First, I really want to say I so appreciate how many of you are following my blog and leaving such wonderful comments. It has really inspired me to start thinking about some future tutorials and features. I really do appreciate your support and encouragement!
Second, the motor for my longarm arrived yesterday and after 3 hours of very frustrating, grimy work, I had Pete all put back together and he seems back to his usual self. I immediately put in one of my quilts and he worked like a dream! Now I will have to work him doubly hard to get caught back up with my customer quilts.
But let's get back to the topic of this post.
It is time to make some progress on this month's scrap quilt.
Last week, we determined our colors and cut our scraps into 2.5" squares. I had all of these blacks and/or whites that I have been storing pre-cut that I wanted to use for this project.
Now it is time to get these sewn up into blocks! I will be sharing two different block options. One (Block A) uses twelve 2.5" squares and a 2.5 x 8.5" strip of a contrasting fabric and the other (Block B) uses only eight 2.5" squares but a larger 4.5 x 8.5" piece of contrasting fabric.
Once I had a bunch of them sewed up but before I pressed them, I laid them out on the ironing board to get a block pattern I liked. Then I was able to press them, alternating the pressing direction to eliminate bulk.
(This is for Block A)
At this point, I didn't worry about the contrasting fabric strip. I just sewed a bunch of these sub-blocks up.
Eventually for Block A, you will sew a 2.5" x 8.5" strip onto one side of this block.
If you are making Block B, your blocks will look like this. The strip measures 4.5" x 8.5".
Either block will end up measuring 8.5" x 8.5" when sewn.
To help you determine what type of blocks you want to make, I decided to work ahead a bit and share with you some pictures of some possible layouts.
Here is what Block A looks like.
And this is Block B.
As you can see, contrast in the fabrics you choose is very important. I knew my colors were going to blend a bit but I am okay with the contrast I am getting.
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I decided to use these three fabrics as my contrasting strips. They have been in my stash for a long time and I would like to use them up. I plan on alternating the fabrics for each "streak" across the quilt.
Sharing a tool I use often - The Robert Kaufman Fabrics QuiltingCalc app has two great features that I use all the time. They are Pieces to Yardage and Piece Count. In Pieces to Yardage, you can put in the cut sizes you need and the quantity of pieces required and it will tell you how much yardage you need. Or, in Piece Count, you can put in the size of a remnant piece of fabric and put in the size of the pieces to be cut and it will calculate how many pieces you can get from the remnant.
So for this week, you will want to get your blocks all sewn up. You might find it is easiest to use a design wall and make the blocks as you design your layout.
I am excited to see what people come up with!
I am excited to see what people come up with!
If you haven't sewed along in
the past, maybe this is the quilt that will get you involved. If you do
join in, let me know so I can share your project. And if you want to
share with your readers what you are up to, there is a button to grab
there on the sidebar.
Thanks!
Remember, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me.
Happy Sewing!
I will be sharing this with the following linky parties. Let's Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts, WIP Wednesday with Freshly Pieced and Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation. Be sure and check out these blogs for even more quilty inspiration.
8 comments:
First - I love black & white quilts! Second - what is that little container you have your b&w scraps stored in? And I see you are using what look like paint color cards as dividers for your scraps? Tell me more about this and where this great idea came from...
Great ideas here. Love the "B" block especially. It would look great out of shirting fabrics.
Yum-o! I am loving this series!! But now, of course, I have five more quilts to make! ;) Just downloaded the app, thanks for sharing!
I love the juxtaposition of the blue fabric against the black and white blocks - very interesting! Looking forward to seeing this one finished!
Oh I love this especially with the blue addes
I am visiting from lets bee social
Kathyinozarks
I really like your scrap blocks. They look like a lot of fun to put together!
Fun design idea! Amen on the housework, sister! :)
I love the zigzags and how the blue fabric interacts with the black and white ones. This is going to be a fun scrappy quilt when you're done. :)
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