BOM

I am a little behind on the Current River Scrappers Block of the Month patterns posted online. I will try to get it out this weekend. This is one of the busiest times of the year for me. TRACK SEASON! Our first meet was last Monday and we were supposed to have another one today, but cancelled because it was so cold. Couldn't do any sewing yet because I had to get grades done. They are due in the morning at 8:00, so I did them tonight. One good thing with grades being due is the fact that Fourth Quarter is upon us, which means school will be out soon! Track season also marks the end of the school year coming. By the time Track is over, school will be over, too. I love my job, but am really looking forward to summer vacation, which means warm weather, swimming, a Mission trip to Moldova, and lots of time to quilt.
Tomorrow is Friday. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. Enjoy!

Current River Scrappers BOM #2

It is February and time for Block #2. This one is called Jacobs Ladder. It is pretty simple. You will need 2 fabrics. A background (Fabric B) and a main color. My main color is blue throughout the quilt.

From Background: Cut 1 - 4 1/2" strip. From this strip, cut 4 - 4 1/2" Half Square Triangles (HST).

Cut 2 - 2 1/2" strips (or cut 1 strip and then you will need to cut 1 or 2 - 2 1/2" squares from the 4 1/2" strip). From these, cut 10 - 2 1/2" squares.

From Main color: Cut 1 - 4 1/2" strip. From this strip, cut 4 - 4 1/2" HST.

Cut 2 - 2 1/2" strips (or cut 1 strip and then you will need to cut 1 or 2 - 2 1/2" sqaures fromthe 4 1/2" strip). From these, cut 10 - 2 1/2" squares.

Sew Fabric A - 4 1/2" HST to a Fabric B - 4 1/2" HST to make a 4 1/2" HST Square. Make 4.

Sew 2 Fabric a - 2 1/2" squares to 2 Fabric B - 2 1/2" squares to make a 4 Patch unit. Make 5.

Lay out block as shown. Sew rows together. Press seams toward the HST. When sewing rows together, the seams should lock together for easy sewing.

Your Block #2 is complete.

Directions for Cutting Half Square Triangles Using the Half Square Triangle Ruler

This method of cutting Half Square Triangles will save you time and fabric.

1. Determine the unfinished size of the unit needed. Example: If the finished size of the Half Square Triangle is 4", add 1/2" to get the unfinished size. (The extra 1/2" is for the seam allowance.) Cut a strip of fabric the unfinished width. Example: If the unfinished size is 4 1/2", cut a 4 1/2" strip of fabric.

2. Use the Half Square Trianlge Ruler to cut Half Square Triangles. Find the 4 1/2" measurement on the ruler and place at the edge of the strip, as shown. Cut along the diangonal edge of the ruler. If you are cutting several HST units, stack several strips and cut several at a time. You can stack up to 4 strips to cut.

3. The unit will look like this:

4. Flip the ruler over and cut another Half Square Triangle. Line up the angled edge of the ruler with the angled edge of the fabric (as shown above). The top edge of the fabric should be at the 4 1/2" line and the tip of the ruler should extend beyond the bottom edge of the fabric.

5. Turn ruler around, line up on HST and cut off tip. Stack several HST and cut several at one time.

6. When sewing these units together, line up the pieces and sew ont he diagonal edge. Press to the darker fabric. The "dog ears" are already cut off, so you will save time not having to do this after sewing.

7. If you are cutting squares the same size ase the HSTs, cut them from the same strip of fabric.

2011 Current River Scrappers Quilt Guild BOM

We are starting a new Block of the Month at the Current River Scrappers Quilt Guild for 2011. Join me each month to get the pattern and directions for each block. Directions posted here will use a Half Square Triangle ruler and a Quarter Square Triangle ruler. You can use any brand you want. They all work the same. Most, if not all, the blocks are cut from 2 1/2" and 4 1/2" strips. I purchased a Fat Quarter bundle and some yardage for the background for my quilt. You may use scraps, Fat Quarters, or purchase yardage. In the FQ bundle I purchased, there were 4 colors of fabrics: Blue, Red, Brown, and Beige (which I used for the background).

I will also be posting a Setting Block for the quilt later this month. There are 13 Setting Blocks for the quilt. With a 6" border, the finished quilt will measure 96" x 96". Please post pictures of your progress and your finished quilt. I would love to see what you did.

January's BOM is called Water Wheel. Instructions are for cutting Fat Quarters.

Block #1 Water Wheel

Fabric B (Background) - Cut 1 - 4 1/2" strip: Cut 4 - 4 1/2" Half Square Triangles (HST)*

Cut 1 - 2 1/2" strip: Cut 8 - 2 1/2" squares

Fabric A - (Fabric A is the main color of my quilt) - Cut 1 - 4 1/2" strip: Cut 1 - 4 1/2" square and cut 4 - 4 1/2" Half Square Triangle (HST)*

Fabric C - Cut 1 - 2 1/2" strip: Cut 8 - 2 1/2" squares

Sew Fabric A - 4 1/2" HST to a Fabric B - 4 1/2" HST to make a 4 1/2" HST Square. Make 4.

Sew 2 Fabric B - 2 1/2" squares to 2 Fabric C - 2 1/2" squares to make a 4 Patch unit. Make 4.

Lay out Block as shown below. Sew rows together. Press seams away from HST. When sewing rows together, the seams should lock together for easy sewing.

*[See Directions for Cutting Half Square Triangles Using the Half Square Triangle Ruler]

December is coming to a close

December is almost over and I feel the urge to finish some stuff before the new year starts.

I finish quilting this lap size quilt this afternoon and then put a table runner on and quilted it real quick. I just have to do the binding on them now. I still have to do the binding on Klay and Shauna's quilt, too. I was working on binding on a table runner I made several years ago. I have it and one more that I made before Chris and I got married that I never finished the binding on. (Chris and I got married 4 years ago.)

My goal for 2011 is to finish 2 quilting items before starting a new project. Notice I said "a" new project, not any new projects.

I also worked on my Underground Railroad blocks again today. I have 1 more 6" and 2 more 12" blocks to go. I need fusible interfacing to do those blocks. Need to go shopping for that.

This is the table runner I quilted today. I quilted it with feathers.

2010 Completed Quilts

So far this year, I have completed or quilted 34 Quilt projects this year. I have listed them at the side. I have one more to finish the bindign on. It was for my nephew and his wife for Christmas. I was so close to getting it done. If I had had 2 more days before Christmas to work on it, I would have had it done. But, I will get it done soon.
Today, I spent the day working on the Underground Railroad blocks I started with the local quilt guild at the beginning of the year. I started making the 6" blocks, but everyone else was making the 12" blocks. I then decided to make the 12" also. I think I have 12 of the 6" blocks finished and 8 of the 12" blocks finished.
I planned on putting a quilt on the machine to quilt today. I started putting it on, but didn't get if all the way on. I picked one to do a panto on so it would go quickly and I could get another one done.
I spent so much time working on Baby Quilts this year that I did not get many full sized quilts done. One of the Guilds I belong to had a challenge to make 10,000 inches (meauring the perimeter of the quilt). We were in groups of 4. The group I was in won the challenge. We turned in over 5,000 inches. The Guild made over 250 quilts and past the 10,000 inches a few times. They all go for a good cause.
Tomorrow is another day to quilt. Maybe I will get that quilt done that I started putting on the machine. We'll see...
Happy Quilting!

December Already

Well, it is December already. Another year has come and gone. I can't believe my last post was almost a year ago. Guess I forget about this Blog stuff and do other things. I started on Facebook this year and it takes up a lot of time. It has been good because many of my students from my old school have contacted me and they are still adding to my "Frends" list every week.
This next year I will be doing our local Quilt Guild's Block of the Month (BOM). I think I will try posting it here every month and see how well that goes over.
I still have many, many quilts to quilt. Probably more than I had this time last year. I haven't started many more, but I haven't finished many either. I have a week off of school and plan on quilting most days. Looking forward to it. I will post pictures as I complete projects.