sewtakeahike

318 Patchwork Pattern QAL

 

 

Have you all heard that Allegory is hosting a QAL for 318 Patchwork Patterns? She is making 4 mini blocks from the book each week until Dec 1 and posting tips for making the blocks each week.

There are a few of us that chose a block for her to make each week, and the block I chose is the chicken.

 

 

The original chicken pattern in the book has a total of 5 y-seams. I made one change to the pattern to cut out two of the y-seams and two sections. It doesn't change the look of the chicken, it just made it easier to piece!

Here's what I did:

 

 

The pattern was originally broken into two sections (indicated by the green areas inside the pink lines). Instead, I crossed out the green sections and made the pink lined area all one area, which could be part of the chicken head section. This reduced the pattern by 2 y-seams, indicated by the red arrows.

Because this book is so full of y-seams in the pieced patterns, I hope this helps you all to be creative and make the piecing a bit easier when you can! And make sure and check out Allegory's posts for more tips!

 

xo,

Penny

snowball QAL tips

 

If you're looking for the initial Snowball QAL post, it is here

and the flickr group is here!

 

Just a few tips to make your snowball block production quicker should you use the pattern I provided! 

But before we get into that, make sure and join the flickr Snowball QAL group!

First, instead of completing the snowballs one at a time, do the snowballs in batches, cutting, then sewing and trimming several at one time.

 

 

So in other words, I cut all my triangles and squares and patterns and then stacked them like this so I can sit at my machine and just sew all the triangles on; not having to get from my machine over and over.

 

Once they are all sewn

 

 

I will press them all, then trim them all.  Make sense? 

Doing this "production" type sewing will definitely speed things along!

I like to do them in batches of 30 or so.  Only because that immediate gratification part of me dictates it this way if you get my drift!

xo,

Penny

Snowball Along!

 

 

So apparently this is what I do when I'm sick.  Start a couple of new quilts.  I've been battling a cold for a week and the last few days it's getting the better of me. 

 

So first I started my polka quilt out of my asterisk block. 

 

 

I have three of the blocks completed and that's a quilt I will be taking my time on.

Now, I'm starting a Snowball quilt.  Contrary to my Asterisk blocks, these blocks are super quick.  And because it's hard for me to sit still even when I'm sick, I've started a Snowball Along.

There are several ways you could do these blocks, and it's probably no surprise to you that the easiest way for me is to foundation piece them.  So that's the technique I'm going to share with you today. 

But first, a few details.

• each snowball block finishes at 4" square
• the solid I am using is connecting threads "verdigris"
• this is the perfect block to use up your scraps
• my finished quilt will consist of 288 snowball blocks (16 across and 18 down)

 

 

Here we go!

What you will need:

• Print off this pdf that has 4 snowball foundation patterns on it and then cut each snowball pattern out separately.
• solid fabric cut into 2 1/2" strips and each strip cut into 3" lengths.  Then cut these 2 1/2" X3" rectangles in half, into triangles.
• scraps that are at least 5" square for the center of the snowball

 

Choose your center fabric (scraps work really well for this!) and trim it at least 1/4"  past all edges of the pattern.

 

With the right side of the pattern up, and the right side of the fabric down, align one of your solid triangles in one of the corners so it overlaps the corner mark by at least 1/4", and sew through the layers along the line. 

 

Repeat with the other 3 corners.

 

Turn the corners of the paper pattern in and trim the center print fabric somewhat even with the edges of the solid fabric.

 

Fold the paper corners back out

 

then press the solid fabric out to cover the paper corners.

Turn the block over, and trim the edges, leaving a 1/4" seam allowance of fabric past the edge of each side of the paper pattern.

 

Now all you have to do is make 287(!) more (that will give you a 64"X 72" quilt) and I'll meet you back here in a few days and we can assemble them!  I can't wait to see your fabric choices!

 

xo,

Penny

 

2 weeks of Ron

 

Thank you once again Monica for the pattern!!  I love my Ron quilt!

And just for you Monica, "cats that look like Ron Swanson"

 (photo courtesy of vulture.com)

Ron loves sushi

And there you have it.  5 hours of cutting 1200 squares.  Over 3 hours of pressing seams open.  Pinning and unpinning.  I love Ron in blue, don't you too?

 

And you're not going to believe this, but when my Ron quilt saw the photo of Sonja's amazingly fabulous new pattern "I love sushi" (This is a pattern that went right to the heart of me the first time I saw it and it's one I will make!), he whispered to me, "I love sushi too".   

So there you have it again.  Straight from Ron quilts lips. 

 

Here's a bit more info about I Love Sushi:

The I Love Sushi Quilt finishes at 37" x 43" , and is a paper pieced quilt pattern. The PDF pattern is 20 pages long, and includes all pattern templates. The first 10 pages print out as a handy booklet, and includes basic paper piecing instructions, a glossary of terms, illustrated instructions and links to online tutorials. It was designed with beginners in mind, so it's rated easy-moderate for novice quilters. It makes a yummy wall hanging, baby quilt, or small lap quilt