Free Patterns from Sophie Junction

Liberated Checkerboard Block

2011-07-01T12:07:00.000-04:00

This liberated variation of the classic 16-patch block is easy to cut and sew . . . as long as you take care to keep things organized.

The blocks are made two-at-a time, beginning with 2 large squares. The finished size of your liberated checkerboard block will be 2-to-2 1/2 inches smaller than the these squares.

For the Block Lotto in July 2011 (and these examples), we used 10 inch squares to start: one white and one solid or tone-on-tone (TOT) print in a medium to dark value with high contrast.

CUT FABRICS

Place fabrics on the cutting mat, one on top of the other with edges aligned. Both fabrics must be right sides up.
Vertical cuts: make 3 straight cuts from the top edge to the bottom edge. The sections do not have to be even and the cut lines may be as slanty as you decide to make them. There should be at least one inch between the cuts and at the outside edges. I pulled the sections apart so that you could see them--you don't need to do that and can leave them just as they are on your cutting mat.
Horizontal Cuts: Make three straight cuts from left edge to right edge. If it makes it easier for you, you can rotate the mat (or walk around the table), but avoid moving the cut fabric pieces. The same 1-inch rule of thumb applies.

PREPARE TO SEW

Create the checkboard by swaping top and bottom fabrics of every other piece.
Carefully move to your sewing area–because these irregular shaped pieces will only go together ONE WAY, carefully move them close to your machine. I used a 12-inch square ruler as a platter to carefully transfer my pieces from cutting table to sewing table.

SEWING THE BLOCK

You now have the pieces for two Liberated Checkerboard blocks. Sew them together as a 16-patch. Here’s the approach I used to keep everything organized and correctly oriented–I’m a little dyslexic and so I need to be VERY careful or something will get turned around.

	1. Get Organized Carefully lay out the stacked pieces (for two blocks) next to your sewing machine to prepare for assembly.
	2. Begin Working Top-to-Bottom, Left-to-Right Flip each of the top fabrics in the second column, onto the first column, like turning a page in a book.
	3. Chain Sew the Pairs Sew the pairs together, from Top-to- Bottom. After you've sewn the pieces from the "top" block, repeat the process for the second block. Leave the four pairs of each block connected (by thread)—only snip the thread between blocks.
	4. Press after every set of seams I found it easiest to press after the pieces in each column are sewn. Always press toward the non-white fabric–it will make matching the seams easier later. This photo shows the BACK after the first set of seams have been sewn and pressed.
	5. Layout the Block with Sewn Pieces Put the sewn, and pressed section back in place in your block layout.
	6. Continue to Work Left-to-Right, Top-to-Bottom "Turn the pages" of the pieces in the third column and place them on top of the corresponding piece to the left. Chain sew these four seams as before. Add the third column to the second block of your pair.
	7. Press and Repeat Press the second set of seams and Repeat with the last column of squares. Your block will now consist of 4 sections (rows) that are held together at the intersections by the thread left in place from chain piecing.
	8. Sew the “rows” together Fold the top row down. If the seam intersections are connected by the thread from your chain piecing, you may find, as I did, that you do not need pins to accurately sew the seam, matching the intersections. Stitch and repeat for each row of both blocks until your checkerboard block PAIR is done.

You may decide to square-up all your blocks and trim to the same size. For the block lotto, we're sending the blocks UNTRIMMED and allowing the winner to decide how he or she will use them.

Here's a look at how 35 liberated checkerboard blocks randomly arranged might look--with block photos from Béa, Cathy, Cheri, Ginny, Jennifer, Julie, Kate, Kathie, Linda, Linnea, Mary Jane, Michelle and Toni.

Thanks to everyone for the great block photos that made this virtual quilt possible. If you make a quilt or other project from this liberated checkerboard block, I'd love to see it.

Three-patch Rectangles

2011-05-31T21:43:00.001-04:00

This simple 6 inch by 9 inch (finished size) block was influenced by the proportions of the golden rectangle.

It showcases the fabrics used and/or the quilting design. It's quick and easy construction makes it a good choice for a last minute gift or a quilt-in-a-day project.

For the June 2011 Block Lotto, we are making blocks in an analogous colorway of green-blue-violet, including one green, one blue and one violet fabric in each block.

CUTTING

For each block,

Cut 1 rectangle - 4.5 x 6.5 inches
Cut 2 rectangles - 3.5 x 5.5 inches

SEWING THE BLOCK

Sew the two smaller rectangles together, along their long sides, Press toward the darker fabric.
Add the large rectangle to the top. Press the seam toward the large rectangle. The block should measure 6 1/2 by 9 1/2 inches.

Here is a sampling of blocks made by some quilters in the Block Lotto community.

For a clean, minimalist look, surround each of the blocks with wide borders in a solid neutral–simulated by white space here–and arrange them all with the same orientation:

For more virtual blocks and layout ideas, check out the June Guidlines for the Block Lotto

Modern Clover Quilt Block

2011-04-01T02:35:00.003-04:00

When Kate sent a drawing of this block to me, I didn't realize it was a Kate original and went looking for the name of the block. The closest block pattern I found (in Brackman's Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns was The Clover Blossom . . . and so I dubbed Kate's simplified version the Modern Clover. Because of my research, I immediately recognized The Clover Blossom quilt at the Infinite Variety exhibition.

Kate's block is easily assembled from 4 units--three Half-Square Triangles and a Stem.

The leaf units are made from green and cream fabrics. You'll need two leaf units.
The bloom unit is made from two shades of the same (non-green) color. You'll need only one of these.

For the April 2011 Block Lotto, we will be making a 6 inch Modern Clover block from 3 inch units, using green for the leaves and stem, cream background and two shades of any non-green color for the blossom.These are finished sizes, the units, before they are sewn together should measure 3 1/2 inches and the block will be 6 1/2 inches before it is sewn into a quilt top.

HALF SQUARE TRIANGLE UNITS

Known as half-square-triangles (HST, for short) or triangle squares, there are a lot of ways to make this useful building block unit. Once you find the method that works best for you and become confident making them, you'll be amazed at the quilt block patterns that you can (easily!) make.

The method you use may be influence by the number of HST units you need to make from the same pair of fabrics. If you decide to make a bunch of clover blocks with the same background and leaf fabrics, you might want to make all those units in one fell swoop using Thangles or Triangle Paper or a similar commerical product.

Making many HSTs

Using Thangles, you begin with strips of fabric that are 1/2 inch wider than the finished size of your HST unit. For example, for our 3 inch units, you would begin with 3 1/2 inch strips of your two fabrics. Read about How Thangles Work on their web site. Triangles on a Roll is a similar product.

With other sew-on-the-line products, you begin with two rectangles, place the printed paper (or lightweight non-woven interfacing-like product) on top, pin in place and sew on the dotted or dashed lines and, after all the seams are sewn, cut on the solid lines to create a bunch of HST units. You can download and print free gridded paper from Block Central. Using their 3-inch HST paper (finished size), you would begin with two 8-1/2 inch squares of fabric to make 8 HST units--enough leaf units for four blocks. As with anything you download, always be sure to measure the 1" arrow to make sure your computer did not "scale to fit" or otherwise chances the dimensions. Commercial products are printed on larger than printer-paper sized sheets--you use larger rectangles of fabric and produce more HSTs at a time.

Making 1 or 2 HSTs

For the most common method for making a pair of HST units, you begin with two fabric squares that are 7/8" larger than the desired finished size. Many quilters will cut the squares 1" larger because it's easier to measure and you can trim afterward. This method is described nicely on the About Quilting site here:

Quick and Easy Half-Square Triangle Units

If you have a fabric cutter, you can easily cut one or two triangles from some smallish scraps to make HST units. (FYI, this is not a product placement, I actually bought and use that Go! baby, but can't compare it to anything else ... )

STEM UNIT

For a 3 inch (finished size) stem unit,

Cut:
One 3 1/2 inch square of stem fabric (green)
Two 3 1/8 inch squares of background fabric (cream)

Assemble the stem

Place a smaller background of background fabric on top of the larger square of stem fabric, right sides together, with one corner and adjoining edges perfectly aligned.

Draw a stitching line from corner to corner on the smaller square. For a bonus triangle, draw a second line, parallel to the first, 1/2 inch away (toward the aligned corner).
Stitch on the drawn line(s).
Cut between the stitch lines . . . or 1/4 inch away from the single stitch line if you don't opt for the bonus triangle square.
Press.
Repeat steps 1-5 with the second smaller background square, placing it so that it is aligned with the opposite corner and other two sides of the background square.

PUTTING THE CLOVER BLOCK TOGETHER

Lay out the four units for your Clover block. Looking at it in an on-point fashion, keep the LIGHT fabric (in the blossom HST) on the LEFT. If you used different leaf fabrics, then place the LIGHTER leaf on the LEFT. If the leaf fabrics are the same, but the backgrounds are different, place the one with the LIGHTER background on the LEFT.

Sew the units together like a four patch, first in pairs and then press.

Sew two pairs together and you are done.

SOME INSPIRATION FROM THE BLOCK LOTTO COMMUNITY

These blocks were made by Karen, Liz, Maree, MB, Pat, Susan and Wendy.

String Heart Block with a Bonus

2011-02-01T00:52:00.001-05:00

This 6 inch by 8 inch (finished size) heart block is made in two steps: First you make the string pieced rectangles and then you use it to piece the heart block.

Many quilters have posted good directions online for how-to make string blocks. Kate published the basics on the Block Lotto blog when we made string pairs, here:

January Block Lotto String Square Pairs

Bonnie Hunter has a String piecing primer on her Quiltville site here:

String Quilting Primer

You’ll need two 3-1/2 by 8-1/2 inch rectangles of string fabric for each heart block —the strings should be at an angle and you’ll need a pair: one right leaning and one left leaning, arranged so that they form a V shape. You could piece each rectangle individually on a 4 x 9 inch foundation, or you might string piece something larger (maybe an 8 x 9 rectangle or 9 inch square, and then cut it to size.

FABRIC REQUIREMENTS

For each block, you’ll need:
• Two string rectangles 3.5 x 8.5 (1 Left-leaning and 1 Right-leaning
• Four 2-inch squares of background
• One or Two background rectangles 4 x 8 inches

NOTE: Cut ONE back ground rectangle if your fabric is solid or dyed and looks the same on both sides (no right side). Cut TWO if your fabric is printed and/or has a right side and a wrong side.

Slice the rectangle diagonally from corner to corner. If you are cutting TWO (print) Rectangles, you MUST stack and align them with WRONG SIDES TOGETHER before cutting the diagonal. You will end up with two mirror image triangle pairs (and can use the second pair for another block.

If your fabric is solid or dyed and is the same on both sides, you will cut ONE rectangle and flip over one of the rectangles to make a pair of mirror image shapes.

SEWING THE BLOCK

1. Align a square, face down, with the top left corner of each of the string rectangles.
2. Sew across the square, diagonally from corner-to-corner. You can draw the line before you sew if that makes it easier—remember you are going to sew ON the line.
3. Trim the excess fabric (in the corner) away, 1/4 inch from your seam.
4. Press.

5. Repeat with the other two squares in the top right corners of the string rectangles.

6. Lay out your block, placing the triangles on top for reference.

7. Flip one over and align the long edge of the triangle so that:
• it is even with the intersection of the seam at the outside edge of the rectangle
• it crosses the bottom edge of the string rectangle 1/4 inch away from the point (so your seam will go through the point.
8. Sewn the triangle in place,
9. Fold back the triangle after it’s sewn and MAKE SURE that the triangle covers the rectangle underneath. DO NOT trim or press anything until you have checked.

The placement of the triangles does NOT have to be exact. Remember this is supposed to be fun. If you are having problems, try sliding the triangle up or down on the rectangle … or cut a larger rectangle to start.

10. Repeat on the other side.
11. Fold back the triangle and trim the excess string fabric away … but DON”T toss it.

12. Press.
13. Sew the two halves of your heart block together.

14. Press and square up and trim to 6-12/ inches wide and 8-1/2 inches tall.

BONUS BLOCK

I couldn’t toss the large triangles of string fabric that I cut away in step 11 … and noticed when I flipped them over, I saw the beginnings of a smaller heart block. I used 1-3/4 inch squares and a 3.5 x 7 rectangle. The sewing order is a little different for this one: you’ll need to sew the triangles together first, then add the squares at the top.

As you can see, the bonus block is a bit smaller with slightly different, but similar proportions to the “parent block”.

Only the name has changed ...

2011-01-01T21:09:00.002-05:00

This blog has served a couple purposes over time, the last of which is a place to blog quilt block and project patterns in a place that makes them easy to find . . . instead of mixing it up with everything else I blog about on my personal blog, sophie junction.

As the functionality of blogger expands, I am considering the possibility combining the two. In the meantime, linking them through their names seems a logical first step.

FYI, I also want to create printable/downloadable versions of the existing and future patterns, because I like to download and save things . . . and I know I'm not alone.

Stay tuned ;-)

Stacking (Quilt) Blocks

2010-12-31T17:44:00.003-05:00

This 10 inch block (finished size) is my variation on the traditional Chinese coins quilt pattern. Each block is unique as you decide how evenly (or not) you will stack the fabric coins.

I'm calling it "Stacks."

It's a great scrap-buster and is easily made from 2-1/2 inch wide noodles or jelly rolls.

For the January Block Lotto, we are making this block in scrappy bright fabrics–solids, tone-on-tones, hand-dyes, batiks, plaids, florals, novelties, geometric or any kind of prints with a white background.

CUT THE FABRICS

All the pieces you need for this block ar 2-1/2 inches wide.

For one block you'll need:

10 white (background) rectangles cut 2-1/2 by 3 inches
5 different bright (focus fabrics) rectangles cut 2-1/2 by 8 inches

ASSEMBLE THE BLOCK

Sew a white background rectangle to each end of each of the strips of focus fabric. Press all seams toward the focus fabric.
Arrange your stack--do NOT line up any of the seams ... and you won't have to worry about matching them when you sew the rows together.
Sew your stack together as you have arranged it.
Trim your block to 10-1/2 inches square, making sure there is at least 1/2 inch of white background on each side of the bright strips.

Example Blocks

Here's a bunch of stacks made by some of the Block Lotto sneak peekers--more than you would need to make even a California Kingsize bed quilt.

For a closer look at the individual blocks, check out my flickr set Bright Stacks.

Thanks to Benta, Caroline, Cathy, Debbie, Julie, Kate, Laurina, Maree, Mary Jane, Michelle, Rho and Sara for the photos of their blocks.

Adding Complexity to the Simple Tree Block

2010-12-11T16:00:00.000-05:00

If you surfed past the Free-style Tree blocks because you thought they weren't interesting enough on their own . . . consider adding a few boughs, using the drawing with your rotary cutter technique to add some complexity and interest. I also liked the idea of making a mix of trees with varying complexity and height.

These are my tree block pairs for the December 2010 block lotto. They are 6.5 inches wide (to finish at 6) and 6.5, 9.5 or 12.5 inches tall (to finish at 6, 9, or 12)

The technique is a variation of my Free-style Tree blocks. Here's how. For each pair of trees, I started with two pieces of fabric, 8 inches wide and as tall as my target size plus 2-3 inches. So, for the yellow/black tree pair (which will finish at 6 by 12), my rectangles were cut at 8 x 15 inches. For my 6 x 9 blocks, my beginning rectangles were 8 x 12 inches. And for the inches squares, I began with 8 inch squares.

Begin by stacking your two fabrics evenly and making horizontal cuts. Use a ruler so the seams will be straight (and easy), but they don't have to be perfectly horizontal. I tended to make the top and bottom sections a little larger because I knew I would be trimming a little at the end when I cut my blocks to size. The number of cuts you make will determine how many side-ward pointing "boughs" your tree will have.
"Draw" the appropriate part of the tree in each section:
- 2 vertical cuts in the bottom section form the trunk
- a triangle in the top section to form the top of your tree--be sure to leave a lot of "sky" at the top if you want to avoid losing the point
- wedge shapes--shorter on the top edge than the bottom and slanted on the sides--in the middle section(s)
Swap the fabrics in the tree sections to create your trees.
Sew the block together by first sewing the pieces in each "row."

After each row is sewn, trim the top and bottom edges even. You can leave trimming the top and bottom of the block until later.

Sew the sections of tree together.

Square up and trim to your target block size. (For my block, 6.5 x 12.5 inches.

Click here for a look at many more examples of the "Jewel-tone Forest" quilters have made for the block lotto--if you're interested in joining us, there's still time. The deadline is December 31.

How to Draw a Liberated House

2010-09-15T14:27:00.000-04:00

We're making liberated houses this month for the Block Lotto. I know that even if you like the look of liberated or wonky houses, you might not be in love with the technique. An alternative is to draw your house and use the drawing as a foundation for paper piecing. Here's how.

Sophie's DON'T FORGETS:

When drawing a PFP pattern, remember that ALL lines must be STRAIGHT and that all lines must begin and end with a "T-intersection" with a previously drawn line.
Remember that a paper piecing template looks like the MIRROR IMAGE of the finished block. If, for example, you draw a house with a door on the left and window on the right, your house block will have a door on the right and a window on the left.

Begin with a sheet of paper (or other foundation material) that is at least 1/2 inch larger than the finished size of the block you want to make.

Draw a square that represents the FINISHED size of your block–for the September Block Lotto, that would be an 8 inch square. Remember when you are making the block, you will add 1/4 inch on each side of this square for the seam allowance, making a 8 1/2 " square.
Draw the horizontal-ish line that will represent the top of the main body of the house and the bottom edge of the triangle which forms the roof.
On the bottom half of your drawing, add two vertical-ish lines that will define the left and right sides of your house.
Draw a line between the two lines in step three which will define the top edge of your door and window.
On one side of your house, create the door by drawing two lines that begin at the line in Step 4 and end at the bottom of the square.
On the other side of your house, create a window by drawing two more lines that begin at the line in Step 4 and end at the bottom of the square. Then add the horizontal line between them to define the bottom of your window.
Define the roof by drawing two, intersecting slanted lines.

NOTE: IF YOUR ROOF DOES NOT EXTEND TO THE SIDE EDGES OF YOUR SQUARE, YOU WILL HAVE TO CREATE TWO SECTIONS FOR YOUR PATTERN. CUT THE DRAWING APART ALONG LINE DRAWN IN STEP 2. BEFORE YOU BEGIN TO PIECE THE BLOCK.
Now, number your template with the paper piecing order:

1 - window
2 - space beneath window
3 - house section beside window
4 - house section on the other side of window
5 - door
6 - house section beside door
7 - house section above door and window
8 - sky on one side of house
9 - sky on the other side of house
10 - roof
11 - sky on the side of roof which does NOT extend to the top of block (MISNUMBERED as 12 in the drawing below)
12 - sky on the other side (MISNUMBERED 11 in the drawing below).

Remember that the block you piece will actually EXTEND beyond the square 1/4 inch for the seam allowance. I usually cut out the paper pattern adding the 1/4 inch on each side of the square to make sure I DON'T FORGET.

Let's Grow Roses

2010-07-31T21:55:00.002-04:00

You may know this as block as a Liberated Rose, a Log Cabin Rose or just a Wonky Rose . . . any and all those adjectives apply. Here are my notes for how I construct this free-pieced block.

When choosing fabrics for this block, more is more. For the August Block Lotto, the guidelines specify that you must use at least 3 different fabrics for the rose, but no one need stop at three. This is a great opportunity to use small or odd-shaped scraps. I started with a piles of scraps, sorted by color to make rose blocks for a border of a quilt in progress.

In this block, we are creating an abstraction of a living, growing flower. Although there are exceptions, most real roses grow in colors of closely related shades and my recommendation (a requirement for the Lotto) is that all the fabrics in the flower should be variations of the same color.

Another characteristic of this block is that we're creating the illusion of curved petals around a center, using only straight lines and straight seams. As you make the block, you'll need to play with angles and colors to create a block that says, "rose" when you look at it . . . and not "log cabin."

Making the Block

Begin at the center with a non-square. I like triangles and pentagons, though the angles and sides do NOT need to be the same. Four-sided squares and rectangles may exist in nature but rarely in the center of flowers.

If you begin with a 5-sided pentagon-like center, avoid any square cornered "house" shapes.

Add strips in log cabin fashion, by starting on any side, then adding to the next adjacent side, working your way around (which direction doesn't matter–just keep moving around the block in the same direction).

A good reason for add the strips in a consistent way around the block is that it gives you an opportunity to create the illusion of curved petals by using the same fabric on 2-3 adjacent sides ONLY. Few roses look like bullseyes, so avoid using the same fabric all the way around the center.
Whatever the shape of your center, after you have added all but the last log on the first round, you can always tell where the next log goes by looking for the side that has 2 seams intersecting it. In the two blocks in progress here, the one on the left was made correctly and you can see that the next log will be added to the lower left side. I lost my way on the block on the right, as evidences by the bottom edge which as three seams intersecting it. Ooops. If you goof, it's not fatal, just pick a direction and carefully add the next round of strips.

The strips (or logs or petals) that you add do not need to be carefully cut . . . and in fact will look more organic if they are not a consistent width.

Use up your odd-shaped scraps, off cuts. If you add straight (even width) strips, consider trim them at angles after they've been sewn to the block so that your rose block grows in an irregular, organic way.

Also feel free to trim the block-in-progress if the shape starts to look wrong to you. I thought the block below was looking too oblong, so I chopped it.

As my blocks grew, I found it useful to have a reference for the target size. These blocks are 9 1/2-inches (to finish at 9 inches). If you have a square ruler that's the size you need, great ... otherwise, a paper template will do. I repurposed the cover of a magazine, trimmed to size.

When you decide your rose is finished, lay it on the template to decide on it's orientation and add green fabrics to make the block square. Trim to size and you're done!

Always keep in mind that you can, at any point in the process, re-shape your rose. After I finished the block on the left, I thought it looked too blocky and so I added some more angles at the bottom and filled the space with green.

Here's 20 of the rose blocks made by Andi, Caroline, Ginny, Kate, Kathie, Kim and Pat.

Vines & Handles: A Closer Look at Bias Strip Appliqué

2010-06-05T20:07:00.002-04:00

I put these tips together for the Block Lotto, to help everyone produce nice flat curved handles for their Liberated Basket blocks. This technique works for any bias appliqué strips: stems, vines, branches etc.

When it comes to quilting, we are usually taught to avoid working with bias edges, using STEAM when pressing and pulling/contorting our fabrics. But sometimes, all of these things can work for you to achieve the desired effect.

Here's a closer look at the steps for making the basket handle. Click any of the photos for a larger image and add your own tips in the comments.

Be sure to cut your strips ON THE TRUE BIAS. Do NOT fudge on this step. Align the 45 degree line on your ruler with the selvedge or cut edge of your fabric to find the bias line across your fabric.
Sew the bias strip into a tube by sewing the two long edges together, WRONG SIDES together. Don't even finger press the fold and you won't have to worry about getting rid the crease you create. Thread color doesn't matter (notice my not so "neutral" light gray.) After you've sewn the seam, trim away the seam allowance as close as you can to the seam–after the bias is in place, there will be no stress on that seam.
Now, carefully prepare the sewn bias strip. Roll the seam and it's tiny seam allowance between your fingers so that the seam is in the middle of the strip. Take the strip to the iron and press it firmly so that it is VERY flat.
Next, using the STEAM in your iron, "swirl" the strip. This technique I learned when making hats. It's how you create the shape of the grosgrain ribbon that rests against the head inside the hat. Since your head isn't a cylinder, the ribbon needs to wider at the bottom than the top, by swirling the ribbon into a slight curve, you create a ribbon that measures longer on one side than the other and fits beautifully inside a hat and against the head.

It works like this: using a STEAM iron in one hand to anchor one end of the strip to the ironing board and holding the other end of the strip in your other hand to manipulate the strip. As you press along the length of the bias strip, you'll be stretching one edge slightly to create a curved shape.

Depending on the angle at which you pull the strip around, you coulcome very close to creating the shape you want for your handle at the ironing board. I was able to completely form my handle at the ironing board.
Pin the handle in place, focusing on the OUTSIDE of the handle first. Use as many or few pins as you need. If you are stitching your handle down on the machine, be sure to remove the pins as you come upon them.
When machine stitching the handle, be sure to use a thread color that matches or invisible thread. Use an open sewing machine foot that will allow an open view of the needle/seam and the edge of the handle. If you can change the needle position on your machine, take advantage of that feature to sew as close to the edge of the handle as you can. On my little Bernina (153 QE), I used a #10 appliqué foot and moved my need to the far right.

If you are using a straight stitch, as I did here, you want to be close to the edge while staying on the bias strip If you are using a blind stitch, blanket stitch or zigzag, you'll also want to be close to the edge, but stitching along the background (and zigging into the handle).
After you have stitched down the outside, you may notice that the background has pulled in a little. You also now have an opportunity to work on the inside curve with the STEAM iron. so, press the strip again, with STEAM, starting with the curviest part of the handle works the excess fabric into the straighter/more gently curved areas so it doesn't get tucks in it. Pulling the edge down/pressing towards the bottom of the block rather than perpendicular to the stitching on the outer edge shortens the fabric in the inside curve to help it lay smoothly as well.
When you have pressed and manipulated the handle so that it lies flat, you're ready to stitch down the inside curve. Once again, you want to sew as close to the edge as you can. Upon close examination, your stitching will highlight the beautiful, smooth curve (with all edges appearing to be turned under– something I learned to think about in a Jane Sassaman workshop from some years ago.

Once your handle is completed, attach it to the bottom of the basket block, trimming the excess length of handle even with the fabric edge. I generally sew first and trim later to ensure that the ends of the strips don't have any possibility of folding up and getting in the way in the seam and . . . not lying flat when I'm done.

Here's the rest of the block that goes with my example handle, after it was pressed and trimmed to size.

Liberated Basket Block

2010-05-31T22:25:00.001-04:00

My approach for making this liberated basket block once again starts with a large rectangle of background fabric into which you "draw" the design of the block with your rotary cutter.

The finished size of my example block is 6 1/2 inch wide by 8 1/2 inches tall (to finish at 6 x 8).

FABRICS

I began with a background rectangle that was 8 inches x 10 inches, some scraps for the basket–try to use at least 5 different fabrics–and a small amount of a coordinating tone-on-tone fabric for the basket base and handle.

For the June 2010 Block Lotto, we'll be using yellow or gold background fabrics; red tone-on-tone prints or solids for the handle and base; and the quilter's choice of scraps for the body of the basket.

Remember, you can click any of the photos for a larger image. All the images (with directions in the descriptions) can be found in my Flickr photoset Liberated-Style Basket Step-by-Step.

MAKING THE BLOCK

Position the background fabric on your cutting mat so that it's taller than it is wide. (aka "profile" orientation.
You'll be drawing your block with your rotary cutter and a straight edge–it might be a ruler, but you don't need to measure anything. Make 2 horizontal cuts. The top one defines the top of your basket and the space you'll have for the handle. The bottom one defines the height of the base of the basket. The scrappy, pieced basket will be as tall as the middle section. Pull apart the sections to make it easy to work on each one separately.
Draw the basket shape by making two angled cuts in the center section to define the basket shape you'd like. They don't have to be symmetrical (mine aren't).
Remove the basket shape and reassemble your background pieces, but don't throw it away–we'll come back to that in a bit. Slide the three sections back together–this will give you an idea of how your block looks so far.
Make two vertical cuts to draw the basket base shape. The top of the base should align with the bottom of the basket. Remove the basket base you've just cut. It becomes the pattern.
Using the base you just drew with your rotary cutter and removed, cut a base from your handle/basket fabric. Be sure that both fabrics are right side up so that the new basket base will fit in the space you created in the background.
Assemble the bottom of the block by sewing the two background pieces to the basket base. Press the seams toward the base.
For the basket, you'll need a collection of small scraps. Try to use at least 5 fabrics in your basket. Use the basket shape you created as the foundation for piecing the scraps into a basket. Make CERTAIN that you foundation is RIGHT SIDE UP and you are sewing your scraps to the RIGHT SIDE. In this example, I started with a triangle and added strips log cabin-fashion. You could also use this as a foundation for straight strings. If you have crumb blocks or string yardage, cut it using the basket shape as your pattern–remember to keep both the pattern and the pieced fabric right sides up when cutting. Be sure that you continue to sew 1/4 inch seams as you add scraps to the foundation.

You can create new lines as you add pieces and trim after the seam is sewn.
After you have covered your basket foundation with scraps, turn it over and trim your piece from the back, using the foundation as a guide.
Your basket shape will fit perfectly back into the background for the middle third of the block. Press the seams toward the background. NOTE: Depending upon the angle of the sides of your basket, you may need to slide the background fabric so that the point hangs over the edge to make sure the top and bottom edges are aligned at the point where the 1/4 inch seam will be made.
Attach the basket section to the base section by sewing the bottom two thirds of the block together, aligning the basket bottom with the base top.
The basket handle is cut on the bias, 1.5 inches wide, from the same fabric as the base. (I probably should have pressed that fabric first, huh?)
Fold the basket handle in half, WRONG sides on the inside, and stitch (a normal 1/4 inch seam). The thread color doesn't matter because this seam will be hidden.
Trim the seam to approximately 1/16 inch (eyeball it). Roll the handle/tube you've created so that the seam is in the center. Press the handle piece flat. The seam (and seam allowance) will now be hidden.
When deciding on the handle placement, keep in mind the finished size of the block--8 1/2 inches tall in this example. It may not seem like that bias strip will bend . . . but it will. The handles may be as tall or short as you decide, but they should have a nice curve. Use a ruler and keep in mind the finished size of your block when deciding how tall your handle will be.
Initially, just make sure that the outside edge of the basket handle is smooth and pin it in place until you sew it down.
Stitch down the outside of the handle, by hand or machine. It can be machine stitched using a straight stitch very close to the edge, blind stitch or blanket stitch. Use thread in a matching color or invisible mono-filament.
After the outside of the handle is attached, take it back to the iron and gently press and manipulate and the inside edge of the handle until it lies nice and flat. Then, stitch down the inside edge. Trim the bottom edge of the handle even with the background fabric.
Position the top third over the bottom, centering the basket handle and sew that last seam!
Now trim the block to size. In this case it was 6-1/2 inches wide by 8-1/2 inches tall.

Here are four blocks, made with very different proportions and different techniques for the scrappy center unit. Mix it up or stick with the proportions that look best to you, then fill your baskets with scrappy goodness.

For more great examples of these liberated basket blocks, check out the blocks being made for the Block Lotto. You can also see some of the blocks made by the sneak peekers in my flickr photo stream, tagged liberated basket quilt block.

If YOU make a quilt or other project using this block, I'd love to have a photo for the new Gallery page.

Have you made something from one of the patterns here?

2010-05-24T16:43:00.000-04:00

Seeing the great totes that friends were making inspired me to create a Gallery for this blog to showcase some of the wonderful projects it has inspired.

If you've made a summer tote, sewing kit, or quilt or other project inspired by the quilt blocks or other information here, I'd love to include it. My contact information is on the (also new) About Me tab.

Reeds Free-pieced Quilt Block

2010-04-30T23:49:00.137-04:00

The irregular, curved shapes in this block have an organic feeling and abstracted, natural look. I see reeds, but you might see green shoots or leaves of grass.

It's a pretty simple block that offers the opportunity to work with curves, make bias edges work for you and freely cutting and piecing it all together.

To make a 7-1/2 inches square (7 inch finished size) block:

Cut:
One rectangle cut from background fabric that is at least 8 inches high and 9 inches wide. (My example is a 9 inch square).

Three 1-1/2 inch wide strips cut on the bias of reed fabric. Two should be 9-10 inches long; the third 4-6 inches long.

One 1-1/5 inch wide strip cut on the bias of background fabric, 4-6 inches long.
Sew the two short bias strips together end-to-end and press toward the darker fabric.This join can be made at an angle–just be sure that your resulting joined bias is straight.
Lay the background rectangle on your rotary mat, right side up. Using your rotary cutter to draw, cut a gentle curve that extends from the top to bottom.
Insert a bias strip. First sew it to the side of the background with the outside of the curve. Gently press the bias reed in place–steam may help if it doesn’t want to bend to your will and lay nice and flat.
Bring the sewn side back to the mat. Trim the un-sewn side of the reed to create an irregular, more natural shape.
Slightly overlap the side with the reed attached on the background and, following the edge of the reed you just cut, trim the background to match.
Sew the matching curves you have just created together and press.
Repeat steps 3 through 7 twice more, to add two more reeds to your composition. When adding the two-color reed, keep in mind that you will be trimming the block to 7-1/2 inches square. Be sure that the “end” of the reed is within the finished block.
Trim the completed block to 7-1/2 inches square and admire your composition.

For the May 2010 Block Lotto, we are making this block with lime reeds on white, black or black and white print backgrounds. For more sewing tips, check out this blog post on the Block Lotto group blog:

Tips and Troubleshooting for the May Block

Here is a collection of some of the early lotto blocks, from Caroline, Kate, Kim and me.

You can see all of the blocks made for the block lotto in these blog posts.

Quartered Star Quilt Block Pattern

2010-04-21T00:30:00.136-04:00

Here's another block I had planned for the block lotto that didn't make the list. I still love it, for the friendship star in the center and the ribbon effect when the blocks are put together in a straight set. I think it has all kinds of scrappy possibilities.

According to Barbara Brackman's Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Blocks, this block was first publishedwith the name Quartered Star, in 1978 in Michael James' The Quiltmakers Handbook, but I've also seen it referred to as the Ribbon Star.

Whatever you call it, I think it offers great possibilities for playing with color and value. For the block lotto, I had originally thought of a constant of dark blue for the star in the center, medium blue in the corners and quilter's choice of lights–I used pink in this sample–for the "ribbon." But don't let my ideas of color hold you back from making this block your own.

The construction of this block is accomplished by using partial seams, a useful technique for any quilter's repertoire.

To make the 6 inch (finished size) block as shown:

Cut four 2.5 x 4.5 inch rectangles of light (ribbon) fabric, four (corner) 2.5 inch squares of medium blue and five 2.5 inch squares of dark blue (star) fabric.
Begin by aligning a dark blue square (star fabric) with the right end of a rectangle (ribbon fabric), right sides together.
Draw a line from the upper left corner of the square to the lower right. Sew on the line.
Trim 1/4-inch on the outside of the seam
Press the seam (toward the blue/star fabric) rotate the rectangle 180 degrees and repeat, adding a medium blue (corner fabric) triangle. Be sure to always draw the line in the same direction (upper left to lower right, when the rectangle is horizontal like this.)
Once again, trim 1/4 inch on the outside of the seam, press open (toward the medium blue/corner fabric.)
Your rectangle should look like the unit below on the left after adding triangles to each end.
Make 4 identical rectangles. Then, you're ready to assemble the quartered star block.
Lay out the rectangles around the last dark blue *star fabric) square as shown below on the left.
Sew the center square to the rectangle above it. Start the seam where the two ends are aligned and sew ONLY 1/2-to-2/3 across the small square. Press the partially sewn seam.
Add the rectangle on the left to the end of the two blocks partially sewn together. Press.
Add the rectangle on the lower left.
Add the last rectangle, to the lower right. Then go back to the original (partially sewn) seam and complete it. See how easy partial seams can be?

Your block is done!

Free-style Tree Block

2010-04-21T00:15:00.018-04:00

I confess this idea was a Block Lotto idea reject–I liked it. but the feedback from a couple of people from whom I solicited an opinion was that they thought it was too simple.

Personally, I still like it and it may appear in the block lotto rotation one day . . . but in the meantime, I couldn't think of any reason not to share the block tutorial. As you might guess from my sample blocks, my original thought was to create a psychedelic forest using pairs of black and bright fabrics.

The measurements in these directions will produce a pair of 6 inch (finished size) block. The block really IS so simple that you could adapt them to produce any size and proportions you need–just start with something that is a couple inches larger than the finished size you want to produce, whether it's a smaller or larger square or a rectangle, tall and skinny or short and wide. You can also probably imagine how to add complexity to these trees. Think of this simple block as a jumping off point to create a liberated tree . . . or a whole forest of your own.

To make a pair of 6 inch (finished size) blocks:

Begin with two 8-inch squares of fabric
Stack the two squares on top of each other, right sides up. Make the first cut at least 1-1/2 inch from the bottom.This will define the bottom of your tree.
In the bottom section, make two vertical cuts near the middle, at least 1-1/2 inches apart, to create the tree's trunk.
In the top section, make two angled cuts to form the tree shape. Cut the first one, then pull the sky piece you just created out of the way before making the next cut.
Swap the top and bottom fabrics for the tree and trunk
Assemble the top and bottom units. Trim even and join top to bottom.

After you have assembled the block, press and square up to 6.5 inches. Your two blocks will be identical with opposite fabric placement.

Summer Tote from Orphan Blocks

2010-04-20T17:01:00.007-04:00

William Morris said, "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful." I think this quilted tote bag qualifies as a nice-to-have on both counts.

Do you have orphan blocks–blocks you made and loved but for which you have no project in mind? Then you might consider making a useful, beautiful tote bag of your own.

This bag is approximately 12 inches high and 16 inches wide (at the top edge). The bottom is 8 inches square. It is constructed from 6 1/2-inch pieced quilt blocks and squares of fabric. (In the assembled bag, they will finish at 6 inches.) It is based on Gay's So Sew Easy Schlep Bag pattern, which you can download from the linked page on her Sentimental Stitches site. My Summer Tote differs in the following ways:

It's based on smaller squares and uses pieced quilt blocks in place of squares.
It is layered with batting and quilted
It does not have a separate lining, the quilted sections are self lined by the backing fabric and the seams are covered with bias fabric.
The straps are shorter and are constructed of two fabrics. They are attached to more than the edge of the bag.

Here are the notes and photos of my process.

CONSTRUCTING THE BAG

Start with 4 blocks you want to feature. Your blocks will appear as if they are set on-point in the finished bag. If you want to make 6-inch (finished size) stamp basket blocks like mine, you can find the pattern on the About Quilting site, here.
Add 4 more same-sized blocks that will appear at the bottom of the bag. I made 16-patch blocks in coordinating colors. Directions here.
Since the blocks you add at the bottom will, for the most part, become the bottom of the bag, I chose to use plain fabric squares, cut at 6.5 inches of a darker coordinating fabric.
At the top, add the half-blocks which, along with your featured blocks, will appear at the top of the bag. You could cut two pieced blocks diagonally in half. I constructed "half" 16-patch blocks and used whole squares (knowing they would be later trimmed to triangles) to prevent stretching until I was ready to finish the top edge of the bag.
Sew each column of blocks together, creating 4 vertical strips.
Layer the individual strips with batting and backing (cut larger all the way around) and quilt as desired. These small strips are easy to maneuver and a great opportunity to play with free motion quilting.

There is an (unfortunately over-exposed) detail photo of the quilting here.
Trim the quilted pieces.
Lay out the pieces to form a windmill like mine and stitch the 4-patch in the middle together.
Fold the bag so the long edge of the strip is aligned with the adjacent edge, right sides together. (there is an illustration of this in the So Sew Easy Schlep Bag instructions linked above.) Repeat for each strip. The bag, inside out, will look like this.
I bound the edges on the inside of my bag for a clean finish, since the quilted bag does not require a separate lining. I had a package of double fold bias tape in a coordinating green, so I decided to use it. It was a struggle and I don't recommend it. NEXT time, I'll cut my own binding strips and they will be wider. You might decide to add a lining (so you can add interior pockets); if so, you also might decide that it's not necessary to bind the interior seams.
Trim the top edge, if necessary, and bind. I used a 2" strip for a 1/2 inch bond edge.

I sewed the binding to the inside first, stitching it from the outside to make sure I didn't lose any of the pieced squares' corners. Then I folded it to the front, turning under 1/2 inch and used a decorative stitch to sew it in place.
Make and attach the straps. Weather you use the directions for the Schlep bag or follow mine below, before you cut anything, decide for yourself how long the straps should be. We all have different preferences–do you want "handles" or a shoulder strap? Measure a tote bag you have and love or use your bag and a measuring tape to come up with your personalized measurement.

TWO-FABRIC STRAPS

I liked the white background of my bag, but worried that white straps would be impractical and, like the William Morris quote at the top of this post, I wanted a tote that I thought to be beautiful and knew to be USEFUL. I decided to combine the white background fabric with the print.

CUTTING

The white fabric was cut 1-1/2 inch wide and as long as my desired strap length plus 3 inches, doubled (for two straps). In my case, this translated to almost a width of fabric for both straps. The finished straps will be this width (1-1/2 inches).
The print fabric was cut 2 inches wide and the same length. You'll need two strips for each strap. (In my case, 2 widths of fabric).
Batting was cut at 1-1/2 inch wide and slightly shorter for each strap

SEWING

Sew a print (2 inch) strip to each long edge of the white (1-1/2 inch) strip. Press seams toward the print fabric on each side.
Turn under 1/4 inch of the long edge of the print fabric on ONE SIDE ONLY.
With the straps laying wrong side up, lay the batting in place–it should fit on top of the white fabric exactly, with a little "bade" space on each end.

Fold the print fabric (without the pressed under edge) over the batting. If you are using fusible batting, you can fuse it in place now.
Fold over the remaining side (with the pressed under edge) and pin in place.
Stitch the second side down. Depending on your plans for additional stitching (to add body and strength to the straps), you could simply stitch it down by machine and add more parallel lines of stitching to the straps. I decided that would add some free-motion quilting to my straps in the middle and stitch in the ditch on each long side, so I slip stitched mine in place.
Fold over and stitch each end. I wasn't concerned about "neat" and used a zig-zag.
Position your straps and attach them to the bag. Unlike the Schlep bag, I did not simply sew the end of the strap to the sewn edge at the top of the bag. I knew I would be using this bag for books, groceries, and trips to the Dallas Farmer's Market and wanted to be sure the straps were attached. On my bag, each strap extends inside the bag 1-1/2 inches and is attached to the bag along that inch and a half length. You might decide to attach your straps to the outside and cover the extra stitching with a coordinating appliqué.

I machine stitched mine, basically following the stitching on the bag to make it less obvious from the outside, which meant I restitched along the line where the binding was attached to the top edge of the bag and did a generous amount of stippling beneath that in the white squares where the strap is attached to the bag. In this case, more stitching gives those handles more structural integrity.

Your bag is now ready to put to work. Enjoy it's beauty and function.

Since this initial posts, a few friends (from the block lotto and the Lib-quilters yahoo group) have made totes of their own. Read more about these lovelies in the Gallery.

Three Ways to Wonkify a Traditional Quilt Block

2010-03-31T21:09:00.002-04:00

Liberated-style wonky blocks are carefree and charming. They are fun to make and result in a fresh twist on a traditional favorite.

Here are three approaches for making an 8-inch wonky version of a Shoo Fly block. The same techniques could be applied to your go-to traditional block for a new take on that old favorite.

The first is Gwen Marston's technique, as presented in her book, Liberated Quiltmaking. (I'll just be sharing an overview and the measurements to start for an 8 inch finish.) Number two is a block created by drawing the wonky block with your rotary cutter and is a similar technique to the Tic-tac-toe block I posted at the end of last year. Last is a stack and slash technique in which you also draw with your rotary cutter to create two matching blocks with the fabric placements reversed.

Technique 1 - Gwen's Liberated Shoo Fly

I think three things characterize the Liberated Quiltmaking approach to this block:

You begin with 9 same-sized squares, as if you were making the traditional block.
You introduce wonky-ness into the block by replacing the triangle-squares in the corner with triangles added to the background squares in different sizes and at random angles.
You may square up and trim the block at an angle after it's assembled.

To make an 8 inch shoo-fly block, begin with nine 3 1/4 inch squares. After you add the wonky triangles to the corners, be sure to trim the background fabric away and square up the units to 3-1/4 inches. Once the block is assembled, you will need to square up your block, trimming slightly to make them 8-1/2 inches after they are sewn.

If you want to go off the grid for a wonkier block or try a different technique . . .

Technique 2 - Drawing with Your Rotary Cutter This technique will be familiar to anyone who has made the Tic-Tac-Toe blocks posted here at the end of last year. This version of a wonky Shoo Fly block is based on a 9-patch grid that is drawn with proportions and angles chosen by you.

To begin, start with a 10 inch square of your BACKGROUND fabric. You will also need a small amount of shoo-fly fabrics (Krista was able to make hers usinga 10" square for the background plus a 5" charm squares of floral fabrics)
Using a rotary ruler (as a straight edge, not to measure), cut the square into a 9-Patch.

Remove the center of your 9-patch and use it as a template to cut a new center from the shoo-fly fabric. Be sure that both your "template" and your new fabric are right-side up, because the shapes you create may not be symmetric in any way or reversible.

Add triangles of the shoo-fly fabric to the corner units. Because these corners may not be square, be sure that the triangles you add will completely cover after they are sewn and pressed.
After they are sewn and pressed, first trim them from the back, using the original corner as your guide to re-create the original "drawn"-by-you shape. Then, trim away the background fabric from behind the triangle.

Because the units of this block are all different shapes, I decided to remove one corner from my layout at a time and replace it after the triangle was added and trimmed, so everything went back where it belonged.
Once the triangles have been added and trimmed, the block can be assembled in 9-patch fashion, frist sewing the units into rows and then sewing the rows together.

Trim the block to 8-1/2 inches square (for an 8 inch finished size block).

Technique 3 - Stack-and-Slash a Pair of Wonky Blocks This last approach is a variation of Drawing with Your Rotary Cutter in which you start with two squares of fabric and create a pair of matching blocks in which the shoo-fly and background fabrics are reversed.

For an 8 inch Shoo-Fly block, begin with two 11 inch squares of fabric. Stack them with edges matching, right sides up.
Using a ruler to ensure you cut straight lines, cutting through the stack of 2 fabrics, cut a wonky 9-patch. Then, cut across each of the corners to create the "outline" of a wonky shoo fly.
Switch the top and bottom fabrics as shown. Your two blocks are now cut, laid out and ready to sew.
Sew the "triangles" in the corners together. Don't worry that everything doesn't match after it's sewn. Press and trim off the excess, maintaining the "lines" you created when you "drew" the block.
After the corners are sewn, the corner units will be shorter than the "middles." Don't worry. Match the edges closest to the center and let the outside become ragged. You'll be trimming it. Your block may now look something like this, a crooked 9-patch whose units don't exactly match up.
Sew the block together, like a 9-patch, first sewing the units to form three rows, then sewing the rows together. The outside edges of your assembled block will likely be VERY uneven.

Square up and trim to your blocks to 8-1/2 inch square (for an 8 inch finished block).

Some Wonky Examples

Here are 60 of the blocks already created by Block Lotto sneek peakers, Ginny, June, Kathie, Krista, Louise, Michelle, Pat, Terri and me. (Click any of the small photos for a better look.)

Will you make some wonky fly blocks or wonkify another traditional block? I'd love to see the results. For more about these blocks (and more) and to see what the winners will do with them, check out the Block Lotto blog, in April.

My Portable Handwork Sewing Kit

2010-02-18T14:37:00.003-05:00

This sewing kit measures 4 by 4.5 inches, has three pockets and two felt pages inside. It's an embellished, quilted version of a quilt shop giveaway that I have been using for years. When I recently came across the appliquéd, beaded heart–the class project from a workshop with Ann Fahl, I decided to put it to a functional use. A miniature block or stitchery sample ... or even a small piece of beautiful fabric would also be wonderful to feature on the cover.

This little pocket was made as a prize for the Block Lotto this month, but you can easily make your own–I already want to make another one . . . for ME. Here's how.

Cutting the Fabrics

Two 5" x 10" rectangles of fabric for the cover. Your outer cover might be appliquéd, pieced, embroidered, etc. You'll also need a piece of batting cut to the same size.
For the pockets, one 4-1/2" x 6-12" rectangle and one 4-1/2" x 7-1/2"rectangle. Fold these in half, WRONG sides together and press.
One rectangle of felt cut at 3-3/4" x 6-3/4"
Approximately 28" of binding. I used 1-3/4" wide, double-fold binding cut on the bias.

Making the Kit

1. Layer the two large rectangle with batting and quilt as directed. I think this is a great size to try one of Leah Day's 365 freemotion filler patterns that she's been blogging. As you can see, it got a little challenging for me when I got close to that beaded heart. That's OK, the pocket will cover it.

2. Trim the quilted piece to 9-1/2" x 4-1/2"

3. Round the corners. I used a large Rx container (which now contains quilting pins) as a template to ensure all my corners match.

4. Lay the cover on the table, inside up and then position the two folded and pressed pocket fabrics at each end, with the folded side toward the middle. Pin in place.

5. Flip over the piece and trim the corners of the pocket fabric even with those on the quilted cover.

6. Stitch a line through the smaller pocket to create two sections and then bind the edges. I used bias binding to make rounding the corners easy-peasy.

7. Center the flannel on the inside of the kit.

8. Sew it to the kit through the center

9. Trim the corners of the felt to match the rounded corners of the kit.

It was so fast and easy, I know I'll be making more of these. This one came together last night, while I watched the Olympics on TV. Here's my well used original and the embellished, quilted copy.

And here's how I fill mine: small scissors, a packet of needles and handpiecing templates in the large pocket; thimble and a spool of thread in the smaller double pockets; a few parked needles and pins stuck into the felt, with small blocks or cut pieces inside the felt pages. When I was working on an appliqué project, I made a small sandpaper board that fit in the large pocket, too.

How will you fill yours?

Let's Play Tic-Tac-Toe

2009-12-26T12:28:00.011-05:00

Although I'm sure I've seen it used in quilts, my source for this block is my dreams. A couple days ago, it appeared in my dreams and woke up thinking this could be a gentle entry into the more liberated style of blocks we'll be making for the Block Lotto in 2010.

I think this Tic-Tac-Toe block could be the basis of a great kid's quilt–can't you see some x's and o's quilting into those "squares"? But I can also see if used in a more adult modern quilt.

Fabrics & Cutting

For an 8.5 inch (8 inches, finished size) block, you'll need a 9-to-10 inch square of background fabric and a width of fabric (WOF), cut selvedge-to-selvedge 1-to-2.5 inches wide. In this example, I started with the 10 inch square and 1.5 inch strip on the left. If you are using FQs, just cut two 20-ish inch wdiths, like the photo on the right.

Making the Block

(Remember you can click any of the photos for a larger image and closer look.)

1. Begin with the background square. Make two straight cuts from top to bottom edges. While your lines need to be straight, they can be as slanted as you like. You may want to keep them at least 2 inches from the corners and no closer than 1 inch to each other.

2. Insert the bright strip into each of your cuts, sew it along both edges to the background to "re-assemble" the square and press the seams toward the strips.

3. Rotate the block 90 degrees and repeat the process. Make two straight edge-to-edge cuts from top to bottom.

4. Insert strips and press seams toward the bright strips. Don't worry if they don't reach edge-to-edge, because you'll be squaring-up and trimming the block to final size. Do pay attention lining up the background pieces so that your first strips end up being aligned.

5. Square and trim the block to 8.5 inches. If you started with a 10 inch background square, like I did, you'll have a lot of wiggle room to make an artistic cut . . . just make sure that you end up with 9 background "squares" in your Tic-Tac-Toe grid (and that the smallest will not disappear in a seam allowance when it's sewn into a quilt.

Design Considerations

If you make a block with wider strips, you need to be careful that as the block-in-progress grows wider and taller, that, when you trim it to size (in this case 8.5 inches square), that you end up with a complete tic-tac-toe grid with 9 background spaces. In the example below, I started with a 10 inch square of background and 2.5 inch bright strips.

As I was adding my fat strips (2.5 inches), I realized that my block had become too wide, so I removed some background from the center before adding the final seam.

After removing part of the center, I measured (using a large square ruler) to make sure that, after it was trimmed to 8.5 inches square, I would end up with 9 background squares (and a complete tic-tac-toe grid), then I stitched it together and continued.

I also measured when deciding where to make the second pair of slices to make sure to end up with a complete tic-tac-toe block when it was trimmed to size.

As you can see, if you fat strips, your block will end up consisting of more featured bright fabric and less background.

Another design consideration is the angle of the cuts you make. The greater the angle, the more likely it will be that your "lines" would exactly match up, like in this block.

It isn't a mistake, it's just what happens. Line up the strips as well as possible and don't worry if they aren't perfect.

To see a comparison of using different sized strips, check out mine below. Here are a selection of blocks, side-by-side, made with strips that are, from top-to-bottom, left-to-right, 1 inch (green), 1.25 inch (gold), 1.5 inch (pink), 1.75 inch (red) 2 inches (yellow) 2.25 inches (blue) and 2.5 inches (red-orange).

Milky Way Quilt Block

2009-10-14T17:03:00.015-04:00

Milky Way is one of those quilt blocks that really seems to be more like a block and a half, whose pattern is only revealed when multiple blocks are put together in a straight set. Then the the beauty of the allover pattern of interlaced friendship stars is revealed.

According to Barbara Brackman in the Encyclopedia of Pieced Blocks, the name for this block is credited to the Ladies Art Company, a publication that was active from 1895 to 1934.

This eight inch block (finished size), in the colors shown, in the October choice for the Block Lotto. More details for joining and playing along with us can be found on our group blog. Everyone is welcome.

Cutting Fabrics for One Block

Black & White Fabrics:

1 long rectangle each 1.5 inch x 12 inches–a little longer if you want to give yourself a little wiggle room.

Blue & Yellow Fabrics:

2 squares each 2-1/2 inches
4 squares each 2-7/8 inches–you may round these up to 3 inches and trim after sewing the half square triangle (HST) units.

Assembling the 4-Patch Units

Sew the black and white strips together along their long edges. Press toward the black fabric.
Cut the strip into eight 1-1/2 inch units
Take two of the 1-1/2 inch units, flip one around to form a checkboard and sew them together into 4-patches
You will have four 4-patch units, each measuring 2-1/2 inches square.

Assembling the Half Square Triangle (HST) Units

The four pairs of large squares are used to create HST units. There are many ways to construct these . . . here is one.

Place one blue and one yellow square together, right sides together.
Draw a line diagonally across the top square
Stitch 1/4 inch away from the line on each side. Cut apart on the line.
Press the HST Units open, pressing the seam toward the blue side
Square up the HST units to 2-1/2 inches square.
Repeat with each blue-yellow pair of squares. You will create eight HST units.

Creating the Milky Way Block

Lay out your 4-path units, HST units and plain squares to form the Milky Way block.

And now the tricky part begins–at least for dyslexic quilters like me–keeping it all straight.

You may have your method to avoid inadvertently sewing the wrong side or accidentally getting things flipped around. Over on the Block Lotto blog, I shared the way I thought about the design of this block to keep it straight in my head–you can read about it here.

Another approach is to use chain piecing to attach things and keep them attached through the assembly process. Here's how I applied that technique to this block.

Working from top-to-bottom, I sewed the pairs in the left two columns together and the right two columns together, leaving each set of four pairs chained together. Then I carefully put the sewn pairs together and sewed each row together, leaving all the "chains" between all the pairs intact.

Only at this point, with all the rows sewn together and attached to one another by the chains did I pick up the block and take it over to the ironing board to press seams. At this point, sewing the rows together–with confidence that I hadn't flipped anything around–was pretty easy . . . though I do admit I used pins to make sure my seams matched.

I have seen this technique demonstrated, but have never used it before. I thought because this block had a lot of opportunity to go wrong, it was a good one to try it and I liked the result.

That said, it does make the pressing and sewing a little bit more fiddlely that usual. Still, it's a good one, I think, to add to a quilter's bag of tricks for the next time you run into a block that just keeps coming out wrong . . . we've all had one of those days occasionally, haven't we?

Oh yea, here's the finished Milky Way block.

And here's a nice example of how a few of these look when they're laid side by side. Lisa made these 11 blocks for the October Block lotto. I think these blocks will become a quick quilt to be made for the winner this month.

When you look at the field of stars, it's easy to see how this block came by it's name, isn't it?

Square & Points Quilt Block

2009-09-01T03:42:00.008-04:00

Whether you know this block as Square & Points–it's earliest published name–Sawtooth Star or one of its many other names, this is great block to learn and easy to transpose into different size. Use it as the main block, an alternate block, a border block . . .

We made this 8 inch batik star block for the Block Lotto last year; this month, we are making them in Asian prints with coordinating tone-on-tones at 6 inches - here are some beautiful examples made by Kate and Linnea:

But since I already had step-by-step photos from last year, I'll be using those with revised measurements for making a SIX INCH block and counting on the imaginations of the Lotto Block players to see them in Asian fabrics for the star with coordinating tone-on-tones for the background.

The basic components of the block are 5 squares and 4 flying geese (FG) units. For a 6 inch (finished size) block, the measurements are:

Corner Squares (Background): 2 inch
Center Squares (Star): 3.5 inch
FG Unit: 2 x 3. 5 inch

In the FG units, the Background fabric is the "goose" and the Star fabric is the "sky." The finished size of the geese will be 1.5 x 3 inches. You can use any method to make the geese, but my preferred technique is "no waste geese." For this method, you'll start with:

One 4-1/4 inch square Background fabric
Four 2-3/8 inch squares Star fabric

Click over to follow the steps for making No Waste Flying Geese.

Lay out the components of the block and sew the block together as a nine-patch.

Pay special attention when you attach the flying geese unit to the center square, sew these seams with the "goose" on top so you can notice where your seam passes the point at the top at the top of the triangle and sew through the crossed seams on the FG unit.

The large center square of this block makes it easy to showcase beautiful fabrics, whether they are favorite batiks, a collection or repros from the 30s or Civil War era or some Asian inspired prints.

Oklahoma Boomer Quilt Block Pattern

2009-07-01T07:58:00.007-04:00

The Ladies Art Company first published the Oklahoma Boomer block in 1898. I have always loved this block and couldn't resist including it for the block lotto in our year of traditional blocks . . . it's just a happy coincidence that I saw a production of The Wizard of Oz a couple weekends ago and keep seeing the Tin Man, an alternate name you might see used, as in Judy Hopkins & Nancy Martin’s 101 Fabulous Rotary-Cut Quilts.

For those who happen to have a copy of Judy Hopkins & Nancy Martin’s 101 Fabulous Rotary-Cut Quilts, I will reference the same Alpha characters for each piece, so you can reference your book, it is helpful to you. Their version of the block is the same size (6 inches, finished size) but is made from three fabrics, instead of our two color blocks.

The main challenge in making this block is careful measuring and cutting and sewing that 1/4-inch seam. You also have an opportunity to make and work with a template.

Fabrics

For the July Block Lotto, we'll be making this block in two colors, a cream tone-on-tone (TOT) print BACKGROUND fabric and your choice of RED or BLUE TOT main (BOOMER) fabric.

Make a template

If you were making multiple blocks from the same fabric (or don’t mind wasting some fabric), you would cut the large triangle head (A) by cutting a 3 1/4 inch square and cutting it twice diagonally. But since I’m going to tell you that you cannot repeat your BOOMER fabric in more than one block . . . the easiest thing to do is to make a template for that triangle. If you have card stock or template plastic, you can make a template by cutting a 3 1/4 inch square and cutting it twice diagonally and using one of the triangles for your template for the head (A). If you don’t, grab a standard size business card.

Most standard sized business cards are 2” x 3.5”

It will probably be easier to work with from the back, so flip it over.

Trim it so that it’s 3 1/4 inches wide.

Align the 45-degree line on your ruler along the bottom edge and cut an angle from the bottom right corner.

Flip over your card and repeat. Your template is ready to use.

Cutting

Use the template to cut the Head (A) piece from your BOOMER fabric by aligning the longest edge on grain on your fabric.

Again, if you don't mind wasted fabric, you can also cut a 3-1/4 inch square and cut it diagonally twice and use ONLY one of the resulting triangles.

For the rest of the BOOMER pieces, you'll need:
One 1” square for neck (B)
Two rectangles, 1” x 2-1/2” for arms (C)
One rectangle, 2-1/4”x 2-1/2” for body (D)
Two rectangles 1” x 3-1/4” for legs (E)

From the BACKGROUND fabric, cut:
Two rectangles, 2” x 2-1/2” for above arms (F)
Two rectangles 2-1/2” x 4-1/2” for below arms (G)
One 1-7/8” square cut once diagonally into two triangles, for sides of head (H)
Two 1” x 1-1/4” rectangles for sides of neck (I)
One 1-1/2 x 3-1/4” rectangle for between legs (J)

Sewing the Block

1. Sew the center sections together first. If your block is going to come up short . . . best to find out right away, right?

As you are sewing the background to the head, the neck and the legs, press toward the dark. You don’t have to worry about any matching seams in any of this part of the block, so you can focus ENTIRELY on those 1/4 inch seams.

After all the backgrounds are attached, sew the sections together and . . . moment of truth time, measure the center section. From top to bottom, it should measure 6-1/2 inches.

Then sew the background pieces to the arms. I pressed the seams on those UP, which means the top seam is pressed toward the BACKGROUND, so I would have opposing seams at the shoulders–the ONLY matching seams you have in this block.

2. After putting the center together, adding the arms is easily done . . . and so are you ;-)

Cactus Pot Quilt Block

2009-04-30T16:45:00.001-04:00

The Cactus Pot quilt block was first published in the Oklahoma Farmer Stockman, on January 1, 1930 in a monthly column that was included in the journal in the 20's and 30's called Good Cheer Quilt Patterns.

FABRICS

You'll need three fabrics for this block, which I will refer to as CACTUS, POT and BACKGROUND .

Note : if you are making this block for the May 2009 Block Lotto, at least one of your fabrics–it can be any of the three–must be be a flower print.

CUTTING

From your CACTUS fabric:

One large triangle*, cut from a 3-7/8 inch square cut diagonally

Two 2-3/8 inch squares*

From your POT fabric:

One large triangle*, cut from a 3-7/8 inch square cut diagonally

Two small triangles, cut from a 2-3/8 inch square, cut diagonally

From your BACKGROUND fabric:

One large triangle*, cut from a 3-7/8 inch square cut diagonally

Two 2-3/8 inch squares*

One 2 inch square

Two 2 inch by 3-1/2 inch rectangles

Note: The squares and triangles marked with asterisks* will be used to make half square triangle units. If you like to round up and trim afterward, these pieces can be cut larger.

SEWING THE BLOCK

1. Sew the Large triangles of Cactus and Pot to form a square. It should measure 3.5 inches.
2. Use the 2-3/8 squares of Cactus and Background fabrics to make 4 half square triangle units. They should each measure 2 inches.

3. I find it helpful to lay out these units plus the square of background fabric, to make sure I have the cactus points going in the right direction before sewing them together . . . at least on the first block or two.

Sew two strips, one with two triangle units and the other with two triangle units and the background square.

4. First attach the strip with the 2 HST units.

5. Then add the longer strip to the other side.

6. Next sew the two small Cactus triangles to the end of the Background rectangles.

You need to be very gentle when sewing and especially pressing these because of the bias edges at the “bottom” of this step.

7. After these are sewn to the sides and, again, gently pressed to avoid stretching, the remaining, large background triangle (which should not be cut larger, will fit EXACTLY, to complete the block.

I left the “bunny ears” on the sides to make it a little easier to align the triangle at the bottom. If you trim first, the points will overhang a little so that after the seam is sewn, you have a straight edge.

You’re done!

Pat's Beautiful Disapearing 9-Patch Quilt

2009-04-18T11:03:00.004-04:00

Since many people discovered this blog because of my playing around with the Disappearing 9-patch and putting pieced blocks in the corners, I have to share Pat K's quilt, Hearts and Roses.

It was her first attempt at a disappearing 9 patch using the scrappy hearts blocks she won in Block Lotto a little over a year ago. She said that she really enjoyed putting this together because of all the hearts from everyone. I just love how it turns out and the quilting designs she chose really compliment the piecing. She meandered around the blocks and stippled around the hearts. Her friend Diana quilted the border with a digital heart pattern.

Thrifty Block Pattern

2009-03-31T16:43:00.003-04:00

The Thrifty block was first published in 1939 by the Kansas City Star, according to Barbara Brackman's Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Blocks.

It's a simple little block that has a lot of design possibilities. I'm thinking about putting some I-spy squares in place of the pink squares. It would make a great alternate block in a sampler quilt (or for a lot of the lotto blocks we make) or a border block. It could be a great swap block or scrap buster by keeping the 4-patch and center squares a consistent color and changing up the 4 squares (pink in my example).

To make a single six inch (finished size) block, you'll need small amounts of fabrics in three colors, illustrated here in Pink, White and Black:

Pink: One 2.5 inch by 10 inch rectangle (or a 5 inch square)
White: One 1.5 inch by 12 inch rectangle (or a pair of 1.5 x 6 inch rectangles if you are working from scraps, as I did)
Black: One 2.5 inch square plus One 1.5 inch by 12 inch rectangle (or a pair of 1.5 x 6 inch rectangles)

Tip: add 1/4-1/2 inch in length to the measurements to the rectangles to give yourself a little wiggle room to square up edges if necessary

1. Sew the black and white long rectangles together along the long edges.

2. Press the seam allowance toward the black side. Slice into eight 1.5 inch sub-units.

3. Use these to sew four 4-patches. After your 4-patch units are sewn and pressed, they should measure 2.5 inches square.

4. Cut your Pink rectangle (or 5 inch square) into four 2.5 inch squares and lay out the units of your block, 9 patch fashion.

5. Assemble your block.

. . . And then, because that was so quick, make a couple more

Then, you might be inspired to pull out some more black and white and pink scraps and think about making some more . . .

Like I did ;-)

The thing to be careful of when you make this block is that you always end up with a nice "X" and that your blocks don't look like this when your done.

It's easier than you think to OOPS . . . and I offer this photo as proof positive of that fact ;-)

Jeweled Geese Block

2009-03-07T19:46:00.008-05:00

I couldn't find a documented name for this block–a variation made of flying geese units. Since we are making it from jewel toned fabrics for the March 09 Block Lotto, Michelle dubbed it Jeweled Geese and it stuck.

It is basically constructed from three 2 x 4 inch geese units with 1 x 6 inch strips added at the sides to create a square 6 inch (finished size) block. There are three easy ways to make the block . . . starting with the one that uses my favorite method for making flying geese units, no-waste geese ;-)

Method 1 - one geese wasted (maybe)

You'll need:

One 5-1/4 inch square of jewel tone #1 (for the geese)
Four 2-7/8 inch squares of black (for the sky)
Two 1-1/2 inch by 6-1/2 inch rectangles of jewel tone #2 (for the side strips)

Take the five squares and follow the directions on this site for no-waste geese. You'll have four geese units.

Be sure to measure and square up your geese beofre continuing–you can thank me later ;-)

They should measure 2-1/2 by 4-1/2 inches. Choose the nicest three and assemble them like this.

NOTE: When you are putting together the geese units, be sure to sew them with the pointy side on top so you can see that you are sewing through the intersection at the top of the triangle (goose) so you will have a nice point and won't be hiding the "beak." Your seams will look something like this.

(Click any image for a closer look)

Sew the side strips to your three geese units and your block is completed.

IF the one wasted goose unit bothers you . . . you can repeat the process two times more and make a forth block from the leftover geese. For the March block lotto, be sure to add different fabrics to the sides so that each block is a unique fabric combination.

Method 2 - making flying geese from strips (noodles or jelly rolls)

If you haven't wrapped your head around the no-waste method or are working with 2-1/2 inch noodles from a swap, a pretty jelly roll or other narrow pieces of fabric, this method may be the one for you.

For each block, you'll need

one strip 2-1/2 by 13-1/2 inches of jewel tone fabric #1 for the geese
one strip 2-1/2 by 15 inches of black fabric for the sky
one strip 1-12 by 13 inches of jewel tone fabric #1 for the side strips

Cut the geese fabric into three 2-1/2 by 4-1/2 rectangles. Cut the black sky fabric into six 2-1/2 squares. Cut two 1-1/2 by 6-1/2 side strips.

Make the geese units by laying one black square on top of a rectangle, right sides together, aligning the top, bottom and one side. Draw a diagonal line across the square, as shown, from the outside bottom corner, and sew along the line.

Cut away the outside triangle, a quarter inch from your seam. Toss the excess fabric or sew it together for a bonus triangle square for a future scrap project . . . or you can send it to me ;-)

Press open.

Add a second square, right sides together on the other side and repeat the process. Draw the line, sew on it, cut away the excess fabric, a quarter inch away, sew the bonus triangle square (or toss it). Press open.

Rinse and repeat until you have made three geese units. Each unit should measure 2-1/2 by 4-1/2 inches. Take a moment and measure them and square up if necessary. Then sew the three together.

Add the strips to the sides to form a 6-1/2 inch block with seam allowances–6 inch finished size.

I made these two blocks using this method . . .

. . . which gave me 12 bonus triangle squares (AKA half square triangles or HSTs) that became these pinwheel blocks. They'll measure 2-1/2 inchs (finished size) after they've been squared up.

Method 3 - paper foundation piecing

Flying Geese can always be paper pieced and this technique is especially attractive if you are designing geese that don't have the traditional proportions of half as tall as they are wide which makes piecing more challenging, or if you want your geese to fly along a curved path.

For our 6 inch block, you can download a paper piecing foundation pattern here.

Same block in a different colorway

Here's an example of other these geese blocks could look using different different color rules. I made these 9 inch blocks from 3 inch by 6 inch geese units from an anything goes swap and added 2 inch strips of the same tan fabric to all the blocks.

Bringing the Block Lotto to Blogland

2009-03-01T17:34:00.003-05:00

If you've been curious about the monthly block lotto thing I do (and updated in the sidebar monthly, even when this blog is woefully neglected) . . . but not curious enough to wade through the heavy, clunky interface and hundreds and hundreds of daily messages on the quilting forum, I may have good news for you. I've decided to move the Block Lotto to blogland and invite my friends and readers here to come play along. Everyone is welcome–if you are mildly curious, please come check it out.

The rules are simple. Make a block or as many as 9 to enter, following the rules for fabric and color. Your name is entered in the drawing at the end of the month for each block you make. For complete rules, follow the links in the sidebar for more complete info.

In March, we're making a variation of a Flying Geese block in jewel tones and black, based on an 1865 pieced silk quilt I saw at the Shelburne Museum in Vermont some years ago. Here are 24 blocks that have been made so far by Béatrice, Jill and Michelle.

I'm hoping some of those who have appreciate my tips and patterns here will come play and some of my friends in Michigan that I'm missing will come play and all of the Block Lotto crowd will continue to come play . . . and that bringing the block lotto to blogland turns out to be the right thing to do.

Disappearing 9-Patch

2008-02-10T14:40:00.000-05:00

When Christine mentioned using pieced blocks in the Disappearing 9-Patch pattern on the Quilting Forum, I thought it was brilliant. I immediately thought of the 6 inch patchwork heart blocks we're making this month for the block lotto and what a great setting this could be for them.

I had to try it . . . and then, I liked the results so much I had to share.

1. Start with 4 pieced blocks. (If you like these hearts, you'll find the pattern here.)

2. Add 5 squares of fabric the same size as the pieced blocks and make a 9-Patch with the pieced blocks in the corners. If your blocks have a right-side-up AND you want all the blocks to be right-side-up in the finished quilt, start with two of them, in diagonally opposite corners, upside down.

3. Press your 9-patch block, then cut into 4 equal quarters.

4. Rotate the two upside down blocks (or any opposite corners if they are non-directional) and sew the 4-patch together.

5. All done!

No Waste Flying Geese

2008-01-30T10:48:00.001-05:00

Once you wrap your mind around the math, this is an easy, clever way to make to make flying geese units, 4 at a time, with no waste and no dealing with sewing bias edges.

Flying Geese units are typically twice as wide as they are tall. The finished size of my examples is 2 by 4 inches. They were used as the star points in the 8 inch Sawtooth Star blocks we made for the lotto in October, 2007.

Cutting Fabrics

For each set of four geese, you'll need:

one square of the geese fabric which is 1-1/4 inches larger than the finished width of the geese unit (i.e., 5-1/4 for 2 x 4 inch geese)
four squares of sky fabric which are 7/8 inch larger than the finished height of the geese unit (2-7/8 inches for 2 x 4 geese).

In this example, the cream is the geese fabric and the batik is the sky fabric.

Sewing the Units

Putting right sides together, line up the edges of two of the small squares with the edges of two diagonal corners of the large square. Draw a line, across both small squares from corner to corner.

Stitch 1/4 inch on each side of the drawn line. Then cut along the line.

Press the seams toward the dark fabric.

For each half, align a small square in the corner.right sides together. Draw a diagonal line.

Stitch 1/4 inch on each side of the drawn line. Then cut along the line.

Press the seams toward the dark fabric. You're done.

Preparing Circular Elements for Appliqué

2008-01-30T03:06:00.000-05:00

This Posy block was made using the faced appliqué technique, with a variation for preparing the Posy's center. This appliqué preparation works for circles, ovals and their wonky variations.

PREPARING CIRCLES FOR APPLIQUE

Create a template from light-weight cardboard or heat-resistant template plastic. If you are making small circle appliqués, you may find a coin or washer that is exactly the size you need.
Lightly trace the template on the back of your yellow/gold fabric
Cut out the center with a generous 1/4" seam allowance all the way around.
Using needle and thread, make a running stitch in the seam allowance.
Place your center fabric right side down, place the template on top, then pull the thread to pull the seam allowance to the back of the template. PRESS. Allow the fabric/template to cool, then gently loosen the stitches and remove the template.

You should have a nicely pressed center with all the edges turned under. I usually give it another press to make it nice and flat and ready to use.
The steps for assembling the Posy block are the same as for Faced Appliqué. Center the flower appliqué on the background. Fuse or pin in place.
Sew the flower to the background - on this block, I used matching red-violet and yellow thread and a zig-zag stitch.
Turn it over and cut away the background (and the interfacing fused to it) from behind the flower.
Place the center on the flower and pin in place.
Stitch center.
Turn over the block and cut away the flower fabric from behind the center
Press the block. Square it up and trim to 8.5 inches. You're done ;-)

Using Templates for Machine Appliqué

2008-01-30T03:02:00.001-05:00

There are a couple of beginner-friendly techniques for machine appliqué which use templates.

One approach uses freezer paper and a glue stick; for the other, you'll need some sort of heat-resistance template material (I used lightweight cardboard) and starch. The two blocks on the left were created using the freezer paper-glue stick approach; the one on the right was made using a heat-resistant template and starch.

FREEZER PAPER TEMPLATES

For this method, you'll need freezer paper, a water soluble glue stick, a towel and some water.

Trace the design onto the non-shiny side of a piece of freezer paper.
Cut out the template (on the line) and iron it to the wrong side of the flower fabric.
Cut out the fabric, leaving approximately 1/4 inch seam allowance.
Using a piece of scrap paper to work on, apply glue stick to the seam allowances. Fold them back and stick them to the freezer paper. You will need to clip the fabric wherever there are inside curves.

Your appliqué is now ready to use.
Using this technique, you do not need to make a template for the center of the Posy. The center fabric can be rough cut - it should be large enough to fit behind the flower element, extending beyond the edge at least 1/4 inch, but make your life easier and be generous. The center fabric should be prepared like the background, starched and pressed.
Begin assembling the block by sewing the flower to the center fabric. You can hold it in place with pins or a little glue stick. After it's sewn, turn the appliqué piece over and trim the excess center fabric, leaving a 1/4 inch seam allowance.
Place the Posy appliqué on the center of your background square. Pin or glue-stick in place.
Stitch the Posy in place, then turn over the block and cut away the background fabric behind the flower.
To remove the freezer paper, you must first loosen the glue. place the block on a towel and spray with water. (Again, my advice is to be generous and make your life easy - it's only water.) Use a q-tip, orange stick or similar tool to lift the seam allowances from the freezer paper, so you can remove it. Let the block dry and press or press it dry.
Square up the block and trim to 8.5 inches. You're done.

This block was sewn using clear mono-filament with a blind hem stitch.

HEAT RESISTANT TEMPLATES

For this method, you'll need liquid or spray starch and some sort of heat-resistant template material. It could be heat-resistant template plastic (made especially for this technique) or some lightweight cardboard, like I used in my sample block. You'll also need q-tips or a small brush.

Create a template from your pattern.
Trace the template on the BACK of your flower fabric
Cut out the flower fabric, leaving approximately 1/4 inch seam allowance. Clip any inside curves, up to, but not into the drawn line.
Take template and fabric to the ironing board. Put the fabric right side down and place the template over it, lining it up on your drawn lines. Using a small brush or q-tip paint the starch on the seam allowance. If you are using spray atarch, you can spray some inside th lid then use the liquid with your brush. Fold the painted seam allowances up over the template and press in place.
Allow the fabric and template to cool, then gently remove the template. I press the fabric (and it's nicely turned under edge) one more time to make it nice and flat.
The assembly of the block is similar to that with freezer paper templates. The center fabric should be starched and pressed then pinned in place.
Stitch the flower to the center
Turn the Posy over and trim the center fabric, leaving a 1/4 inch seam allowance.
Center the Posy on the background square and pin in place. Stitch.
Turn the block over and cut away the background fabric from behind the flower.
Press the block, square up the block and trim to 8.5 inches and you're done .

This block was sewn with purple matching thread using straight stitch.

Faced Machine Appliqué

2008-01-30T02:54:00.000-05:00

In this method, you'll add a facing to the appliqué piece. I used a lightweight interfacing with fusible on ONE SIDE ONLY (Pellon's Featherweight). You could use an interfacing with no fusible or lightweight washaway stabilizer. Some use USED dryer sheets--if you decide to go this route, Debbie Kravotil suggests putting them through the wash one more time to make sure the softener chemicals are out.

Trace the shape of your flower onto the non-fusible side of the interfacing. (the interfacing can be a rough cut square that is larger than the flower pattern--with room for seam allowance all the way around.
Lay the fabric right side up on the table and position the interfacing on top, fusible side down.
Sew along your drawn line--ALL the way around. Trim the fabric and interfacing away 3/16-1/4 outside your seam. Clip any inside curves in the seam allowance.

Carefully slit the interfacing and turn your flower. Use your finger or other blunt tool to make sure the edges are completely turned and nice and smooth. If you used interfacing with fusible, DO NOT PRESS.

Prepare the center in the same way

Your appliqué pieces are ready to go.
Center the flower on the background square. If you are using single-sided fusible, you can press the flower onto the background --this will fuse it in place. Otherwise, pin it.
Stitch around the flower. If you are using an open zig-zag, the stitch will be ON the flower, zigging onto the background. If you are using a blind hem, you'll be stitching on the background right next to the flower and the stich will take a bite into the flower. If you are using a straight stitch, you want to stitch very close to the edge.
Flip your block over and cut away the background behind the flower, leaving a generous 1/4 inch.

Add the center of the flower in the same way. Fuse and sew the center to the Flower fabric. Flip it over and trim away the flower fabric behind the center.

Square up the finished block and trim to 8.5 inches and you're done ;-)

This block was sewn with clear mono-filament using the blind hem stitch.

Intro to Machine Applique

2008-01-30T02:51:00.000-05:00

In July, 2007 the Beginner Block Lotto choice was this Posy block--it's a great one to try or practice turned-under machine applique.

I made five blocks using three different techniques (with one variation) and three different stitches on the machine and took photos along the way. You can view my step-by-step photos with commentary on Flickr in my set Notes for Machine Appliqué Posies. I'll also go through them here--to make it easier to print them off for reference. As always, all the images are clickable for a larger image.

ABOUT THREAD AND STITCHES

Using these techniques, there will be nice, turned under edges on the appliqué. You want the nice edge to be the feature, not the thread. Use a clear (or smoke) mono-filament or mono-poly or thread in a matching color.

Three kinds of machine stitches work well with these techniques.

Blind Hem Stitch - when using this stitch, the straight stitches go into the background at the applique edge, then the zig stitch comes into the appliqué.
Zig-Zag Stitch - this is an open zig zag, not a heavy satin stitch. Use this stitch On the applique, at the edge.
Straight Stitch - even IF your machine only sews a straight stitch, you can still do machine appliqué. In fact, Jane Sassaman recommends using a straight stitch to highlight the nice turned under edge.

PREPARING THE BACKGROUND FABRIC

First, two things about backgrounds.

For all three of the methods I will describe, take a minute and starch the background squares. I usually spray the fabric pretty heavily, wait for it to soak in a bit, then press and repeat.
Applique sometimes pulls the background in a bit, so start with a background square a little larger then you need and square up after the block is complete. For Posy blocks for the lotto, I started with 9-inch squares and squared them up to 8.5 inches for a block that will finish at 8 inches.

What We've Learned, Revisited

2008-01-30T02:40:00.000-05:00

In case you were asking yourself, if this blog is no longer for the block lotto, then . . . what? Here's my plan. First I want to revisit the techniques and step-by-step photos and tips and create some beginner-friendly quilting tutorials.

Stay tuned.

2008 Block Lotto

2008-01-30T02:03:00.000-05:00

Uh oh . . . today I received some lotto blocks in the mail: a pair of blue and white double 4-patch blocks.

Somewhere the communication has gone terribly wrong.

The rules have changed in 2008 for the block lotto–blocks should no longer be mailed to me . . . and a new group blog has been created. Check out the links in the sidebar and a photo of four of my January 2008 blocks.

A Hint for Diane

2008-01-09T18:09:00.000-05:00

I'm playing catchup with Kate's Birthday Block swap. I finished Diane's block today (for a very belated December birthday).

It will go into the mail tomorrow, but I couldn't resist this little in progress shot. The color isn't great (those really are two purple fabrics and a buttery colored background.

That's a quarter on top of the dark square in the lower right corner, to give you an idea of the size of these tiny bits.

I really love this kind of swap. It's fun to make one special block for each birthday girl.

2007: So Many Blocks, So Many Winners

2007-12-24T17:30:00.000-05:00

In the 11 months of the lotto in 2007 , forum members made 1,097 blocks . . . and another 182 blocks for two charity efforts.

WOW.

Photos of all the blocks can be found in my Flickr collection 2007 Block Lotto.

A total of 40 sets of lotto blocks were mailed to winners this year. A few of those have already become beautiful quilts.

Better Late than . . .

2007-12-24T16:07:00.000-05:00

I never blogged the November blocks . . . so here they are.

These blocks were won by Pat and Robert. Chief Elf Pat asked that all the blocks be sent to Robert so he could make something wonderful.

When You Wish Upon a Star

2007-10-14T19:41:00.000-04:00

Whether you know it as a sawtooth star, variable star, square and points, unnamed star, or any of the names in the two pages of its variations in Brackman's Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns . . . this star block is a classic. Terri made these 8 inch blocks for the October Lotto.

This block has infinite possibilities. It scales easily and that big center square can be replaced by 4-patch, pinwheel, square in a square or just changed to a coordinating fabric. For more variation think half-square triangles in the corners.

Marcia Hohn has a page of 12 inch blocks on the Quilter's Cache site which are all variations on the sawtooth star. Christine is using it as the basis for a Christmas Block Swap on the Quilting Forum on about.com. I am making three sets of blocks.

Even though I thought I was done swapping for the year, I couldn't resist.

Quilt Pink Weekend

2007-09-23T20:47:00.000-04:00

This was Quilt Pink Weekend. I celebrated by photographing all the blocks received so far from Quilting forum members on about.com.

These blocks were made by Ardyth, Brenda, Cathy, Chris, Colene, Debbie, Desiree, Grace, Jen, Julie, Kathi, Lee Ann, Michelle, Sandy, Suzy, Sylvia, Terri, Tracy, Vanessa and me.

They're obviously taken at different times, hence the variation in white backgrounds, but aren't they pretty?

I'll post more of the pink and orange lotto blocks soon.

Quilt Pink

2007-09-09T19:36:00.001-04:00

This month, in addition to making blocks for the monthly Beginner Block Lotto, we're also making bonus blocks–in pink only–to be used in a quilt for Quilt Pink that Amy is organizing for us. Thanks, Amy. Here are a few of the Quilt Pink blocks I've received so far.

Orange & Pink?

2007-09-09T19:06:00.000-04:00

The choice for the Beginner Block Lotto in September is a 12-inch (finished size) Ohio Star block, made in orange or pink with a white-on-white background.

Here are some blocks, already received from Colene, Kathi, Lee Ann, Terri, along with mine.

All the Ohio Star blocks can be found in my Flickr set Ohio Stars.

Beautiful Asian Fabrics

2007-09-09T18:07:00.001-04:00

I was susprised how many different, BEAUTIFUL, Asian theme fabrics we used in the Attic Windows blocks in August. Lucky Bonnie, Laura and Sylvia--each won a set of 24 of these blocks.

Asian Attic Windows in August

2007-07-31T22:07:00.000-04:00

For the Beginner Block Lotto this month will be making 7.5 inch (finished size) Attic Windows blocks in Oriental fabrics. It's an easy block--only three seams--and will not take you away from your Summer fun for long.

If you'd like to practice fussy cutting, miters and inset seams, come join us. The discussion on the Quilting Forum begins here: message #51290

Congratulations Colene & Terri

2007-07-31T22:00:00.000-04:00

The winners of the purple posy blocks are Colene and Terri. Congratulations, ladies.

The Rest of the Posies

2007-07-31T11:36:00.000-04:00

Here are the blocks from Bonnie, Judy, Katie and Sue.

You can see all the blocks in the Flickr set Purple Posies.

More Posies

2007-07-26T21:48:00.000-04:00

Kathi noticed her block was missing from those from the sneek peekers. It's here, along with five from Tracy which arrived today.

Block Lotto Sneek Peek

2007-07-25T21:04:00.000-04:00

If you made one of these Posy blocks, then you should have received email last night with a sneek peek of the August Lotto block.

My flash washed out at a lot of the color--all the blocks are much more vibrant in person.

Ch-ch-changes to the Block Lotto

2007-07-05T07:22:00.000-04:00

With the overwhelming success of the Beginner Block Lotto came the realization that my process for managing it did not scale to bigger numbers of blocks. I had to make some changes in how I did what I did. Here's how they'll look to you.

Acknowledgments for blocks received will be posted on the Forum discussion only. I can no longer take individual photos of the blocks, tag them with the block makers name and blog them as they arrive. Instead, I'll take "group shots" of the blocks at the end of the month before I split them up into sets and send them to the winners. The groups will not be artistically chosen and arranged--as much fun as that could be, I'm going to force myself to pull them off the top of a stack of pressed blocks (OK, I can't skip that step), put them on the wall and take photos.

I've reorganized the block photos on Flickr into individual sets for each month and created two collections of sets.

2007 Block Lotto

2005-2006 Block Lotto

The links to the photos in the sidebar now point to the individual block sets (the links labeled with years take you to the collection page).

The other process change is the requirement for labels on blocks. Because of the numbers often involved, if you do not label your blocks, you may not be included in the drawing. Those labels are necessary in the case that my spreadsheet total for the month doesn't match my physical cogeunt.

I've updated the two-page Block Lotto Guidelines document which contains the guidelines which apply every month and answers to FAQs. There is a link to this document in the sidebar, in the section labeled Block Lotto Links, along with a link to the current forum discussion and to the Fabric Shopping List. If you're wondering what fabric combinations we'll be using for the rest of the year, check it out. Everything that we've already used is crossed off the list.

Summer Posies

2007-07-05T03:02:00.000-04:00

For the July Block Lotto, we're making these 8-inch (finished size) purple appliqué posies with yellow or gold centers.

Details can be found in the discussion on the quilting forum.

The blocks we are making this month will be machine appliqué with turned under edges. I've written up three methods which are beginner-friendly with one variation. You can find details in these three posts on my other blog, sophie junction:

Introduction - contains information about threads and stitches, describes how to prepare the background fabric for all three methods and has step-by-step directions for Faced Applique

Preparing Circles for Appliqué - describes an alturnative way to prepare the center for a faced applique flower (good information to tuck away for preparing appliqué for any circle, oval or almost circle shape).

Using Templates - describes too other methods, both using templates. In one, you use freezer paper and glue stick; in the other, starch, an iron, and templates made from a heat resistant material.

You can also go through the step-by-step photos and their descriptions by going directly to my Flickr photo set, Notes for Machine Appliqué Posies. I think it may be a new feature on Flickr ... if, after you click the link to view as slide show, you click the "i" that appears on the middle of the screen when you roll your mouse over it, you can see the descriptions superimposed on the photos.

Later Today

2007-07-05T02:38:00.000-04:00

Later today, I'll be taking these to the post office.

I will--at long last--be making some very patient winners of the Beginner Block Lotto very happy ... as well as some winners from last week.

Nine-Patches, Country-Style

2007-07-05T02:08:00.000-04:00

For the block lotto in June, we made pairs of 9-patches and put them "in a square" using muslin and country colors.

The directions are on the Quilting site on About.com - Country Nine-Patch in a Square.

We made these 54 pairs (108 blocks) which were won by Sandy, Laura R., Laura T-S and Nell.

Scrappy May Baskets

2007-07-05T01:55:00.000-04:00

In May, we made big 15" Scrappy Baskets.

The pattern for these beauties is on the Quilting site on about.com - Scrappy Baskets Quilt Block Pattern.

We made 36 of these blocks. They were won by Kate, Marianne and Michelle.

Maple Leaf Blocks

2007-07-05T01:36:00.000-04:00

In April we made 108 maple leaf blocks for the lotto. The lucky winners were Colene, Dianna, Julie and Kristen. By Fall, these should become some very pretty Autumn Leaf quilts.

The pattern for the 9-inch maple leaf blocks that we used is on the Quilting site on about.com - Maple Leaf Quilt Block.

Snowballs

2007-07-04T16:08:00.000-04:00

Yes, the nearly 400 snowball blocks (from both the lotto and the donations for kids charity quilts) OVERWHELMED me in March and I've been struggling to catch up ever since. They are, at long last, finally on their way to their new homes.

Here are the lotto blocks that were won by Desiree, Judy, Nell, Pat, Silvia, and Stacy.

Stay tuned for an update on the Charity quilt blocks.

A Record Year So Far

2007-07-04T02:14:00.000-04:00

We're half-way through ther 2007 Beginner Block Lotto and it's already been a record-breaking experience:

More blocks in the first 6 months of 2006 than during the 16 month run of the lotto in 2005-6 (669 vs. 651)
Most blocks in a month (384 in March, combining both lotto blocks and those made for charity quilts.)
Longest delay in posting photos of blocks
Longest delay in sending blocks to winners
First time that someone has won TWICE and the first blocks are so late, I sent both sets of blocks together.
Two international winners in a month.

Ok, so most of the records aren't the positive kind ... I'm hoping to do much better as hostess for the second half of 2007.

Snowballs in March

2007-03-03T09:49:00.000-05:00

After a scary drive into work yesterday--in a snowstorm, on roads that were more like skating ponds than anything else, it seems a natural that we should be making snowball blocks in March for the Beginner Block lotto. Here are mine ... so far--they are so easy and addictive, I know I'll end up making more.

Some of the sneek-peekers also have already made blocks-I edited the photos that Lee Ann and Michelle sent me (and added a few of my blocks) to create a virtual kids quilt. You'll find it in the second message in the forum discussion this month.

And the winner is ...

2007-03-03T09:02:00.000-05:00

PURPLE.

I received more purple blocks (16) in February than any other color ... which probably doesn't come as a surprise to some of you. This doesn't count anything that was really more red-violet, which I stacked with the red and pink blocks--there were 12 of those.

Did you think that I was talking about the winners of the drawing on Wednesday? Those winners were Jen and Sue. Congratulations ladies.

I know are going to love these blocks and make something wonderful from them. As I was sorting them into colors before dividing them up, I had to take a moment and try a few on the design wall with the Hoffman Challenge focus fabric. I think Sue and Jen may find a place for the Hoffman fabric in their quilts.

I wanted to give that state map thing another try. I hope I didn't miss anyone this time--be sure to let me know if I did. Colored states (both colors) are where the blocks were made; yellow states are where our winners live. In February, I received blocks from Alison, Ardyth, Bonnie, Colene, Debbie, Georgene, Jennifer, Julie, Kate, Laura, Lee Ann, Michelle, Pat, Sandy, Sherry, Silvia, Sue and Terri

A nice distribution, I think (and, of course, this doesn't include Kate in the UK).

More Pinwheel Blocks

2007-03-03T07:50:00.000-05:00

Here are photos of the rest of the February Pinwheel blocks. Yummy, aren't they?

From Ardyth:

From Bonnie:

From Julie:

From Laura:

From Sherry:

From Sue:

From Sylvia: