Making quilt blocks is so much fun but, and making blocks is the perfect way to start learning to quilt, but when it comes to putting your entire project together, you may be at a loss. When I found this awesome quilt block joining video tutorial by American Patchwork Quilting, on YouTube, I knew I
I'm skipping my July Bee Block (I've made it but not had a chance to write it up yet) and instead I'm sharing my August Bee Block for Queen Bee Kim. The package included 3 solids - 1 fat quarter of Kona navy and another of orchid and an 18" x 11-1/2" piece of white. The instructions were a 12-1/2" square using only the enclosed fabrics - make a "modern" sampler block, wonky or asymmetrical. The extra fabric can be used to make an additional block experimenting with ideas and any size if time allows. So I set about thinking what 3 colour block I wanted to create and having decided on a design I sketched out 3 colourways and decided on #3 - I liked how the white squares were trapped inside the other colours - hence the name I've given it 'Trapped Square Block'. Amazing just how different the same block can look just based on colour placement. I've taken pics along the way so if you'd like to have a go at making the block yourself here's my tutorial. Trapped Square Block Cut (4) 4-1/2" x 4-1/2" squares colour 1 (navy) (4) 2-1/2" x 2-1/2" squares colour 1 (navy) (4) 2-1/2" x 2-1/2" squares colour 2 (white) (4) 4-1/2" x 2-1/2" rectangles colour 3 (orchid) (1) 4-1/2" square colour 3 (orchid) Layout design as shown below First, let's sew together all the small colour 1 (navy) and colour 2 (white) squares using a scant 1/4" seam. You can chain piece the 4 sections as I've done below. Press the seams closed to set the stitches. Press the seams towards the navy. Turn over and press the seams again ensuring there are no folds or creases. Pop these 4 sections back into the block design and it should look like this. Next, we're going to join the each colour 1 (navy) and colour 2 (white) square section to a colour 3 (orchid) rectangle. Again using a scant 1/4" seam and chain piecing as shown in the photos below. Press the seams closed to set the stitches. Then press again towards colour 1 (navy) . Turn over and press the seams again ensuring there are no folds or creases. Pop these 4 sections back into the block design and it should look like this. Join each column of blocks and press each seam towards the 4-1/2" x 4-1/2" square as shown below. The first column joined. Both outside columns joined. All 3 columns joined. Time to check how those seams are pressed. Then join the side columns to the centre section - nesting and pinning as described in my Easy Scrappy Nine Patches tute. Press that seam in towards the centre colour 3 (orchid) 4-1/2" x 4-1/2" square. 2 columns joined, just need to add the final column and press the seam towards the centre. And here's your finished block with perfect seam joins. Unfinished size 12-1/2" square/Finished size 12" square. And a final look at the back seams. And a couple more angled pics. Updated 13 November 2016 I've put together an EQ7 image of how the Trapped Square Block can look made up into a quilt. and I've turned the block into a pattern too, available from the second week of November 2016. Time to make the experimental block using the leftover fabric. And how those blocks might look together in a modern sampler quilt. As always you can check out all the blocks that our Bee make for Kim on my Quilty - Modern Sampler Blocks Pinterest Board - I used this board back in September 2012 when we made modern blocks for Queen Bee Nicole - I'll add more pins as each person in the Bee posts photos of their finished blocks and you can see my NYC Mod Quilt Guild Post here too. Featured on: Clicking on an image will take you to a new page of crafty goodness :) Disclosure: This post contains Amazon and Craftsy affiliate links for which I am paid compensation on click-through purchases (at no additional cost to you). Otherwise, the post is for informational purposes only and all opinions are my own. Copyright: Uncredited reproduction of all content, text and images on this site is prohibited. All content, text and images must be credited to Chris Dodsley @made by ChrissieD and include a link back to this site. Follow
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You did it! You successfully pieced, sandwiched, and quilted a cool new project. It’s looking great, but before you finish it off with binding, there’s one more step you just can’t skip: squaring the quilt. This week I’m demonstrating how easy it is to achieve perfect straight sides and 90-degree corners. Click HERE to watch the tutorial and learn how to take your quilts from “good enough” to first-class!
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I'll be making a cat quilt for my daughter. This is a very easy block to make and you can see each step on the Missouri Star Quilt tutorial https://www.missouriquiltco.com/land/tutorials/pins-paws-cat-quilt/index.html Your cats can be any color but please use either a white on white low volume background or a light blue or light blue low volume background. Cats can be facing either way. I have posted pictures below of my blocks. A block will consist of two cats. Finished block size is 9 1/2" square for one cat and when stitched together they are 9 1/2" x 18 1/2". It took me approximately 15 minutes for each block, including cutting time. It's a very easy block to make. The video at Missouri Star is very complete and I've also added my instructions here to make one cat: Begin with a 10 x 10" block of print fabric. Cut that in half so you have 2 - 5" x 10" rectangles. From the first rectangle, trim 1/2" off the end making the block 5" x 9 1/2". Set this rectangle aside. With the second print rectangle, cut 3" off the end. Now you have a 3 x 5" piece which is the cat's head, set aside. Next, cut a 2 1/2" piece from the end of the second print rectangle so that you have a 2 1/2" x 5" piece. Cut this piece in half and you have 2 - 2 1/2" squares which will be the cat's ears. From your background fabric cut a 5" wide strip. The pieces you will need to cut from this strip are: 1 - 2 1/2" square (tail), 1 - 5" square (piece above the back and tail), 1 - 2 1/2" x 5" for the ear area. Iron your 2 1/2" blocks in half on the diagonal. Follow the Missouri Star video for placement or the pictures I have posted below. I will be on vacation the last week in May, so if I receive your block during that time and you don't hear from me you will know why. I'll post what I've received as soon as I return from vacation.
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Here is the quilt that I made for my son before he was born. I actually finished it the day before he was born. I think I knew he would wait to come into the world until his quilt was done! The original pattern for this was actually meant to be a miniature quilt. From the time I purchased the book it is in, I planned that someday I would make it for my first child. Another reason this was a good choice was because we chose to wait to find out the baby's gender, so I thought this quilt would work for either a boy or a girl. I took the letter patterns and enlarged them to the size I wanted on my copier. Each block is about 5 1/2" square. The entire quilt measures 38" x 45". In the original quilt, the letters are fused onto the fabric squares and then a blanket stitch is done around them to finish them off. I chose to use hand applique for my letters and fore-go the blanket stitch. A lot of planning went into the color/pattern selection for this quilt. I had to carefully plan the color placement, so that I didn't end up with three blue letters right next to each other or two similar background colors next to each other. I used 60 different fabrics in the center portion of this quilt -- 30 for the letters and hearts and 30 more for the background squares. The borders are repeat fabrics. I should also add that I did NOT purchase any of these fabrics specifically for this quilt. They were all fabrics that I already had in my stash. I made a point of making this quilt without purchasing anything except the backing and binding fabrics and the batting. Here's the bottom half....and there's James behind his quilt! I love these ladybugs and daisies -- one of my favorite fabrics! I quilted this connecting hearts design in the borders of the quilt. It was a stencil that I bought. Here is how the back looks. I quilted around each letter and square, as well as the heart border. Believe it or not, this is the same quilt as the last pic, I don't know why the previous one looks so green. The actual color is closer to what this looks like here. The Letter "R" in Reverse And, of course, the label. He sleeps with this quilt every night!
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