PATIENCE CORNERS BLANKET OF HOPE

 

The first time I made this block pattern I was involved in a group I found on Facebook that contained thirty women who were to make thirty 12.5 inch quilt blocks, one for each member of the group. With the thirty blocks, each person could then make themselves a quilt with blocks from all over North America. You could make the same block if you wished or make different ones. 

Since then I have made a couple of Blankets of Hope for our church's quilt ministry using the pattern. It makes such a pretty quilt that several other members have used the pattern also. I just finished one that I especially liked because of the fabric prints I used and since I haven't had a tutorial in a while for a quilt pattern, I thought I would show how to make it.

It is such a versatile pattern because of its versatility with fabrics. If you are making a lap size quilt (about 42 X 48 inches), it makes up nicely using a charm pack or make it "scrappy by using scraps, or like how I made this one, use one "busy" print for all of the 4.5" squares.

The pattern consist of 42 (forty-two) 4.5 inch squares and 42 strips 4.5 X 2.5 inches and 42 strips 6.5 X 2.5 inches. To make the quilt 42 X 48 inches, I added a 3 inch border.

I used a solid for the strips that went well with the print I used for squares. I cut a strip the width of the fabric and 4.5 inches wide and a strip the width of the fabric and 6.5 inches wide. Then I cut the two strips into 2.5 inch wide pieces to make the rectangles.

From the busy print I chose, I cut strips 4.5 inch across the WOF. From each one I cut  9 (nine) 4.5 inch squares. Doing the math, that means I cut 5 (five) strips.

If you are using a charm pack, you will have to trim the squares down to 4.5 inches for this size quilt. *

Since my busy print was non-directional (didn't have a pattern that had prints going one-way), I could speed up the time to make the blocks by "chain-sewing". I took all of the squares in a pile and first sewed the shorter rectangle to one side of the square without stopping to cut the thread. I  pressed the seams first to seal the stitches and then pressed the seam on both sides to one direction.  Then I stitched the longer strip down the perpendicular side with the first seam. Repeated the pressing. AND the blocks were made. 

All I had to do was arrange them on my design wall so that I distributed the print out over the top.

Did you notice how I arranged them? I alternated the rows so that the squares were completely surrounded by the solid color. Now that meant sometimes corners were touching with the squares and sometimes they weren't. I'm not sure which were the "patient" corners - the ones meeting or the ones not. What do you think?

I sew the blocks together to make strips (rows or columns) depending on which would be the less. In this case, the top is 6 columns by 7 rows so I will sew the vertical blocks together to make 6 columns because that will be one less strips to sew to complete the panel. 

When I have the columns made, I seal the seam and then press the seams in each column going the same directions for the column. So that the seams will "nest" when I sew the columns together, I press the odd numbered columns going back toward the first block and the even numbered columns going away. Now you can do which ever way you prefer. It is easy for me to remember this way. You just want to be consistent so your seams will match up when you sew them.

Once you sew the columns together, you can press the seams any direction you wish, I just think it looks nicer if you do all of the columns the same direction.

Now I added the 3 (three) inch border by cutting 5 (five) strips 3.5 inches wide (remember the two quarter inch seams) across the width of the fabric. You need five because the "length" of the quilt will be 48 inches and your fabric is probably 42 inches at the most. The fifth strip will be pieced with two of the other strips for the sides. Sew the top and bottom strip on first and press it toward the border unless it is a white fabric. Cut off any access that you might have. Then sew two of the other strips together pressing the seam to one direction and sew it to one side of the top. Cut off the excess and then sew the excess to the last strip you cut and sew it down the last side.

To finish the quilt, I went back to the pink that I had used for the rectangles in the blocks to cut for my binding. I cut the strips 2.5 inches wide across the width of the fabric for the binding. I usually cut five strips but this pink fabric was wider and I only used three and part of a fourth one to make the binding. I sewed the binding on the back and then brought it over to the front and machine stitched a fancy decorative stitch to sew it back down. If you are sewing the binding down by hand, you will machine stitch it to the front of the quilt and bring it over to the back to slip stitch down. I have only started doing the fancy stitch because sometimes my arthritis in my hands does not want to corporate with me. 

I "turned in" the Blanket of Hope yesterday when our quilting group met.

Let me know if you have any questions. I would love to see your finished quilts in the comment section. Enjoy.

MY LATEST BLANKET OF HOPE, JANUARY 2023

 

I dreamed about this latest Blanket of Hope for several months before I finally was able to make it. Maybe you have done this or not. I don't know. But I "saw" the general pattern for the block and couldn't get it out of my mind. 

It's not a new creation. The block is a common one that has been around, but I knew how I wanted to utilize it in a quilt. I didn't see the actual fabric, that would be really weird. I just knew how I wanted to use my fabric with the pattern. Finally the material was another interesting happening though. 

At our first meeting of 2023, we had decided at our December end-of-the year celebration brunch that we would start the year off by getting our closet and cabinets in the room we use at the church reorganized. We had added quite a bit of material to our stash the last several month of 2022 and everything was looking very messy.

A couple of us were doing other things that afternoon though and I didn't go down and look at the hall closet like I should have. The four who worked on it worked for almost 2 hours and deserved a show of appreciation from the three of us working on future things. One Sunday in January my Sunday school class was serving with the Hospitality Team and during a downtime I went upstairs and decided to take a look at the closet. That is when I saw the material in a nice little stack. I knew immediately that that was the perfect material I needed for my "dream" quilt. I took the three different coordinating prints home with me.

The next day I cut out all of the pieces, decided to use a new technique for me -- chain stitching the pieces together to make the blocks and then chain stitching what I could of the blocks together to make the quilt top. I was finished with the top within a couple of hours. (I did have to do a little math and a whole lot of pressing during that time also.)

We try to make our Blankets of Hope 42" x 48 ".  This was the measurement we were given especially good for use with a wheel chair, but also if the blankets/quilts are only 42 inches wide we don't have to have a seam in the backing. Since traditionally the blocks for the blankets are cut 6-1/2" squares, that makes the blanket pattern 7 x 8 blocks or 56 total blocks.

I started with a 6-1/2" block but added the two strips down two sides. I cut them 2-1/2" wide so that gave me an 8-1/2" block and a finished quilt of 40 x 48 " or a pattern of 5 x 6 blocks or 30 total blocks.

I chose the larger print for the 6-1/2" square. I needed thirty (30) of them or five (5) strips cut the width of the fabric and 6-1/2" wide. That will produce exactly 30 squares. I considered using a strip from each of the other prints with the 6-1/2" square, but that isn't how I had pictured it in my "dream". One of the first quilts I ever made was a Rail Fence Quilt. I guess that pattern is always in my mind. Since the quilt will be thirty (30) blocks and following a rail fence style, half of them will include one of the small prints and half will be the other small print.

Time for a little math ... 15 x 2.5 = 37.5 . Cutting a strip the width of the fabric and 8-1/2" wide, then cut fifteen (15) 2-1/2" wide. From the remaining strip, cut one strip 6" x 2-1/2". Cut a second strip the width of the fabric and 6-1/2" wide. Cut 14 strips 2-1/2" wide. Save the rest for your scrap bag.

Chain stitching is a method of sewing to basically save thread as I see it since you are feeding the next pieces to sew without cutting the thread. Since my machine cuts the thread, that wasn't that big of a deal for me. But after trying it, I see it also saves me time. I usually sew from my design wall (a large piece of felt hanging on my wall that I press the cut pieces to in the pattern I am making.) That means I get up and get the pieces I am going to sew together between each piece. That does take time which I just consider exercise. 

With chain stitching, I had my thirty (30) squares and the fifteen (15) strips of each print. (Yes, I have two sets of strips for each print, but I just worked with one size at a time.)

I started by sewing the shorter strip across the bottom of square so I chose the top and bottom of the square when I placed the edge of the short strip along the edge of the square to sew my 1/4" seam.

After sewing the first "block", I moved the second block close to the end of the first one and continued to run the machine until the next block was "picked up" by the sewing machine foot attachment.

I continued until I had finished sewing on the shorter (6-1/2") strips of one print and

continued with the other print of the same length.

That took about 10 minutes or so. I then cut the thread between the blocks to separate them.

Before I could sew the longer strip on I had to get up and press the seams open that I had just sewed. 

1) Set the seams. Quickly press on top of the seam on the wrong side. 

2) Open the seam out and start in the center of the seam on the right side to press. I find this is the easiest way to press the seam to one side. I pressed toward the short strip. 

With the shorter strip sewed on, I was ready to sew on the longer strip following the same chain stitching method

but this time on the left side of the block.

(This means you are sewing from the bottom up.)

Repeat the process, cutting the connecting threads, setting the seams, and pressing the seams open.

 

Important Note. This time when you are pressing the long strip, you will not be pressing them the same way. Press one of the prints toward the square and the other print toward the strip. Then when you sew the blocks together the seam will nest (fit together smoothly) in the one place that you have two seams together. (where the longer strips meet at the top of one square and the bottom of the above square.)

The thirty blocks on my design wall...

This was the challenge for me with the chain stitching, but since the quilt had six (6) rows and five (5) columns, I could start at the upper left top corner and sew the two blocks together going down the column.

And then stitched the two beneath and finally the bottom two in the first column on the left. (Notice I did pin the ends and where there was a seam and then in-between.)

Once I had the three pairs of the first column, I could just move to the second column and so on until I had the whole top in pairs.

I cut them apart and

then sewed the first two-block pairs together.  At this point I had to stop my chain stitching because I only had one block pair left for the first column.

I sewed the last block pair onto the four blocks and had the first column sewed.

I placed each column on my design wall to make sure I wasn't messing up the pattern. 

Before I could sew the column strips together I had to press the seams I had made. A while back I started pressing the odd numbered row/column away from me and the even numbered rows/columns toward me, so that is what I did. 

I sewed the first two columns together from the left, then the next two, leaving a single column on the right. Then I just sewed the three "sets" together to have my finished top.

Here is a close up so you can see the prints all together. This has to be just about my all-time favorite quilt I have made. I just love how all of the prints and colors went together.

With the top finished, it had to be sandwiched with the batting and the backing and machine quilted - I just sewed in the ditch a bunch. (sorry I didn't take pictures of this part.) 

After I squared up the quilt and trimmed the excess, I had to chose a fabric for the binding. This purple, yes, it is purple that looks a little blue in this picture, was the winner.

If you would like to view my tutorial on making the binding, you can check out this POST. 

I cut the strips 2-1/4 inches wide for the binding (five of them), made one long strip that I folded in half lengthwise and pressed the fold. I sewed it to the quilt top a quarter inch from the edges.

I fold the binding to the back and secure it down with clips.

I blindstitched it down on the back side.

The finished quilt and one of my most favorite Blankets of Hope I have made.

If you have any questions, please ask away. I will try to answer them.

PATTERN with a FOCAL PRINT

 You know when you have one print that you want to focus on in a quilt pattern? Well, this pattern is a good one for a focal print and it goes together fairly easily. You just have a square and a HST (half square triangle). The pattern develops by the placement of the HST.

Now don't let HSTs scare you. Just stay with me and I will show you an easy way to make them. Here is a picture of two of the squares and two of the HSTs in their placement. Pretty, right? You just keep reproducing them and add a narrow "ribbon" border from another color (I'm going to use gold) and a bigger border using the focal print. 

My center portion will be 36 x 36 inches. The borders will increase the finished size to 44 x 48 inches.

The center design contains 36 blocks - half (18) of those will be cut 6.5" squares from the focal print and then half (18) HSTs. The HSTs will be made from nine (9) squares cut 7 inches from each of the two solid colors.

Don't count the squares...I changed my mind after I cut them.

Since the squares are done, you only have to make the HSTs and then you are ready to sew them together in your pattern.

I cut the solid colors 7 inches instead of 6.5 inches like the squares. This is a 1/8" bigger than really needed but I will trim off any excess after I make the HSTs. (I also do this because it is much easier to add 1 inch to the finished size than adding 7/8ths to the finished size and then measure it.) You know your finished size will be 6 inches because you cut the squares 6.5 inches and a 1/4" seam all the way around reduces the square to 6 inches  when finished. Since you will be making two (2) HSTs from one (1) square you only need half as many larger squares cut , thus nine (9). I guess I should say from two(2) squares because you will be sewing two (2) squares together - one of each color, but that is a total of nine (9) of each color to make eighteen (18) HSTs.

Making a HST...

4) Line up two of the squares one of each color to fit perfectly over each other as shown in 1). Then draw a diagonal line from two opposite corners. 3) Yes I used a pencil to draw my line on the light colored square. 2) You will be cutting on the line. 9)

5) I set the machine for 1/4" seam measurement and lengthened the stitch to 2.2. First stitch 1/4 " from the drawn line from corner to corner. 6) Then rotate the square around and stitch 1/4" from the drawn line on the side of the line. 8) May be hard to see. Then using the ruler as you guide, cut on the drawn line 9) making two triangles and press the seam open pressing away from the right side 10).

Once you have all of the HSTs made, you can trim off the excess making the HSTs 6.5 inches square.

Having a 6.5" square template helps to do this. You can use a larger square. It just means you will have to move the template as you work around the HST. Line the diagonal seam with the 45 degree line on the template 11) and trim off the excess. 12)

Here are the squares and HSTs on my design wall...

 Even though I showed you the pattern at the beginning of this post as a 12.5" block, that isn't how I sewed it. I wanted you to see what the pattern looks like with four (4) of the thirty-six (36) blocks.

Instead it is faster to make six (6) rows and then sew them together.

To make the rows, start with the first block on the left side and sew it to the second block (HST). Continue across with the other four blocks.

After I had each row made, I pressed the seams toward the focal print. 

You can sew two rows together as you finish the second one or wait until you have all six rows made; it doesn't matter.

Remember when sewing two rows together to "nest" the seams together and secure the left side with a pin. If you pressed correctly, this will be easier to do.

Ease the space between the seams together and secure them with several pins. 

All six rows sewed together...

I pressed the seams for the rows toward the top. It doesn't really matter.

To complete my quilt top, I cut  four (4) strips 1.5 inches wide across the WOF (width of the fabric). 

I am measuring the strip with the "yellow" ruler. The "black" ruler is placed next to it before removing the yellow one to cut the strip. That way I will be cutting on the right side of the ruler.

I sew the side strips/borders first and then add the top and bottom strips/borders last. When I have a narrow "ribbon-like" border, I press the seams toward the strip. When I do the machine quilting, I will stitch close to the inside of the seams so that it looks like a ribbon sewed on top of the quilt.

Trim off the excess...

The first border is added...

Then I cut the outer border. Because my quilt top right now is square, but I want my finished quilt to be a rectangle, I will sew a narrower border (Cut 2.5" x wof) on the sides and a wider border (Cut 5" x wof) on the top and bottom.

Once again I will sew the side borders first, trim the excess on the ends and then sew the top and bottom borders and trimming off the excess. Before sewing the top and bottom borders, I pressed the side borders toward the ribbon border. After sewing the top and bottom borders, I pressed again toward the ribbon borders.

It is ready to take to Blankets of Hope Tuesday when we meet and be pinned with backing and batting for me to machine quilt.

This was really a fun quilt top to make. I hope you will give it a try.