June's Blocks

Here are the 2012 BOM blocks for June:

 These are both variations of the 9-patch block. After the wildly vibrant wonky log cabin for May, these two are pretty sedate, almost boring by comparison. Both are very simple blocks.
Somehow I had gotten the impression that the 2012 BOM quilt was going to end up being big enough for a twin-sized bed. I think it was because the materials list said to use a twin-sized batting. However, the actual finished size of the quilt is only 55" by 68.5" - nowhere near big enough for the twin-sized bed for which I intended it. I don't want just a throw size. I want it to cover the whole bed. So, I did some calculations and figured that I will need 35 blocks to make it the size I want, not just the 20 blocks that this project calls for. So, I'll either be doing many more blocks per month or else will take much longer than originally planned. And that's okay. It's not like I had planned it for a special occasion and had a deadline for which I needed to complete it. 
So, what are my plans for the extra 15 blocks? I am also enrolled in Craftsy's Quick Strip Paper Piecing course, and 4 of the blocks from that course are 12" blocks, so I can use them without having to alter the patterns at all. Also, in one of the previous lessons in the 2012 BOM, we were taught how to draft quilt blocks. And I have Jinny Beyer's book, The Quilter's Album of Blocks and Borders, so I expect I will be drafting some of my blocks from this book. In my newest book, Quilting Shortcuts, are some block ideas that I can use. So, eventually, my 2012 BOM quilt will grow up to be a twin-sized quilt with quite a few blocks that were not in the original course. Now I just need to buy some more fabric...
And here is the June block for the 2013 BOM:

 This is the LeMoyne Star and involved Y-seam construction. The Y-seams, however, really weren't too much of a problem. No, it was getting my diamonds to look like diamonds that was the problem. We started out by cutting 2.5" strips from the two fabrics and sewing them together in pairs. Then we were to cut them into diamond pairs, using the 45-degree marking on our rectangular rulers. Well, if you read my blog on the spool blocks, you will recall that I accidentally used the 60-degree marking on one of my triangles and so I decided to just use my 45-degree triangle ruler to avoid any further mistakes. And so I chose to use my triangle ruler for cutting the strips for this block. But something was wrong. I was being careful to measure the 2.5" length on the ruler for each diamond pair I cut, but my diamonds were turning out wonky and really weren't diamonds at all. Well, I really can't explain what I was doing wrong because I'm not totally sure what it was and I did it to everyone of my diamond pairs. I hoped that once I got them sewn together, they would turn out alright. But they didn't. The next step in the process was to sew the pairs into quads, bigger diamonds that were also wonky. By this stage in the game, I knew I had to make a decision. I could try to sew them altogether and produce what would be a really wonky star, if I could even manage that. I could start over, but I would have to use different fabrics, because I didn't think I had enough left of the ones I had already used. And then what would I do with my wonky diamonds? I hate to waste fabric. 
By this time, I had figured out what I had done wrong - sort of. I was measuring the 2.5" linearly on the strip with my triangular ruler. If I used the rectangular ruler, the 2.5" actually was measured on a different angle. As I said, I really can't explain it. It's been too many years since I took geometry. But I will add that a few of the other quilters in my class also ended up with wonky diamonds - and they used their rectangular rulers! Hmm, I really think the instructor for this class should have demonstrated this aspect more carefully and thoroughly. I don't recall the camera zooming in on the actual cutting, so that we could know exactly how it was done. And I'm still a little uncertain about it.
What did I decide to do? I decided to use my wonky diamonds, trimming them down so that they actually looked like diamonds. Believe it or not, I basically did it by "eyeballing" the pieces, measuring how much needed to be cut off and applying that measurement to all of the pieces. So eight wonky 4-part diamonds became 8 normal-looking diamonds. Not perfect, but much better than previously. If you enlarge the picture, and look carefully, you can see that my seams didn't match up in the centre. I'm not sure how this happened, and I found it rather amusing as all the other seams matched up. The centre is the best place for the seams to not match since all the pieces are the same colour and it's not noticeable unless you look carefully.
Since I made my diamonds smaller, I knew that the block would end up too small and I would have to add borders to make it fit into the quilt properly. So I did. The finished block was supposed to have measured 19.5". Mine finished out at slightly over 16. So, I added 3.5" ON ALL SIDES. While I was sewing the borders on, I remembered that I hadn't allowed for the 1/4" seam. It wasn't until I finished the block that I realized that I should have divided that 3.5 in half, plus seam allowances, to get the actual width of the border. <sigh> I now have a block that finished out around 22.5". LOL Definitely having a blonde moment when I worked on this block.
I haven't decided what I'm going to do with the extra border width - whether I'll trim it off or add some extra sashing elsewhere in the quilt to make it fit. Overall, in spite of my many mistakes, I'm actually quite pleased with this block.

45-Degree Triangles: Strippy Spools

I am now up to date with both the 2012 Block of the Month and the 2013 Block of the Month. This month's block for the 2013 BOM is a variation of the Spinning Spools block, and we were to make a total of 8 blocks, though only 7 will be used in the quilt. The finished size will be 7 inches. I will have a hard time deciding which one to leave out. Here they are:

 These are done by cutting  2-1/2" strips across the width of the fabric. Then two strips are sewn together and this double strip is then cut into 45 degree triangles. I happen to have a 45 degree triangle ruler, so was mostly using that. However there are 45 degree markings on the standard 6.5x24" quilting ruler, so I thought I'd give that a try. The problem is the ruler also has 60 degree markings and I ended up with one triangle with a 45 degree angle on one side and a 60 degree angle on the other side: a scalene triangle instead of an isosceles triangle. So I had to cut an extra one and ended up cutting that one from the wrong direction, so that the fabric at the point of the triangle was reversed with what should have been at the base of the triangle. So I had to try once more and finally got it right, but I stuck with my 45 degree triangle ruler after that. Then my sewing machine started acting up and I figured it was high time I cleaned some lint out of it. However, I couldn't find my instruction book to figure out how to remove the bobbin shuttle. I had to google that and now have a copy saved on my computer. And I did get the bobbin shuttle out, cleaned out a pile of lint and now the machine is working fine. 
Each one of this month's blocks is made up of four 45 degree triangles, two of one kind and two of another. And they're made to look sort of like spools of thread - hence the name. 
Here's the colouring sheet again, with my latest blocks added in:

I just plopped the blocks in at random in the colouring sheet. I will probably rearrange them when I actually make up the quilt. I also found out that the colouring sheet is a little off scale, as the spools came out slightly rectangular when in actuality they are square.
Next month is the LeMoyne Star, using Y-seam construction. That's the large block on the upper right. I'm looking forward to it. That one should be pretty! The tumbling blocks block on the upper left comes in July, while the appliqued basket and flowers on the lower right takes two months, August and September.
Now that I'm finally up to date, maybe I can get to work on my trailer curtains.

 

So Much for My Quilting Hiatus

Quilting is addictive - I can't give it up. Actually I had already prepared some "hexies" for a quilt block and I didn't want them getting lost in the shuffle, while I worked on the window treatments for my trailer. So I figured I'd better finish that block. And another, and another, and...
All of the blocks for this post are from  Craftsy's 2012 Block of the Month.
For the April blocks, it was English paper piecing, something I never thought I'd do. Not only is it tedious, but it involves a fair amount of hand sewing. Years ago, when I bought my first sewing machine, one of the requirements was that it must have a blind hem stitch, so that I would never have to hem by hand again. I do not hand sew any more than I absolutely have to. When I crocheted a cardigan for my grandson for Easter this year, rather than sew it in separate pieces, I crocheted the front and back all in one piece. And the sleeves I crocheted as a long tube, instead of a flat piece that I would later have to sew together. I didn't sew any more seams in that cardigan than necessary. So, the idea of doing English paper piecing was really not appealing to me. However, I was determined to do every block in both of the BOM quilts I'm doing, even if that meant hand sewing and tedious paper piecing. So, here are my April blocks:

I have to admit that I'm still quite happy with my fabric choices. I love the way the black background just makes the bright colours "pop." While I don't particularly care for some of the individual fabrics within the fabric bundles - browns have never ranked high with me, and I would have been happier with more purples and at least one true orange - generally I've been very satisfied. 

In order to make all of these hexagons, I would have had to trace and cut out a template (one for each size) and then trace the template onto paper/cardstock in order to have one paper hexagon for every fabric one. As I said, English paper piecing can be quite tedious. So I skipped that step and purchased precut paper hexagons online here: Paper Pieces. The prices are reasonable, my order was shipped quickly and I got good customer service. And it sure beat cutting out all of those hexagons myself. I still had to cut out the fabric hexies, but I used my rotary cutter for that. 

The block on the left is the Hexie Stripe Block and the one on the right is the Sunny with a Chance of Hex block. I used all but two fabrics from one fat quarter bundle in the first one and every fabric from another fat quarter bundle for the second one. All of the hexies had to be basted by hand and sewn together by hand, and I actually hand-appliqued the hexie stripe on the first block. And I survived. :-) So, hand sewing really isn't deadly after all. But I doubt I'll be in a hurry to use hexagons in a future quilt. However, I am glad I did it and am pleased with the results. 

Here are May's blocks:

This month's topic was Wonky Log Cabin Blocks. On the left is the Modern Log Cabin and on the right is the Wonky 5-sided Log Cabin, though mine looks more like a spiral than a 5-sided figure. I have to be honest: I really didn't like either of these blocks in the course materials. The Modern Log Cabin is kind of boring to me. And the Wonky one is a little too disorganized, chaotic - I'm not sure what word I'm looking for. I just know I didn't really like it. Certainly, I feel that my use of colour improved both blocks immensely. I hope that doesn't sound too arrogant, but let's face it - there is a reason why I picked those fabrics. It's because they appeal to me and everyone has different tastes. You might think my blocks are horrid and you're entitled to think that. My niece was over and I was showing her some different blocks and quilts online, and some that appealed to her did not appeal to me, and vice versa. It's not a cookie cutter world. And that would be extremely boring if it was. 

But back to the blocks, I have to 'fess up that I didn't do the Modern Log Cabin exactly as I was supposed to. I hadn't watched the video yet and only briefly glanced over the instructions. The centre square was supposed to be outlined in a round of background fabric, then a round of print, then another background and a final round of print. I did the opposite. In the video, the instructor used all one print for each print round and I used 4 different ones. But I'm still happy with my block. 

Another confession: I had originally planned on using only fabric from the three fat quarter bundles that I bought for this project. However, I was trying to follow a rainbow sequence in the Wonky block and really didn't have enough oranges and yellows, so I borrowed from my stash. You may recognize the one yellow along the left edge - it's the centre fabric from the offset log cabin blocks from the 2013 BOM. There are also a couple of orange pieces, one above and one to the right of the aforementioned yellow strip, which are from fabric I have purchased for a quilt for my daughter. And both of the fussy-cut centres are from my stash. 

I think I prefer the hexie blocks over the log cabin ones, but I doubt I will use any of these blocks again. However, you never know...

Now, will I be able to leave quilting long enough to get those curtains done?

Curved Piecing and Machine Applique: Fan Block

 Well, it's official: I am now up-to-date with my 2013 Block of the month as this is the April block. (I have yet to complete the April blocks for the 2012 BOM). I really never had any desire to do curved piecing as I felt there was too much room for error, but it is part of this course and I was game for giving it a try, at least for this block. (There is also some curved piecing in the 2012 BOM that I haven't gotten to yet). It went surprisingly well, though if you look carefully at the above picture, you can see a little bit of rippling in the background fabric. This is the first block in which I have used my background fabric - the pale green. It's a coarser weave than most quilt fabrics and I suspect that has something to do with the distortions I ended up with. The block was wider at the centre seams. I had to trim to get rid of this unevenness and ended up with a block that is 18" square instead of 18-1/2", but I will remedy that with some extra sashing when I assemble the final quilt. From now on, when using the background fabric, I will give it a shot of spray starch, which will hopefully help to prevent the stretching and distortions. I was careful not to pull on the fabric as I sewed it, but obviously some stretching happened anyway. 
I was puzzled when I read the name of this block and looked at the final product, as it doesn't look anything like a fan. The final block, however, is actually composed of 4 fan blocks sewn together to make a circle. In the course materials, each of the 4 fan blocks is identical, with only 4 different fabrics in the fan. Since I had 40 plus green fat quarters, I opted instead to use 16 different fabrics, making something of a green colour wheel, with the various green shades progressing from one to another. While not a perfect blend, I don't think I could have done better even if I had chosen my fabrics individually, unless I was prepared to spend lots of time and money going from shop to shop. And maybe not even then. It was very challenging selecting the right 16 fabrics to get a blend that I liked. In the original course materials, the border of this quilt block is made from the background fabric, but in the video the instructor used two different fabrics. I considered using purples for this, but, after comparing, felt that the background fabric achieved the look I wanted. 
For the appliqued circle in the centre, I chose to use a fussy cut from the following fabric:

 Isn't this gorgeous fabric? Unfortunately, it's such a large print that it won't work well in a lot of pieced blocks. So, when I had the opportunity to use a larger piece for the applique - a 6 inch circle - I decided to use this fabric. This circle is first applied using a fusible web and then you have the option of using machine or hand applique. I, being the type of person who doesn't hand sew unless I absolutely have to, used my sewing machine, with a purple cotton thread. I was too lazy to wind a new bobbin with the purple thread and unfortunately the grey bobbin thread does show somewhat on the front of the quilt. Live and learn. 
Initially I was not thrilled with this block. I was happy with the greens, but that appliqued flower really annoyed me. I felt that it was too great a contrast from the rest of the block and almost "shouted" at me, and was actually considering appliqueing a green fabric over top of it. I have since gotten used to the appearance of this block, however, and have gotten compliments on it on Craftsy, so have decided to leave it as it is. 
A couple of my classmates had entered their real blocks into the colouring sheet, so I figured out how to do this in Windows Paint, and here's the project so far:

Obviously, I chose the wrong colour blend when I "painted" the background originally as it doesn't match the background fabric in the fan block. Blending colours on a computer and matching them to real fabric is not an exact science. But I'm not going to worry about that. It's just to give an idea of what the final product will look like and I'm not going to fuss any more with painting it. 
Next month, we'll be doing the spool blocks. 
Here's the link to the class if you're interested:
  Online Quilting Class

The Quilter's Album: drafting quilt blocks

Yes, I am also enrolled in the 2013 Block of the Month from Craftsy (more on that later). Was just viewing the video on March's block and the teacher mentioned a book that is a library of quilt blocks, which you can use by applying the drafting skills learned in this month's lesson. I wanted to post it here so I can find the book later when I want to buy it. :-) Here's the book from Amazon:

Craftsy 2012 Block of the Month - January Blocks

Here they are, my first two quilt blocks. These are the first quilt blocks I've made in years! and I think they were good blocks to start out with, both fairly simple and straightforward. On the left is the asterisk block and on the right is the wonky pound sign. These are slashed blocks, which means you start with a square of fabric and then slash the blocks and add contrasting strips in to make the pattern. As you can see, the asterisk block started with a square of blue print with black background fabric strips added after slashing. The wonky pound sign was started with a large square of black background fabric, which was then slashed to add the mauve print strips. I chose to use my own fabric rather than the Craftsy fabric package. I love the bright colours with the black background. 
If you'd like to join this class, just click here:
Online Quilting Class