Block Swap the Hard Way

This was a block swap of another kind than the ones where quilters make blocks to exchange. That would be fun. No. No. This was a poor-planning-on-my-part block swap. 

In photo #1 you see the block layout I had initially chosen for my "Roman Road" sampler quilt. I knew I did not much like the gold and green block, but at that point, the thought of making another block just wearied me. So, I forged ahead and pieced the whole top with the "iffy" block in place. 

Then...and not until then...I saw how that one block threw the whole quilt off balance due to the "weight" of the gold fabric in it, since that was the same fabric in the focal center block, as well as the outer border pieces. 

I just could not let it go. So much work had gone into the quilt, and it seemed I should be able to like it at the end of the process. So, the weeks rocked on, and finally I decided to work up a replacement block. First candidate was the disappearing nine patch blue in picture 2. Didn't like it. Had expected to. Was really miffed and somewhat discouraged. 

Days passed. Nights, too. What to do...what to do. I liked the "economy block", but could not figure out how to make it the nine and a half unfinished size I needed, and wanted it to finish with the center square on point. Finally, I just drew a design and foundation pieced what became the replacement block (photo #3). 

This (replacing a block that has already been pieced and sashed into a quilt top) is not recommended. Not at all. I was fortunate the piece went in fairly smoothly. Don't get in a rush when placing your blocks. The decisions you make then, need to be ones with which you can live (and sleep.)

One would think after all this that I would have sandwiched and finished the quilt by now. Well, it is sandwiched and awaiting my nerve to build up to quilting. It will be the largest quilt I've quilted on my small-throat machine. I'll let you know. 

Points Turned Revisited or Ten Minute Block Variation Untimed

Back in 2014 I posted about a block method I saw online, but I had no instructions of how to do it. Here I will try to give a visual of how I think it went together. Though, now I'm doing this from the photos, and not a tutorial.

Step 1: cut out 4.5 inch squares. Fold the part you want in the middle in half. Crosscut the fabric you want as background, for four triangles. I think the center white fabric was cut at 2.5".

Step 2: Sandwich folded square in the triangles, right sides facing, as shown.

Step 3: Sew with scant 1/4 inch seam along either side.

Step 4: Open out and press the triangle "wings" out from the folded center fabric.

Step 5: Good luck with this step. Pin the edges of the triangles together, sandwiching and getting that center folded piece centered such that it will be caught in the stitching, as well. 

Step 6: Stitch the pinned edges together, pulling pins and adjusting fabric as you go.

Step 7: When seam is finished and the pins all pulled, you should have a puffy center. Flatten the background and center to make a square. The edges of the center will be about a quarter inch beyond the seams. Press and flat, then toward center. This is when you could check my measurement for the center white piece, because you'll need a piece to lay in the square up against the seam.

Step 8: Lay the smaller square piece in center and then fold the center square's flaps over its edges, forming a curve. Stitch the flaps down, trapping the smaller square under the flaps.

Go Go Godey!

Nancy Zieman's video for half square triangles was the inspiration for this quilt. I really liked the Godey block she illustrated at the 13.53 minute mark of her instructional video entitled "No-Hassle Half Square Triangles", which aired October 2014. 

Squares of fabric were leftover from my patriotic mosaic quilt. Many of those fabrics had been garnered from a share pile at quilting class, and the share pile was intended for the veteran's care facility quilting project. So, I decided to see if I had enough extra fabric to get a secondary smaller lap quilt put together in time for the donation. 

Rummaging through my own stash I found some 1980's fabric featuring patriotic sections that gave a faux pieced look. Fussy-cut and sashed to size, they made a great filler for the Godey blocks. From that point getting the rest of the borders was just a question of color and width. I went for a stripe and came up with the Homeland Stars and Bars lap quilt pictured below.

Label on quilt back. 

"The Fifty Minute Block"

Well, ACTUALLY, first came the ten minute block.

(Ten Minute Block)

Then came the trial, beginning with four ten minute blocks. Forty minutes?

THEN came the answer with the fifth block added, for the new "Fifty Minute Block"!

This was an experiment inspired by the ten minute block. I wondered if four ten minute blocks could be used with another same sized block to make a ten minute block (fifty minute block) without obscuring the tilted centers of the smaller blocks. It does work one block out, like this.

Pinwheel with "turnovers" and a bit of waste

This pinwheel was made using a half reduction of the tutorial by Jenny Doan. Her video called this a Stack and Whack with Turnovers, though it does not fit what I find others calling "stack and whack". Anyway, I like the block and was mainly challenged by positioning the solid or background in the proper places with the print wheel pieces. So, take care there.

Using 3 inch squares with 4 x 1.5 inch rectangles and less than perfect quarter inch seams, I came up with this 6.25 square....which might should have been more along the lines of 6.5 inch. I was still working on getting quarter inch seams down when I did this one. (sorry).

One reason I like doing the mini versions of blocks is that I like using up scraps from quilts for which the colors have already been selected, and to my eye, work well. The above patch work is from my first son's "Buddy Quilt".  Seen  here in my October 2012 post.

Photo was taken using my nifty difty tripod, which has a flip feature accommodating set up for macro shots. When the central rod is flipped, the camera is positioned between the tripod legs and can therefore be used for photographing things placed beneath. This pic was shot inside on a cloudy day with no flash. ;o) On my monitor the colors hold true.

Boxed Hourglass from a Tube

Found a nifty Missouri Star Quilt Co. tutorial a while back and worked up a block to use as practice for free motion quilting. The practice block stayed with all my other quilting helps, but eventually I forgot where I had found the pattern and how the block was cut and sewn! Aaaargh! Happily I ran across the tutorial tonight. Click here and see what you think of it.

       Use two strips of 2.5 inch WOF (width of fabric) strips sewn togehter. Then lay a 4.25 inch WOF strip on top and sew using 1/4 inch seam to form a tube. Use 45 degree angle line of ruler laid on the 1/4 inch seam of tube at one side of tube; make cut, then move the angle line to other side of the tube (on 1/4 inch seam line again) to make cut. Do for four cuts and you get the pieces of the double hourglass set on point.