Transform your fabric scraps into beautiful new scrappy quilts by making string quilts. A tutorial from NewQuilters.com #stringquilts #stringquilttutorial

Transform your fabric scraps into beautiful new scrappy quilts by making string quilts. A tutorial from NewQuilters.com #stringquilts #stringquilttutorial

Transform your fabric scraps into beautiful new scrappy quilts by making string quilts. A tutorial from NewQuilters.com #stringquilts #stringquilttutorial

New to string or strip piecing blocks? Check out video tutorials to see different ways to do the string piecing technique as well as some ideas for patterns and information to get you started.

FREE QAYG ALONG PART 11We’re obsessed with string quilts! And they are super easy, super fun and beginner friendly, so we thought you might like to make one too. This week we were invited to make some short videos for Spotlight’s Quilting Expo, so we went totally over the top and made a 3 part series on how to make a quilt as you go string quilt from start to finish. This series is perfect for the very beginner or for those that want to try their hand at making a quilt as you go quilt. It’s full

A couple of nights ago, I woke up in the middle of the night, and, in that semi slumber state when I was letting my mind wander while trying to go back to sleep, I thought of a solution to a puzzle…

Scrappy Strings HST Block FREE Tutorial There are just a handful of simple ideas to get you thinking about layout options, but as many of you know, the poss ...

Welcome to the final week of the scrap vortex QAL! I'm thankful that so many of you have joined in and quilted along with me. It's been deli...

"X" MARKS THE BLOCK - THE TUTORIAL Are your strippy scrap bins or bags stuffed to bursting? This is a great scrappy project to help you reduce some scraps and ALL WITHOUT A PATTERN (sometimes a project without a pattern is like a day without pantyhose...ahhh...). OVERALL DIRECTIONS: I don't use a paper or fabric foundation when making these blocks...mostly because I am too lazy to reproduce the foundations, then later peel all those pieces of paper off my sewn blocks. If you would like to use a foundation, go right ahead...it's all good. But I challenge you to try one block without a foundation to s-t-r-e-t-c-h yourself. Here's the ONE I tried with a 8.5 inch paper foundation...it was really harder than doing it without one, believe it or not... This block/quilt uses mostly "strips" and "chunks." I define strips as anything from 3/4 - 2-1/2 inches wide. I try to keep them separate in my quilt cave - that way I don't have to dig through all my scraps just to find strips. Chunks can be odd-shaped, cut-off chunks of leftovers or wider strips, maybe even extra triangles or squares. If you are careful and use fatter strips at either end of the central pieced section, you don't have to fool with using chunks. We just don't want to trim down our final blocks and find too many seam allowances in the corners where blocks meet. The focus fabrics that form the "X" need to contrast the rest of your general scraps. I used blacks with brights. You could use something light as well, or maybe a color. Your "X" strips can either be scrappy like mine or all one fabric/color. Medium to dark batiks with light "X" strips would look cool. Maybe red and neutral scraps with green "X" strips for a holiday quilt. The sky is the limit! I cut my "X" strips 1 - 2 wide. The variation just adds to the wonkiness and draws attention away from the fact that the "X" strips don't line up between blocks. You can see below how the scrappy black strips are different widths and don't match up precisely...charming! Sometimes, my strips are wider at one end than the other...even MORE charming! After looking at my available strips and chunks, I chose to make blocks that would finish eight inches square. I had some short, stubbly strips that were 3.5 to 4 inches long, so I decided on a center diagonal strip that would finish about 3 inches wide. After looking at your scraps, you may decide to make smaller or larger squares, of maybe even rectangles, triangles, or other shapes. I will show you how I figured out the rough dimensions of my units, then you can apply what I did to your size block. Here is my 8.5 inch square ruler with a 3 inch wide ruler on top (which represents my central pieced strip). See how I have allowed roughly a half inch at each end? You can see, from the pictures above, that the unfinished length of that initial, central pieced strip needs to be at least 13 inches, once it is pressed. In my quilts, the strips that define the edge of the central pieced strip and make the prominent "X" design are scrappy black. Yours could be light, dark, or a certain color. They can be scrappy or cut from one fabric. You can see in the pictures above and below how to determine the minimal length of these setting strips. Each strip added to the central pieced strip needs to be at least a half inch longer in each direction than the edge of the ruler. Now you can vary the size of your blocks and central pieced strip to please you. Just be sure to allow adequate overhang of strips so that when you square up your blocks you won't have any holes! Just because you see brights and blacks in my tutorial doesn't mean that is the only color option possible. Look at your scrap stash, then decide how YOU want to proceed. You can even do it without a contrasting color for the "X" strip. Look at the backside of this finished block to see how you should press your block as you progress. I pressed the central pieced strip only after piecing the whole thing, then pressed the seams in the same direction, either way. Then starting with the black focus strips, I pressed each added strip to the outside. Now just fill some bobbins, put in a new sewing machine needle, replace your rotary cutting blade, and let's get started! STEP 1: I do not cut the short strips to 3.5 inches before chain-piecing the little strips together into a long section...as long as they are at least 3.5 inches long, it's OK of they are a little longer. Some of these strip sets have a triangle or chunk at either end, sometimes just a piece of a wider strip. I do this to avoid an accidental seam too close to the corners where 4 blocks will meet. Start with a chunk, wide strip or triangle at one end, then chain-piece strips together, matching up one end of your irregular, variable in length, short strips. Do not worry about pressing after each addition of a strip. Check the length of your pieced strip as you go. This central pieced strip needs to be at least 13 inches long...make sure you stop in time to place another chunk, wide strip or triangle at the opposite end. Turn your strip sets over and press ALL the seams in ONE direction, either way. STEP 2: Now you are ready to sew on the contrasting focus "X" strips, right sides together. These should be at least 10 inches long (1 - 2 inches wide), CENTERED along the edge of your pieced central strip. I place the first strip along the "straightest" edge of the strip set, lining up the edge of the shortest strip (the cow strip in the following set).  Even though this is wonky sewing, I still maintain a quarter inch seam allowance when I can (old habits are hard to shake...). A consistent quarter inch seam allowance is not critical while making the blocks, but will be very important when sewing the blocks together into a quilt top. After stitching, trim away extra seam allowance with your rotary cutter or scissors (trim the uneven end of the central strip set even with the quarter inch seam of your "X" strip). Press strip to the outside. (I like to chain stitch several of these units, then sew on the opposing strip before stopping, trimming and pressing.) Place this opposing strip. face down and centered on the other side of the strip, with the help of a ruler (or just "eyeball" this for extra wonky-ness). Your stitching line should be at 3 inches (or the outer edge of this strip should be 3.25 inches from the opposing seam). After stitching, trim away extra seam allowance with your rotary cutter or scissors. (Would you believe I save some of these longer cut away leftovers? That will be the subject of another liberated tutorial project!). Press strip to the outside. (Again, chain piecing really saves time with this method.) STEP 3: Now we can start adding strips, one on each side, building our block, chain piecing and pressing to the outside after the addition of each new pair. As you continue centering strips (chain piecing), adding strips to each side, notice that they are getting shorter and shorter. Press toward outside before adding the next pair. Just make sure the strips are long enough so that when you trim down your blocks there aren't any surprise "peek-a-boo" holes. Please notice the left side of the block pictured below. The white-ish strip just under the left corner of the ruler is a little too wide and would cause there to be a seam too close to the corner of the block. Just slice or cut some of it off so that your last strip will form a larger triangle after the block is trimmed down. You may need to make a few of this kind of adjustment as you go. Place your block on a small cutting mat. Square up your block by placing the 8.5 inch ruler on top, centering the ruler's diagonal line in the middle of your center strip set and sliding the ruler back and forth until the end triangles are centered and all seams are solid under the ruler (no "peek-a-boo" holes...). Cut away each side, turning the MAT, not your block, as you go. A small rotary mat works OK, but I like trimming these blocks on a revolving rotary mat, like this Brooklyn Revolver. It has a 'lazy Susan' mechanism that allows you to easily rotate the block as you trim each side away (I just LOVE a good gadget...). There are other versions of the revolving rotary mat out there...here's the Olfa offering from Joann's Fabrics online (use your coupon on it!). Ta-da!!! You did it! Now you can make as many or as few blocks as you want. For each of the quilts pictured at the beginning of the post, I set 8 blocks across, 10 blocks down, with a 1.5 inch (finished) stop border and outer borders of either 6 or 5 inches (finished). The green-bordered quilt measured 79 x 95 inches and the one with red borders, 77 x 93 inches. I recently taught a class on this block at my LQS. Janet S worked with her medium to dark, earthy scraps, with a consistent light "X" fabric (she cut her light strips the same width throughout). She ended up cutting her remaining setting strips more consistent in width, while keeping her central pieced strip wonky. Lori L used fun, colorful scraps with lime green "X" strips. I've never seen such a fun bag of colorful, happy scraps (I admit it...I had scrap envy!) Both had stunning results! When it comes down to piecing the blocks together, sew in rows, pressing the seams to one side, alternating direction every row. This way the seams will nest nicely for beautiful, accurate piecing. Remember that the edges of your strips are most likely bias edges, so handle them carefully until they are seamed in and stable to they won't stretch. ENJOY! In stitches, Teresa :o)

Just a quick check in here for design wall Monday. I’m making another string quilt with the shadow look. I decided this time to make the strings rectangles instead of squares. I hope I can g…

Hello! Last week I posted an article on how to trim and match points on string quilts, and in particular how to do this on a pattern I wrote earlier this year called the "Let's Mingle" Quilt. Today I thought I would share a technique for how to make a string quilt block that is really simple and is a perfect introduction to foundation or paper-piecing.

Is it really April 1 tomorrow? That seems impossible, but it's true. April means lots of good things. Tomorrow, my grandmother turns 89, and later in the month, we celebrate my brother-in-law's birthday. And a wedding anniversary. And the second annual Stash Bash. It's also my month to plan the Love circle quilt for do.Good Stitches! It's been awhile since I've made string blocks. I don't know about you, but I always seem to have a pile of string scraps lying around. Last week, I divided them into two piles based on length, and made a bunch of blocks. Here's a few tips that might help, if you've never made a string block before. -Working with a foundation is best for string blocks, and I prefer paper. As Jeni pointed out, using a fabric foundation (even muslin) adds bulk, whereas the paper can be ripped away when you're finished. -If you have graph paper or an old telephone book, this works better than printer paper, but that will work, too! -Start with your center strip, and glue-baste this piece to make sure it stays in place! -To create a cohesive look, you can use a single color and width for your center strings. Or, you can mix it up to your heart's content! -The most important thing is to make sure you keep a 1/4" seam allowance throughout. -Make sure your strips are at least 1" wide. -With all paper piecing, it's best to leave the paper on until you've sewn your blocks together. It helps to minimize bias. -Setting your stitch length to 1.5 or 1.6 will make ripping that paper a little easier, too. -When pressing any paper-piecing, use a dry iron (no steam!). -Oh, and little triangle scraps are great for the end pieces! Any other tips? Did I leave anything out? Specifically for do.Good Stitches bee blocks this month, I'm asking for 8.5" blocks (so you can just cut a 2.5" strip off a sheet of paper to create that template!). For the center strings, I'd like 1" strips of any blue solid, and then the rest of the strings can be any width and any color. I'd love to see a mix of solids and prints. As you can see, these are addictive to sew! And my pile of strips doesn't seem any smaller.

September is my month in the Stash Trad Bee & I have totally been struggling with what block to have my group members make for me. I have finally decided to go with a scrappy String Star. Now…

Good Morning to you! It is Scrap Happy time again:). I always look forward to linking up with Kate over at Tall Tales from Chiconia each month. This month’s project is one that I…

Scrappy Snowball in Snowballs Quilt Block

I promised a tutorial for the string blocks and I had second thoughts.....why try to improve on my original source. The very best pla...

When I blogged about my scrappy improv blocks, I had several people mention that they were afraid to try it with their own scraps, since there really isn't a true plan for sewing. It does take some time to get used to sewing with reckless abandon in an improv style, but I thought that a few guidelines might help some of you take the plunge. Once you get the hang of it, this method of sewing is so much fun, and it's a great way to use whatever fabric you happen to have. The first thing you need to decide is how big you want your blocks to be. I use a 12.5 inch square ruler, and I find it makes things much easier. If you would rather use a regular quilting ruler, that's fine too! Get all of your fabric ready and divided in whatever way works for you. I have my scrap baskets divided into cool, warm, and neutrals. I also don't distinguish between scraps and strings. They all go in together, and you'll love using both with improv piecing. Start by sewing two pieces of fabric together. It's helpful if the sides you're sewing are similar in length, but not necessary. When you're finished sewing, just take your scissors and trim the excess. Add another piece to any side you choose. I always try not to sew around the first piece in a regular way, so that it doesn't end up looking too much like a log cabin block. If you don't come across a piece that is long enough to cover the side, or if you just want some variety, piece a couple of scraps together to make them long enough. As your sides get longer, you will have to piece smaller scraps to get enough length. Try to avoid sewing too many long strips on the sides or your block might end up looking like a log cabin instead of an improv block. I don't press my block until the end when I'm sewing like this, but you can if you choose. Continue adding to your sides until you have a block that is about 3-4 inches bigger than your square template. I know you're wondering why you are making blocks that are too big, but just trust me. The part that will make your blocks really special is coming up. Give your block a press and take it to your cutting mat. Line up your template along one edge of your block. Check our those extra side strips! Cut them off with care and don't throw them away. You'll need them later! I know when I look at quilts that are improv pieced I'm always impressed by the tiny little strips and fabric bits that seem so perfectly placed within the blocks. Well, you can get those neat little pieces without actually sewing teeny tiny pieces. We're going to use those fabulous little trimmed strips in your next blocks! One or two of those strips can really add a lot of interest to a block full of bigger pieces. If you really get on a roll, you can always make a really big improv block and cut several blocks from it! This also gives you the freedom to use pieces that are a little bigger, because there is a good chance that they will get cut when you cut your blocks out. You can do improv piecing with a planned color palette as well! If you choose to use scraps though, just remember that the beauty of a scrap quilt isn't fully realized until all of the blocks are together. In my opinion, that's when scrap quilts really show their wow factor! I really encourage you to try some improv piecing. Once you get the hang of it, it's a lot of fun, and I think it's really great for getting your creativity and sewjo going! Editied 8/25 to add- Here's a picture of the finished quilt, just in case you're wondering how it looks when the blocks are all put together! You can check out the post with more pics of the finished quilt HERE!

Transform your fabric scraps into beautiful new scrappy quilts by making string quilts. A tutorial from NewQuilters.com #stringquilts #stringquilttutorial

how to make an improv sailboat for a string quilt

(Edited to add: see the finished quilts HERE) Back in January I cut my string scraps that were less than 2.5" down to a uniform width of 1.5". Since then they've been aging in a couple of large ziploc bags. This weekend I decided the time had come to do something with those scraps! As many scrap quilts have made I remain amazed by how many quilts can hide in a scrap bin. Scraps are irresistible to me. Much more so than yardage. I had an idea in my head for what I wanted to do with these strings and I decided to photograph the process for a tutorial. I started by sorting out the cool colors, which probably constituted half of the strings. (I *might* have a problem with the color blue... the "warms" pile was pitiful by comparison.) I sewed the strings together at their short ends to make one looooooong string. Locate both loose ends, put them rights sides together, and start sewing down one long side toward the middle. When you reach the middle it will probably be all twisty. Cut it and complete sewing the two strips together. Press your string pair, then repeat the process. Find both loose ends and start sewing your pairs into a four. Press and repeat, sewing your 4-string string into an 8-string. This takes a long time if you started with a lot of string like I did. The bright side is that every time you fold it in half and sew, it ends up half as long, so as you go it gets easier. Keep going until you have a long panel 16 strings wide. I considered stopping at this point and just making a quilt top out of horizontal strings, but I decided to continue with my original plan. I sub cut the panel into squares, each 16.5" square. I put these up on the design wall alternating directions, this would make a cool quilt, too. Then I did the same process with my neutral colored strings. I took the neutral and cool colored squares and turned them into HSTs. I marked the line with a sharpie and pinned the blocks so they didn't shift while I sewed on either side of the line. If you put the squares together with their strips running the same way, then in the HST they will turn. If you put them together with their strips perpendicular then in the HST they will run the same direction. I chose the first method so the two different colors run at different angles. With my blocks turned into HSTs the options are limitless... Any layout that can be made with HSTs. I haven't sewn these together yet, still auditioning layouts to find my favorite. Which do you like best? Linking to Oh Scrap!

Jelly Roll Strips Patterns is Quilting enthusiasts and novices alike have embraced the art of creating beautiful and intricate patterns using jelly roll

What do you get when you add art to scrap quilting? Scrap art quilts, of course! These beautiful designs will inspire you to create your own.

Half Square Triangle Quilt on the longarm quilting machine Recently I have had my half square triangle quilt on the longarm quilting machine. I made this quilt in the spring using fabrics from my stash with 3.5" squares. This is quite a big quilt measuring nearly 7ft by 8ft, with lots of seams, so this is probably not a quilt I would attempt to hand quilt. With so many bright, contrasting colours in the piecing, the quilting was always going to take the backseat, so I chose one of my more popular longarm quilting designs, 'Happy Times' by Hermione Agee. 'Happy Times' by Hermione Agee It is a nice open quilt pattern, which along with the Hobbs Polydown wadding, keeps the quilt soft and cuddly, whilst not competing with the quilt top design.  Longarm Quilt Pattern 'Happy Times' by Hermione Agee So whilst on the front the quilting is quite subtle, on this occasion for the back I chose a purple Moda 'Grunge' fabric, combined with a green Isacord thread which together showcase the 'Happy Times' pattern nicely. Once quilted there was just time to enter it into the 2015 Quilts UK show at Malvern, where I was overjoyed to receive a Judges Merit rosette. 

My daughter has a friend that celebrated her birthday last week. I wanted to make her friend a pillow (I've had it in mind for months!) and even though I didn't feel like I had the time to make it, I whipped it up anyway. It's amazing how much one can get done with a little bit of focus and a deadline. A lot of these cute scraps came from my friend Mary. (Thanks Mary!!!) My daughter had picked them out and squirreled them away as her favorites. I couldn't think of a better project to use them for! I used a regular sized bed pillow for the form and added an envelope backing (similar to this) so the pillow cover is washable. An absolute must! With a name like Mandara, I knew that personalized items are hard to come by, so I wanted to be sure to include her name somewhere on the project. I used my rustic embroidery skills (heh) to add her name to one patch. I like that it's included in the mix, but that it's not necessarily the focal point. When I was stressing over the lack of perfection, my husband reminded me that the recipient is 9, and not to worry about it. It's always good to have a voice of reason! I'm happy to say that Mandara loved it! She and my daughter had fun looking at all the different fabrics and finding cute things to squeal over. It was delightful! It felt pretty good to be able to cross something off my list, too.

Something beautiful from those bits of scraps that wind up in the floor, or the bin, or are too small for anything else!

When I cleaned out the project boxmentioned in #2 of the Realizations post,this was one of the groupings of scraps I found. Those strips from sCRUMBtious and Flummadiddle were sewn together and pre

I'm linking up with Nicky and Leanne for Scraptastic Tuesday this week because at last I've got a scrap project to talk about! ...

I was thinking today that, sometimes when my spirits are low, all it takes to lift them again is to ask myself one little question: “What is beautiful about this moment?” And, you know what? The universe always has an answer for me. In fact, the universe usually has several. Two of today’s beautiful...Read More »

Welcome to the final week of the scrap vortex QAL! I'm thankful that so many of you have joined in and quilted along with me. It's been delightful to look through the #scrapvortexqal hashtag on Instagram. So many scraps are being put to good use! Hurray! Before we get on with today's post, I wanted to share a few quilt tops made by others! This one was made by Amanda of Material Girl Quilts. It measures about 46" x 63". This one was made by Linda of Flourishing Palms. It measures a whopping 89" x 91"! And this one was made by debpotteringabout. She used all of her scraps...ALL of them!!! How is that for a success story? Didn't they all do a great job on their quilts??? Many thanks to Amanda, Linda and Deb for letting me share their work here! Over the past few weeks, I've shown how to fit the pieces together based on the random sizes of your block. I would recommend using that method, if you are up for it. However, I would imagine that some of you may want to rely on a block format for construction. I've done a few quilt block mock ups to show a few options if the random layout isn't working for you. For this first mock up, you could use all 12" blocks. This isn't a bad option at all, just a bit more structured than the typical randomness of a scrap vortex quilt. When you start the assembly, at least you are guaranteed that your blocks will fit together! This second layout uses just 3 different block sizes: 12" squares, 12" x 18" rectangles and 6" x 12" rectangles. In this layout, you will lose the grid of the patchwork (which is a good thing) and it becomes more random, but it's still orderly and predictable. This isn't a bad option, either! These are just a few examples to illustrate my point. Of course, they can be sized up or down as desired. Completely random is good, too! As far as quilting goes, I would recommend doing spiral quilt (tutorial here) to keep with the vortex theme. A pieced back.... and scrappy binding are options that I would recommend as well! It just makes sense, right? :) Well, that's all I have for today! As always, if you any questions, I'll try to answer them in the comments! Thank you ALL for quilting along with me!!!

Hi, all! May! The lovely month of May has arrived, with beautiful springtime weather to enjoy and the end of this year's Hands2Help Challenge in sight. Today we have another guest blogger joining us - Anja from Nova Scotia, who blogs at Anja Quilts! Anja is always creating something beautiful, it seems, and she has a wonderful tutorial for us today. So now I will turn the blog over to her! *&*&*&*&*&*&* Thanks to Sarah for hosting another year of Hands2Help and for the opportunity to guest blog. I'm Anja, and I blog over at Anja Quilts and on Instagram with the same name. My tutorial continues Sarah's theme of string therapy. I found a piece of paper in my quilting notebook with some directions, but no indication what the pattern was called or where I found it. It said to cut strips 14.5-inch long of various widths. I decided to use 12.5-inch lengths because that's the largest square ruler I had. Sew strips together to make a 12.5-inch square. Match two squares together, alternating the orientation of the strips so they are perpendicular. Sew a 1/4-inch seam around the entire perimeter of the square. Cut the square diagonally twice to get four sections. Press each section open to reveal a square. My note did not say to sew the strips to a foundation, and at this point of the process, I realized that would have been a good idea. Some of my squares were 8.5 inches, but some were not. So I trimmed them all down to 8.25 inches. I ended up making 48 blocks, resulting in a quilt top about 47 x 63 inches. There are many possibilities to arrange the blocks. This is a simple way to use up your scraps. *&*&*&*&*&*&* Oh, how I wish I had known about this technique when I was doing my string tutorials! This is such a great and simple way to change up string blocks into something really special. Thanks for sharing with us, Anja! Next week we will have another guest blogger, and it's also a check-in week. If you don't have a blog and want to share your progress, please feel free to send them to me at salliesue57 (at) gmail (dot) com and I will add them to a blogpost so others can see your work! See you next week! Hugs! Sarah

From fabric hamburger.... to rainbow sandwiches..... to Scrappy Sandwich blocks! Here's how I make them..... ...

I'm all about saving time and money. When I first heard of chain-piecing, I really latched onto it. I discovered that not only did it p...

I was lucky enough to attend the AQS show in Chattanooga last week, so I’m sharing some of my favorites with you. These are not meant to be representative of the show and they certainly do n…

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.

Happy Needle and Thread Thursday, friends! This week, my wild thing is on Spring Break, and so he and I decided to take a trip down to Bato...

It's funny where inspiration can be found. The tiles on the bathroom floor, a zigzag coffee mug—you name it, some quilter is bound to be inspired by it. The day I decided to bounce down off the no-sweets wagon and bake something dense and chocolatey*, I wasn't really looking for inspiration. But there it was, staring me in the face on a chocolate bar wrapper, of all places! I was admittedly giving in to some serious cravings that day, as well as trying to use what remained of the giant bar of dark chocolate I'd bought over the holidays before my husband could eat it all. He'd already polished off half of it before I'd found out and hidden it deeper on the pantry shelves. So let's say I was managing a security risk by deciding to bake with it that day. Yeah, that works. After rough chopping the chocolate, I set the wrapper aside. Then while waiting for the chocolate to melt in the microwave, I happened to study the wrapper a little more closely. Probably checked the carb count to see just how much dietary damage this baking venture was going to do. That's when I saw it. Take a look. A quilt block, no? And I was supposed to be creating a quilt block for Sarah's Scrap Block Challenge. Could this be just the ticket, the inspiration I needed to get started? I thought so! The challenge was to use the sizes in the scrap management system described in the book Cut the Scraps! Fabric scraps are cut to measure 2 inches, 3.5 inches, and 5 inches square. So I scribbled something on paper that more closely resembled a primitive cave drawing than a quilt block. Did some mental gymnastics on the math, trying to wrap my head around how to orient the center square in the way it was depicted on the wrapper. On failing to come up with a solution, I modified the plan somewhat. Close enough for rock and roll! Then I chucked the cave drawing aside and went to play with fabric. And voila! Here's how it went together, using 5-inch and 3.5-inch squares. For the string-pieced centers, you are going to sub-cut a variety of your 5-inch blocks into 4, 1.25-inch strips, and then sew four different strips together. Cut the other 3.5 and 5-inch squares on the diagonal. I am using two different background fabrics, ash gray and a gray/white print, and two different corner fabrics, a black polka dot print and a wine colored print. (I was literally just grabbing what was lying around on the table, so it is what it is—scrappy!) Sew the diagonally cut 5-inch background squares to the string-pieced centers. Try to center the diagonally cut pieces; they will be about an inch longer on each end than the centers. Sew the diagonally cut 3.5 inch pieces to the opposite ends, as shown above. Press open and trim blocks to 6 inches square (actually, 5-7/8 inches square might give you a slightly better match of the corner squares, especially if you sew with a scant 1/4 inch seam, but that's sort of a fiddly measurement and it came out close enough when trimmed to 6 inches square). Arrange four units into one block and sew them together. The block will measure around 11.5 inches square at that point. You can orient the corner triangles so that there is all one color in the center, or do like I did and alternate. Same thing with the background fabrics; you can use two different ones like I did here, or all the same. You have options, is what I'm saying. So there you have it! I'm sure it's nothing original, although the way in which it came about for me was. I mean, how many blocks have been inspired by a chocolate bar wrapper? (Quilters, don't answer that!) I can't wait to see what others have created for the Scrap Block Challenge. Visit Confessions of a Fabric Addict today for the linky! *I used this recipe, but substituted 1/2 c. honey for the sugar and ghee for the butter, and left off the glaze. It was fabulous and totally worth it!

A postage stamp quilt is the perfect way to use up fabric scraps. Use it as a leader ender project or set down and sew it all at once.

Сегодня о самом, пожалуй, простом и доступном способе утилизации лоскутков, с которым легко справятся даже начинающие лоскутницы. Будем делать Полосатиков. ❣️ Творческое отступление. Слово утилизация мне вообще-то не нравится, я лоскутки утиль-сырьем не считаю. У меня лоскутки, как и у вас, друзья, ценный творческий материал. Однако другого слова, означающего переработку отходов от шитья у нас нет, либо я не в курсе.🙁 Если вы знаете, напишите, пожалуйста! За рубежом есть термин апсайклинг- творческое преобразование отходов в новые вещи, одежду и даже произведения искусства. У нас такого точного термина для обозначения творческого преобразования лоскутков нет. 🙄 Или я не знаю, повторюсь. Эх, надо слово придумать, но пока идей не много. Может поможете? Чем заменить утилизацию? Может благоустройство, обустройство? Способ обустройства лоскутков. Они же реально получают новую жизнь в новом месте. Но хочется более меткий термин, этот не очень. Как считаете? ❣️ Сшитые нижеописанным способо

Quilt-As-You-Go is so much more than just log cabins! Try this new Blooming Quilt Pattern technique for a fun effect.

Hello fellow Gypsy Wife troops! Today I have for you the partial seam edition... There is a partial seam in section one, and if you haven't done a partial seam before that might sound daunting. But trust me, there is no tricky technical sewing here, just a particular order in which to sew your seams that might not be immediately apparent. I took lots of photos as a sewed this part together so you can follow along if you need to. I am only working on part of section 1 here (5 strips in from the left inclusive). I began by laying out the pieces using the pattern diagram as a guide. Then I stitched the pieces together that I could see went together logically enough. Now you are ready to sew your partial seam joining the long and short strips together to where I have my finger. You are going to sew this seam down from the top about 1.5" (not all the way to the bottom, hence the 'partial seam'). I pinned the strips where I wanted to stop. When you turn it the right way up, it looks like this and you are ready to sew it to the square in square block above. Next, attach that pair of 8.5" strips that go on the right hand side of the block. Are you getting a sense of the logic? Fun, right? Attach that pinwheel to the bottom of those four strips now. Now, flip the whole thing over. You're going to finish that seam that is open on the left. That yellow pin at the top is where my previous unfinished seam ended. Start from there and sew to the bottom. This is your last seam in this part of the block. Give it a good press and admire your handiwork!

One stitch at a time.

Last November I had the opportunity to speak to the St. Cloud Heritage Quilters. A woman named Jean Gilbertson brought this amazing quilt for show and tell that literally made my jaw drop...in the best way possible, of course! If I recall correctly, this is at least a queen size quilt. It was truly stunning. Each of the 4 patches finish around 2", so each individual square finishes at about an inch, I believe. I was foolish and asked the only question that came to mind, which was: "how long did it take you to make that?" (I should know better. Hahahaha!) No surprise that her response was: "a long time". After seeing this EPIC quilt, I knew I had to make something inspired by it....someday. After a mandatory three month waiting period, I STILL want to make it, so.... ...I pulled out some scraps and started sewing! I had a small bin of 1 1/2" squares that I had previously cut, so I was able to sit down and sew.....no prep needed. How fantastic!!! Of course I've already blown through my supply of pre-cut squares, but that means I'm making good progress! I made it a point to not overthink the fabric selection. I know that some day in the future I will look at some of these blocks and think, "what was I thinking", and other days I will think, "hey, those aren't bad at all". I waver back and forth, depending on the day, or my mood, I suppose. (Does that happen to anyone else???) The pieces are small, but not unmanageable. That's a good combo! (Quarter in the photo for scale.) There are a lot of things to love about this project: -There is only one seam in the center to match up. -Playing with fabric combinations within each block is a delight. -They are small, so you can get away with finger pressing the seams during the block construction. (I do press them with an iron once a bunch of blocks are finished.) -They are addictive. As I was sewing, I found that I kept telling myself, 'just one more'. -They are QUICK to make. -It's easy to check the block for accuracy with a 2 1/2" square. Did I mention that it's FUN sewing up scraps??? I'm having a blast! A friend asked me, "how many blocks do you need to make?" I think this is one case where it's better to NOT do the math quite yet. Why take all the fun out of it so soon? Hahaha! I decided to name my quilt "Lost in the Crowd", for a few reasons. One, because it would be really easy to camouflage ugly scraps and get away with it. Two, if you wanted to point out a favorite fabric to someone, good luck finding it! Rarely do I have a name for a quilt this early in the game, so that's pretty exciting! I think I'm going to go sew just a few more blocks now. :)

We are on week 3 of the quilt along already! I hope you are having fun with it! I know I am! This week is more of the same...sewing two p...