Choices

I recently saw a picture of an old quilt and decided I wanted to figure out how it was made. Before I knew what was happening, I had 24 blocks done! The old quilt in the picture had the blocks set solid without sashing and without borders. I really didn't want to match up all the points on the edges, plus there would be a lot of bulk where the points meet, so I decided to use some sashing. I thought the bright pink would brighten up the blocks which turned out a little more blah than I had envisioned. Of course, the problem I run into when I really have little or no plan is that the planning part of my brain is slow to catch up with the cutting and sewing part! I want to add some cornerstones but can't decide on the color. I thought maybe I could lay out two rows of blocks with a strip of sashing and insert little squares of my two choices and take a picture of it. Sometimes looking at a picture makes it easier to decide--at least for me. Anyhow, I am posting the pictures of both options and asking for opinions. Please feel free to leave a comment and let me know which color cornerstones looks better.


Option 1:



Option 2:



Thanks!
Carolyn

June Block of the Month

Here's the BOM for June. It's a ten-inch block from Quilterscache I really like called Marion's Choice. Here's a link for the instructions:
http://www.quilterscache.com/M/MarionsChoiceBlock.html

It's all 2" squares and half-sqaure triangles so nothing we haven't already been doing. The way they're arranged makes a really nice block. You might want to keep the picture handy while you're sewing the block. I didn't the first time and managed the get the half-square trianges upside down when I made the first row. It was easy to correct

after I looked at the picture. I spressed the rows

with the patches going away from the half-square
triangles, and I pressed the middle row with the
patches going toward the outer patches and
toward the red center patch. Sorry I didn't take a
pic showing how I pressed it, but here's a pic of
the finished block.



Until next time,
Carolyn

May 2009 Block of the Month #2

The next May block is called Baton Rouge. It’s another 10” block from Quilterscache. Here’s a link to the instructions:

http://www.quilterscache.com/B/BatonRougeSquareBlock.html

I followed the block instructions on the Quilterscache page so I won't duplicate the steps here, but here's a pic of how the individual patches look laid out after the half-square triangles are made:

The instructions will tell you to press each row in alternating directions, but I did make a small deviation on that step. I prefer to press away from each half-square triangle if I can do it without having seams facing the same directions when I put the rows together. I think it reduces the bulk at the intersections, and it also lets you see the intersection of the sewn thread lines so you can cross the seam exactly at the intersection point. Doing this prevents points from being "chopped off". Here's a pic of the wrong side of my rows after pressing:

And, here's the completed block:

Happy sewing,

Carolyn

May 2009 Block of the Month #1

Sorry this is late....I have been having camera problems not to mention life problems in general.

Quilterscache has a new ten inch block called Grandmother’s Puzzle which will be our first block of the month for May. Here’s a link to the instructions:

http://www.quilterscache.com/G/GrandmothersPuzzleBlock.html

And, here’s the pic of mine:



It looks a little complicated with those large triangles, but they are actually pieced from a square and two smaller triangles, so you can just make half square triangles and piece the block by rows. Give it a try!

Carolyn

April BOM #2

How about another Block of the Month for April? In the post for the first April block, I had suggested playing around with the colors on the Cain and Abel block to see what other combinations might appeal to you. I was looking through the blocks on Quilterscache, and it looks like someone else had the same idea way back in time and came up with a block called The Wishing Ring. (Click on the Quilterscache link to get the instructions.)

All the patches, as well as how they're arranged, are the same as the Cain and Abel block, just the arrangement of color is different......hmmm, wonder how many other looks you could get from this idea?

Hope you have fun with this one!

Carolyn

Happy Easter

Easter blessings to all!

Carolyn

April Block of the Month

Okay, here I am, running late on the April block of the month. I had actually chosen a block for April some time ago, and then I promptly forgot about it. Yesterday morning in church, Pastor had a reference to Cain and Abel in his sermon, and I felt my short-term memory click into place. The block for April is a traditional one (instructions from Quilterscache) called Cain and Abel. It's another 10" block and I took a pic of the pieces laid out before I started sewing.



You can maybe tell from my patches that I didn't exactly follow the directions in the link. Since I was in a hurry to get the block done, I cut 2.5" strips of everything and used my easy angle ruler to cut the triangles. That's the way I most often make half-square triangles, so that's the fastest way for me. Here's a pic showing how I pressed each row after sewing the pieces together:






I'm a big advocate in putting a little thought into pressing because I like the block intersections to snug up against each other when I sew the rows together (seams going in opposing directions).

If you are making this one, you might want to play with the colors. I had originally made different choices on the colors, but after laying the individual patches out to see how it looked, I changed my mind and this is how the block ended up:

Please feel free to leave a comment, and if you make the block, I'd love to see a picture!

Carolyn