ALTERNATIVE BLOCKS FOR LAUREL RIDGE

 I was asked about the two alternative blocks I made for my Laurel Ridge quilt, the 2025 BOM quilt designed by Lynn Wilder exclusively for The Quilt Show

Any 5" blocks can be substituted for any 5" blocks in the quilt. I wanted a simple block to help me finish this project. And I wanted a more complex block to add interest.

The EASY BLOCK -- Five Patch Shoo Fly:  Brackman #1847

For a 5" finished block, there are 4 Half Square Triangles (HST) 2" finished, and 4 Rectangles 1" x 2" finished. And a center square 1" finished.  

Make HST as you like. I made two blocks at once by cutting a 6" square of background and the green fabric. Draw a diagonal line in both directions, then sew 1/4" on either side of the drawn lines. Cut apart into 8 sewn triangle pairs. Trim HST to 2.5" and you have 8 HST, 2.5" with seam allowance.

This is the same way we made HST for the Basket Blocks in Month 5: Month 5  These are two different sizes but the process is the same:

Cut 4 rectangles 1.5" x 2.5", and 1 center square 1.5". Sew the block together, in 3 rows, very easy. The block is 5.5" with seam allowances.

There are other ways to make HST. See my TUTORIAL here: Half Square Triangles

The MORE COMPLEX BLOCK -- Mosaic, Brackman #2123:

What I liked about this is the Flying Geese are the same size as those made in Month 1: 1.25" x 2.5" finished. See my blog about that here: Month 1

The HST corners are 1.25" finished. I made 8 of them at once from two 4.5" squares, one background, one dark pink. The process is the same as described above. 

The center square can be made a couple ways. I pieced it. The plaid square is cut 2.25". The background triangles that surround the plaid center are cut from 2 squares cut 2.25":

Sew two opposite triangles to the square, press toward the triangles. Add the remaining two opposite triangles, trim center block to 3" square. 

Now assemble the block in three rows. There are a lot of seam allowances on the back. Here is how I pressed mine. You might prefer to press seams open. I starched it and set two heavy clappers on the block to dry flat:

So there you have the two alternative 5" blocks I made. 

Next week I will show how I made four 10" Lone Star blocks, that take the place of sixteen 5" blocks:

Let's quilt.

Barbara

LAUREL RIDGE -- MONTH 3

Laurel Ridge is the 2025 Block of the Month quilt designed by Lynn Wilder exclusively for The Quilt Show.  Star Members have FREE access to the patterns starting January 1, 2025. Made in two colorways, the complete patterns are excellent. You will love making this quilt. Lynn supports the pattern instructions with Videos too. 

This month we make Half Square Triangles--BIG ONES! We make a lot, 48 total, but the designer's method for making 8 at once makes it fast and easy.

Here are mine. Note I changed the Spiceberry Pink fabric for a deep Green from my stash:

The pattern instructions are excellent and Lynn Wilder provides a Video too, so you will find this month fun to do.

I am a math person so love to have "formulas" for making several blocks at once. Half Square Triangles, 8 at a time? Right up my alley! 

The formula is so easy:

Finished size of the HST = 5". Multiple this by 2 = 10". 

Add 2" for the seam allowances = 12". 

Lynn recommends and I was very glad I did, adding an additional 1/2". 

Cut ONE 12.5" square of BOTH FABRICS. This will give you 8 HST, that FINISH AT 5"--meaning once sewn into the quilt. The HST unit when made has to be 5.5" including Seam Allowances.  This formula works for ANY SIZE HST you want to make 8 at a time.

FIRST STEP: Draw diagonal lines from corner to corner on BOTH DIAGONALS on the back of the lightest fabric. Place fabrics RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER, then sew 1/4" on BOTH SIDES OF THE LINE. If you don't use a 1/4" foot you can draw the sewing lines if you like:

SECOND STEP: Cut the large square into FOUR SMALL squares, by cutting North, South, East and West--or "make a cross" as Lynn says: 

Then it is a simple matter to press toward the darker fabric--the Floral or the Green in my case--and "trim to perfection", making the HST exactly 5.5" square:

Lynn has additional excellent Tutorials on lots of these kinds of tips in the Classroom at The Quilt Show: Easy Patchwork Math.  She has included a link to the Tutorial that applies to each month directly on the Pattern Instructions. I encourage you to take a look at those each month. Much of what she teaches in those lessons is exactly how I do the steps. 

Next month we move on to blocks that will take a good bit more time than these, the Checkerboard Blocks.

Remember you can Ask Questions and Share Your Progress on  THE FORUM.

Let's quilt.

Barbara

HALF SQUARE TRIANGLES TWO WAYS

 Half Square Triangles (HST) are important building blocks for many quilt blocks and designs. I use them a LOT and I bet you do too.

This latest project has a pieced border of HST, all from the same two fabrics:

Oh, My Stars with my choice of pieced border

When I need a lot of HST from the same two fabrics I love to use the GRID method. It involves drawing a grid on the wrong side of the lightest fabric then sewing on both sides of the drawn diagonal lines. I call it a SEW FIRST METHOD.

To get 24 HST from two fabrics use this GRID:

On the wrong side of the lightest fabric draw the grid 1" larger than the finished size of the HST. My HST's are 3" finished so the grid is 4".  Cut the fabrics 12" x 16" to get this grid that makes 24 HST.

 NOTE: I added 1/4" around the outside edge so I cut the fabrics 12.5" x 16.5". This was TOTALLY UNNECESSARY and just created extra wasted fabric. In the future I would cut fabrics 12" x 16":

Starting at the upper right corner diagonal sew 1/4" away from the diagonal line. At the edge of the fabrics pivot and turn to continue down the next diagonal line. Pivot and turn at each edge--I did the outside lines first. When back at the beginning switch to the other side of the drawn diagonal lines--again pivoting at the outside edge of the fabric. SO--this means you only have ONE START and ONE STOP--just keep pivoting and sewing until it's done.

Here are the lines are sewn:

Cut apart on all the drawn lines. Press to the dark fabric and "trim to perfection":

3.5" perfect

Making 5 of these large grids gave me 120 HST. To make the remaining 4 I needed I used my other favorite method--the Half Square Triangle Ruler.  This is the CUT FIRST METHOD.

I cut a strip of both fabrics 3.5" wide, placed them right sides together, and used the Half Square Triangle Ruler to cut the HST pairs ready to sew. I tend to cut the strips slightly larger than 3.5" so I can "trim to perfection". Cut exactly 3.5" if you prefer:

Chain piece the 4 pairs of HST. Put the the flat end under the needle first--no point to get drawn down into the hole in the throat plate:

Again, press to the dark fabric and trim to perfection. 

I took me longer to write this than it did to do all the steps.  Of course, there are more ways to make HST. These are my favorites. The GRID method is perfect to make a lot the same. The HST Ruler method is perfect to make a few or if you prefer to "cut first", then sew.

Here is one of the borders all done:

There will be a RED "floater border" between the middle of the quilt and this pieced border. More about that when I get there. If you are curious about that now I have a TUTORIAL on the process: The Magic of Floater Borders

I hope you find this helpful. 

Let's quilt.

Barbara

MY JOURNEY: QUILT # 23

  Another quilt from the Special Exhibit My Joyful Journey, part of the Virtual Quilt Festival, December 3-5, 2020.

QUILT # 23: My Lifetime Quilt, 100" x 100". machine pieced, longarm quilted, 2016-2019 

The Story: This original design is based on several antique quilts using the humble half square triangle unit. It contains 12,800 triangles, 1.25" finished. It was machine pieced as a Leader/Ender project over 3 years. I called it My Lifetime Quilt because I expected it would take the rest of my life to finish, I couldn't die until it was done, so I was going to sew it VERY slowly. By early 2019, I knew I was close to finishing so decided to push on. I machine quilted it with a simple diagonal line pattern. It is subtitled "Wow!" because that is the one word I most often hear when people see it for the first time.  

I have written about this quilt several times, showing my construction method. Use the Search Box above for "Lifetime quilt" to find them:

For scale:

Let's quilt. 

Barbara

LIFETIME QUILT TOP is Done!

A bit of a happy dance occurred recently--my Lifetime Quilt came off the Design Wall and is now a finished top, 100" x 100":

Here it is just before I took it down to sew the last three seams, one on the left, one on the right, and then finally, the left and right parts could be sewn together.

Here it is getting ready to go "under the needle" for that LONG center seam:

It took 25 minutes to PIN that seam. And almost that long to sew it.

I was merrily stitching along, thrilled to see the end, did the last stitches and took it out. Guess what? I ran out of bobbin thread about half way through...

So, I said "Boulder, Boulder, Boulder" (that's a big dam) and repinned and resewed. Then I pressed the seam open and stay-stitched all around the perimeter. The whole process of joining the big sections and sewing the final seam took about three hours.

It is HEAVY! There are 12,800 triangles and each Half Square Triangle unit finishes at 1.25". There is almost as much seam allowance as triangle.

Here is it resting on a queen-size bed:

 Later this year I will quilt it on my Bernina Q20 using wool batt because it is so light and so cozy to sleep under. Eventually, this will be my bed quilt so I can enjoy it every day.

I have written about this quilt several times: here is just one of the times.

The quilt that inspired me is this Half Square Triangle Antique quilt. Since I saw this 3 and a half years ago, I have seen several more like it:

I don't know what the next Lifetime Quilt project will be--something has come up that is taking a lot of time so that decision can wait for a couple months. Stay tuned...

Let's quilt!

Barbara

Local Classes--Winter 2019

The new year is upon us and I have several local classes scheduled for the next few months. If you are near, I'd love to see you in class.

At Patches & Stitches, my perpetual Quiltmaking 101 class will be offered twice:

I have taught a 5 week beginners class for 30 years--the quilt has changed many times over those years. This one has stuck for a while--it is based on a pattern from Glad Creations and teaches ALL the basics of good quiltmaking skills. Many people who have taken this class get "hooked" on quilting--that is my goal.

A new class: Spectacular Scraps, will be a fun way to work with half-square triangles to create your own design:

When I posted this quilt several months ago, the positive response inspired me to offer this class again--I made this quilt more than 15 years ago and taught it then.

In the years when my guild, the Heritage Quilters of Huntsville has our quilt show, I offer a 3 hour lecture/demo class on Beautiful Borders and Bindings. Many quilters don't enjoy the binding process or don't do it as well as they could because they don't know the tricks. A poor binding really hurts a great quilt and you can improve your binding technique--let me show you how.

Trying something new, My Favorite Things will be offered as a 2 part class, 7 hours each time. Part 1 is in March, Part 2 in May:

An original design, I recently taught this as a 6 month lecture/demo class and the students loved it. This time it will be an all-day sewing class, moving through each of the 6 lessons at a good pace. Allowing a month and a half between classes will allow students to do most of their sewing at home, while getting started sewing in the classroom. This also will make a great multi-day retreat class and is being considered by several groups for their students.

At Huntsville Sew Creative, the wonderful quilt SIZZLE will be taught as a year-long lecture/demo class. The pattern is the 2019 Block of the Month from The Quilt Show --it is FREE to Star Members--that membership costs $49/year--just last night one of my students told the rest of the class that was money well-spent--she found so much content throughout the site that was valuable. I have written before about why I think this subscription is one every quilter should seriously consider: Why Join the Quilt Show?  

You can purchase a Kit if you want to make either of these beauties or select your own fabrics. This class will teach you so much and there is still room for a few more--I hope you will join us if you are local. No sewing machines--I do the sewing, while students learn and ask great questions.  Huntsville Sew Creative has recently moved locations and their website is under construction--call 256-536-3757 to sign up before space is gone.

That is all I have time for this winter--lots of sewing will be happening for future classes and preparation for 10 away-from-home trips this upcoming year. I hope to see you in class.

Let's quilt!

Barbara

Month 8 The Patchwork Barn

This is the FREE Block of the Month pattern "Patchwork Barn", designed by Edyta Sitar exclusively for The Quilt Show. You must be a Star member of this world-wide quilt guild/show/internet community to receive the free patterns each month, beginning January 1, 2018. Join today and get started on this journey.

Previous instructions are here:

IntroductionMonth 1
Month 2
Month 3
Month 4
Month 5
Month 6
Month 7
NOTE: On The Quilt Show, the Forum is the best place to ask questions, find answers, or find out if there is a change in the pattern.  I recommend you check in there frequently. And there is a Show and Tell Topic--show us your blocks. Forum Patchwork Barn

We've made it to the last of the small blocks. If you have kept up, there are only 9 more blocks to make, three of each of this month's blocks. If you are not there yet, just keep working, it's not a race. Proceed at your own pace.

Block 22:

 This block is often called the Album block. When used in a signature quilt, the center rectangle is a plain light solid fabric. Maybe you'll want to make one like that and use it to sign your quilt on the front, not just put a label on the back. Future quilters and collectors will thank you.

This block has a mathematical "issue". I've written about it for Block 8 and Block 14. The A, D and E pieces are slightly too small at the 7/8" measurement and would be slightly too large at the next whole number. What's a quilter to do? I cut the pieces slightly larger than the pattern calls for on those 3 pieces, about 1/16" larger. That is just a few threads, not a measurement that is easy to see.

I suggest you try this FIRST with the center Unit B, pieces D and E. When the 6 squares and 1 rectangle are sewn together, the square should measure exactly as shown in the pattern. To get that size, you either cut the pieces slightly larger OR cut as the pattern lists and sew with a skimpy seam allowance, 1/16" smaller than normal--not easy to discern at the machine.

If you cut the pieces for Unit B slightly larger and are successful getting that square to be the correct size, cut the remaining A squares that slightly larger size. The background pieces, B and C, are exactly correct as shown in the pattern.

While this all may seem a little "fiddley", if it doesn't matter to you if the points are "hidden" when the block is done, just do your best and trim the block to the required unfinished size and call it done.

Here is my first block as I prepare to square it up. I place the ruler exactly at the half way mark on the top and right side, being sure I will be able to square up the remaining two sides accurately. Very little waste and the block was the correct size:

Block 23:

This one is a snap: four quarter square triangle units, four 4-patch units and one center square. I prefer to make it even easier by making the pieced units from pieces cut slightly larger than the pattern calls for, allowing me to "trim to perfection". The center square is cut exactly as the pattern says. The pattern measurements are correct--if you use them, be sure you cut accurately, sew accurately, and press accurately.

At this point, I am working from my "leftovers" bags. I found these strips which would work to give me six of the eight pairs I need for the first block. Sewn and pressed to the darker fabric:

Placed right sides together, being sure the darks and lights are opposite each other:

Sliced into pairs, ready to be sewn into four patches:

I love to "twist" the center seam allowances on these tiny blocks. See my video on how to do that here, at the end of Month 1.:

The quarter square triangles are easy too. I wrote about that unit in Month 6. Here are a set ready to be cut apart and trimmed to perfection:

 There's that cute little twisted center seam allowance again:

Block 24: 

So glad to see this easy one for the final block! Now's the time to use your most favorite fabric for this simple block--two half square triangle units and two 4-patch units.

I talked about half square triangles in Month 2 for Block 4 and Four Patches just above, Block 23--these are just larger. Choose your favorite method for these two great patchwork units and you'll soon be done.

All done! Next month we will tackle the Barn block for the quilt center. Also, next month, in a separate post, I will discuss an alternative center and an alternative layout that will make the quilt larger without having to make more blocks. Of course, if you want this quilt to be queen-size, I suggest you do make more blocks--24 more blocks to be exact--that would be one more of all 24, or two of  your favorite 12, OR...You get the idea.

Let's Quilt!

Month 5: The Patchwork Barn

This is the FREE Block of the Month pattern "Patchwork Barn", designed by Edyta Sitar exclusively for The Quilt Show. You must be a Star member of this world-wide quilt guild/show/internet community to receive the free patterns each month, beginning January 1, 2018. Join today and get started on this journey.

Previous instructions are here:

IntroductionMonth 1
Month 2
Month 3
Month 4.

NOTE: On The Quilt Show, the Forum is the best place to ask questions, find answers, find out if there is an error on the pattern, as there was for Month 2, Block 5--as soon as I found out about the error, I posted a Topic to correct it, February 3. I recommend you check in there frequently. And there is a Show and Tell Topic--show us your blocks. Forum Patchwork Barn

Block 13

This block has half square triangles (HST), small squares and a unit called Birds in the Air or Mary's Triangles, as well as other names.

We have made HST several times already--refer to Month 4 for more information, including instructions for 3 different ways to make them. This time, since I needed 12 HST units, I decided to do the Grid method again. I cut fabric 8" x 6" from both the background and the print fabrics and drew this grid on the back side of the background:

There is a narrow border around the outside of the grid, this makes it easy to turn the corners. One start, one stop, and all 12 HST are sewn. All I have to do is press toward the dark fabric and "trim to perfection":

To make the Birds in the Air units, you can follow the directions in the pattern, if you like. I will show you a method that uses a Half Square Triangle Ruler, a tool you may already have.

Cut a strip of fabric 2" x 12.5"--this will be the colored square in the outer corners. Cut a strip of background fabric 2.75" x 12.5". Sew these together down the long seam, press toward the BACKGROUND fabric:

Keeping the seam line straight, cut six 2" segments--like servings from a sandwich:

Note: I cut 7 segments as I started with strips that were longer than needed--OOPS.

Sew these into pairs of off-side four-patches--note the seam line will NOT meet in the middle--this is a good thing. Use sharp scissors to clip half way between the two seams, UP TO BUT NOT THROUGH the sewn seam:

 Press the seams toward the BACKGROUND fabric:

 There are several brands of Half Square Triangle Rulers, this one is from Creative Grids. Each ruler has lines labeled a particular way, be sure you know the method your ruler uses. With this ruler, the bottom of the ruler is placed on the line that corresponds to the UNFINISHED size of the unit. Remember, you want to cut the background fabrics in half, NOT the square fabric, RED in my case. If you have cut and sewed with accuracy, the ruler will cut this unit exactly in half, right where it should:

The pattern calls for a square cut 3 7/8", then cut in half diagonally--I cut 4" squares, much easier. Cut the square in half and pair those triangles with the unit just made. The raw edges of both triangles are aligned on the DIAGONAL. Because my square was 4", a tad bit hangs out at the bottom, it will be trimmed after the block is sewn:

If all is well, the sewing line goes precisely through the seam, we call this "crossing the X":

Press toward the large triangle, and "trim to perfection":

Lay out the block and sew the HST together with two small squares, then join the top row to the bottom row:

NOTE: My background is a stripe. With the grid method, half the HST have the stripe going up and down and half go left and right. This block was assembled with all the stripes going up and down. The remaining two blocks will have some of each. If this bothers you, do not use a directional fabric when pre-sewing, as you can't totally control how the stripes will finish. You would have to custom cut each piece to be sure you got the stripes going as you want. I decided to just let it go with these blocks.

I am often asked about pressing. In the pattern, the little arrows indicate the recommended pressing sequence. Here is how I pressed this block, it's not the "right" or the "only" way, it's just the way I did it this time. The beauty of making 3 of these little blocks is you can try different techniques with each to decide which you prefer:

Block 14: 

Again there are four HST in the four corners, make them with your favorite method.  This time I used the Half Square Triangle Ruler, cutting strips .5" larger than the finished size and cutting four triangle pairs for each block. Quick and easy.

To make the little four-patches for each block, I started with 10.5" x 1.25" of both the A and B fabrics, sewing down the long side, pressing toward the dark fabric. Then I sub-cut these into 1.25" segments and joined them into four-patches, four of these units for each block.

Mathematically, these four-patches should be less than 2" to fit perfectly, 1.9142". That is a weird measurement, so just do the best you can. When you add the four small triangles around the four-patch, they need to be 2.5" square, unfinished.

What I did was trim the four-patches just smaller than 2", but not all the way to 1 7/8"--I just eyeballed this cut. My triangles were cut from 2" squares, not 1 7/8" as the pattern instructs, to allow for trimming. You could cut the four-patches to 1 7/8" and cut the triangles from 2.25" squares--when you trim the unit to 2.5" the four-patches will "float"--this means the points of the four-patches will be slightly inside the square, the corners of the four-patch will not touch the outside of the block. Do whichever you prefer. I tried to get mine as close to accurate as I could::

Block 15: 

This is one of my favorite star blocks, called the Evening Star or the Morning Star or other names.

The star point units are really flying geese units, where the "goose" is the background and the "sky"
is the star points. Since I like to make four flying geese at once, I used the method I showed in Month 3. See my  Four Flying Geese tutorial  for this method. Of course, you can follow the pattern directions if you like.

This block goes together quickly, once the star points units are made. They are oversize so have to be trimmed down to the correct size:

We would love to see your blocks on the Show and Tell Forum.

Let's quilt.

Barbara