One Big Square and Four Little Ones

Quilters are amazing.  And no, I'm not referring to myself, but rather those quilters who come up with innovative ways to create blocks.  

I'm working on a patriotic wall hanging for our living room.  I bought a book by Carrie Nelson called Schnibbles Times Two which uses pre-cut fabric pieces to create quilts in two sizes.  In other words, each quilt in the book may be made in two different sizes:  a large one using 10" pre-cut squares called layer cakes and a smaller one using 5" squares called charms.  I'm using charm squares and making a smaller one.

The pattern is called Plan C and I'm using charms from the Old Glory Gatherings collection by Primitive Gatherings for Moda. I bought two sets when I was in Coeur d'Alene with Dan last fall with this quilt and purpose in mind.

The palette is limited--red, blue, cream and tan, so it won't be as colorful as the quilt in the book, but I think I'll be okay.  

So, what's up with my first comment about innovative quilters?  Well, when I started to make the blocks, I was referred to a section in the front of the book with instructions on making the first pieces of the star blocks. I've made plenty of star blocks over the years, but I'd never had instructions like these although I confess I had seen similar ones somewhere.  (I read quilt books and magazines for leisure reading.)  I don't know if Carrie Nelson came up with this process, but whoever did...  I just wish my mind was as clever!  So, here are some photos as I worked the process.

First a big square (the background fabric) and four small ones:

Using a ruler and a pencil, you're told to draw a diagonal line on the back side of each of the small squares and then lay two of them on the larger one in the following manner:

And then stitch 1/4" on each side of the line:

Then you cut down the drawn lines:

And press open:

Then you take the other two small squares and lay them on like this:

And again stitch 1/4 inch from both sides of the line:

Slice again:

Iron open, and voila! I now have stacks of these units which are called "Flying Geese".

Normally they are made with a large triangle and two smaller ones, one unit at a time.  But this method makes all four of the units needed for each star with one large square and four smaller ones.  Now I ask you:  Is the ingenious or what?  It's what I've suspected for a long time:  there's a whole lot of math and engineering that goes into making quilts.  

Note to Bernina owners:  I used my 37 patchwork foot, and the instructions said to stitch a "scant 1/4" seam".   When I piece (I was using my 330), I use the straight stitch plate and I wondered:  could I scootch my needle over one click to left (I was stitching on the right side of the drawn line each time) in order to create the scant seam? I carefully checked without fabric under the needle and yes indeed, the needle just cleared the hole in the plate.  Perfect scant seam.  

Projects

Hoo boy.  Somehow this month is just racing by and my blogging is taking a hit.  I mentioned that I had finally come out of my sewing slump and created two projects for embroidery club.  Here's the first one which we'll do in May.  

The embroidered words are from an OESD Design Studio pack called Liberty.  I enlarged it quite a bit so it would fill the background area.  I did the blue one first and then, because I love Osnaburg, did the red one.  I used stitch #4 on my Bernina (I think it's that number on all Berninas) to do the wavy quilting stitch down each stripe. I really like this project and think that it could be fun to do for different seasons with other designs in the background square.  I love projects like this!

Meanwhile, I've cleaned up all the flat areas in my sewing room and I think I'm about ready to make a patriotic wall hanging to go over the sofa table in the living room for the summer.  It's a Schnibbles pattern from Schnibbles Times Two by Carrie Nelson.  It has many small pieces so I'd best be starting on it so I'll be ready by Memorial Day.  

Catching Up

Ahem, it's just a few days later, right?  {Smile}.  Time just keeps flying by.  Anyway, here are a few pictures of the work Dan did outside my sewing room.  (I didn't think to take a "before" photo, but just picture a badly overgrown shrub...)

The debris from said badly overgrown shrub:

Hooking on the cable to pull the roots:

Ta Da!

Over the next few days, Dan pulled all the ground cover and the whole area is now bare.  Except for the snow flakes that fell today.  Um hum, snow.  But it didn't stay, so we're okay.  

Since it was a cold, snowy day, we had a yummy supper of pork loin, potatoes and carrots.  I used my wonderful Pampered Chef covered baker this time and everything was dee-licious.  The pork was so moist and tender. When I set it on the table, I decided it was all so beautiful it deserved a commemorative photo:

Meanwhile, my sewing muse, which had vanished for many weeks, came back this last week and I had fun in my sewing room creating several projects for future embroidery clubs at the shop.  Yay!!  And today I spent hours sorting through piles on my tables and then playing with my machines, trying different features and experimenting with presser feet and stitches.  I had fun!  

Now I'm heading for bed with a stack of sewing magazines looking for more inspiration.  ♥

We're Here!

The weather has been absolutely gorgeous here for the last four days and we've been working about the place.  I even have scratches on my arms and hands to prove I've been pruning roses!  Dan loves being out of doors, but me, not so much.  Except in weather like this.  Seventy degrees, sunny, and perfect.

I'll be back soon with a better post.  Happy spring!