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Modern Christmas Tree Quilt Block Tutorial - Diary of a Quilter - a quilt blog

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Modern Christmas Tree Quilt Block Tutorial - Diary of a Quilter - a quilt blog

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My pile of modern Christmas tree quilt blocks is growing. Today I'm going to share a quick tutorial for these fun and super fast blocks.

Last year I made this mini quilt and shared a tutorial to make your own. These blocks finished at about 3 1/4″ x 4 1/2″. If you search the hashtag #holidaypatchworkforest on Instagram you can see some of the versions other people made with the tutorial. I was inspired by the versions that used a little more red and decided to make another one this year.

I also decided to make a bigger version with bigger trees and and quilt blocks.

Here's where it's going so far. And I'm not going to like, I am LOVING where this is going! So today I'm going to share some quick instructions to make your own larger version of this fun, modern Christmas tree block!

Here is the pile of fabric that has been sitting in my sewing room for the past few weeks. They make me so happy. This project is a great one for busting through a lot of fabric stash. And they don't necessarily need to be Christmas fabrics. Just pull your greens and reds together for a very Christmas-y look.

A few thoughts on choosing fabrics for your own quilt. It's fun to see the pictures of the two versions above. They each have a different look and I really like them both. This quilt is a fun exercise in choosing a color palette, using scraps (especially the smaller version), but you can't go wrong as you make it your own. Choose what you love. Here are a few tips that I used.

I love scrappy and using up favorite fabrics that I've been hoarding collecting for the past few years. I've finally reached the point where it feels so good to just USE those favorites. For this quilt I raided my greens, reds, and white backgrounds with red or green prints. I personally chose to emphasize Kelly and darker greens because I wanted this to have the feel of an evergreen forest. So I didn't use any lime greens, but I still threw in some warmer, mossy greens too, because the variety of shades gives the quilt some interest.

I went in planning to use reds in this quilt too, but ended up weeding out the really dark reds. Instead I focused on red fabrics that also have a lot of white in them, to keep the reds looking lighter. I even threw in a few reddish-pinks to again, give some depth and interest.

Finally, keep scale in mind too. Since I am using a wide variety of prints and I want it to have a scrappy look, I'm also trying to incorporate big scale prints where I can - especially because these are bigger blocks and they have a lot of space to show off prints. I tend to have a lot of medium and small-scale prints - which I love, but can look more jumbled if everything is the same scale. Throwing in some big prints - like the polkadots, stripes, pearl bracelets, etc - can give the quilt a lot of visual texture. Using solids as well can also provide good contrast to the prints.

You don't need to use any of this - I thought I'd just throw it out there for the heck of it, since people often ask me about choosing fabric for a quilt. Those are some basic guidelines that can make any quilt visually interesting - especially when you're going scrappy.

Okay, so here's the cutting and piecing instructions for these larger version of my Holiday Patchwork Forest - or modern Christmas tree blocks. These blocks will end up about 7″ x 9″ finished. You are going cut and piece the blocks in pairs. This eliminates fabric waste and makes the blocks come together lickety-split.

The fabric requirements for each pair of blocks are:

Two squares 8 1/2″ x 8 1/2″

Two strips 2″ x 8 1/2″

Two brown pieces 1 1/2″ x 2″

I recommend choosing two fabrics with a lot of contrast (color and scale) so that your trees will really pop.

Stack your two 8 1/2″ x 8 1/2″ contrasting squares on top of each other. Place a quilting ruler at an angle and make a diagonal cut. Pull the fabric from the first cut away, and make a second diagonal cut the other direction to get your tree shape. Important: Don't cut your triangle point right at the top of the block - leave lots of room above the point so that there's room for squaring up and for seam-allowance.

TIP: I love cutting my trees in lots of different shapes and sizes so that they all look a little different. I think it gives the quilt more visual interest.

Cut your two 2″ x 8 1/2″ strips in half to make two sets of 2″ x 4 1/4″ strips.

You will now have a matching set looking like this.

Swap out the 'tree' piece and match it up with the contrasting background pieces. Sew the tree piece to the background side pieces starting with the side of the second cut. Press seam and add the side from the first cut.

(The original mini tutorial has a few more in-depth pictures about the cutting and sewing-back-together parts of this step if you need more visuals.)

Once your sides are pieced, square off the bottom so that the edges are straight across.

Sew the two sets of 2″ x 4 1/4″ strips on either sides of a brown 2″ x 1 1/2″ 'trunk' piece.

Sew the trunks to the bottom of the blocks. (The trunk strips are purposely wider than the tree parts so that you have wiggle room to center the trunk under the wonky trees.)

Square up the sides and top edge of the blocks to all the same size. Mine were roughly 7 1/2″ x 9 1/2″ unfinished (7″ x 9″ finished). But it honestly doesn't matter exactly what size they end up, as long as they are all the same. (This is roughly improv piecing. Let go of the perfection and enjoy the freedom. 😉 )

For a throw-size quilt (about 56″ x 72″ + a border) I figure I need 64 blocks. But maybe I'll get carried away and my quilt will be bigger. 🙂

Here's how it's looking on my design wall so far. I am totally smitten! I know this quilt is not going to get finished this year (I still have quilty gifts to bind!) but maybe I can get all my blocks pieced this year and then all I have to do is assemble the blocks quickly and get it quilted in time to use next year.

Enjoy! And if you make anything with this tutorial, tag it #holidaypatchworkforest on Instagram, or send me a link or a picture. I love seeing all the variations. And if you're like me with lots of other Christmas gift sewing still to do, feel free to Pin this post for next year!
Reminder, if you'd prefer a printable version of this pattern you can find it there is one available to buy for $3.00 here).
Post edit: See the finished quilt here!

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Modern Christmas Tree Quilt Block Tutorial - Diary of a Quilter - a quilt blog

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My pile of modern Christmas tree quilt blocks is growing. Today I'm going to share a quick tutorial for these fun and super fast blocks. Last year I made this mini quilt and shared a tutorial to make your own. These blocks finished at about 3 1/4″ x 4 1/2″.

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I have a new quilt finish to share. It is the modern Christmas tree quilt block tutorial from Diary of a Quilter.

I first came across this block when Molli Sparkles included it in the Honey Pot Bee.
It was such a fun block. It has the tiniest bit of improv, because how you make the two cuts are up to you. That is liberating. At the same time, since the overall block has a fixed dimension, the craziness (of improv) is completely controlled.

Also, it is a simple block that is perfect for beginners. Therefore, I chose this quilt block as a Block of the Month for my Guild last year and it was met with enthusiasm.

But I was still not done with it. So I decided to make a few more blocks and turn it into a quilt.
As I arranged the blocks on the design wall to make sure that there was contrast between adjacent trees, Paul stepped into the area.

Paul: These trees are crooked.
Me: That is what a nasty person will say
Paul: Well, what do YOU say?
Me: I'd say that they are gently swaying in the breeze
Paul: Aren't you trying to hide your incompetence with clever words?
Me: Aren't you missing the forest for the trees?
Paul: A whole forest?
Me: Uh Huh!
Paul: What are you calling this one?
Me (flashing a big smile): All Spruced Up.
Paul: Gosh, you are so full of it.
Me: And you are so out it. Go away.

Speaking of the breeze, it was a challenge to get a good still shot of the flimsy due to the said breeze. Even a gentle breeze is detrimental to photo shoots. Sandra took the next three pictures as I battled the breeze, the flimsy all over me.

I did heed Paul's advice when it came to the backing. Instead of half and half, I made an additional cut and turned it into a quartered layout.

Even tried quilting it a little differently. Still using a walking foot, I echoed the tree outlines. I think it gives it a modern vibe to the quilt. What do you think?

I chose a purple binding to contrast with the reds and greens. The quilt finished at about 49" by 54". I am sure the right recipient will get it at the right time.

I know that it is late for the "Christmas in July" shindig.
And it is too early for the actual Christmas this year.

Which makes it just perfect for me. After all I dance to my own beat.
I will be linking with all my favorite linky parties, see full list on the sidebar.

Before I leave to enjoy my long weekend, I have two more things to share

1. Connecting Threads is having a site-wide sale, ending on 9/3/18.

I just bought wide backing fabrics because they were less than $9/yard. Expected next week.

2. Quilters Meet and Greet begins on Tuesday, September 4, 2018. Miss it at your own risk.

Hope you have a safe and enjoyable long weekend!

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I have a new quilt finish to share. It is the modern Christmas tree quilt block tutorial from Diary of a Quilter. I first came across this block when Molli Sparkles included it in the Honey Pot Bee. It was such a fun block.

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Patchwork Flower Quilt Block – Coriander Quilts

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Patchwork Flower Quilt Block – Coriander Quilts

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Hometown Christmas Jelly Roll Charm Chase Quilt « Moda Bake Shop

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Hometown Christmas Jelly Roll Charm Chase Quilt « Moda Bake Shop

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something rosemade: Staggered Strips and Squares Quilt, A Sort-of Tutorial

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something rosemade: Staggered Strips and Squares Quilt, A Sort-of Tutorial

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Last week I posted my Hinto Minto baby quilt made for parents-to-be who wanted a gray and white quilt with a hint of mint (you can read about it here). This quilt was so fun and easy to make that I mentioned in this post that I planned to made another version of this quilt in black and white Cotton + Steel fabrics and when I do, I would write a tutorial. Since this may not be for awhile, I decided with the fabric leftover from the Hinto Minto Quilt, I would do a sort-of tutorial meaning that it's not a step by step tutorial with photos of how to make this quilt but more of how I came up with this pattern and how easy it would be to make it your own.

The concept for making a modern baby quilt was to use various shades of gray and low volume lights from my stash and to showcase a large type print by Art Gallery's Pastel Thrift Shop accented with Cotton + Steel Basic mint print.

The inspiration for the Staggered Strips and Squares pattern is a variation of a jelly roll quilt which I did with my Hometown Girl Jelly Roll Charm Chase Quilt (left) and my Blue Ernie Dash Quilt (right) and you can see that I really like making quilts with 2-1/2" strips. What's nice about this pattern is that you can cut 2-1/2" strips and squares from your stash.

Before I started making the Hinto Minto quilt, I first planned it out by drafting it first on graph paper (each square represents 2") so I could determine the number of rectangles, squares and strip set blocks I would need. For the Staggered Strips and Squares Quilt tutorial, the pattern is for a 40" square. (As a side note, I know the pattern name doesn't include rectangles but I only used rectangles for this quilt because I wanted to showcase the gray type print and if you don't want to use rectangles they can be replaced with squares or strip set blocks.) Here is a suggested layout/pattern and I apologize for not being computer savvy to generate a separate document but I really like doodling on graph paper. As you can see, each row consists of four blocks with dimensions adding up to 40" finished.

Here are the fabric requirements and cutting details for making this top:

Five 4-1/2" x 12-1/2" Rectangles (Focus Print)

Nine 4-1/2" Squares (Accent Color)

Thirty-five to forty strips (20"+, does not need to be exact, cut either strips from WOF or WOFQ) to make the following strip set blocks (instructions to follow)

Ten 4-1/2" x 8-1/2" Strip Set Blocks

Eight 4-1/2" x 12-1/2" Strip Set Blocks

Eight 4-1/2" x 16-1/2" Strip Set Blocks

Note: you can cut more than the necessary Strip Set Blocks to allow for wiggle room if you have leftover after cutting.

I love the look of staggered strips and my favorite way to achieve this improv look is by doing the first two laps of a jelly roll race quilt which is first sewing the strips together to make one super long strip and then finding the two ends and then sewing two strips together. If you're unfamiliar with this technique, you can check out one of the many Jelly Roll Race Quilt videos on YouTube. Before starting to sew the strips together, first:

remove all selvedges and straighten the strips, if necessary

for half of the 20"+ strips, cut them in half to 10" -11"

Once you are ready to sew the strips together, start with either a short or long strip and to ensure the staggered-ness, the last strip sewn should be either a short or long strip, whatever you didn't start with--be sure you don't use the same size strips for the beginning and the end. Also, I sewed the strips together with a shorter stitch length.

Once this very long strip was sewn, I took it to my ironing board and pressed each seam open. This is a cumbersome and a little time consuming step but I find it makes the sewing and cutting the strip sets easier.

After you finished ironing and taken a much needed break, find the beginning and the end and line it up for sewing. I have to mention that this is my favorite part of the jelly roll race quilt, this stretch of mindless sewing. There will be times when seams actually match up between the two rows and that's okay. When you are near the end of sewing the strips together, around 8" to 10", check to see if the ends are twisted, and if they are, then cut at the fold, straighten the strips and resume sewing to the end. I find that after sewing several race quilts that this sometimes happens.

Again, you will take this lovely pile to the ironing board to press the seam either up or down, your preference, because you want to cut your strip sets when the strips laying nice and flat and so you can see the seam lines when you are cutting the strip set blocks.

When cutting your strip sets blocks to the desired width, be sure you are at least 1" away from a vertical seam line; if you are too close, then adjust by either making a smaller or larger strip set block or move the ruler over enough to be away from the seam line and then cut the desired width.

Once you have cut the required number and sizes of the strip set blocks you are ready to layout the quilt with the squares and rectangles using the pattern/layout provided above. Note: this photo is not the first Hinto Minto Quilt layout but is the layout of the second quilt. When laying out your blocks, and two strip set blocks are next to each other, be sure the horizontal seams are opposite to each other so they will nest once they are sewn together; i.e., if one block's seam is up, then the block next to it should have the seam going down. (If you don't like the way it looks, then re-press the seam.) Once each row of blocks are sewn together, they should measure 40-1/2" wide. After each row of blocks are sewn, the seams of the blocks should be pressed in alternative directions so seams from the next row of blocks will nest, which we already do when making other quilts, right?

What I like about the Staggered Strips and Squares pattern is that unlike a jelly roll race quilt, where you don't know what the quilt is going to look like until the end, you can control the look or random-ness by placing the blocks where you want them. You can place the strip set blocks with other ones with the same fabrics to create what I call "globs" or you can make sure the same fabrics or colors are distributed evenly throughout the quilt. And it's so much easier to sew a quilt row by row rather than having to cut thirty-two rows apart and making the sides even when you do a jelly roll race quilt--for those of us who have made one, you know what I mean.

As mentioned before, the pattern/layout provided was to show how this quilt was made. You can easily make the quilt larger by adding more squares and strip set blocks. I highly recommend that you draw your quilt out on graph paper like I did after you determine first what size you want your quilt to be. After that, draw in the squares and strip set blocks to give you an idea of what is needed. To calculate how many strips you need to sew to make the strip set blocks, this is how I came up with my number for the Hinto Minto:

separate the strip set blocks by size and count each size separately

# of blocks x the width x two

add these figures together and then divide by 20

Example: for this 40" square quilt, the calculations were as follows:

10 strips 8.5" wide = 85" x 2 (because there are two strips) = 170"

8 strips 12.5" wide = 100" x 2 = 200"

8 strips 16.5" wide = 132" x 2 = 264"

Add these three totals together = 634" divided by 20" strips = 32. I sewed 35 strips to allow for fudge room or miscuts. And truth be told, when I made the Hinto Minto Quilt, I used 50 strips and the leftovers are being used for the second quilt.

The flexibility of this pattern is you can change your mind as the blocks are laid out --what you drew is not what you have to do. You can always make adjustments which is why I always cut more squares and sew more strips sets than needed.

I hope you find this "sort-of" tutorial helpful to see how easily this quilt can be made. When I made the Hinto Minto quilt, I didn't have the foresight to envision this could be a tutorial until after it was done. I wanted to share the fun, the easiness and the possibilities of this pattern. Sometimes it's really hard for me to explain something easy. I would be happy to answer any questions you may have but if you're totally confused, which I hope you're not, then maybe I can explain it better if I use graph paper.

Enjoy and I would like to see photos of the quilts you may make.

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Staggered Strips and Squares Quilt, A Sort-of Tutorial

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Last week I posted my Hinto Minto baby quilt made for parents-to-be who wanted a gray and white quilt with a hint of mint (you can read about it here).

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My Quilt Infatuation: Vintage Soul and NTT

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My Quilt Infatuation: Vintage Soul and NTT

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Welcome to another Needle and Thread Thursday, y'all! Today, I get to share a new quilt finish with you, and it is already right at home in my living room, getting lots of use.

Anna Maria Horner fabrics are so rich with color and print, and yet, they have such a lovely vintage vibe, so I've decided to call this one Vintage Soul. With strips finishing at just two inches wide, many of the larger prints get lost, but I don't care. I am in love with the way the colors move across the quilt.

I did have some trouble figuring out what to put on the back. Since I used the last bits of my scrap fabric, I couldn't do my usual backing with leftovers, so I decided on this pretty robin's egg blue floral, with a nice wide strip of Bella Solids Leaf. It compliments the top nicely, but doesn't take away from it; and this warm, golden crosshatch fabric is a perfect frame.

This finished quilt measures 60" x 72" so it's a perfect snuggle size; just in time for the chilly autumn temperatures.

Before we get to the features from last week's party, I owe you FOUR giveaway winners!

First up, the winner of the $25 gift certificate from Lady Belle Fabric is comment number 136, Karen.

Next, the winner of the gorgeous Sweet Prairie bundle from Shabby Fabrics is comment number 133, Shauna.

Our third giveaway winner of four Moda mystery charm packs from Fort Worth Fabric Studio is comment number 31, Ann.

And finally, the winner of the $25 gift certificate to LouLou's Fabric Shop is comment number 116, Kathy.

Congrats to all of you ladies! I'll be contacting you via email very soon so you can get your prizes from my amazing sponsors!

Now that we have all of the business taken care of, let's take a look, at some of the awesomeness from last week. Check out this beautiful charity quilt, made by members of the New Hampshire MQG.

and Yanicka Quilts linked up this baby elephant quilt finish. I love how all of the different gray fabrics add so much dimension!

Okie dokie, friends! It's time to link up the latest from your sewing space!

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Welcome to another Needle and Thread Thursday, y'all! Today, I get to share a new quilt finish with you, and it is already right at home in my living room, getting lots of use. Anna Maria Horner fabrics are so rich with color and print, and yet, they have such a lovely vintage vibe, so I've decided to call this one Vintage Soul.

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Do you free-motion doodle? Try this machine-quilting mashup - Stitch This! The Martingale Blog

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Do you free-motion doodle? Try this machine-quilting mashup - Stitch This! The Martingale Blog

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If you're like a lot of quilters (like we are), you've likely tried free-motion quilting. You've traced, you've doodled on paper, and you've mastered a few tried-and-true motifs on your machine, which you use all the time. You're good at them, so you stick to them, right?

But maybe those motifs are getting a little repetitive, and you're looking for something new to try.

Well, we have your solution. And you don't need to learn any new free-motion motifs (unless you want to, of course!)-you can use the motifs you already know.

It's a little trick we learned from three-time Martingale author Christa Watson:

In her latest book, Piece and Quilt with Precuts, Christa offers 11 quilt patterns, 18 walking-foot and free-motion quilting designs, and the inspiration to not only mix and match your quilts with her quilting designs, but also to mix up different free-motion quilting designs on a single quilt. "Quilt as desired?" Yes, please!

A close-up of Christa's mash-it-up method
We had the opportunity to hang out with Christa at Quilt Market, and she was kind enough to show us how she mashes up her motifs into something she calls free-motion improv. We'll let Christa explain in this video:

Reading this post in email? Click here to view the video.

Your free-motion motifs + Christa's marvelous mash-up method = lots of fun doodle quilting ahead!

Not ready to mash it up just yet? No worries-in Piece and Quilt with Precuts, Christa walks you step-by-step through exactly how to quilt each quilt in the book. So you can quilt by the book, or quilt off the page! Christa will meet you wherever you're at on your machine-quilting adventure.
Speaking of adventures, where are you on your machine-quilting adventure?

Um...still packing.

I'm packed and I've started my journey-bon voyage!

I've been on this adventure for years!

Tell us in the comments!

Related Posts

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Do you free-motion doodle? Try this machine-quilting mashup - Stitch This! The Martingale Blog

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If you're like a lot of quilters (like we are), you've likely tried free-motion quilting. You've traced, you've doodled on paper, and you've mastered a few tried-and-true motifs on your machine, which you use all the time. You're good at them, so you stick to them, right?

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over 100 free quilting tutorials at allcrafts free crafts quilting

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Over 100 Free Quilting Tutorials at AllCrafts.net

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AllCrafts.net - Free Crafts Network Free Crafts projects! Free Quilting Tutorials. Crafts and much more! 20+ craft categories. New free projects added weekly!

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This would make a great sunflower.

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I used the small size Bee in my Bonnet

to cut the blades.

When I designed these rulers a few years back...

I drew them not only to be a thimble shape...

but I also drew them on an specific angle so that

when 12 of them were sewn together

I cut the blades for this dresden block 3 1/2" tall...

so that it would fit onto a 12" background square.

I cut 3 1/2" x WOF strips and simply lined up the

bottom edge of the ruler with the bottom edge of

of the fabric strip each and every time that I cut.

I also folded the strip in half so that I cut 2 at a time:)

I flipped the ruler over each time I cut so that

the only fabric that was wasted

was just a little on each end of the strip:)

You can cut twelve to fourteen 3 1/2" tall

thimbles from one 3 1/2" x WOF strip.

I also used 7" squares to cut some of the thimbles.

You can get 4 - 3 1/2" tall thimbles from one 7" square.

Just cut the square in half so that you have

two 3 1/2" x 7" strips...

Layer them for cutting 2 at a time.

line the Thimble Ruler bottom edge up with the

Cut on both sides of the ruler...

Flip the ruler over and cut again...

After all of your cutting is complete...

Choose 12 thimbles to use for

the dresden blades for one block.

If you have never sewn a dresden block before you

will be surprised at how easy they are.

The first step is to fold the blade with

right sides together and line up

the top edges like this.

Then sew across the top with a 1/4" seam allowance.

I like to secure this seam with a backstitch or

two at the beginning and the ending.

I also like to chain piece all

12 of the dresden blades in the block.

Not only is it speedy...but it saves thread as well:)

I cut them apart and flip the top of each one right side out

by splitting the seam apart and

placing my finger at the very end of the seam...

so that it looks like this inside...

making sure that the seam is open.

When you turn it...it automatically forms a point like this!

The tip will need a little help to get a nice point...

and so I use the rounded end of a small

crochet hook to GENTLY push out the point...

making sure the seam remains open.

I give it a good press making sure that

the seam goes down the center of the blade.

I turn it over and give it a quick press

on this side too so that it is nice and flat.

*NOTE...remember to PRESS instead of IRON.

there is a difference!!!

If you move the iron back and forth on the blade...

you can easily distort it:)

Turn and press all 12 blades like this.

Grab a larger design board and lay them out

in the order that you want them...like this.

Take a quick picture on your cell phone for easy reference

between sewing and pressing so that you can

lay them back out in the same order if you forget:)

Sew two blades together starting at the top edge

and using a 1/4" seam allowance.

I also do a backstitch or two at the

beginning and ending of this seam to secure it.

Press the seams open so they will lie nice and flat.

using your photo if needed:)

Now sew two sets together 3 times like this...

Sew the last 3 seams until you have formed the dresden!

Don't forget to press the seams open at each step.

P.S. Now you can delete the pic on your iPhone:)

Set your dresden aside and grab the

that fits a 7" square.

Cut a 7" square of fabric to use for the center circle of the dresden...

Also cut a 7" square of light to medium weight SEW IN interfacing.

I use Pellon brand!

You can find it in any fabric store

and you can also get a 3 yard package

Place the circle ruler in the center of

the interfacing square and trace around it ...

using a mechanical pencil for a thin line:)

Pin it to the right side of your 7" square of fabric ...

(I used Sew Cherry Red Gingham)

And stitch directly onto your marked lines...

backstitching when you begin and end.

Trim off the excess approximately

1/4" past your stitching line like this.

Use your seam ripper and carefully cut

(in the center of the interfacing only)

to create an opening.

pinch or "roll" around the edges

between your fingers like this...

Give it a good press on the front so it lies flat

and has a good crease on the edges.

This is what the back looks like...

a fast and easy circle all ready for some machine appliqué!

I like to fold my circle in half and then in half again...

and press about a 1" long crease in from the edges.

I use these creases to make sure that my circle is centered

when I pin it onto my dresden.

Set your circle aside for a minute.

fold exactly in half and press.

Fold in half again and press.

(I used "snow" from the Riley Blake Shades collection)

Place your dresden onto your background square and

line up all 4 of the creases with a dresden seam...

(not a point, but a seam)

and pin into place.

Your dresden should be perfectly centered onto

the background by using the pressed creases as a guide.

Now pin the circle exactly in the center...

using the creases as your guide once again.

You are ready to machine appliqué!

I first appliqué my dresden onto the

background and then the circle onto the center last.

I used white thread for this block

(Aurifil 2024 50wt.100% cotton)

and a small zig-zag stitch.

I set the stitch width and length

on my Bernina on about 1.5 or 2.0.

Use a piece of scrap fabric when setting the size

on your machine and then write down what you did

so that you can remember for the next block:)

I try to start in the middle of a blade

will be the least noticable.

I keep all of my pins in until the entire block is complete

to prevent any shifting during the appliqué.

I remove the pins and give it a good press on the back.

I don't find that pressing the front is necessary at this point:)

a fast and easy dresden block!

I'll need 24 more dresden blocks to complete my quilt.

I'm doing 5 rows of 5 so that it will be a square

quilt to use on the farm table in my kitchen.

I'll show you when it's pieced...

and on the table!

P.S. I forgot to tell you that my Bake Sale pre cuts

(as well as my other fabric collections)

are also available in 3 1/2" rolls as well as 7" squares!

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I used the small size Bee in my Bonnet to cut the blades. When I designed these rulers a few years back... I drew them not only to be a thimble shape... but I also drew them on an specific angle so that when 12 of them were sewn together I cut the blades for this dresden block 3 1/2" tall...

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Pinwheel

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Scrappy Pinwheel in a Square.

Three challenges in one! I'm so excited to share this new block with you all! Making a pinwheel block is a challenge, but then so is a square in a square block, - cutting all those extra triangles and then getting them lined up. More often than not these blocks would need squaring up as well, creating an extra challenge. Well this is super easy! There are no triangles to cut. I've bypassed these issues to bring you a new way of construction. This is a terrific block for scraps. You can use any kind you like, the more the merrier.

You may remember recently I shared the Double Pinwheel Block Easy Scrappy Style. Do you remember when Jenny Doan showed us how to make a pinwheel block using two squares. This was my inspiration! I explored other options of what else can be done using the same principal but adding a four patch unit instead.
Double Pinwheel Block Easy Scrappy Style
Well, I've taken this a step further to create this delightful block which looks complex but is really very easy to put together. In order to get a uniquely scrappy effect you will make two blocks at a time. This is good as you can chain through each pair of blocks.

There are just two things to be careful of. Please observe the quarter-inch seam allowance and be aware that you will be dealing with bias seams, so treat them gently until they are incorporated into your quilt.

So let's get to it!
Ingredients for Two blocks
8 x 3 1/2″ squares - make sure each one is quite different, I'm using medium to dark squares

2 x 6 1/2″ background squares light coloured
To Assemble Two Scrappy Pinwheel in a Square Blocks
From the eight 3 1/2″ squares make two groups of four and then sew into four patches. Make sure that the centre seams are well aligned. Press the blocks. Incidentally you will see that my seams are a little puckered. That is because my stitch length was to small and there was some tension on my thread. I've corrected that.

Now place a four patch block, right sides together with one 6 1/2″ background square. Pin gently to hold in place. Sew a 1/4″ seam all around the edge of the block for the whole perimeter. Repeat with the second four patch and background square. Just as a matter of interest I'm sewing with a Singer 15 C 1902 treadle. You can read more about how I got this one going here.

Now take the two sewn blocks to the cutting board. Align the ruler diagonally across one of the blocks and carefully cut. Cut with the four patch side towards you to line up the centre. Repeat for the other diagonal, then do the same with the other block. Now you will have eight units. Separate them out so that you have two sets, each with four different units. Arrange them with the scrappy units in the centre and the background square in the outer corners as shown.

Be sure to remove the extra pieces of dog ears from the centre and this will assist in your block sitting nicely in the centre. Trim the dog ears and press. Now you will have eight delicious units like this.

Assemble them into the two blocks making sure that no fabric is repeated in each block. It's a bit of fun!

Now sew the units together like a four patch. Sew slowly at the point. Pin if necessary and ensure that the seams line up.

Now you will have these two lovely units. Press carefully. I've been making some more. By the way, I'm planning to make a baby quilt with these. Stay tuned as in a future post I will be showing how I finish these blocks to stabilise them.

Unbeknowns to me I'm am now aware that this unit of construction is also called a Boston Block, thanks to Preeti at Sew Preeti Quilts! She had also come up with a similar idea of this method of construction. Please do check out her tutorial at Boston Block Tutorial http://sewpreetiquilts.blogspot.com/2014/04/four-patch-hst-boston-block-tutorial.html. She also has some other great ways of using and placing these blocks! This is great as she uses 5″ Charm Squares to achieve the same block. More excellent ways to use up those leftover charm squares to make a scrappy quilt!

Maybe you would like to check out how I used these blocks???
Framing Pinwheels Quilt and Pattern
Have a wonderful Quilty Day!

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Scrappy Pinwheel in a Square. Three challenges in one! I'm so excited to share this new block with you all! Making a pinwheel block is a challenge, but then so is a square in a square block, - cutting all those extra triangles and then getting them lined up.

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After publishing On The Tiles Quilt, I had an epiphany, well, two actually.
On The Tiles Quilt and Pattern
I realised that by just making 6 of the Antique Tile Block Made Easy, and sashing them, it would be a perfect size for a baby quilt.
Antique Tile Block Made Easy Tutorial
The second thing I realised is that when cutting the Nine Patches, if you swap the centre's between three blocks instead of two, it will lead to much greater fabric variation within and between all the blocks, so I just had to share this with you.

I quickly made some more blocks. To show you!

So here is six blocks.

Here you can see after I have cut them and interchanged the three blocks on the left.

Now here are the six blocks, with the second set of three blocks interchanged.

Now off to the machine to reassemble. Actually this is very fast to do. It would be excellent for charity quilts or block exchanges.

Here we are!

I've assembled this On The Tiles Baby Quilt in the same manner as the On The Tiles Quilt. Refer back to that post for instructions. Here it is!

Finished quilt size 31 1/2″ x 46″.

Here is one of the blocks up close!

Have a wonderful day!

Susie.

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After publishing On The Tiles Quilt, I had an epiphany, well, two actually. On The Tiles Quilt and Pattern I realised that by just making 6 of the Antique Tile Block Made Easy, and sashing them, it would be a perfect size for a baby quilt.

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Regimental Stars Quilting Pattern from the Editors of American Patchwork & Quilting

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Regimental Stars Quilting Pattern from the Editors of American Patchwork & Quilting

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Love the colors.

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Regimental Stars Quilting Pattern from the Editors of American Patchwork & Quilting

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Star blocks in scrappy reds and creams make for a shining wall hanging. Finished quilt: 48-1_2" square. Designer: Janelle Swenson.

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Super Simple Sampler Block #18 - Color Girl Quilts by Sharon McConnell

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Super Simple Sampler Block #18 - Color Girl Quilts by Sharon McConnell

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Super Simple Sampler Block #18

Welcome to the second post of our January Super Simple Sampler block series! This month the theme is flying geese, you can see the tutorial for the first block, Here. If you are making a quilt with lots of flying geese units, you might like my quick tutorial on my favorite method for chain piecing flying geese blocks. Click Here to see it.

Today, the block is kind of fun because the flying geese are not as obvious...as part of the whole block you see a star rather than the four flying geese. Let's make it!

From the blue: cut (4) 3 1/2″ x 2″ rectangles; (4) 2″ squares

from the black/white: cut (4) 2″ squares

from each of the yellow and pink: cut (2) 3 1/2″ x 2″ rectangles

Sewing

1. Place a blue 2″ square right sides facing, over one end of a yellow rectangle. Fold the blue square in half on diagonal and finger press to crease.

2. Using the crease as a guide, sew across the diagonal of the square as shown below.

3. Trim the excess corner fabric 1/4″ from the seam. Open and press.

4. Repeat steps 103 to add blue squares to one side of all the yellow and pink rectangles.

5. Follow the same steps to add the black and white square to the other side of each yellow and pink rectangle. Ensure proper placement so that the geese are all pointed the same direction, eg. when the "goose" is pointing up, the right side triangle is black/white and the left is blue. See photo below for orientation.

6. Sew a blue 3 1/2″ x 2″ rectangle to the bottom of each flying geese unit. Blue rectangle should be adjacent to the pink/yellow as shown above.

7. Arrange the four units as shown above. Sew the yellow flying geese units to the pink and press toward the pink.

8. Sew the two halves together to complete the block. Press well. It should measure 6 1/2″

Thanks for sewing with me! I hope that those of you in the depths of winter are inside making cozy quilts or other things you enjoy...

Sharon

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Super Simple Sampler Block #18 - Color Girl Quilts by Sharon McConnell

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Super Simple Sampler Block #18 Welcome to the second post of our January Super Simple Sampler block series! This month the theme is flying geese, you can see the tutorial for the first block, Here. If you are making a quilt with lots of flying geese units, you might like my quick tutorial on my favorite method for chain piecing flying geese blocks.

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Scrappy Flower Coaster Tutorial + All Points Patchwork | Sew Mama Sew | Outstanding sewing, quilting, and needlework tutorials since 2005.

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Scrappy Flower Coaster Tutorial + All Points Patchwork | Sew Mama Sew | Outstanding sewing, quilting, and needlework tutorials since 2005.

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All Points Patchwork is the new book from Diane Gilleland of CraftyPod. The book launches next May 19th, but you get a sneak peek here right now!

All Points Patchwork is like an extensive technique manual, a resource to help you dream up thousands of different English paper pieced projects! You probably know all about English paper piecing (EPP) in terms of "hexies," but Diane's book teaches you how to do this technique with diamonds, triangles, octagons, pentagons, curved-edge shapes and more. The book features nearly thirty project inspirations, 84 pattern diagrams and over 300 detailed images.

From the publisher:

The key to perfect patchwork is getting all of the points to match up- which is no easy feat! Thanks to the rediscovery of a traditional technique known as English paper piecing, success is now possible for quilters of all levels. By cutting the desired shapes from paper, basting the paper to the back of your fabric, and then hand-sewing the pieces together, you'll ensure perfectly matched points every time. This complete course in English paper piecing takes you far beyond traditional hexagons with step-by-step photos showing you how to connect triangles, octagons, diamonds, jewels, triangles, tumblers, pentagons, and curved shapes. It even provides dozens of ideas for incorporating the pattern designs into clothing, pillows, quilts, and home decor items!

To kick of a month of blog hops, reviews and events Diane has a Scrappy Flower Coaster project for you, including a PDF excerpt from All Points Patchwork about basic EPP sewing techniques. There's also a giveaway! Comment below for a chance to win a "hot off the presses" copy of All Points Patchwork. (US + Canada addresses only, please.) Fill us in on your thoughts about or experiences with EPP. You could also share some love for Diane Gilleland! Diane has joined us before with her Hexie Diamond Pillow. We also have a project inspired by her Quilting Happiness: Projects, Inspiration, and Ideas to Make Quilting More Joyful, a book she co-authored with Christina Lane.

You may have seen English paper piecing in the form of hexagons, but you can actually make all kinds of shapes with this technique. That's why I wrote All Points Patchwork - to show just how easy it is to EPP with triangles, diamonds, octagons, curved shapes and more.

This coaster project is an excellent way to explore EPP beyond the hexie. It's a surprisingly quick project and, depending on how you arrange your fabrics, the design possibilities are endless. (That center section takes beautifully to fussy-cutting.) Even better: it's a project you can carry with you and work on anywhere!

For more on basic EPP sewing techniques, be sure to download the PDF excerpt from All Points Patchwork, generously provided by Storey Publishing.
Finished Size: 5″ x 5 3/4″ You'll Need (per coaster):

Scrappy Flower English Paper Piecing PDF Templates

Scraps of 3-4 quilting cottons

5″ x 5″ piece of low-loft cotton batting

5″ x 5″ piece of wool felt

Pencil

Scissors for paper

Scissors for fabric

Washable glue stick

Sharp or quilting needle in a size you like

Polyester thread (grey or beige blends with different-colored fabrics)

Removable fabric marking pen

Walking presser foot

Planning Your Fabric Placement:
Download the Scrappy Flower Coaster PDF Template and print it onto lightweight cardstock. This design has some directional pieces, so I recommend planning your design ahead and marking the templates; it's the simplest way to keep all the pieces facing the right direction. So, first cut along the outer edge of one coaster form. Then decide which of your fabrics will go where in the design. Use a pencil to lightly write the fabric color (or print, or whatever makes sense to you) on each template.
* Note: I've written pretty firmly on my templates here so it shows up in the photo. But don't write this dark in real life; you'll end up transferring pencil marks to your fabrics.
Cutting the Templates + Fabric:
Usually, you'd cut out all your EPP templates at once and then start cutting fabrics and basting. But with directional pieces like these, I recommend working in stages. To begin, carefully cut the center hexagon shape out along the printed lines. Leave the outer petal sections intact and set them aside for now. Cut the hexagon along the lines to form six triangle templates.

Take the first triangle template and the fabric you've chosen to go with it. Lightly pass a glue stick over the side of the template you've written on. Then press the glued side to the wrong side of the fabric. (Don't use much glue here; all you're doing is tacking the fabric and paper lightly together.)

Cut the fabric so it's a generous 1/4″ larger on all sides. Don't worry too much about your cuts being straight; they'll never show in the finished product. Repeat this process with the other five triangles.

Basting the Templates:
I like to baste with templates this size so no stitches show on the right sides of my patches. It's a secure way to baste smaller templates, and the added bonus is that when I remove the templates later on there's no need to remove the basting. It sure saves time! You can see this kind of basting in action in this video.

I prefer to baste in a counter-clockwise direction, but you might prefer clockwise. Begin by folding one side of the fabric over the edge of the template. Then fold the adjacent side. The fabric will form a little flag shape at the tip of the triangle as shown above. Take a tack stitch over the point where the two edges meet: pass your needle under both layers of fabric and back up a short distance away. (Don't pass the needle through the template at all.) Then pass the needle under a second time to form a small stitch, as shown above.

Fold the next edge of the fabric over the template and take another tack stitch at the corner point.

...And, finally, take one last tack stitch at the last corner. Don't knot your basting thread; you'll want to be able to remove it easily if you need to. Instead, end the thread by passing your needle through the seam allowance at the back of the patch and trimming the thread to about 1″ long.

Repeat this process to baste the other five triangles.

Sewing the Triangles:
I like to sew my EPP patches together with a whip stitch. First, place two triangles side by side to determine which edges you'll be sewing together. Then place the patches right sides together, making sure the ends of the patches line up. (You can just fold those little fabric flags out of your way.)

Pass your needle through the very edges of the patches, catching a tiny bit of the fabric from each patch. Stitch through the fabric only, not the edges of the cardstock templates. Your needle will pass through easily if you're passing through fabric. If you feel resistance, you're stitching through the template; adjust your needle placement.

Pull the thread through and repeat this process, passing the needle through in the same direction each time. Try to keep your stitches very close together. (Incidentally, if you have trouble with your thread knotting up as you sew, take a look at these helpful tips.)

It's easiest to get all the triangle points matching up in the center if you first stitch the triangles together to form two units. Then sew these together, starting the seam at center and working outward to both ends.

Making the Outer Petals:
Now we can cut, baste and sew the outer petals. Work with one petal at a time. Cut it into sections along the printed lines. Then lightly glue to your chosen fabrics, cut and baste as you did with the center triangles.

Sew the pieces together with a whip stitch. Then stitch the finished petal to one edge of the hexagon center before moving on to the next one.

As you add each new petal, sew the little side seams between them.

Finishing the Coaster:
With the templates still in place, press the finished coaster with a hot steam iron. Press any bits of fabric that may be sticking out at the edges toward the wrong side, as shown.

Then, place the coaster on a piece of batting and trace around the outer edges with a removable fabric marker. Cut the batting about 1/4″ inside your traced line and then set it aside for a moment.

Carefully pinch out all of the templates. It's usually easiest to start at center and work your way outward. Some EPP-ers prefer to use a small crochet hook to grab the edge of each template and peel it out. You can see both processes in action in this video.

Now that the templates are all out, give the coaster one more pressing.

Lay out the wool felt. Stack the batting on top, and stack the coaster top over the batting. Place several pins to hold the layers together.

Install a walking presser foot on your sewing machine. Stitch through all layers about 1/8″ from the outer edge.

Carefully trim the felt to match the edges of the coaster top. For a complex shape like this one, I find this sewing-then-trimming method infinitely simpler than trying to keep two complex shapes aligned while I sew them!

Machine or hand-quilt your coaster as desired. I've shown you a few ideas, or you can make up your own design. Since we finished the edges of the coaster first, it's best to keep the quilting minimal; all you need is a little stitching to keep the layers together.
PDF excerpted from All Points Patchwork (c) by Diane Gilleland; interior photography (c) by Harris & Harris Photography; cover photography (c) by Alexandra Grablewski; used with permission from Storey Publishing.
" Book a Day in May: World of Quilts Book a Day in May: Sew Chic Kids + Fabric Paper Thread "

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Scrappy Flower Coaster Tutorial + All Points Patchwork | Sew Mama Sew | Outstanding sewing, quilting, and needlework tutorials since 2005.

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All Points Patchwork is the new book from Diane Gilleland of CraftyPod. The book launches next May 19th, but you get a sneak peek here right now! All Points Patchwork is like an extensive technique manual, a resource to help you dream up thousands of different English paper pieced projects!

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Here's a Quilt I Made From My Husband's Old Jeans | Hometalk

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Here's a Quilt I Made From My Husband's Old Jeans | Hometalk

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Turn Your Old Shirt into a Fancy Looking Apron - DIY - AllDayChic

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Turn Your Old Shirt into a Fancy Looking Apron - DIY - AllDayChic

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To transform your old shirt into a fancy looking apron, it is necessary to use the front part of the shirt.

You will need:
- scissors;
- needle and thread;
- sewing machine (optional).

Directions:

1. Cut the front of the shirt and detach it from the back part.

2. Eliminate the sleeves cutting them on a diagonal, from the collar to the waist. There are two versions: to keep the collar on or to remove it and apply a strap - it is your choice!

3. Continue and cut out two identical straps from the back part and attach them on the two sides of the waist's line. If necessary, you can sew the margins.

4. Now, your apron made from a shirt is prepared to be used wherever required - in the kitchen, in the garden or in your workshop!

Enjoy!

Photo courtesy: liveinternet.

Keep being AllDayChic!

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Turn Your Old Shirt into a Fancy Looking Apron - DIY

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To transform your old shirt into a fancy looking apron, it is necessary to use the front part of the shirt. You will need: - scissors; - needle and thread; - sewing machine (optional). Directions: 1. Cut the front of the shirt and detach it from the back part. 2.

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Lily's Quilts: Quilt As You Go – joining the blocks

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Lily's Quilts: Quilt As You Go – joining the blocks

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Today Leanne from she can quilt and Marci from Marci Girl Designs are blogging together as a guest post on Lily's Quilts. All the pictures in this post were taken by Marci and you can view them on her flickr page here.

To us, one of the scariest parts of a QAYG approach to quilt construction is how to join all those blocks without making a hot mess. Would the quilt have lumpy seams? Would the batting wad up into bumps?

One method is to leave the off the backing while you quilt the front and batting together. Then you sew together the front/batting blocks and add the backing at the end. This allows you to have a continuous backing piece but the quilting from the front will not show on it. Penny at sewtakeahike has a tutorial for this method here.

Some methods use strips applied with, or without, additional batting between the QAYG blocks. The strips can be wide or skinny and add an interesting design element to the quilt. Marianne at The Quilting Edge has tutorials here and here. Sew We Quilt @ Stash Manicure has a tutorial here. Monica at the Happy Zombie has a tutorial here.

Another interesting approach is to bring the backing fabric to the front between the QAYG blocks and use it as a sashing. There is a video by Penny Halgren showing this method here. This tutorial from Mary Ann at Rocknquilts, explains how to join the batting with an iron-on tape specially designed for batting. This idea is intriguing, but we are not certain that it would work easily in a tight spot and it requires you to purchase the special iron-on tape.

Marci and I wanted a slightly different result. We wanted:

a clean join on the front seam without adding any kind of design element to the front or the back of the quilt,

the batting securely joined so it would not shift into a lump,

as little hand sewing as possible,

no bulky seam from sewing the front and the batting together,

the quilting to show on the back of the quilt.

So we got into a discussion, exchanged ideas and made some impossible suggestions. That puzzle led us to think harder and come up with the method we are sharing here. Although we are both sure others have solved this problem in the same way, it was not something we had read or heard about before. We both made a small sample quilt to test this approach and we washed and dried the samples. So far, so good.
Here is our approach:

Quilt your blocks with the backing fabric in place. Make sure your back fabric and batting are larger than the front block. This gives you something to hang onto while you quilt and the extra for the joining of the blocks later. Leave about 1 inch unquilted at the edges of the front fabric.

Align the two blocks and place them right sides together. Fold and pin the batting and backing fabric out of the way. If your fronts are out of line, trim them. Stitch your front fabric, right sides together with a 1/4 inch seam.

Press open the front seam. Be careful to use a heat setting on your iron suitable for your batting.

With the back of the blocks facing you, lay the piece flat and pin back the backing fabric. Carefully trim the batting with scissors so that when it is lying flat both sides of the batting touch but do not overlap. Perfection is not required here, batting is forgiving.

Fold the blocks, right sides together. Push the seamed front fabrics into the fold and pin them out of the way. Pin the batting together.

Sew the batting together using a blanket stitch (l_l_l_l_) or a short zig zag (vvvvvv). Stitch slowly so that the needle goes into the two pieces of batting on one side and goes over the edge of the batting into nothing on the other side.

When you are done, open the seam and smooth the batting or give it a very gentle tug to flatten it out. The idea is similar to a flatlock that you can do with a serger. You may want to test this out on some scrap pieces of batting to get the best size of stitch to achieve this with your sewing machine.

The goal is to secure the pieces of batting together without creating an overlap or lumpy seam.

The last step matches some of the tutorials mentioned earlier. Trim the backing fabric if needed so that the pieces overlap about 1/2 inch when smoothed out. On one side, fold and iron under 1/4 inch of backing fabric. You may want to hang one side over the ironing board to make this easier. Then place the back fabric with the turned-under side on top, smooth, pin and hand sew it in place. Go back to our first photo, that shows this sample after it was finished, washed and dried.

Repeat for all your blocks, horizontally row by row and then vertically row by row.

We are going to use this method on our huge Dresden blocks from Lily's Quilts QAL. If you decide to give this a try, let us know how it works out.

Best,

Leanne and Marci

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Today Leanne from she can quilt and Marci from Marci Girl Designs are blogging together as a guest post on Lily's Quilts. All the pictures in this post were taken by Marci and you can view them on her flickr page here.

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Pre-Cut Quilting Fabric Online - Missouri Star Quilt Co.

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Missouri Star Quilt makes fabric for quilting in various pre-cut shapes and sizes, offering the world's largest selection of pre-cut quilting fabrics.