Sew-A-Long Part 1 Introduction

Welcome to our first Sew-A-Long--the Italian Shoo Fly:

Making this small and simple quilt will teach you:

   how to perfect your piecing
   how to work with two blocks in one quilt
   how to make an on-point setting quilt
   how to add borders that will make your quilt square and true
   the basics of simple quilting
   how to add a binding by machine for both hand and machine finishing

This will be a "teaching tutorial"--I want to help you learn the basics of good quiltmaking practices so you can improve all your quilts in the future. This finished quilt is just a bonus.

Instructions will be posted each Friday for 5 weeks:

  January 6  Introduction with Fabric Requirements
  January 13  The Shoo Fly Block--Tips and Tricks
  January 20  The Old Italian Block--Tips and Tricks
  January 27  On-Point Setting How-Tos
  February 3  Finishing:  Quilting and Binding
  February 10  A Link-Up Party--Share Your Progress and a Giveaway

The sample is approximately 32" x 40".  Changing border sizes allows you to make it the size you want.  More on changing the size will be presented in Part 4.

Today we talk about fabric selection/requirements.  You can be totally scrappy, using fabrics you have, make all the neutral backgrounds different OR you can use a limited set of fabrics for a more planned effect.  Here are approximate yardages for each style:

                                            Scrappy                                Planned
Neutrals for Blocks
     12   Shoo Fly:               24   3" squares                       1 Fat Quarter
                                           48  2.5" squares                     1 Fat Quarter
      6  Old Italian:               6   5.5" squares                     1 Fat Quarter

Colors for Blocks
     12  Shoo Fly:               24   3" squares                          1 or 2 Fat Quarters
                                          12   2.5" center squares    
       6 Old Italian               24   2" x 5" rectangles              1 Fat Quarter
                                            6   2" center squares

Perimeter Triangles:          1/3 Yard                                  1/3 Yard
  and Corners

NOTE:  If you want ALL your neutrals to be the same fabric, both in the blocks and in the perimeter triangles and corners, 1 Yard will be sufficient.  This will make your colors in the two blocks more prominent, as they will appear to "float" on the background.

For my Step-Out Photos I'll be making a second version, using fabrics from Stella's Splendid Sampler:

This will give you an idea of a scrappy look:

From the two shoe boxes I used to store the many fabrics used in Stella's Splendid Sampler, I selected a soft yellow for the perimeter triangles and corners.  Why?  Because I had 1/3 yard and that is what I needed.  Done.  I think the polka dots will be the neutral backgrounds, I may add one more that is similar.  The gold and orange are the "zingers", the deep red and darkest blue are the "deep darks". I think I need to add a darker green as well so I'll shop in my closet for that.  It may be the fabric for the X in the Old Italian Block.

TIPS for making a Scrappy Quilt look less "chaotic":

Select 3-4 color families, i.e. Red. Blue, Green, Yellow
Select 3-4 fabrics for each family: light, medium, dark
Add at least one "zinger" and one "deep dark" to add brightness and depth
Select 2-3 similar background prints, mix them up if you like. Keep the "tone" the same, like gray, tan, white, or cream--don't mix tones to keep things looking cohesive

I hope you'll join me on this journey as we make a small quilt together.  AND please tell your friends who may want to join us.   This will be like taking a class without leaving your home.

Let's Quilt!

Barbara

Part 2 The Shoo Fly

Cleaning Up Leftovers and a Sneak Peek

After finishing Rajah Revisited:

Rajah Revisited

and Circa 2016:

Circa 2016 

 I have a big pile of leftover pieces, not really yardage, but chunks of many different fabrics, which were used or considered for both of those quilts:

To tame the chaos I decided to cut up all the chunks, the stuff not big enough to be folded and returned to bins in the closet, cutting into sizes I need for two or three ongoing projects.

First, I need more triangles cut for my Lifetime Quilt:

These require strips 1.75" wide and I use a Half-Square Triangle ruler to cut the pairs which finish as 1.25" squares.  More info on my process is here.  Some of the strips cut so far:

Then I decided to cut 1.25" strips for an eventual Log Cabin quilt, with blocks that finish at 5.25":

 AND, I decided to create a quilt for an upcoming Sew-A-Long that will begin in January 2017.  It will be a Teaching Tutorial, with 5 weekly posts that will take you from start to finish and teach things like:

How to Select Scrappy Fabrics OR Not So Scrappy
How to Perfect  Your Piecing
How to Make Two Different Blocks
How to Make an On-Point Setting
How to Float Your Blocks at the Border
How to Accurately Cut and Sew on Borders
How to Apply Binding for Hand or Machine Finishing

Here is your Sneak Peek:

Mine is 33" x 42",  but you can make yours smaller or larger, adjusting borders as you choose.  I guess it's the time of year that this one looks so Christmas-y.  I'll make another for step-by-step photos that will be completely different.  I hope you like it and will plan to join us in January 2017.

Having fabrics cut and ready for various projects is one of the ways I manage to get things done.  If I had to stop and prepare fabrics before I could sew, each time I wanted to sew, it would take a lot longer.  Because the fabrics are ready NOW, I can make use of even short amounts of time, sewing, not cutting or planning.  We'll talk more about those kind of tricks in 2017 too.

Let's Quilt!

Barbara