Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Block-a-Palooza # 13


Good Morning Block-a-Palooza Folks! How are you doing this morning? I hope you are all doing well. It sure is nice to have you here! OK, so what do you say we get started on block # 13? I used some of the very pretty pale fabrics from Moda's Sunkissed line, by Sweetwater. The background is a very light gray named feather. If you look at this block you will see that it is basically a fancy 9 patch. There are 9 areas to it, and we will make them in sections. Each of the 9 sections of the block will measure 4.5 inches square and when they are all stitched together the block will be 12.5 inches. Does that make sense? I hope so.



For this block you will need the following bits of fabric:

Feather Gray Background:

4 - 4.5" squares
8 - 2.5" squares

Misty Grey Summer Garden (5448 15) Wordy fabric

4 - 4.5" x 2.5" rectangles

Misty Grey Secret Garden (5441 15)

4 - 2.5" squares
4 - 4.5 x 2.5 rectangles
1.5 x 22" strip

Pink Sorbet Skinny lines (5443 24)

5 - 1.75" squares

Ivory and grey Petals (5445 15)

4 - 1.75 " squares
When stitching blocks together keep the seam allowance at 1/4 inch for best results.
I started my block by beginning with the center 9 patch. Stitch these 1.75" squares together to make a 9 patch.


You will see that this center, and most important block is not quite 4.5 inches. Cut a 1.5 x 22 inch strip to boarder this block with. Stitch it on like above. I just cut one long strip, and chain pieced it to the block. I find there is alot less waste this way. But I know some of you are new quilters (Welcome!!!!) and may be confused by this.
So here the center block is with the boarder stitched on. We need to trim the entire piece down to 4.5 inches. That is easy to do, just line it up on your cutting mat and trim it down.

 OK, that is much better. Moving on to the next section....

We will now make our 4 flying geese blocks. There are a bunch of ways to make flying geese. This is my favorite method when I am just making a few. I stitch right along the pencil line. And trim off the excess leaving behind a 1/4 inch seam allowance.


Do the same thing for the other side of the goose. And press your block open.

These next 4 blocks are the corner blocks. Take your 4.5 inch feather Gray (or whatever you are using for your background) blocks and put the 2.5 inch misty gray squares in each corner. Draw a diagonal pencil line to stitch along. 


Trim off the excess and press your blocks open.

Let's do a layout to see how everything looks so far.

Next step is to sew the flying geese to the 2.5 x 4.5 inch rectangles. I lay all my pieces out right by the sewing machine to keep it simple.

We are in the home stretch now. Just sew the block together and press! Add it to your stack of other Block Palooza pieces. And get ready for block #14 by Ryan Walsh. His blog is I'm Just A Guy Who Quilts. 

Don't forget to add pictures of your blocks to the Flickr Group.

Let me know in the comment section or the Flickr group if you have any questions.

Have a great Day!

Tia

A PDF of this block can be found HERE or on the Flickr site or on the next post of this blog. 

22 comments:

Unknown said...

I've been waiting all morning for this and boy was it worth the wait! This is so soft and lovely. I can't wait to get started. Thanks so much for the tutorial! :)

the Campfollower said...

I am so happy you like it! I can't wait to see how yours tuns out.

Beth said...

I love this block. Thanks! will there be a pdf of the tutorial?

the Campfollower said...

Thank you Beth!
I have PDF, but I don't know how to link it to my blog. Isn't that stupid? But true.

Venus de Hilo said...

This is a lovely block, and the narrow frame on the 9-patch is a nice touch. Good thing I browsed the instructions because I usually just wing it from the photo, and I didn't notice that detail. Mine won't be "soft" (I don't think I have any super-pale fabrics in my stash at all) but I will aim for lovely.

Unknown said...

Tia, I have a question! (Waving my hand franticly in the air)
My 9 patch came out at 4 1/8". After I added the border, it is a little over 6". I am having trouble with trimming it back down to 4 1/2". If I just line the block up on my map and cut, I will wind up going right through the 9 patch! Can you tell me, how wide is the border supposed to be around the edges, from the seam on the 9 patch to the raw edge of the block? Does that make any sense? I feel like I have some undiagnosed learning disability because I can't for the life of me figure this one out!
Thanks!

Wendy said...

I love your block! Thank you so much for Block-a-paloozing!! :)

the Campfollower said...

OK, Quilt Knob...

Don't worry! I am here!!!

OK, the nine patch in the center is going to turn out too small to be a stand alone 4.5" right? Well, we need to make it a little bit bigger by adding the boarder.

Now when we add the 1.5 inch boarder the block will now be too big, but big is better than little because we can trim it down.

Just lay your block on your cutting mat and trim off the boarder edges until you have a 4.5 inch block. Maybe you just need to trim off a 1/8 " at a time... Just a tad.

I can put up a picture or 2 if you like....

Unknown said...

No, that's OK. I think I can get this. I was obsessing over making sure that the border was exactly the same size all around, but if it is just a matter of trimming a bit here and there until I have 4.5" then I can do that. Although it does remind me of the time in 5th grade when I thought my bangs needed just a little trim.......the......day before.......picture day!

the Campfollower said...

I am sure you will do just fine! trim a little here and a little there...you will find that the inside boarder is really quite tiny

Taya@TypeB said...

Can't wait to get started on your block! Can't believe you pick up and move every couple years - you must be an expert :) I've been bouncing around three states for the last two years and it has been a challenge. Though, it hasn't stopped my fabric buying... :)

Thanks for contributing your time and talent!

Bellas Manualidades by Thais Wever said...

Thanks Tia, i love your block, is fantastic.

Dottie said...

Somebody please tell him how to post this as a PDF file!!!! I can't begin to get to the block right now but I do so want it on PDF so I can get to it later. Thank you, anybody, for your help.

Judy said...

This is my favorite so far! I love the soft neutral colors. Great Job!

Paty Patch said...

Hi!! I'm following the blog-a-palooza, so much fun!!
Would it be possible for you to send me a pdf version?
Loved your block!!

Dottie said...

If you cannot post the PDF file to your Blog, is it possible for you to send the PDF file to my email address? If so, I would really appreciate it. Thanks.
defellows@suddenlink.net

the Campfollower said...

Hey there everyone! I am so happy you are excited about my block. I promise I am working on a PDF, but I don't have the time to dedicate to it today. I will work on one and post it to this blog as soon as I have it finished.

Rhonda the Rambler said...

Can we have the PDF emailed to us?

Melody said...

I'm wondering also if you have a PDF. I can't start this until may or June but am so excited about it. I've been wanting to do a sampler type quilt for quite awhile now and I'm loving the blocks for this one so far. I love the little border around the center 9 patch on yours.

Anonymous said...

I'd like the .pdf, too. You can put them on google sites and people can just download there. I saw someone in OZ doing that, so that's what I do with mine. It's so easy!

the Campfollower said...

There is a PDF of this block here
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B6grYoHaB-0nMGE3ZTQxZTMtYjI0ZC00ODE3LTk5NTUtMGUwYjZiYTA5ZGUx&hl=en&authkey=CNrr1PoL. I have this links several places.

bethanndodd said...

Finally getting to my last 4 blocks (boy, did life get busy the past few months!) and just finished yours. Thanks for the great tutorial!! Smiles~Beth

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