tip #49, don't cut out everything

steps

In preparation for fall semester, while finishing up several quilt tops I cut out some projects to sew once school starts.
I am pretty sure how big each quilt will be and how many blocks will be needed, but I don't cut them all out, mainly to wait until after making a bunch of blocks to see what other colors/values/scales are needed. Also to have space for some new fabrics that may come my way while making the top.
I like to save room for about 20%.

whirlygig

cobbles

16-patch, top completed

I love the 16-patch block. It is a strong grid and when done in scraps, the grid gets messed with.

72 blocks set 8 by 9
80 by 90 inches

These blocks finish 10 inches.
Cutting:
Solid: eight 3 inch squares
Print: eight 3 inch squares.

My design using a traditional pattern. Use at your pleasure.

patience corner sampler, top completed

Patience Corner Sampler

130 4-inch finished blocks
Set into 130 6-inch finished quarter blocks with an added 2 1/2 by 4 1/2 rectangle and a 2 1/2 by 6 1/2 rectangle.
Set into 30 12-inch finished Patience Corner Blocks and 5 half blocks (I added a row of half-blocks to my final set).
Layout was 5 blocks by 6 and a half blocks.
Final borders cut 3 1/2 inches.
Top finishes about  66 by 84 inches.
The set is my design, use at your pleasure.

In early 2018 Temecula Quilt Co. had a sew-a-long with little 4-inch finished blocks.
https://temeculaquiltco.blogspot.com/2018/01/quirky-quilt-sew-along.html
It was a pleasant project to work on as I set up my sewing space in our new place.
About 20% of my blocks are from her designs, the rest are my own based on traditional patterns. I used Tonya Riccuci's method from her Word Play book for the letters of my name in the bottom right corner.

 I put them together using a Patience Corner set that I describe here.
https://kleinmeisjequilts.blogspot.com/2018/10/patience-corner-set.html

lower right quadrant

lower left quadrant

upper right quadrant

upper left quadrant

stacked bricks, top completed

Stacked Bricks
80 blocks set 10 by 8, finishing 80 by 96 inches.
My design, use at your pleasure.

Block finishes 8 by 12 inches
Cutting
Solid: six rectangles 2 1/2 by 4 1/2 inches
Print: six rectangles 2 1/2 by 4 1/2 inches
Could work with precut 2 1/2 inch strips and strip piecing, but I cut all my pieces because I work from scraps.

Piecing
Piece in columns of 6, pressing toward the side that ends in a print.
Sew block together nesting seams.
I wait with pressing the center seam until I assemble the quilt so I can be strategic to nest seams.

Assembly
Sew two blocks together along the 8 inch sides, then sew two of these units together into a 4-block unit.

Make 4 rows of 5 units.
Just three longer seams to complete assembly.
With careful pressing all seams of quilt will nest.

chevron, top completed

Chevron
Measures approximately 75 by 90 inches
120 blocks set 10 by 12
My design, use at your pleasure.

Block finishes 7 1/2 inches
Cutting:
Solid: one rectangle 3 1/2 by 2 inches, one rectangle 5 by 2 inches
Print: one 3 1/2 inch square, one rectangle 3 1/2 by 5 inches, one rectangle 3 1/2 by 8 inches
Pressing: always away from the square, leaving final seam unpressed

Assembly:
I don't like the idea of sewing long rows of small blocks so I put then into units.
Sew together into four-block units.

Take two units, press left one with block seams down, right with block seams up.
Combine into 8 block units.

At this point I lay out the units and determine the final setting. Sew into three rows, sew these rows together.

visiting my quilts, Lake Michigan lake house

It was my birthday this past weekend and we were invited to the lake house of friends. I love going there in part because I get to visit my house quilt made in 2006 as a fundraiser for those affected by the 2005 Hurricane Katrina. The pattern is one of Bonnie Hunter.
https://quiltville.blogspot.com/2005/06/happy-scrappy-houses.html

living with my quilts, postage stamp

What I find wonderful about this quilt is I know all of the fabrics, I have memory of each one.

tip #48, make some samples

I am often sketching on graph paper or any paper for that matter. I am pretty good at visualizing what the block will look like, but the move to fabric can lead to decisions on scale and orientation that don't come to mind on paper.
In preparation for fall I would like to have a plan and blocks cut to fit in sewing time between the busy semester of classes. This morning I moved these 6 blocks from paper to fabric. Now, which to move forward on first?

cobblestone

steps

framed whirlygig

whirlygig

bullseye

pickets

16 patch

16 patch
Block finishes 10 inches

I plan to set it 8 by 9, to finish 80 by 90 inches, so 72 blocks needed.

Solid: cut eight 3 inch squares

Print: cut eight 3 inch squares

Sew into sets of four. Press each set towards the side that ends with a print.

Seams will nest.

Then press all to one side.

I make sure each block finishes with a solid in the left upper corner.

Setting will involve flipping every other row so all seams will nest.

I make my blocks out of squares as I am using scraps of fabric, not yardage.

Wanda Hanson has a great tutorial in making an 8 inch block using strips from yardage.

https://exuberantcolor.blogspot.com/2013/07/16-patch-tutorial.html

I love the 16 patch block. Such a wonderfully strong grid, then the colors of the blocks shake it up.
It looks great on a small scale or large scale. I made this one several years ago from reclaimed fabric of plaid shirts. These blocks finished 6 inches and were made from 2 inch cut squares.

mom's quilts

My sisters and I gathered in May to do paperwork and distribute our mother's possessions. We had tea using her teacups.
Chairs and equipment went to elderly relatives. Clothes went to a memory care patient of a granddaughter. 

Photographs are a minefield of emotions we deferred for another time.

The quilts went into several piles--for each of us and for our children and grandchildren. There were a few that mom made herself; most were made by me.

We chose one I made for mom to give her caregiver  Gwen who was a cheerful visitor to our mother every evening. 

We also pulled one patriotic one I had made for my father to go to our friend Hugo who became a US citizen this spring. Our country is better with him.

I wrote a friend, also a nurse, who was asking how I was doing:
"For years I have been telling my hospice families that our archetypes of Father=Protection and Mother=Life go far beyond our love of the person. Living that now. I can let mom go. I cannot let go of needing a mother."

thank you, Julie

I am traveling and a bit out of the loop.
I now find the wonderful Julie also mentioned me in her delightful blog Julie K Quilts, which also adds to the stats jump:
http://juliekquilts.blogspot.com/2019/06/monday.html

Julie's wonderful blog is a special place for me to read each day. She is also a nurse and includes nursing stories with her quilt posts. I have shared some of these stories with my nursing students.
http://juliekquilts.blogspot.com

thank you, Wanda

The wonderful Wanda Hanson of Exuberant Color mentioned me in her blog Tuesday.
https://exuberantcolor.blogspot.com/2019/06/an-inspiring-blog-to-visit.html

Want to see what happens to blog stats when Wanda mentions you?

Wanda has been an inspiration for me for decades. I wrote about her seven years ago:
https://kleinmeisjequilts.blogspot.com/2012/02/exuberant-color.html
Her approach of viewing our quiltmaking with respect resonated with me.

A day that begins with reading Wanda's blog is a good day.
https://exuberantcolor.blogspot.com/

alphabet, top completed

Alphabet
63 by 99 inches
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/
As written, blocks finish 10 1/2 by 6 inches.
I added 2 inch cut sashings to have the blocks finish 9 by 13 1/2 inches.

26 letters, I added sixteen cut 9 1/2 by 14 inch blocks to the layout, then added top and bottom rows of seven 9 1/2 inch blocks.
Use my setting at your pleasure.

Alice in Wonderland, baseball, celestial, dog, egg, fairy, giraffe, honeycomb, iris, jumprope, kitten, lamp, maple, nautilus, owl, popcorn, Queen Anne's Lace, robot, Scrabble, tulip, umbrella, volcano, woods, fox, yarn, zebra.

If you know of a pieced Cyrillic alphabet, please let me know!