April - Botanical Garden Quilt

Let's hurry the arrival of spring by making a classic 16-patch block with pretty floral fabrics of any color. Green foliage is good too. Use 2.5" wide strips. Have any jelly rolls handy?

Cut two strips: 2.5" x 42. (These will yield two blocks.) Then cut them in half on the fold (above). Sew two strips together lengthwise. Then cut the sewn strip in half lengthwise (below).

Place the two units together and sew (above). Press all 3 seams in the same direction.

Cut into 4 strips: 2.5" wide (above).

Turn two strips upside-down (above), making a checkerboard.

Sew the strips together. Press.

Enter the drawing once for each block that you contribute. 

This will make a beautiful springtime quilt!

Happy quilting!

September 2015 - Hashtag!

Start with a 6" square cut from solid white, off-white, or a very light print.

Cut 4 strips: 1.25" x 7.5" from a colorful print.

Cut the square in thirds vertically (2" x 6").

Insert two colored strips. Press seams toward the print.

Cut the square in thirds horizontally. Insert two strips. Press.

Trim to 6" x 6."

Enter your name in the drawing once for each block that you bring to the September meeting. You might be well on your way to making a new quilt! Enjoy!

September 2014 - Lamps!

Take a look at your fabric stash to see what interesting lamps you might have in there. 

This is a quick and easy block. Our collection of blocks will make a fabulous quilt!

You could add a finial if you're so inclined. This lamp looks like a game board piece.

Directions:

1. Cut a white (or parchment, ivory etc.) square 10" x 10" for the foundation.
2. Cut a 6" x 3.5" rectangle for the lampshade. Fold in half. Cut a curved or straight line as shown above.
3. Cut a 5" x 5" square for the lamp base. Fold in half. Cut as shown above. Cutting so that the lamp base is skinny at the top makes the lampshade fit gracefully.
4. Using a glue stick or pins, secure the lamp base and shade to the foundation. Machine applique about 1/4" from the edges. 

The winner of all the blocks will have a very interesting lamp gallery quilt! Shown above are the blocks that I made to be sure that this block is fun to make. And I assure you that it is!

June Block: French Macarons!

This is a quick and easy raw-edge applique block. Start with a 6" square and a 4 3/4" diameter circle (trace a CD to get the right size circle). Use a glue stick to hold the circle in place in the center of the square.

Topstitch the circle to the square using a straight stitch, buttonhole stitch, or a zig-zag stitch, as shown below. (I used a straight stitch, so I sewed around the circle twice, about 1/4" from the edge.)

After sewing, press. Then cut the square in half, horizontally, as shown below. Turn the bottom rectangle upside-down and sew the two together so that the block looks like the one at the top of this post.

FABRIC RECIPE: Choose prints and/or solids in tasty colors. Think: pink and red fruits, lemon, grape, orange, coffee, chocolate, etc. Also lacy prints, damasks, stripes, little dots, pastels. See the colorful macarons and my quilt in-the-works below.

Enter your name in the drawing once for each block that you bring to the June meeting.

Have fun!