UPDATING TUTORIALS

CAPITAL 'T'

Capital T Block Tutorial

18" finished block

All seams are a scant 1/4” unless otherwise noted

Cutting:

Background Fabric

(1) 6 1/2"

(1) 6-7/8" x 13-3/4"

(8) 3-1/2" x 6-1/2" 

Feature Fabric

(1) 6-7/8" x 13-3/4" 

(16)3-1/2"

Assembly:

This block is put together in two simple units: A and B

Unit A

1. Place the two 6 7/8" x 13 3/4" rectangles with right sides together, lightest of the two fabrics on top. Lightly draw a straight line 6 7/8" from the short edge dividing the rectangle in half and forming two squares. Then draw two diagonal lines through the center of the two squares, sew a 1/4" away from the diagonal line on both sides.

2. Cut the rectangles apart on the drawn lines creating four half square triangle components. Press the seams to the lighter fabric. The finished units should measure 6 1/2".

Unit B

1. Lightly mark a line from one corner to the opposite corner on the wrong side of the sixteen 3 1/2" squares of the feature fabric.

2. Take a 3 1/2" feature square and place it, right sides together, on top of one of the 3 1/2" x 6 1/2" background fabric rectangle matching edges and making sure that the diagonal line runs as shown. Sew on the marked line. Repeat with the remaining seven 3 1/2" x 6 1/2" background rectangles and seven more of the 3 1/2" marked squares.

3. Cut 1/4" away from the sewn line as shown. Press the seam toward the focus fabric.

4. Take the remaining eight 3 1/2" feature fabric squares and place them on the units created in Step 3, right sides together, so that the marked diagonal line is as shown. Sew on the line.

5.  Cut 1/4" away from the sewn line as shown. Press the seam toward the feature fabric. One "geese" unit is completed. This unit should measure 3 1/2" x 6 1/2".

Putting The Block Together:

1. Join two of the geese units (B) created together as shown. Press seam away from the point of the geese. Repeat with the remaining six geese units to create a total of four new units. These units should measure 6 1/2" square.

2. Join the top and bottom Block rows by piecing two right triangle squares with one of the geese units as shown. Press seams toward the right triangle squares.

3. Create the middle row of the block by joining the last two geese units with the remaining 6 1/2" background square. Complete the Capital T Block by joining the three rows as shown. 

The complete quilt Block should measure 18 1/2" square which includes a 1/4" seam allowance on all sides.

STITCHING UP A STORM

On A Rainy Wednesday

Firstly I really must apologise for being so quiet lately, I haven't been idol - in fact quite the opposite - however I have had some happy life changes so my attention hasn't totally been focused on quilting!! 

The epic African/Colonial adventure is still on going, getting bigger and bigger and at the moment is looking like this

As previously stated I have been quilting up a storm today - my first day off in ages where I could literally stay in my pjs and sew all day - and what better way to start than with a Blackford Beauty?? Well 4 of them actually, all 16inch squares as well!! I know, I know I said no more squares, but I seem to be plagued by them, they appear in every bloody block I want to use for this quilt. Although thankfully this time the smallest ones were 2 1/2"  

so completely manageable.

For this block a selection of prints and solids works well to highlight the overall design of the inner star and the internal square borders, 5 different colours/ fabrics in total. 56 2 1/2" squares and 8 2 1/2" by 6 1/2" rectangles are needed for each block, I made 4 of them so yes I did in fact cut out another 224 squares......

Most of the squares are stitched together to form a series of nine patches, with the centres being a four patch. I have to admit that it's true what they say, "practise does make perfect", most of my seems and points matched like a dream and as you all know I do struggle with accuracy and being neat!!

The remaining pieces are used to form flying geese style units (grrrrrrr) which are then stitched together to make these arrow head units, I was very impressed with the ease in which they came together - once I had stopped stitching them upside down that is!! It is actually a very simple block to follow, with clear instructions and almost blonde proof diagrams as well.

I had originally intended for the stars to be the lighter colour and the backgrounds darker, but changed my mind last minute mostly due to fabric quantities and the fact that a large portion of the quilt is already in shades of brown, cream and tan. I think the dark red has worked well, it certainly 'pops' more against the lighter background colour's.

The backing fabric is this crazy African print my Mom bought for me when she went on holiday earlier this year, it's really funky up close, lots of patterns in patterns. I went for a very simple quilting approach, stitching around the inner stars and arrow heads as well as a small section of the outer square design. Overall I am really happy with how it has turned out, and will definitely be making some of these blocks again.

Happy Quilting

Kerry xx

WEEKEND REVIEW

Such A Clever Bunch

Regular readers will know that once a month a group of my gal pals and I meet up in the Surrey Hills for a good old stitch and bitch, this Saturday was the day and where we haven't all been together as a whole for a while, there was a whole lot of bitchin to catch up on.....don't worry there was a lot of stitchin as well.

I don't think I say often enough how inspiring I find these five, amazing ladies I am lucky to call my friends, the things they create and come up with honestly are beautiful. It always amazes me how very different we are, our tastes in fabric and patterns vary quite dramatically at times, yet there are things we are very much united in....a strong dislike for needle turn applique and a great love of cake!

This month once again we were all working on a variety of totally different projects, some of which I have now added to my quilty bucket list and some I will totally pass on but can appreciate the great work that has gone into it. 

First up Val and her Christmas Quilt,

Predominantly Log Cabin based this is a quilt kit Val picked up from Patchwork Cabin in Great Bookham, it was originally put together as a Block of the Month but can now be bought as a pattern or a kit. The pictures don't do it enough justice, it really is something to look at, the corners meet up perfectly and those little houses are just divine!!

Adorned with a variety of seasonal objects such as holly leaves and a giant Christmas trees, applique also forms a big part of this quilt. It looks like a good project if you want to try out a range of new techniques, or perfect them if you already have some experience there.

Next up Caroline and a whole lot of crazy, tiny squares, even tinier than mine so even though I may have rubbed off on her a little bit, she's crazier than me!!

The cause of these tiny squares is a Hoffman Bali Pop and a style of quilting called Bargello, the nature of it being focused on colour placement, very accurate cutting and matching of seams.

Caroline decided this wasn't enough of a challenge, so she is doing it all half size, which means her squares are only 1 inch in size!! I just can not wait to see how this will turn out. 

Kerry Q started out the day making some cushions for her lovely new house, out of this divine Art Gallery fabric we found last year at Festival, a simple quilted square with a concealed zip

And she finished the day on this darling little quilt called Robot Riot which she picked up from Creative Quilting, again last year at Festival if memory serves...

Aren't they so cute?? There are kits available but Kerry has chosen to use up existing fabrics she already has and added in some fat quarters in modern prints/colours to tie it altogether. The quilt itself is very versatile and can be put together in a variety of ways, but fundamentally it is an applique based quilt. 

Carrie was busy working on a quilt for her son, who has now got into Uni and will be going in a few weeks, so now she really has to get a wriggle on!! It is a very simple square design but the modern fabrics and colour way really bring the whole thing to life.

Sue's life has totally been taken over by Foundation Piecing, not that I blame her, it is a totally amazing way to generate beautiful patterns and designs!! This weeks adventures came out of Jen Kingwell's new book Quilt Lovely and is called Wheel of Fortune

Using Road Fifteen by Sweet Water, she's also been making these funky circles, totally can not pick my favourite colour way, I just love them all

I wasn't totally idol either, I cut out all the bits I needed to make a Mariners Compass (maybe my most fav block ever!) and a few border blocks as fillers for the medallion edges to the African quilt, 

Until next time, 

Happy Quilting

Kerry xx

AFRICA DOWN UNDER

With A Colonial Twist

A couple of months ago it was decided that some of my family from Australia would be coming over for a summer holiday (lets hope they bring back the sunshine), they asked me to make them a quilt reflecting our African roots but that wouldn't look out of place in the classic, colonial style decor of the intended room. Being more of a reload than retreat kind of gal, I accepted the challenge and whilst I have still got a way to go, I thought you might just like to see my progress so far.....

small selection of African fabrics

My first thought was how am I going to mix these two rather different themes together? Starting with the obvious I went in search of African style fabrics, being careful not to make it to cliche I opted for small, fairly broad prints, in mostly neutral colors. My thinking was that I would use them in small doses, more as an accent rather than the feature, and use traditional block layouts and designs to bring the elements together.

I just love this block, it is one from the Modern Quilting Bee book I have blogged about before, but in case you missed that post, you can find it here. Surprisingly it comes together really quickly and with some fussy cutting the whole design can totally change.

 I have done and am continuing to do a lot of research for this project, part of the fun for me is in researching different ideas and trying something new, there are an infinite number of blocks and combinations out there to choose from, some of which seem impossible but as I said earlier "reload not retreat". I do so love a challenge and to push my skill set, so on occasion madness strikes me and I will try to make something I have seen without having a pattern for it....going old school with graph paper and a pencil!! Don't get me wrong I am in no ways a pro (yet) but this time I struck it lucky and the block worked.

The aforementioned picture

The finished result

You can never beat some classic log cabin either so I threw some of that into the mix as well. You may notice the African twist in there, although in terms of general color I have tried to keep it calm and neutral with a few accent shades to lift the blocks and bring the two themes together. I am not quite sure if it is working but I am pleased with what I have done so far, all the points and joins meet where they should so right now I am winning!!

I haven't exactly decided on a layout for this quilt, or where to place the blocks, however as I previously said I do so love a challenge, so below is a photo of the 2025 squares all 1 1/2 inches in size that I have cut out.....Kerry Q refused to help me, but whatever could they be for?? I am afraid you will just have to wait and see.

The point where madness set in

Happy Quilting

Kerry xx