflects its pleasingly balanced appearance and its adaptability.

This block is also known as Diamond in a Square and indeed a variant of the Diamond Square I made here.

I found this one a breeze to put together. No inset seams. Just straight lines and simple pieces. In a nut shell, the four white triangles were stitched to the sides of the central daisy diamond. Two orange blossom rectangles are then sewn, one each side. And then two strips are made by sewing a daisy square to each end of the remaining two rectangles, which are then sewn top and bottom to complete the block.

I do like the colour combo of this one too. Red and orange and black… all pertaining to my fiery fire-sign no doubt!

Block Facts:

Name: Fair and Square
History: This geometric design and its variations have been found on Amish quilts made in 19th century Pennsylvania. Commonly used as a singular central piece but also as an all-over design.
Level: Some experience needed to match seams neatly, otherwise relatively simple.
No. of pieces: 13

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

September 16, 2012August 6, 2015

Little Miss Ooobop’s Fabulous Quiltblock Cushion

Let it not be said that my littlest daughter doesn’t finish anything! I am so proud of her and I think you can tell by the photos that she is pretty damned pleased with herself too! And most amazingly, all the photos were bribe-free! No hard cash, no ice creams…. nuffink!

She made the central quilt block – a double four patch – back in January. She sewed each little square by hand and made such a neat job of it. I can honestly say I wouldn’t have done any better myself!

So this weekend, when she asked if she could turn the block into a cushion cover I dutifully abandoned any sewing plans of my own, made a dash to the market for a cushion pad, and did some maths to work out the remaining blocks needed for the front panel and two for the envelope back pieces. Actually, the maths, was probably the most time consuming part of this project!

I had the powder blue linen in stash so this counts as a minor stash bust too…yay!

And Little Miss Ooobop! cleverly rooted through the button box to seek out these lovely purple buttons for the back.

She loved being the ‘master of the machine’! And as soon as she’d finished the cover she was practicing the different stitches for her next project!

It is so lovely to share a child’s enthusiasm. Especially when it is focussed on something so basic and traditional. I know I can’t push it too far. I so don’t want to put her off. She has to come to me with her own desire for crafting but I might just happen to plant a little creative seed of thought every now and then!

August 28, 2012September 12, 2019

Nelson’s Victory quilt block

Nelson’s Victory is block 17 from issue 18 ‘Art of Quilting’. Only 12 pieces but boy did those little pieces cause trouble!

This block is a variation of the Trafalgar Block which I made back in March. I had trouble with that one too but to be honest, I would gladly make another 20 of those before I made another one of these!

Nelson’s Victory was included as an opportunity to practice the set-in seam technique. I really haven’t mastered it fully yet. When I can do it in less than an hour without holding my breath once, I will let you know!

In-set seams really have to be accurate. finishing the next seam at exactly the point of the previous one finishing. In a nutshel: The blue spotty and Brighton print tapered rectangles are sewn together first, along their diagonal sides, from the edge of the pointy bit to 6mm short of the other end. Then the pink spotty squares are in-set, first seamed to the blue and then to the Brighton edge. Then all four little blocks are seamed together to make the finished block.

All was going swimmingly until I sewed the final centre seam to find that all that breath-holding and tongue-poking (I’m so glad no one watches me when I sew) was in vain, and the points only matched up in half the places they should!

Oh well… what’s the point in it looking perfect? No one will recognise its handmadeness otherwise!

Block Facts:

Name: Nelson’s Victory
History: Dates back to 1906 to commemorate the Battle of Trafalgar (which took place a century earlier) in honour of Lord Nelson’s flagship, HMS Victory, which led the British fleet.
Level: Some experience needed for the set in corners… just a bit!
No. of pieces: 12

Progress report:

August 12, 2012September 12, 2019

Chequer Star quilt block

Chequer Star, also known as Scrappy Star, is block 16 (of 80!) from issue 17 ‘Art of Quilting’. 20 pieces no less! This one is a close relative of the Sawtooth Star block, the only difference being the single square in the centre. It is a favourite design with quilters as it utilises the smallest scraps and offcuts.

It wasn’t particular tricky but did take some ‘get up and go’ to even get started! The weather is far too beautiful in London to be sitting in and sewing, as much as I love it. I am seriously going to have to come up with some outdoor-friendly projects. Perhaps some traditional hand quilting. Does anyone else craft al fresco?

Block Facts:

Name: Chequer Star
History: This block dates from the 1900s.
Level: Some experience needed to line up the triangle points with the square seams.
No. of pieces: 20

Progress report:

July 29, 2012September 12, 2019

Road to Oklahoma quilt block

Road to Oklahoma is my latest quilt block from issue 16 ‘Art of Quilting’. A grand total of 18 pieces involved in this little one. I think that’s quite enough pieces for one block, don’t you?!

Seems like ages ago that I did one of these and it goes without saying that I am still eons away from the finished article. But these little fellas are always a good filler of time. Today a mini thunderstorm hit to remind us that one should not get complacent with days of glorious sunshine as it is so not the norm! Mini showers did not dampen spirits though, and gave rise to a couple of hours of quilt making instead!

This block is very similar in design and fabric choice to the first block I made, the Double Four-patch, but just involved a little variation. You can see how it breaks down into four smaller blocks here:

It did take a little longer than the others. Wasn’t timing I’m afraid. I try not to clock watch when I’m sewing nowadays. I do enough of that in my day job!

Of course there is always someone who will try and get in on the action. I mostly don’t post photos of Socksy as she is always hidden underneath the dressmaking fabric or the pattern paper but here she is trying to pretend she doesn’t know what the problem is!

Block Facts:

Name: Road to Oklahoma
History: This block first appeared in print in 1897, but it predates that record by several decades. It is also known as Arkansas Crossroads and New Four Patch; the latter name reflects its similarity to the classic Four Patch block. It produces a pattern of stars and squares when repeated and recalls the early days of quilting in America and the pioneer trail towards the west.
Level: Set in seams require experience.
No. of pieces: 18

Progress report:

July 2, 2012September 12, 2019

Susannah quilt block

Say hello to Susannah, my latest quilt block from issue 15 ‘Art of Quilting’. She looked to be a little complicated from the instructions but as with most things it made sense when the pieces were cut and under the foot!

This was another opportunity to practice those set-in seams. To begin with, the green gingham rectangles and the red floral tapered rectangles were joined in pairs to make the four double patches that occupy the corners. The first double patch was sewn to one side of the orange central square. Then the next double patch is sewn to the first, and again to the central square.

Before sewing I marked the 6mm seam line on the wrong side of the central square to ensure that the set in seams started and finished from the point of seamlines crossing and not the edge of the fabric like the other seams.

All went swimmingly until the last and final seam, which simply didn’t match up. Took me a while to figure but it was easily resolved by unpicking a couple of stitches and restitching to fit. I’d over stepped the corner seam and it had thrown out the position of the last piece!

This seemed like such an easy one from the start, and it is, really, but a lot of care is needed to make it work accurately.

Block Facts:

Name: Susannah
History: This is a variation of a block known as ‘Oh Susannah’, the popular song which was first published in America in 1848.
Level: Set in seams require experience.
No. of pieces: 9

Progress report:

June 2, 2012September 12, 2019

Basket of Flowers quilt block

Introducing the Basket of Flowers block, from issue 14 ‘Art of Quilting’. And what a little trickster this was! Just when you get the hang of ‘chaining’ and running seams from top to bottom, this little bunch of pieces involved set-in seams, meaning the seams meet at the same point rather than the lines of stitching crossing over.

Though my quarter inch foot is still my best friend when it comes to quilting, in this instance it is also advisable to draw on the seam lines so you can accurately pin point where the seams will meet.

The red flower diamond shape and the orange daisy diamond shape are seamed together, starting and ending at the seam points. This is repeated for the second set.

The small white triangles are then positioned between the diamond pairs, and each side sewn from edge to seam point.

These two sets are then joined along the long edges of the diamonds from seam point to edge.

The white square then is inserted between the two sets, being careful to meet at the seam points.

Then it starts to get a little easier as the big green paisley triangle is sewn along the long edge. No seam points to meet just edge to edge seam.

The little green paisley triangles are then seamed to the white rectangles and seamed to each side.

One last big white triangle to sew across the bottom… a good old press … et voilà!

This one did take a little more time than the others but it was still a pleasure to make and its a lovely one to add to the set.

Block Facts:

Name: ‘Basket of Flowers’ or ‘Lily Basket’ or ‘Flower Basket’
History: This design was ideally suited to the dress and feedsack prints of 1930s America, where it was a particular favourite
Level: Set in seams require experience.
No. of pieces:13

Progress report:

May 17, 2012August 6, 2015

The Windmill Sails block

Quilt block number 12, the Windmill Sails block, from issue 13 ‘Art of Quilting’. I appear to have mislaid issue 12 but there’s no real urgency… I’ve still got 69 others to do!

I totally recognised the order of piecing this time, purposefully not looking at the instructions to test how much I have learned so far. I think in fairness, even though there are a fair few pieces, it was a pretty easy one to work out:

The 2 smaller triangles were sewn to the diagonals of the larger red triangles to make 4 rectangles. The blue gingham then sewn to the side of the red fabric point to make a small block. Then the four blocks sewn together. I thought I was going to have to seek reference on which way to press the seams but even that seemed pretty natural, until I got to the last centre seam where I had to check to find out that it must be pressed open to get it to lay flat.

I had a bit of a mare with the blue gingham though. The grain of the fabric wasn’t in tune with the checks and I had to decide whether to go for straight grain or straight pattern. I opted for the first even though it is hugely annoying that the pattern isn’t totally straight and I think I did the right thing because when I pressed it at the end it made for a perfect square. Might have been a different story if I’d have gone against the grain. Oh my! I really didn’t think these little things would have me thinking so much!

Block Facts:

Name: ‘Windmill sails’ or ‘Louisiana’
History: Each of the fifty states that make up the USA has its own embematic quilt block. This represents the southern state of Louisiana
Level: Some experience needed to make the centre seams converge neatly.
No. of pieces:16

Progress report:

May 10, 2012August 6, 2015

Sashing time!

Issue 11 of the Art of quilting is all about the sashing… and a tutorial for a cute little drawstring bag, oh and an interview with Jennifer Hollingdale. I’ve been putting this off this next stage mainly because I have been distracted by more glamourous dressmaking projects… among other things! But also because I thought it would take ages and wouldn’t be much to write home about. After all I still haven’t even scratched the surface with this quilt!

But ‘you know what thought, thought’ as my mum would say! It was a really relaxing thing to do this evening and has made my first 10 blocks visually larger so they look slightly more impressive spread out altogether!

It came together a lot quicker than I had anticipated too. Rectangles of white sashing fabric were pinned along the left edges of the blocks and and then ‘chained’ together. I love doing this as it really speeds things up. Following a good pressing, with the seam towards the sashing, I ‘chained’ the corner sashing squares onto the remaining rectangles, snipped and pressed and then sewed these onto the bottom of each of the blocks.

I have a neat little pile of mags up to issue no. 17, complete with a the necessary fabric pieces, just begging to be pieced together so they can hang out with their chums! But you know what I’m like… I will just have to find something else to do in the meantime!

Progress report:

April 20, 2012August 6, 2015

The Sawtooth Star block

Quilt block number 10, the Sawtooth Star block and more importantly, one whole column’s worth of the final quilt! Not that these first 10 do actually sit in the same column but it is still an eight of the way there, all the same! It helps a lot that my lovely neighbour has subscribed me to the ‘Art of Quilting’. There is of course an obligation but it is the nicest kind of pressure!

It’s becoming easier to recognise the order in which these block pieces should be assembled. I just find it a bit tricky knowing the best way to press the seams. It’s not always towards the darker fabric, as I thought. So I am still very much paying attention to the instructions for that advice. Hopefully that will become second nature eventually.

To make this one, two smaller triangles were attached either side to the diagonals of the larger triangle to form a rectangle. Four sets of these were made. Two of these rectangles were sewn east and west side of the large central square. The smaller squares were attached each end of the other two rectangles, which were then sewn north and south of the block.

As with most of the blocks that contain small triangles, there is a necessity to watch those points and keep those seams to exactly 6mm. I was very concsious of how much room there was for error in this one but took it extra slow. Well, for the duration of Little Miss Ooobop’s flute lesson, actually!

Block Facts:

Name: Sawtooth Star block
History: This block gets it’s name from the triangles that are reminiscent of a saw’s cutting edge. It has appeared on very early quilts in the US, dating back to 1860.
Level: Slightly more advanced as accuracy is vital to create the points of the star
No. of pieces:17