My Patchwork Quilt: 30-Block Exchange

Showing posts with label 30-Block Exchange. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 4, 2022

BLOCK 28: GRANDMOTHER'S CHOICE BLOCK

The way the 30 - Block Exchange Group works that I am a member of is there are thirty people in the group and each person makes 30 blocks. They can be the same block or different ones. I chose to make thirty different blocks. We were given three months to make the blocks and then a month to get them mailed out. One block is not mailed out as it is your 30th block.

This block was intended to be my kept block. I have always wanted to make a black and white quilt with a little splash of red. I have been gathering different prints for several years now. This block contains some of those prints. Don't ask me how I did it, but somehow I miscounted my blocks. One thing that caused some confusion with me was when someone dropped out and then a week or so ago, we realized another person had dropped out, I think. I'm still confused.

Anyway, I thought I was finishing with my Scrappy Log Cabin Heart block, but last night I rechecked my records and realized I had not sent one of one of the ladies. Her block was so beautiful that she sent me, I decided I had to send her my saved one. It looks different, but really isn't. Besides I have more of the prints, so I can make myself another one. I hope she likes it as much as I do.

HOW TO MAKE GRANDMOTHER'S CHOICE BLOCK

(using a 1/4" seam with four prints)

CHOOSE a focal print, a light background print with a darker design, and two different prints with the darker color in the light print - one slightly darker than the other one

From the background print

CUT four (4) - 2" x 3.5" rectangles

two (2) - 2" x 6.5" rectangles

two (2) - 2" x 9" rectangles

four (4) - 2" x 9.5" squares

From the focal print

CUT one (1) - 3.5" square (fussy cut)

four (4) - 2" squares (fussy cut)

From the medium print

CUT four (4) - 2" squares

From the other medium print

CUT four (4) - 3.5" squares

CUT four (4) - 2" squares (I fussy cut them from the focal print)

The four fussy cut 2" squares for the outer corners.

First arrange the center 9 - patch on the design wall.

SEW the center together as you would a 9-Patch. (If you have questions, ask below in the comment section.)

PRESS the seams as pictured here basically toward the darker print for the rows. Then I pressed the rows toward the center row.

SQUARE the center section to 6.5". TRIM off any excess.

Back on the design wall with the first row of borders. Start with the side borders.

Then sew the top and bottom ones on. You might be able to see in the picture that after sewing the side borders on, the right side looks a little short

so I decided to check the width of the center section before sewing the top and bottom borders on.

Don't let the picture confuse you, this is the center section; I just turned it on my cutting board so I could cut it better.

The wrong side to show the pressing. I usually PRESS toward the added strip. That seems to be the way the seam wants to lay.

Back on the design wall with the next added pieces.

DRAW diagonal lines on the wrong side of each 3.5" square from the second medium print, a little darker overall than the other medium print.

I realized the finished portion needed to be SQUARED UP and TRIMmed to 9.5" so I did that first and

then placed the squares over the corners on the portion as pictured. SEW with only one on at a time to make sure you have the square exactly over the corner.

Then TRIM the outer portion of the corners 1/4" from the sewed line

and

PRESS toward the darker print.

Now for the last border and start with the side borders first (9.5" rectangles). PRESS toward the added strip.

Earlier I said I fussy cut the squares from the focal print. If you are not familiar with fussy cutting, this is what your fabric make look like after you have cut the squares. It wasn't easy to find a complete flower since the square was only 2".

On the design wall to see the best arrangement for the corner squares.
You will SEW the corner stones on the ends of the top and bottom rectangles. This time though PRESS the seam toward the rectangle so you can "nest" the seams when you SEW them to the block.

PRESS seams toward the outer border.

The last thing to do is to SQUARE the block to 12.5" and TRIM off any excess.

The finished block.

OTHER BLOCK PATTERNS YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN:

Block #31 Log Cabin Quilt Block

Block #1 Disappearing Nine-Patch Quilt Block

Block #2 Woven Ribbon

Block #3 Blue Skies

Block #4 Time in the Garden

Block #5 Double Pinwheel

Block #6 Patience Corners

Block #7 Janice's Tulip

Block #8 Sadie's Paddle Wheel

BLOCK #9 MORNING HAS BROKEN

Block # 10 HEATHER'S PENNSYLVANIA

BLOCK # 11 FAMILY REUNION

BLOCK #12 SUZETTE'S INDIANA PUZZLE

BLOCK #13 OH SUSANNA

BLOCK #14 YANKEE PUZZLE

BLOCK #15 SARA'S CHOICE

BLOCK #16 A STROLL THROUGH THE FLOWER GARDEN

BLOCK #17 SEW-SAW BLOCK

BLOCK #18 ASSORTED TAFFY

BLOCK #19 SUNFLOWER STAR

BLOCK #20 RIGHT HAND OF FRIENDSHIP

BLOCK #21 PEACE

BLOCK #22 MY COUNTRY STAR

BLOCK #23 DO RE MI

BLOCK #24 TWISTED BOWTIES

BLOCK #25 SPRINGTIME

Monday, May 2, 2022

BLOCK 27: SCRAPPY LOG CABIN HEART

This block was one of the first ones I made.. Not sure why I waited until the end here to write the tutorial for it. It might have been when I saw that many of the other ladies were mailing their blocks out early that I realized I wanted to enjoy it a little longer. It has been hard giving away some of the blocks I have made, I admit. But it helps receiving awesome ones from the ladies. Right now I have 18 blocks. My design wall is full.

I really liked this block when I found it because I had spent all fall making a Log Cabin queen sized quilt for a cousin of my husbands for Christmas. I also was hoping this activity would use up some of my scraps and stash. Well, I have used up some of my scraps, but the stash is still there since it doesn't take much to make one block. I did go into my stash for this block because I needed fourteen (14) different prints. I chose red prints but the day I made the block I received the same block in blues from one of the ladies.

On my drawing of the block, I numbered the pieces in the order in which they are sewn. It also has two "starts" as it represents the heart and a heart has two chambers. You might notice when you look at the drawing that I did not number the corners on strips 8, 12, and 15. The print for 13 you will notice in the picture is the same print for these corners. You may sew the corners on just before you add each of these three (3) strips or you can sew them on the strips to begin with and just put them on the design wall in there place. I added them all first as you will see in my instructions. One last suggestion - As you cut the pieces place them on your table or design wall about where they will be in the block so that you can decide which print will look good nearby. You can do some interchanges as you sew with the strips that are the same length if you decide they would look better somewhere else.

HOW TO MAKE A SCRAPPY LOG CABIN HEART BLOCK (12.5")

(all seams are 1/4" and seams are pressed toward the added piece.)

You will need fourteen (14) different colored prints - thirteen (13) of them of the same hue of a color and one (1) for the background.

CUT from the background print - one (1) - 4.5" square and four (4) - 2.5" squares

Scrappy reds and pinks (only one piece from each color) CUT:

four (4) - 2.5" squares

four (4) - 2.5" x 4.5" strips

two (2) - 2.5" x 6.5" strips

two (2) - 2.5" x 8.5" strips

one (1) - 2.5" x 12.5" strip

On my design wall...

I started with the background corners on the three strips first by drawing a diagonal line from two opposite corners on the wrong side of the background fabric four (4) 2.5" squares. (That is the wrong side of the fabric, just doesn't look like it in the picture.)

Place them on the corners of Strip 8 (two of them), Strip 12, and Strip 15...with the diagonal line as pictured.

SEW on the drawn line.

TRIM 1/4" from the line toward the outer corner and

PRESS toward the strip, first on the wrong side and then on the right side.

If you haven't done so, arrange the pieces in the pattern of the block. Now it is just a matter of sewing the strips together similar to making a log cabin blocks except that there are two "starts".

Start here with these two (2) 2.5" squares.

Each time after you SEW pieces together, you will PRESS toward the added piece and then

SQUARE the sewed piece up and TRIM off any access. Note if you are "short" anywhere so you can make allowances when you sew the next piece on. This is very a very important step when making this type of block if you want a flat block when you are finished. At this point you want the strip to be 2.5" wide.

Next... (section will be 4.5" square)

You will add two strips this time before you TRIM to 6.5"

We are gradually working around the center section making the heart shape.

This section should measure 8.5".

With the next strip we will be on the left edge of the block and the first one that we added the diagonal corners. If you didn't do all of the corners at the beginning, you will need to add the corners to piece 8 before you can sew it to the section.

This picture shows an example of what I meant when I said after you square up the piece and trim that you can also see if you are short anywhere and make the necessary correction when you add the next strip. I was a little short of being square so I allowed for it when I added Strip 8.

I haven't shown the wrong side in a while for pressing...

With this last piece added, you will now start on the "start" of the other chamber of the heart. (numbers 9 and 10). Don't forget to check that the strip is still 2.5" wide.