Community Sampler Week #8

Community Sampler Week #8

Welcome to week #8 of the Community Sampler sew along and the last block in our second column. My co-host and sister Art Gallery Fabrics designer Maureen Cracknell and I are so happy to have you sewing with us!

There are eleven blocks in our quilt and each Wednesday will be a new PDF block release or finishing step for the quilt. If you are just joining us, pick up the Introduction PDF on the Sew Along page and you'll get a material list along with coloring pages so you can get started planning your quilt. Then, work your way through the first Community Sampler post to the present.

Many of the patchwork units (like Quick-Corner, Flying Geese, Half-Square Triangle, and Square-in-Square units) used in this year's sampler have already been oversized to allow for trimming and squaring of units before assembling your block. Please cut your pieces EXACTLY as given in each of the PDF instructions because bumping up the size of the pieces from the measurements give will not bring great results in some cases. Take advantage of my in-blog tutorials for each of the different quilting techniques used in our sampler.

Accurate cutting and use of a true 1/4'' seam allowance is a must for successful patchwork piecing. All your blocks will measure 12-1/2'' square (unfinished). Review how to cut strips, sew with a true 1/4'' seam allowance, and other helpful piecing tips on my "Are You Ready to Sew" post.

Let's start sewing the Weathervane block. Download the free PDF on the Sew Along page.

To make this week's block we will be using techniques we've already played with in earlier Community Sampler blocks. If you'd like to review how to make the Quick-Corner units see the tutorial from Week #2.

If you need a refresher on how to make Half-Square Triangle (HST) units see my in-blog tutorial from Week #3.

For help on controlling those obvious directional prints, read my tutorial from the Sewcial Bee Sampler posts. Remember, these blocks will be set on-point so you may want to fussy cut that center square on-point.

For my sampler quilt I'm using Art Gallery Fabrics Pure Elements solids. Using all solids is a personal challenge for this pattern designer and is not without it's own set of additional challenges because solids are very unforgiving and show every little missed point. Again, this is a good challenge even for a quilter that's been doing this awhile and I will need to take extra care in my stitching!

Art Gallery Fabrics has the most beautiful colors for their solids and of course the quality of the material in un-matched! Above are the color name and sku number information for the fabrics I used in my block. 

Maureen and I both love seeing your blocks you post to Instagram and of course the community of support you give to your fellow CS makers. Be sure to use the #CommunitySampler hashtag when you post to Instagram and tag @maureencracknell and myself @sharonhollanddesigns so we don't miss any of your beautiful blocks.

Don't forget to visit Maureen's blog to see her Weathervane block!

COMMUNITY SAMPLER SPONSORS

Lady Belle Fabric  Omnigrid   Aurifil Thread  Art Gallery Fabrics 

Hobbs Batting  Dritz  Fat Quarter Shop  Bloc-Loc

Don't forget that this Friday's a Giveaway Friday on the Community Sampler sew along. Maureen and I will take turns hosting a giveaway each week where one of our generous sponsors will be featured and offering amazing prizes both here on our blogs and a second chance on Instagram. I will be hosting the giveaway this Friday and you'll be instructed how to enter at that time.

Happy sewing!

Community Sampler Week #2

Community Sampler Week #2

Welcome to the Community Sampler sew along and the first block in our quilt! My co-host and sister Art Gallery Fabrics designer Maureen Cracknell and I are so happy to have you sewing with us!

There are eleven blocks in our quilt and each Wednesday will be a new PDF block release or finishing step for the quilt. If you are just joining us, pick up the Introduction PDF on the Sew Along page and you'll get a material list along with coloring pages so you can get started planning your quilt. 

Many of the patchwork units (like Quick-Corner, Flying Geese, Half-Square Triangle, and Square-in-Square units) used in this year's sampler have already been oversized to allow for trimming and squaring of units before assembling your block. Please cut your pieces EXACTLY as given in each of the PDF instructions because bumping up the size of the pieces in some blocks will not work well.

Accurate cutting and use of a true 1/4'' seam allowance is a must for successful patchwork piecing. All your blocks will measure 12-1/2'' square (unfinished). Review how to cut strips, sew with a true 1/4'' seam allowance, and other helpful piecing tips on my "Are You Ready to Sew" post.

Time to get to our first block, Kitty-Corner. Download the free PDF on the Sew Along page.

For my sampler quilt I'm using Art Gallery Fabrics Pure Elements solids. Using all solids is a personal challenge for this pattern designer and is not without it's own set of additional challenges. See my previous post for the inspiration behind my color palette. I've already made a few of the blocks for this sampler to work ahead and have found that I really need to bring my A-game for piecing because solids are very unforgiving and show every little missed point. Again, this is a good challenge even for a quilter that's been doing this awhile and I will need to take extra care in my stitching!

Quick-Corner Units Lesson

For the Kitty-Corner block I've prepared a supplemental lesson for making Quick-Corner units. The cutting sizes for these units have already been enlarged and you will need to trim and square your unit once assembled. See PDF for full material list and block piecing instructions.

Draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of each 2-3/4'' fabric B square. Noting orientation of the drawn line, place a marked square right sides together on a corner of a 4-3/4'' fabric A square. Sew on the line.

Press fabric flat before proceeding to trimming the corner. Trim 1/4'' past the stitch line. Press corner open. 

Noting orientation of the drawn line, repeat on the other corner with another marked square, stitching on the drawn line. Press to flatten. Trim 1/4'' past the stitch line and press corner open.

One of the wonderful sponsors in this year's sew along is Bloc-Loc. In the first image, I'm using my 2'' x 4'' Flying Geese Bloc-Loc ruler to trim the point edge of my unit and leave the perfect amount of 1/4'' seam allowance. Watch more on the Bloc-Loc video for using the Flying Geese ruler on Square-in-Square units. 

Since this unit needs a little extra care in trimming I've trimmed the remaining sides of the unit with a regular square ruler. I trim one side at a time starting with point edge up. Align the left side of the block with the 4-5/8'' mark on the square ruler (see arrow) and trim 1/8'' off the right side.

Rotate the unit 180° (point edge down) and align the square ruler on the left edge at 4-1/2''. Trim the right side 1/8''.  Finally rotate the block 90° (point edge to the left) and align the square ruler with the point edge at 4-1/2". Trim the right side 1/8". If you're left handed, mirror image these instructions, measuring from the right side and cutting from the left side. 

Your trimmed Quick-Corner unit should measure 4-1/2" square. 

My co-host Maureen Cracknell and I are continually amazed by the joy and excitement each of you bring to our virtual community. Thank you for making this sew along so special. Please visit Maureen's blog and see the progress she's making on her sampler quilt, using her beautiful AGF fabrics Love Story collection. Be sure to use the #CommunitySampler hashtag when posting your blocks to Instagram and tag both my @sharonhollanddesigns and @maureencracknell so we don't miss any of your beautiful work!

You all know I'm passionate about photography. Taking photos is part of our everyday lives and with social media we want to be able to share our very best. I intend to utilize Instagram Stories to bring you some very informal photography tips and tricks and eventually start posting more blog posts dedicated to the subject. See the post titled Flat Lay Photography Tips post I wrote almost 2 years ago. It has some great information to get you started. Be watching both of those platforms for more photography lessons.

You don't need a fancy camera (although it makes life a lot easier) or super expensive gear to get great shots. A little extra time and creativity can result in share worthy images!

Community Sampler Sponsors

Lady Belle Fabric  Omnigrid   Aurifil Thread  Art Gallery Fabrics 

Hobbs Batting  Dritz  Fat Quarter Shop  Bloc-Loc

Don't forget that this Friday's a Giveaway Friday on the Community Sampler sew along. Maureen and I will take turns hosting a giveaway each week where one of our generous sponsors will be featured and offering amazing prizes both here on our blogs and also on Instagram. I will be hosting the giveaway this Friday and you'll be instructed how to enter at that time.

Happy sewing!

Sewcial Bee Sampler Block #6

Hello Sewcial Bee Sampler Makers, it's time to start our second row of blocks!

Since this week's block will be using techniques we've already used in the first five blocks I thought I'd have a little fun and give you some construction options. Go ahead and download block #6--The Seasons from the Sew Along page.

Of course the PDF pattern download has everything you'll need to make the block but I like to add extra tips and hints into my blog post to support beginning quilters. If you're just joining the SBS sew along then you may want to start at the very beginning with the introduction post and work your way up to the present. 

Now that we're on our sixth block, you're probably realizing there's more than one way to make patchwork units. I want to take everything we've learned so far and show you four options to make this week's block using those different techniques. Please excuse my photos this week, I made these at the end of a rainy day yesterday (Tuesday) and the lighting was terrible!

The Seasons

The Seasons block is made up of (4) 2-1/2" squares and (12) 2-1/2" half-square triangles (HST) units for an 8-1/2" block (unfinished and before frames). There's a lot of seams in this block. With that said, I will continue to sound like a broken record each week, and stress the importance of a true 1/4" seam allowance. If your seams are off, even a fraction, that will amount to a big discrepancy in the end because of all the seams involved. If you need to review my tips on how to check your seam allowance refer back to the Perfect Patchwork post. Also remember that if you're not comfortable cutting the pieces to the exact sizes needed per the instructions and would rather square up your units after sewing to size, refer to the SBS Extras post. Just note that if you are adding 1/8" to the squares on the Flying Geese units from block #5, be sure to add 1/8" (.125) to the large square as well to keep everything in porportion.

Option 1:

To make the block as written in the instructions with two different fabrics, follow along with the 2-at-a-time half-square triangle tutorial and make according to the instructions.

Option 2: 

To make the block look more like a compass I decided to add additional fabrics and visually divide up the center of the block in a checkerboard effect. To achieve this I used the 8-at-a-time HST technique from block #1 and the 2-at-a-time HST technique from Block #2.

Cut:

(1) 5-3/4" square fabric A

(1) 2-7/8" square fabric A

(1) 5-3/4" square fabric B

(4) 2-1/2" squares fabric B

(2) 2-7/8" squares fabric C

(1) 2-7/8" square fabric D

This will yield 8 matching HSTs (2-1/2" square unfinished), 2 matching HST units (2-1/2" unfinished) of one combo (mine are navy and weave print) and another 2 matching HST units (2-1/2" unfinished) of another combo (navy and peach) for the center of the block. Assemble the block in the same way as given for block #6 in the PDF.

The Seasons block made with my new Art Gallery Fabrics collection Bountiful and Pure Element solids. Here's what all six of my Bountiful fabrics sampler looks like so far with PE-433 Snow Pure Elements solid frames.

Option 3:

The third way I wanted to play with dividing the four points into four different fabrics. To achieve this look I used the 2-at-a-time HST technique as given in the PDF instructions for this block and from Block #2. 

Cut:

(2) 2-7/8" squares fabric A

(1) 2-1/2" square fabric A

(2) 2-7/8" squares fabric B

(1) 2-1/2" square fabric B

(2) 2-7/8" squares fabric C

(1) 2-1/2" square fabric C

(2) 2-7/8" squares fabric D

(1) 2-1/2" square fabric D

(8) 2-7/8" squares fabric E

Note: This options will leave 4 unused HST units. Sew units and pieces together as given in PDF.

The Seasons block made using fabrics from my Gossamer, Sketchbook, and Tapestry fabric collections for Art Gallery Fabrics. Here's what my Tiny Dancer sampler quilt looks like with all six blocks that also include fabrics from my Coastline collection and the two newly re-colored Gossamer prints in the new AGF Fusions fabrics. These blocks are framed with Speckled Lapis from my Sketchbook fabric collection. Again, sorry about the terrible photography!

Option 4:

This is for all those fussy cutting lovers out there that may want to have a solid center block for to showcase a special print. This option uses the Flying Geese technique from block #5 and a variation of the Quick Corner units from Block #2.

Cut:

(1) 5-1/4" square fabric A

(1) 4-1/2" square fabric A (for center square) Note: This fabric could be a third print (fabric C)

(4) 2-7/8" squares fabric B

(8) 2-1/2" squares fabric B

Make four matching Flying Geese units that measure 2-1/2" x 4-1/2". 

When adding the Quick Corners to the 4-1/2" square, work on diagonally opposite corners when adding fabric. Stitch the small square to the corner of the fussy cut square, trim, and press corner open before adding additional corners. 

To sew an Option 4 block, arrange the Flying Geese units, center square unit, and (4) 2-1/2" squares into 3 rows of 3 units/squares each. Join the rows.

The Seasons block made with my Tapestry and Bountiful fabrics for Art Gallery Fabrics. This is a bonus block and I don't have a third sampler quilt going so this orphan block with get put into something down the line.

I hope with wasn't too confusing?!? I just wanted to show you that the power of knowing different patchwork techniques can help you customize your sewing experience on this sew along. Each week you will have the chance to continue to perfect those skills and grow as a quilter. My co-host Maureen Cracknell and I are continually amazed by the beautiful blocks being posted every week and the joy and excitement each of you bring to our virtual community. Thank you for making this sew along so special. Please be sure to visit Maureen's blog and see the progress she's making on her sampler quilts, she's making two as well using her beautiful AGF fabric collections. 

Aurifil      Circa 15      The Intrepid Thread      Fat Quarter Shop      Omnigrid      Llama Fabrics      Color Girl     Lady Belle Fabric      Needle in a Fabric Stash      Dritz      Knotted Thread    NeedleandFoot      Stash Builder Box

Also, don't forget that Friday is Giveaway Friday and this week Maureen will be hosting the giveaway from her blog. We've got a great giveaway planned from Intrepid Thread I know you'll not want to miss! 

Sewcial Bee Sampler Block #2

Sewcial Bee Sampler Block #2

So, how'd everyone like the first week of the Sewcial Bee Sampler sew along? Both Maureen and I are blown away by the response and all the beautiful week one Patience Corners blocks. You guys are amazing! Keep up the posting to Instagram and be sure to use the #sewcialbeesampler hashtag so we can easily keep track of all the posts AND public IG accounts that use the official sew along hashtag are automatically entered into all our IG giveaway drawings!

It's been so fun to see the personal touches you've put into fabric choices and fabric placement on the first block. Many of you even made more than one! A question that came up a lot last week was about selecting the framing fabric. I suggested to several to possibly hold off in making that decision now, and rather wait till you've made more blocks to get the bigger picture. My co-host Maureen Cracknell and I are constantly monitoring Instagram to help you with your SBS sewing. We try to see it all and comment in someway, but bare with us as we are getting a bit swamped by the huge success of the sew along!

Ready for block #2--It's a dandy!

Get the free download for block #2 A Dandy on my Sew Along download page. Remember, you can start the Sewcial Bee Sampler sew along at any time, just download the available patterns and jump right in!

This week we will be utilizing two patchwork sewing techniques in block #2. I've prepared some step by step images for you and of course, this same information is illustrated and written down in the download material. 

I was lucky enough to get the advance yardage rolls of my new Bountiful fabrics for Art Gallery Fabrics! I'm making my sampler in my new collection and will also use AGF Pure Element solids for my frames and sashing. Bountiful will be in shops next month.

Tutorials

Half-Square Triangle Units

Since we only need 4 half-square triangle (HST) units in this block, we will be using a more traditional, 2-at-a-time HST method. 

1. Draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of a square, as indicated by the pattern. Place a marked square right sides together with a same-size square. Sew a 1/4" seam on each side of the drawn line. I like to press my stitched squares so everything's nice and flat before moving on to Step 2.

2. Cut apart on the line. Open and press. Trim dog ears. Makes 2 half-square triangle (HST) units. 

Quick Corner Units

I'd rather waste a little bit of material than sew on a bias cut edge. Quick corners allow you to sew on straight-of-grain pieces before trimming and flipping out the triangle corners. Here's how to sew them:

1. Draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of a square as indicated by the pattern. Noting orientation of the drawn line, place the marked square on a corner of shape indicated in the pattern. Sew on the drawn line. Tip: Sewing just outside the line on the corner side will keep the unit square.  Trim 1/4" past the stitch line. Press corner open. 

2. Noting orientation of the drawn line, repeat on the other corner as shown. Trim seam allowance and press corner open. Note: It's very important you press open the first corner before sewing on the second corner. Let's just put it this way, you'll know exactly why I mention this if you've forgotten :)

Here's my finished block # 2, I can't wait to see what you make! Don't forget to visit Maureen Cracknell's blog to see how she's sewn her A Dandy block. Maureen will be also be hosting this week's Giveaway Friday from our sponsor The Intrepid Thread--I know you'll not want to miss that!

Happy sewing xxxx

Thanks to our generous sponsors, each Friday Maureen and I will alternate hosting a giveaway of amazing prizes. Be sure to follow this blog and at Maureen Cracknell Handmade so you never miss a single SBS thing!

Aurifil      Circa 15      The Intrepid Thread      Fat Quarter Shop      Omnigrid      Llama Fabrics      Color Girl     

Lady Belle Fabric      Needle in a Fabric Stash      Dritz      Knotted Thread