Sewcial Bee Sampler Block #24

Sewcial Bee Sampler Block #24

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This is our second to last block and many of you are wondering about how to put your quilts together and the finishing. Here's the breakdown: Next Wednesday will be our last block release. The following Wednesday (the last week of July) we will post the instructions for Assembling and Finishing your quilt. This will include how to add the sashing, layering the quilt sandwich, and binding. The very first Wednesday of August will be reveal week so everyone can show off their finished quilts, quilt tops, or progress so far. There will be a grand finale prize package on the last Giveaway Friday that will knock your socks off, so stick around, we're almost there!

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As we near the end of this incredible journey, my co-host, Maureen Cracknell and I are thinking about future collaborations. The success of the Sewcial Bee Sampler (SBS) has been phenomenal and mostly because of your participation and the remarkable community you've created out of this sew along.  

To help us better understand what you're looking for in a future sew along, Maureen and I have prepared an 8 question survey. This quick questionnaire is completely anonymous and your answers will give us better insight into serving your needs as a quilter. To ensure the most accurate results, please only take the survey once. Many thanks to those who've participated in the SBS questionnaire already. If you've not yet had a chance to take the survey, please do, we're only keeping it open now through the end of the SBS sew along and then we'll close the survey. The link provided on both our blogs will link to the same survey. So, if you access the questionnaire from either Maureen's site or mine, your answers are compiled to the same place.  

I'm not sure how many new Makers we've got joining our sew along at this late point but anyone just starting may want to take advantage of the in-blog tutorials for the different patchwork techniques used throughout the Sewcial Bee Sampler. Pick up tips and block variations beginning with the first blog post The Start of Something Sewcial. Both Maureen and I will leave all the SBS downloads up on our blogs for you to download long after this event is done. 

Time to get sewing this week's block #24--Crosses and Losses. Download the free PDf for the blocks on my Sew Along page.

According to The Denver Post, Crosses and Losses was first published December 6, 1931 and credited to Ruby Short McKIm.

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[media-credit name=”Denver Post File” align=”aligncenter” width=”495″][/media-credit] 

Have to love the add for developing your bust for $1--totally over priced if you ask me! Anyway, back to the block, instead of cutting out the individual shapes for our block like the original pattern, we utilize the 2-at-a-time Half Square Triangle (HST) technique in two different sizes. Refer back to our past tutorial if you need a refresher on how to make your units. We will be making 2-1/2" and 4-1/2" (unfinished) HST units for this block. Be mindful and accurate with your seam allowance for maintaining the points of the units when assembling. 

For my Crosses and Losses block I'm using prints from my Bountiful fabrics collection and Pure Elements solids both from Art Gallery Fabrics and decided to incorporate 4 prints as a variation on the PDF pattern instructions for 3 prints. To find shops that carry my Bountiful fabrics, visit my Shop Fabrics page. If you'd like to make this variation you will need to cut the following:

(2) 2-7/8" squares and (4) 2-1/2" squares fabric A

(1) 4-7/8" square fabric B

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

(1) 4-7/8" square fabric D

I know I've said this before but now that we have 24 blocks done, I can safely say THIS is my favorite block! I think what I like best is how I used the different prints and the scale of the prints to add depth. There's something very pleasing to me about how it all came together with it's contrast and texture.

This last photo was a great op to show off my little (live) succulent plant in the cement pot I got for $1 on clearance. Now that's a better way to spend $1 rather than on bust development!!!!!

Don't forget that this Friday's Giveaway Friday and this week Maureen be hosting the giveaway from her blog. We've got a great giveaway planned from Lady Belle Fabrics you won't want to miss!

Sewcial Bee Sampler Block #21

Sewcial Bee Sampler Block #21

Here we are, ready to start the last row of our sampler quilt! As we near the end of this incredible journey, my co-host, Maureen Cracknell and I are looking to future collaborations together. The success of the Sewcial Bee Sampler (SBS) has been phenomenal and mostly because of your participation and the remarkable community you've created out of this sew along.  

To help us better understand what you're looking for in a future sew along, Maureen and I have prepared an 8 question survey. This quick questionnaire is completely anonymous and your answers will give us better insight into serving your needs as a quilter. To ensure the most accurate results, please only take the survey once. Many thanks to those who've participated in the SBS questionnaire already. If you've not yet had a chance to take the survey, please do, we're only keeping it open now through the end of the SBS sew along and then we'll close the survey. The link provided on both our blogs will link to the same survey. So, if you access the questionnaire from either Maureen's site or mine, your answers are compiled to the same place.  

We still have a few new Makers joining our sew along and Maureen and I couldn't be more proud of all the gorgeous blocks and the remarkable community that's being built from this sew along. Anyone just joining us may want to take advantage of the in-blog tutorials for the different patchwork techniques used throughout the Sewcial Bee Sampler. Pick up tips and block variations beginning with the first blog post The Start of Something Sewcial.

Time to get sewing this week's block #21--Hourglass. Download the free PDf for the blocks on my Sew Along page.

For the Hourglass block we use three different techniques. 2-at-a-time Half-Square Triangle (HSTs) units, No-Waste Flying Geese units, and Square in Square units. Today's tutorial will be about making Square in Square units. If you need a refresher on how to make the other units used in this block, use the links above to previous tutorials. You may also want to review working with directional prints when making different units.

Square in Square Units

Draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of each 2-1/2" square. Noting orientation, place a marked square right sides together on a corner of the 4-1/2" square. Sew just a needles worth outside the line on the corner side to keep the unit square. Press to set the seam. Trim 1/4" past the stitching. 

Press corner open. Noting orientation, repeat on the diagonally opposite corner. Press. Trim and press corner open. In the same manner, add squares to the remaining corners. Note: It's very important to only add one corner at a time, press to set seam, trim, and press corner open before adding more marked squares to the remaining corners. 

Because you're simply replacing the corners of the original 4-1/2" square with a second material, the Square in Square unit does not change size and should measure 4-1/2" square when the unit is completed. To better understand the sizes of the unfinished units (the size of unit before sewing into a block), look at how the individual units fit together. Since the center Square in Square is 4-1/2" square, we then can guess the size of the finished Flying Geese units to measure 4-1/2" long by 2-1/2" high. Same goes for the corner HST units. They should measure 2-1/2" square. The Hourglass block, once sewn together, will measure 8-1/2" square before adding the frames. To double check your piecing, you will always know the square size of the block (with frames) by looking at the smallest frame length listed on the instructions. Our sampler has 20 blocks with frames and the five without frames and all should measure 12-1/2" square (unfinished) once and before setting into the final sashing at the end. 

This sampler quilt is pieced using fabrics from my Bountiful collection and Pure Elements solids from Art Gallery Fabrics. Find where to shop online for my prints by using the handy Shop Fabrics page on this blog. Right now, Llama Fabrics has a 30% off sale going on!

I liked this Square in Square unit so much that I went back to block #9-Wedding Ring and replaced the center with a Square in Square unit. It's the same size as we made for this week's block. Here you can see an example of a block with a frame and a block without a frame being the same 12-1/2" square (unfinished) size once assembled. 

It's very exciting to see projects popping up all over the interweb made from my Bountiful fabrics. I have made several quilts that will be featured in magazines over the next few months and love getting a copy of the magazine in the mail. This week I was so pleased to see my Staggered Tin Tiles quilt on the newsstands and part of the July/August 2017 issue of Modern Patchwork. 

Staggered Tin Tiles by Sharon Holland

Staggered Tin Tiles by Sharon Holland

Don't forget that this Friday's Giveaway Friday and this week I will be hosting the giveaway from this blog. We've got a great giveaway planned from Needle and Foot you won't want to miss!

Sewcial Bee Sampler Block #20

Sewcial Bee Sampler Block #20

Can you believe we're finishing the fourth row? Block #20 out of 25 and our sampler quilts are really taking on shape! 

Sewcial Bee Sampler large white banner-01.jpg

As we near the end of this incredible journey, my co-host, Maureen Cracknell and I are looking to future collaborations together. The success of the Sewcial Bee Sampler (SBS) has been phenomenal and mostly because of your participation and the remarkable community you've created out of this sew along.  

To help us better understand your future needs in a sew along, Maureen and I have prepared an 8 question survey. This quick questionnaire will give us insight to better serve your needs as a quilter. To ensure the most accurate results, please only take the survey once. The link provided on both our blogs will link to the same survey. So, if you access the questionnaire from either Maureen's site or mine, your answers are compiled to the same place.  

We still have a few new Makers joining our sew along and Maureen and I couldn't be more proud of all the gorgeous blocks and the remarkable community that's being built from this sew along. Anyone just joining us may want to take advantage of the in-blog tutorials for the different patchwork techniques used throughout the Sewcial Bee Sampler. Pick up tips and block variations beginning with the first blog post The Start of Something Sewcial.

Time to get sewing this week's block #20--Irish Chain Variation. Download the free PDf for the blocks on my Sew Along page.

An Irish Chain block is an old design that really shines when multiple blocks are sewn together and a new secondary chain is created. I like the diagonal element this block it brings to our sampler quilt as well as being a great basic block with simple piecing of squares. 

I'm using prints from my Bountiful fabrics collection from Art Gallery Fabrics and deviated from the PDF pattern by adding a third fabric and reducing some of the single squares into rectangles for less piecing. If you'd like to make this variation you will need to cut:

  • (4) 2-1/2" x 6-1/2" rectangles fabric A

  • (4) 2-1/2" squares and (8) 1-1/2" squares fabric B

  • (5) 2-1/2" squares and (8) 1-1/2" squares fabric C

Photo by Alexis Wright

Photo by Alexis Wright

To find online shops that carry Bountiful as well my other Art Gallery Fabrics collections, visit my Shop Fabrics page. 

Don't forget that this Friday's Giveaway Friday and this week Maureen be hosting the giveaway from her blog. We've got a great giveaway planned you won't want to miss!