final letter

N is for nautilus 

The final letter is made.
Using the alphabet from McCallsQuilting.com with several re-drafts and construction changes.
https://www.quiltingcompany.com/Quilt/best-day-ever-free-alphabet-characters-block-patterns/

The sashed blocks measure 9 by 13 1/2 inches finished. They go together quickly and it has been fun to find fabrics from my stacks and doing a bit of shopping for the missing ones.
And, because the blocks are so big, the top is coming together quickly too.

Anyone aware of a pieced Cyrillic alphabet quilt pattern? I found a few appliquéd and paper pieced on Pinterest.

puss in two corners, top completed

Puss in two corners.
Measures approximately 80 by 100 inches.
Block finishes 7 inches
Setting triangles overcut at 9 inches on bias sides to float the blocks

143 blocks set on point 8 by 10

My design, use at your pleasure.

4-in-the-corner, top completed

4-in-the-corner
120 blocks
Set 10 by 112
80 by 90 inches

Block finishes 8 inches

Adapted from the block by Carol Thelen found at her website Quilt Notes. https://quiltnotes.com/learning-center/corner-4-patch/

two more plus a re-do

U is for umbrella

K is for kitten

J is for jumprope re-do

I wasn't happy with the J. I tried to get used to it but it needed re-drafting. This one is much more pleasant.
Only the N left to sew!
Made using the McCallsQuilting.com alphabet, with variations in constructing and a few re-drafted letters.

a lot more

Q is for Queen Anne's Lace
(note the Dutch royal orange)

S is for Scrabble

Y is for yarn

J is for jumprope

W is for woods

E is for egg
(note use of yolk-yellow)

V is for volcano

O is for owl

Getting more of these blocks done and now playing with setting options.

I am really enjoying the bits of sewing time that yield the blocks. They are not difficult. Some are a bit fiddly.
Made using (with variations) the McCallsQuilting.com alphabet.

sewing with fabric from my mother

A quiet day. The first Mother's Day since our mother's death.
Nice commemorations from our children. Henrietta had nine pretty incredible grandchildren.
Tonight I sewed a bit and used the butterfly fabric from my mother's scraps. She made summer dresses for us from it.

Thanksgiving 2018

a couple more

X is for fox

T is for tulip

I did a bit of research on pedagogical theories for teaching the letter X. Several suggest to teach it as it is normally used--in the middle or end of a word since it is rarely used with the X sound at the beginning of a word.

So, I went with fox.

The tulip fabric I have used for several quilts. I used most of it up so I ordered more. For being a scrap quilter, I tend to be a bit traumatized when I use up some of my favorites and then I have to search to buy more. Did that with the lamps and the foxes too. 

The rabbits are very sparsely scattered on the yardage, so I was glad with the new yardage I had a rabbit to feature.

two more letters

Z is for zebra

L is for lamp

Made using the McCallsQuilting.com alphabet.

For the z I didn't follow their instructions but I did follow their shape. I want to keep the background fabrics as uninterrupted as possible. So I cut the backgrounds from a 4 1/2 inch strip. the top one is a triangle at 4 1/2 inches, the bottom piece is a chisel shape cut to about 6 1/2 inches. I added the Z fabric to the top triangle and bottom piece, trimmed them, joined them, and trimmed again to have the whole piece 6 1/2 by 7 inches. Their pattern had 9 pieces in the center of that Z. I have 4.

This is really hard to describe. I am not even sure I could replicate my steps. But it worked without resorting to my nemesis of paper piecing.

The L was a welcomed respite letter after that.

puss-in-two-corners

I've been drawing and playing with this block for some time. And now I see a similar one showing up on Pinterest as "Chandelier" from Vanessa Goertzen's Charm School book.
Mine is also based on the puss-in-the-corner block. But with different proportions from Vanessa's delightful block.
And different proportions from the traditional puss-in-the-corner block.
The puss-in-the corner is a 4-patch grid of 1:2:1. Mine is a 1:1.5:1 grid.

7 inch finished block
I plan to set these on-point so will probably make 128 blocks set 8 by 9 with 30 setting triangles and 4 corner triangles.

Solid: cut one 3 1/2inch  square, two 2 1/2 inch square
Print: cut two 2 1/2 by 5 1/2 inch rectangles, two 3 1/2 by 2 1/2 inch rectangles

Setting triangles:
I like my on-point quilts to have a float, so I over-cut these to about 9 inches on the sides.

Pressing:
Press pieces all to the solids
Then press seams to one side.
Rotate blocks so the seams nest when sewing rows.
Press alternating rows right or left so all the seams nest.

4-in-the-corner

I slightly simplified a delightful block Corner 4-patch from Carol Thelen's Quilt Notes.
Carol uses a stand-alone four-patch. I melt mine into the print of the rest of the block by just adding the solid.
https://quiltnotes.com/learning-center/corner-4-patch/
She has a wonderful variety of setting suggestions; the block lends itself to many successful settings. Check out her instructions for cutting, construction, size, and variations. Pressing will vary by which setting is chosen.
I will add my pressing instructions below.
Her whole site is a great resource:
https://quiltnotes.com/

The setting I plan to use looks a bit like a double helix. Maybe more of a single helix!
I plan to make mine set 10 by 12, 80 by 96 inches. 120 blocks. Maybe 10 by 11, 110 blocks.

Press small squares to the prints, then press the seam in the 4-patch and the seam of it to the print larger square.  Wait with pressing the center seam until setting into rows and columns.

I first sew two blocks together.

Still not pressing center seams of blocks or the seam of the two blocks.

After laying out I will piece into columns, alternating direction of seams for each two-block unit.