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Quilting Tips to Make Quilting Fun!

Every once in awhile, I like to give you some time saving tips that will make your quilting days go smoothly. When things go smoothly…. you have more fun! The last couple of weeks, we talked about fabric, cutting safety and using quilt rulers. Today, I’ll share some tips 

Tip #1

It’s always a good idea to read a pattern through from start to finish before beginning. Especially since sometimes a pattern may not have all the cutting instructions up front. My cutting instructions are usually right up front for everything. Here’s a look:

Also, notice how I have the largest pieces cut from the fabric first. This guarantees that you get all the pieces cut from the piece of fabric efficiently. Another reason to read the pattern…. some will not have the pieces listed like this.

Tip #2

Another tip when cutting out your quilt pieces, label and organize them while you cut. As you can see from the photo above, I label my pieces to be cut with letters. It’s a good idea to stack the pieces by the fabric and by letter. This will make piecing the blocks easier because you won’t have to stop and hunt for pieces! This is how I label my pieces:

A little bit of masking tape or painter’s tape will do the trick!

Tip #3

Chain piece units and blocks when you can. Chain piecing is when you continuously feed units that need to be stitched together one after another without cutting the thread. It’s a thread and time saver.

Just be sure to check that you haven’t run out of bobbin thread while you’re stitching. I’ve done that before and have ended up with a pile of un-stitched units at the back of my machine. Oops! I also chain stitch block rows together. As long as you have them stacked up and ready to go, you can chain stitch those too.

Tip #4

A really easy way to keep pieces for blocks arranged and ready to go to the sewing machine is …. mini design squares!

I made this by cutting out squares of card board about 13 x 13″ and then covered them with scrap wool or cotton batting. Here’s what it looks like when you have block pieces laid out:

Make several of these squares. Then you can stack up the blocks for your quilt, one on top of the other, and just sit and sew. The cover of batting keeps your pieces in place as they are stacked.

Tip #5

As you are piecing units, measure your completed units to make sure it measures as it should according to the pattern. If you measure units before piecing them into the blocks, you can be assured that your finished block will measure correctly.

To be able to measure by my machine, I like to keep a wood pressing stick and small rulers close by.

The pressing stick lets me press seams on the unit while sitting at the machine so I can measure them right there. Here’s how the pressing stick works:

So, those are some tips to get you started on stitching your new project! I hope they’re useful.  Now for the new drawing… leave me a comment below and you will be entered into a drawing for my pattern Twinkle, Twinkle.

This is a fun, scrappy one and also good for confident beginners. Drawing will be on Monday, August 3rd. **We have a winner…Congrats, Eileen!**

Happy Quilting!
Deanne

Fabric Cutting – Using Rulers, Cutting Safety and Other Helpful Tips!

So now that you have your fabric and you have washed it (or not), It’s time to start cutting for your project! In this post, I’ll talk about using rulers, cutting safety and other tips that will help you to successfully cut out your project.

Rulers

First, let’s talk about rulers. No matter the brand you use, it’s always a good idea to be familiar with all the markings and lines on your rulers. I prefer Creative Grid  (photo on left) rulers because they are clear, they have gripper dots and strips embedded on the back for less slipping (photo on right) and the markings are designed to be easily read no matter which side of the ruler you are working off of.

Cutting Safety

Now for safety! About 3 years ago I sliced off a tip of my finger on my left hand because my rotary cutter slipped and skid off the ruler right into my finger… OUCH! How do we avoid this? Follow the three main safety steps I take now.

First: Make sure your rotary blade is not dull. You know your blade is dull if you have to press down too hard to cut the fabric. Pressing down hard is a way to lose control of the cutter and cause accidents. A good rule of thumb is to replace your blade before it gets dull. I advice testing your blade on scrap fabric before you begin to cut out a project.

Second: Do not ever leave the blade open when you put the cutter down. 

Get in a habit of using that little button on your cutter that closes and locks it every time you put it down. Before you know it, you will be doing it without even thinking. 

Third: I now use a “klutz” glove and have rotary cutter safety shields (see below) on my rulers. These, of course, are optional but I would not work without them. The ruler guard is great because it prevents the blade from hitting you if the cutter happens to skip over the ruler’s edge. Also, the shield is clear so you can still see the ruler markings.

The safety shields only come in a 24″ size so I had my husband cut down an extra one to fit my smaller rulers:

Cutting the Fabric

Moving on to cutting the fabric. Here are what I hope are some helpful tips:

Tip #1: So of course my first tip when cutting is to remember that old adage “measure twice, cut once”. There are times that I have thought I was cutting a 2 1/2″ strip when I really had the ruler lined up for a 2 1/4″ cut … I was in a hurry and didn’t check! Always line up the ruler with the edge of your fabric and double check that your ruler is placed correctly. Also make sure it’s not crooked. I’ve done that too. 

Tip #2: To keep the ruler from shifting while you cut, use even pressure with your hand, not too heavy and not too light.  Also make sure your hand is in the center of the ruler. Even if your ruler has gripper dots on the underside like my Creative Grid rulers.

Also, “tent” your hand as shown in the photo above with your pinkie on the edge to keep the ruler from moving. If you place your hand flat on the ruler, you may inadvertently push the ruler forward. Tenting your hand makes the pressure your are exerting go down instead of forward. When you are cutting a long strip, you may want to stop briefly and move your hand up the ruler so you can keep the pressure even through the entire cutting of the strip.

If you have trouble applying pressure with your hand alone, there are some handy little tools that help you with that. Here is one such tool called the Little Gripper by The Gypsy Quilter.

Tip #3: Make sure your rotary cutter is straight and hugging the edge of your ruler all the way through the cut you are making. You want your rotary cutter straight like the photo on the left. If you angle it like the photo on the right, the blade of the rotary cutter can wander away from the edge of the ruler and your strip will be cut inaccurately. And, of course, always cut away from your body.

Final Tip: While cutting out a project, it’s a good idea to use the same brand of ruler for all the pieces. Different brands of rulers can have lines of different thickness. Even if they are off by 1/16 of an inch, it could cause a problem when you are piecing.

So, that’s what I have for now for rulers and cutting safety tips. Next week, I’ll cover squaring up the fabric, an important step for cutting out straight strips. Leave me a comment below and I’ll enter you in a drawing for my pattern, Marbles & Jacks:

This should give you a lot of cutting experience! The drawing will be on Monday, July 20th. **We have a winner! Congrats, Lisa Gebel!**

Happy Quilting!
Deanne

More Quilt Fabric Talk

Last week we talked about how much fabric to buy and the pros and cons of washing fabric. If you missed that installment, find it here: Quilt Fabric Talk – Tips and Such. This week I’ll continue with some “fabric 101″… things all quilters should know about the fabric they’ve chosen for their project.

Selvages

Remember last week when we talked about how much fabric to buy? To make sure you get the appropriate amount, you need to understand what the fabric selvage is and how it effects how much usable fabric you have

A selvage is the finished edge of the fabric. Fabrics are woven with threads going lengthwise and crosswise. This is called the grain of the fabric. Fabric has two selvages and measuring from selvage to selvage is referred to as “width of fabric”. The selvages are often marked on one side with the name of the fabric company, designer and other information about the fabric and the other side is typically blank but still noticeable by a difference in texture or thickness:

The fabric between the selvages is often referred to as “usable width of fabric” by many designers, including me. When figuring fabric yardage for a project, make sure you consider how much your chosen fabric width is unusable because of the selvages. Since many fabrics can vary in usable width from manufacturer to manufacturer, I assume 40″ of usable fabric when I design my patterns. This is a safe number because I have yet to find a fabric that has less than 40″ of usable width. Some fabrics will have 42″ and some may have 44″ so by assuming only 40″ usable width when you are shopping, you are assured to have enough fabric.

Grain and Bias of Fabric

It’s a good idea to understand the grain of the fabric and bias so you know how a fabric will behave in a unit or block you are creating. Even if you are an experienced quilter or sewer, it doesn’t hurt to review this. Here we go!

The lengthwise grain (warp) of the fabric is parallel to the selvage. This is where the fabric is  most stable.

The crosswise grain (weft) is perpendicular to the selvages. It is a little less stable than the lengthwise grain.

It’s important to know this because some patterns will tell you to cut certain pieces on the lengthwise or crosswise grain.

Bias of the fabric is at a 45 degree angle from the selvages of a piece of fabric.

On the bias,  the fabric is the least stable and has the most stretch to it. That’s why binding cut on the bias is used for quilt tops with scalloped edges or for a circular quilt. Also, any seam sewn on the bias (like in half-square triangle squares) must be handled with care when pressing or ripping out a seam so the fabric is not stretched out of shape. Once fabric is stretched on the bias, it usually stays distorted.

See how stretchy it is on the bias?

I also cut strips on the bias of the fabric when I need to make stems for applique. The stems I make from these strips are more pliable so I can achieve prettier curves in my applique motif. Here’s an example of using bias strips for stems:

Right Side vs Wrong Side

This is generally easy to determine. The wrong side of the fabric usually has no design on it or it is a faded version of the design on the front. The wrong side of the fabric is where you will draw sewing lines and other markings required by the pattern, except when tracing applique templates for traditional hand needle-turn applique. Those are traced on the right side of the fabric.

An exception to this is batik fabrics because they are dyed all the way through. The design on one side may be a little more pronounced that the other, but both sides can be used and often are.

Here is what most fabric looks like right side and wrong side:

And here is an example of a Batik fabric. Both sides are basically the same.

Both sides of solid color fabrics may also be used interchangeably, although one side may have a slight difference in the finish.

So now you either know more than you ever wanted to about fabric or you have learned something you didn’t know. Whatever it is for you, I hope this helps you in your quilting.

There’s still time to enter the drawing for my pattern Seaside Cottage!

Leave a comment below on today’s topic and you’ll be entered in the drawing for the pattern! The drawing will be on Monday, July 6th. **We have a winner! Congrats, Jane Harrington!**

Happy Quilting!
Deanne

Quilt Fabric Talk – Tips and Such!

It’s time to pick out fabric and ready it for the quilt pattern you’ve been coveting. You look at the back of the pattern and say “challenge accepted”! I’m going to share some of my tips and some other information on quilt fabric that will make this challenge for you fun… not a chore.

Tip #1 – How Much to Buy?

Always buy a bit more fabric than required. Unless a pattern specifies that the fabric amounts listed already include extra, add about 10% to the amount you buy. For example, if a pattern calls for 1/8 yard, I’ll buy 1/6 of a yard. If it calls for 1/4 yard, I’ll buy 3/8 yard. It never hurts to have a bit extra and you can always use the leftovers to build your stash! Here’s a few reasons why I do this:

  • When squaring up the fabric, it’s possible to lose some of the length if the fabric was wound a bit wonky onto the bolt.
  •  Or if you pre-wash my fabric, there could be shrinkage.
  •  Finally …. Cutting errors. We all have them!

My patterns already include a bit extra in the amount required, but not every designer does that. Here’s what the back of one of my patterns look like. Most patterns will have these requirements on the back.

Tip #2 – Pre-wash the Fabric or Not?

There are pros and cons to each. Some quilters swear by it and wash and iron the fabric as soon as they get home. Others, like me, do not pre-wash most of the time. I find that the fabric is easier to cut without washing because the fabric retains the sizing it came with. I also like that “antique” look when the quilt is washed after quilting. So, here’s some pros and cons below to ponder in making your decision. Keep in mind this is not a complete list, just things I consider the most important when making my decision.

Pre-washing Pros:
• All the fabrics that are going to shrink will shrink so the finished quilt pattern is not ruined by fabrics shrinking differently.
• Certain fabrics might bleed, like purples and reds, and transfer to other parts of a quilt when the finished item is washed.
• Chemicals used in the processing of the fabric are removed in pre-washing. Some people are allergic to these chemicals so this is a benefit to them.

Pre-washing Cons:
• It takes time. The extra steps of washing and ironing adds time to the prep when getting ready to make a quilt.
• It washes out the sizing. Some quilters like this sizing which tends to make the fabric easier to cut. I like the “stiffer” fabric that, for me, seems to cut easier.
• Most of the quality fabrics today do not shrink much and the fabric dyes are much more stable to prevent bleeding. There’s also laundry products, like Shout® Color Catchers, that prevent color transfer.
• Fabric edges fray which can distort the fabric. This will require you to waste more fabric when squaring up.

Tip #3 – Washing the Fabric or the Quilt

If you decide to pre-wash your fabric, here’s a tip to help prevent fraying.  You can prevent most of the fraying by cutting a corner off the fabric or cutting the non-selvedge edges with pinking shears.

This also works well for fat quarters and fat eighths. For these smaller pieces of fabric, in addition to above, I will put them in lingerie bags. This keeps them from getting tangled up with each other.

Be sure to separate lights from darks and wash on a gentle cycle in cold water. I toss the fabrics in the dryer on “air fluff” only for about 10 minutes and then hang the pieces on a drying rack to finish the drying. This cuts down on the wrinkles a bit, that way you can save ironing for when you are ready to cut.

If you decide not to pre-wash the fabric, but wash the quilt, you can follow the steps I take:

When I wash a large or small quilt that I have made, I use the Shout® Color Catchers I talked about earlier and I have experienced no color transfer. Just be careful! If you don’t feel comfortable, don’t do it.

I always wash the quilt on the gentle cycle with cold water. I dry it on low, or even just “air fluff” for about 10 minutes and then lay it out flat or gently over a drying rack to finish drying. You need to be careful with draping large quilts over a rack because the weight of the wet quilt can pull at seams. With a large quilts it’s best to find a clean, flat area to lay it out to dry.

Next week, I’ll talk about some more fabric tips and also some cutting tips. Come on back next week for some more tips! But before you, go leave me a comment below on your thoughts on the fabric tips I’ve shared or some things you’d like me to share in the future. I’ll enter you in a drawing for my pattern Seaside Cottage just for commenting!

The drawing will be on Monday, July 6th so you have a couple of weeks to enter! **We have a winner! Congrats, Jane Harrington!**

Happy Quilting!
Deanne

Block of the Week – Finishing Time!

We made it! You have completed the nine blocks. Now if you want to, you can assemble those blocks into a cute wall hanging like mine. If you are just finding my blog, here are the links to the previous blog posts for each of the blocks: Block 1, Block 2, Block 3, Block 4, Block 5 , Block 6 , Block 7 , and Block 8, and Block 9. Also in this post, I will share some tips on sewing strips for strip sets.

Here’s the finished wall hanging:

It’s a fun sampler! Here’s the pattern for the finishing instructions: Block of the Week – Finishing.

Sewing Strips for Strip Sets

Using strips sets is one of the easiest ways to make some popular quilt block units and has the added bonus of using up fabric scraps! Making successful strip sets is easy, however, you need to sew the strips together in a way to keep them from distorting. If your strips get stretched while stitching, you will have difficulty cutting units from the strip sets that measure correctly.

Tip #1 – Use shorter strips if you can. Strip sets are made from joining two or more long strips on their lengthwise sides. You can use width of fabric strips (40-44″ long) but I prefer to cut those in half to 20-22″ long. It’s easier for your strip sets to distort if you are using longer strips. The block of the week finishing pattern uses 22″ long strips.

When making a strip set, lay your strips right sides together and pin. I recommend pinning to keep the edges of the strips matched up. This helps keep your strips the correct size when stitched with a 1/4″ seam.

If you want to use a scant 1/4″ seam you can. That way you are assured your sub cut units won’t be smaller than needed. However, the scant 1/4″ can only be used in strips sets of two strips. If your strip set is made up of more than two strips, you need to use an accurate 1/4″ seam.

Tip #2: When stitching the strips, do not pull on them or push them as you are joining them. Just gently guide them through your machine making sure to to keep the 1/4″ seam. Use a light touch!

Tip #3: After stitching the strips together, you need to press them open before sub-cutting them into the units for your block. Pressing is another step where strip sets can become distorted. That’s why you use the pressing versus ironing technique I discuss in a mini video tutorial I did last year:

If you iron along the seam instead of pressing, you run the risk of stretching the fabric or the seam or both.

Tip#4: If you are joining more than two strips together, alternate which end you start stitching your next strip on. It’s best shown in this diagram:

Alternating the ends you start on for each strip added is another way to avoid distorting the strip set.

Hopefully, these tips have been useful and will help when you are making anything that needs a strip set. The block of the week wall hanging uses strips sets to make the checkerboard inner border.  This will be good practice for future projects!

As we say goodbye to this series, I want to have one last drawing. Leave me a comment below on techniques or other quilting subjects you would like to see covered in a future post. One lucky person will win a copy of my book, Blooming Patchwork!

The drawing will be on Monday, June 22nd. You only have 1 week to enter, so hurry! **We Have a winner! Congrats Barbara Blair!**

Happy Quilting!
Deanne

Block of the Week – Block 9

We’ve made it to the last block! For block 9, we’re returning to our old friend, the flying geese unit. I know that’s not a favorite for some of you, but geese units are often used in some of the most beautiful blocks. If you are just joining in… where have you been? Just kidding. You can still find all the blog posts linking to instructions for all the blocks here: Block 1, Block 2, Block 3, Block 4, Block 5 , Block 6 , Block 7 , and Block 8. This week, I will also share how to use directional prints in blocks. In scrap quilts sometimes it adds to the charm having a print’s directional pattern going every which way. However, it also looks nice when the directional design is very uniform within a block. If you like to keep things uniform, this is the post for you. Time for the block!

Capital T

I didn’t name this traditional block a different name because I liked the name it already had. “Capital T”. I didn’t use any directional fabrics here but you will see in my examples below how to use directional prints for flying geese. Here are the instructions for this block: Block of the Week – Block 9.

Using Directional Fabrics

These tips are by no means exhaustive, but are guidelines I use when I want my directional design to all flow in one direction.

Example #1:

Flying geese are a unit that is used often in star blocks, like the Ohio Star. So I thought these tips would help. Here are the fabrics I am using to make the my star block, including the flying geese units:

As you can see, the fabric for the center of the star and the “wings” of the geese have a directional print. Here is the key tip for geese: If you want your directional print to be vertical in the finished unit, you need to start off by laying your square face down on the rectangle with the design gong horizontally, as shown in the second photo.

After I stitch diagonally and press open the square, the print is now vertical (last photo).

To finish the flying geese, I need to lay the next square face down on the other side of the rectangle with the print going horizontal so when done, the print will then be vertical like the first side.

But now here is the tricky part …. if you are using the directional print for the center square of the star and if you make all 4 flying geese with the print going vertical… this will happen:

To solve that problem, you need to make 2 flying geese units with the print going vertical and 2 flying geese units with the print going horizontal if you want the all the print going in the same directional when the star block is done.

See how having geese with the directional print going in different directions now works when you place them with the center? See the photos of the block before and after piecing below:

As you can see in the last photo, all the directional print is pointing vertical or all pointing horizontal, depending on which way you position the block in your quilt. Imagine if you have a lot of these blocks and you alternate vertical and horizontal positioning? That would create an interesting pattern for your eye to pick up on!

Working with directional prints does make you slow down a bit and think as you are cutting and piecing, but I hope you no longer have a great fear of working with these prints!

Example #2:

Here is how you get your directional fabric going all in the same direction when bordering a square. In my example below, I want 1 1/2″ strips to border a square. If I cut all the pieces from the same 1 1/2″ width strip, then this is how my block will look:

Actually, it doesn’t look too bad because the directional fabric moves your eye around the block. That’s why I don’t mind bordering quilts with a directional fabric where the sides are vertical and bottom is horizontal. Plus, the bigger the block, the harder it is to cut strips for the design to go all in one direction because of fabric waste.

However, for this small block, we can do that. Here’s how you do it:

Cut the longer side rectangles from the 1 1/2″ strip – in this case, the rectangles need to be 1 1/2 x 4 1/2″. As you can see, the print is vertical. Now, to get the top and bottom rectangles, which measure in this example 1 1/2 x 2 1/2″ to have the print vertical, cut a strip from your fabric for these pieces 2 1/2″ wide and then cut 1 1/2″ segments for 1 1/2 x 2 1/2″ rectangles. (See the photos below).

Now look what happens when adding them to the center square:

Example 3:

Here’s my final example. Using directional prints for making blocks with half-square triangle (HSTs) squares.

Below are the pieces to make 4 HSTs. Lay them out as shown and then lay the tan print face down on the color print. Stitch diagonally a scant 1/4″ on each side of the diagonal center from the same direction on both square sets (see where my finger is pointing). 

Once you cut the units apart and press open, you will get 4 HSTs where, no matter how they are arranged, the directional tan print will not go in the same direction.

Now, repeat the above step but stitch one set of squares diagonally in the opposite direction of the other. As you can see by the last two photos, no matter how I lay out the HSTs, the tan fabric directional print is pointing in the same direction.

So, if you choose to use directional prints and want to have them look uniform, I hope these examples where explained clearly! Feel free to ask me questions in the comments.

See you next week for the end of this Block of the Week series! I will be sharing my finished project with instructions you can use if you want yours to look like mine.

Happy Quilting!
Deanne

Block of the Week – Block 8

Welcome to week 8 of my Block of the Week project! I hope so far that this has been fun and you’ve learned a bit also. All the block instructions are still available by going to the previous blog posts here: Block 1, Block 2, Block 3, Block 4, Block 5 , Block 6 and Block 7. We will be making one more block after this and then a cute wall hanging from the blocks in week 10. This week’s block has a lot of half-square triangle squares and quarter-square triangle squares. You will be an expert on piecing these together when we’re done! 

Puzzle Star

I named this block “Puzzle Star” because the center unit and the outside borders reminded me of putting a puzzle together to achieve the design that extends the pinwheel motif to the edges of the block. You can find the instructions here: Block of the Week – Block 8.

The Importance of Aligning Seams!

With many blocks, including this one, there is an importance to aligning seams when piecing the block so the design is achieved. I press my seam allowances open on the back of my units, so the examples you see here will show this. However, if you press your seam allowances to one side or the other, make sure to press your seams in alternating directions for rows you are joining. Here’s an example using the block above:

If you press seams allowances open like me, then you can follow the tips below. The puzzle block in these photos is finished except for adding the last row. Here’s what my block looks like from the back:

When piecing blocks and aligning seams, I’m sure I don’t have to tell you how important pinning is. This will keep seams that you have aligned from shifting while you are stitching them. So, here’s how I align and pin. I lay the pieces right sides together with raw edges aligned. Then I pull down the edge of the row on the top a bit to see both seam lines:

This way, you can see if the seams will align at the 1/4″ point on the front. This works for diagonal seams also:

Now, once it’s stitched together and pressed, look how well the seams line up so the design of the block is achieved.

Here’s an example of how this works for joining blocks together like below with these two Jacob’s Ladder blocks below. You want the seams lined up so that the checkerboard and the diagonal seams of the HST units of the block align throughout your quilt.

The two blocks on the left are the ones I am stitching together. I lay one on top of the other and then I peel back the top one so I can align the seams. I pull it back where the 1/4″ seam line will be to make sure they are aligned. Once I am satisfied, I pin the unit there first so my alignment does not move when I pin other parts of the block. When I am done, the seams are matched perfectly on the front.

So there you go. Pin… pin… pin and practice this every time you are piecing. Before you know it you will have perfectly aligned seams and blocks throughout all your quilts!

There’s still time to enter the drawing for my quilt pattern, Follow the Stars! 

Simply leave a comment below about this or any of the other techniques I’ve covered in this Block of the Week series and you will be entered. The drawing will be on Monday, June 8th. Good luck! ***We have a winner! Congrats, Beverly Wood!***

Happy Quilting!
Deanne

Block of the Week – Block 5

Welcome back! I see I have not scared you off yet. I apologize in advance because this block has more flying geese…. but I think it’s really pretty! I promise that block 6 is “geeseless”. If you are just joining, all the block of the week blog posts are still available for you to read and get the patterns. Just click on the ones you have missed: Block 1, Block 2, Block 3, Block 4. Since flying geese have points that you want to keep sharp when piecing them into a block, I am going to cover some tips on doing this. So let’s get started!

Block #5 – Starburst

More flying geese fun!

Back to the “hot” colors for this block. As soon as I made this block, I thought the appropriate name was “starburst” because it looks like some fireworks that look like stars spreading out in the sky. Well, maybe it’s just me that sees it. LOL! Here is the pattern for this block: Block of the Week – Block 5.

Tips for Crisp Points

Sometimes when we’re rushing to complete a block or a quilt top we don’t pay close attention to the points in units and blocks. That’s when you end up with chopped off points. Now, sometimes it’s just at the very tippy top and not too noticeable, but other times it’s very noticeable. Hopefully these tips will help you achieve sharper, crisp points on all your projects.

When you are ready to stitch the flying geese unit to another piece in a block, keep the flying geese unit on top when you are stitching so you can pay attention to the point. And pin the pieces together. This keeps them shifting during stitching. Here’s how I do it:

Pay attention to the point and keep an eye on it while you are stitching. I want to keep my stitching above it. Hopefully, if I made my geese unit correctly, the top of the point is 1/4″ from the edge of the unit.

I am using a pin to show you where the point is as I am stitching. In the  photo below you can see my needle is going to pass the stitching above the point but still be an accurate 1/4″ seam (see where I am pointing with the pin). You want the stitching to stay above but not too far. If your stitching touches the very tippy top of the point, that is still OK.

Here is ideally what your seam should look like:

And when you flip the unit over and open it up, there it is… a crisp point!

I hope these tips help you to make sharp points. The key is to make sure you are first piecing the flying geese unit correctly to create a 1/4″ distance from the edge to the point as viewed from the back. If it measures that way on the back, it will also measure that way on the front too!

So, have fun making block 5! Leave a comment below and be entered into a drawing for my pattern Star Struck:

Definitely lots of geese for you to practice on there. The drawing will be on Monday, May 25th.

Happy Quilting!
Deanne

Block of the Week – Block 2

Hi everyone! We’re on to block 2 in my block of the week series. If you missed block 1, find that post here. Like last week’s block, this one is 6 1/2 x 6 1/2″. I used a darker background fabric than in block 1 and will continue to alternate to make the finished sampler more scrappy. The quilting tip that will go along with this block will be how to make multiple half-square triangle (HST) squares at a time. The pattern for block 2 uses the technique I describe below to makes 8 HSTs at once. It’s always fun to try new techniques, right?

Block #2 – Union

As you can see, there a lot of HSTs in this block. And if you make several of these blocks, you can be making HSTs for days! Find the pattern for the block here: Block of the Week – Block 2. Also, the stitch and flip information and measuring units information from last week’s post will help with this block.

Multiple HSTs

There are several ways to make multiple HSTs. One method I’ve used in the past makes four at once. The method I’ll share in this post makes eight at a time. Since the Union block has 16 HSTs, this method works for the block. This method is great to use if you have a scrap quilt pattern with a lot of HSTs too! Just divide the amount of HSTs in the quilt by 8 to find out how many of times you will need to do the method. If your HSTs are not exactly divisible by 8, you can make the extra HSTs needed the old fashioned way, two at a time.

Start with 2 squares that are 2 times the size of the HST you are making plus 1 3/4″. For this block, my HSTs needed to be 1 1/2″. So, 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 = 2 1/4 then 2 1/4 + 1 3/4 = 4″. My HSTs are made from the black fabric and tan fabric so I cut two 4″ squares from each since I need a total of 16 HSTs.

Once you have your fabric picked out, draw diagonal lines on the wrong side of one of the squares as shown. Lay the 2 squares right sides together, keeping the square with the drawn lines on top.

Now, stitch a scant 1/4″ on each side of the drawn lines. I use a scant because I then have the option to trim the HSTs if needed. If you make them too small …. no way to make them grow!

Once you have the squares stitched this way, use a ruler to cut this unit into four quadrants, and then cut the quadrants apart for 8 HSTs!

Next, I measure and trim the HSTs to make sure they are 1 1/2″ like I wanted. If you have the Quilt in a Day Triangle Square-up ruler, you can measure and trim them before pressing (photo on left). Otherwise, press them open and trim all four sides with a traditional ruler. And there you have it… 8 HSTs ready to use in the pattern.

What Can I Do with This Block?

I think this block would lend itself well as a medallion block in a small wall hanging, table topper, or even a pillow. You can add wide borders and then a pieced outer border for this. In the wide border you can either do decorative quilting or applique! Here are two options below:

Hmmm …. could there possibly be a new quilt pattern using these options in the future? You never know!

For now, just have fun diving into your scraps and I’ll see you next week!

Happy Quilting!
Deanne

Block of the Week Begins!

Hi everyone and welcome to my first ever Block of the Week! I thought it would be fun over the next nine weeks to make a different scrappy block and then put them all together into a mini sampler. These blocks will measure 6 1/2 x 6 1/2″. If you do not want to make a sampler at the end, you can use each block as a “mini” quilt by adding a few borders. You can also make several of each block and make table runners or wall hangings from just the one style each week. It’s up to you what you do with them! I will also share some quilting tips each week that will help you while making these blocks. So, here we go!

Block #1 – Braced Star

This is the block we will be making this week. Find the free pattern here: Block of the Week – Block 1. For the remainder of this post, I will share some tips on how to make this block go together as smoothly as possible. 

Measure, measure!

One of the steps in piecing a quilt block that I never skip and highly recommend is to measure the units of the blocks you are making as you go. That’s why I keep these tools by my machine:

A 4 1/2″ ruler, a 2 1/2″ ruler and a wood pressing stick!

In the first step of the pattern, you will see that I have you laying a smaller square on a larger square with the raw edges matched.

As you can see from the photo, the edges of the squares are lined up and I have pinned them so the pieces don’t shift while stitching. Once I stitch on the line I’ve drawn (it’s hard to see on the black fabric in the photo), that’s when the measuring comes in.

You can “finger” press or use the wood pressing stick to press open the small square. Do not cut off the excess fabric yet until you measure the square as I show in the second photo. You want the square to still measure the size it was before you stitched and pressed back the corner. Once you determine your square is not “wonky”…. you can cut off the excess seam allowance and press the unit open with an iron.

This blog post from January, What is Stitch and Flip, has a good detailed explanation of the steps. It’s a good review!

The other unit in the block that may give you a bit of a headache is the one that is made from the quarter-square triangles. I have found it best to use a scant 1/4″ seam when stitching these units together and make sure to line up the seams when stitching the units. The diagram below demonstrates what I’m talking about.

Once that unit is pieced, it’s time to measure and trim a bit. The key to measuring and trimming half-square triangle squares and quarter-square triangle squares is to place the diagonal line on your ruler on the seam. Notice also that I have the 1 1/4″ marking where the four triangles meet. That assures me that I am trimming my square evenly.

I hope these tips help you to make this one block… or several!

What Can I Do with This Block?

If you do not want to make the sampler, here’s a few ideas! The first is to make a small candle mat or wall hanging by adding a few borders.

Put several of these together and you have a small table runner!

Use your imagination and your scraps! Things like this make great gifts for your friends and family.

Enjoy and come back for block 2 next week!

Happy Stitching!
Deanne