Darting Birds

Okay, it is time for April's Block of the Month. Seems like I just posted March BOM...oh, wait, I did! That's because I was a little behind in my posts. This is block #4, called Darting Birds.

You will need:

Fabric A - Medium or dark fabric (Pick your favorite color, that's what I did anyway

Fabric B - Background or light

Fabric C - Another medium or dark fabric. Totally different color from Fabric A.

Cutting Directions: (Use the directions for cutting Half Square Triangles as shown in earlier post)

Fabric B (Background):

Cut 2 - 2 1/2" strips

Cut 24 - 2 1/2" Half Square Triangles (HST)

Cut 4 - 2 1/2" Squares

Fabric A & Fabric C: (From each Fabric)

Cut 1 - 4 1/2" strip

Cut 2 - 4 1/2" Half Square Triangles (HST)

Cut 1 - 2 1/2" strip

Cut 8 - 2 1/2" Half Square Triangles (HST)

Cut 2 - 2 1/2" squares

Sew Fabric A & Fabric C 2 1/2" HSTs to Fabric B - 2 1/2" HST to make a 2 1/2" HST square. Make 8 with Fabric A and 8 with Fabric C.

Sew Fabric B HSTs to each Fabric A and Fabric C - 2 1/2" Square to form a triangle (with is half of the unit shown below). Sew this unit to the 4 1/2" HST to make the unit below. You need 2 with Fabric A and 2 with Fabric C.

Lay out 1/4th of the block as shown the the pictures below. You will have 2 of Fabric A and 2 of Fabric C.

This is my Fabric A.

This is my Fabric C.

Sew the four units together to make you block as shown below.

Congratulations! You have completed another block!

I have been working on my setting blocks. I will show them to you and give you directions for them soon.

Have a wonderful week! Tomorrow is Quilt Guild meeting!

Broken Dishes

Okay, I am finally putting March Block ofthe Month on the website. (I know it is April! Where did March go?!) I am so sorry this is so late, for those of you who have been waiting for it. Life got a little busy for me last month and I just didn't get it done. The next 2 months will be busy with Track season at school. But, I will try to get April block up soon. (As soon as I decide which one will be next)

So, here it is...Broken Dishes.

You will need 2 fabrics, one light and one medium or dark. Cut 3 - 2 1/2" strips from each fabric. You can layer your fabrics, right sides together to cut the strips into Half Square Triangle pieces. You will need a total of 36 Half Square Triangles from each color. When you layer them with right sides facing when you cut, they are ready to sew together.

Sew the Half Square Triangles together like the one on the right. You will need 36 of these.

Arrange them in a 4-Patch unit as pictured. You will have two dark triangles pointing out and two pointing in.

Then I stack them to make 9 sets of these 4-Patch units.

Sew the 4-Patch units together. They will look like this. You will need 9 of these.

Lay out the 4-Patch units into a 9-Patch like in the picture below. Sew the 4-Patch units into rows together, then sew the rows together.

You have completed Block #3 - Broken Dishes.

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.