Category Archives: Quilting

Living in God’s Open Air (Cut Glass Dish)

Quilting

This block is the first of two blocks that go with the first diary entry in the Farmer’s Wife Sample Quilt book. The pattern looked easy enough. Lots of half-square triangles, but I’m getting pretty good at those.

I soon realized that my template measurements were off. I thought I was working towards a two-inch square (made up of two triangles) but I needed a one and one-half inch square (still made up of two triangles).

I’m pleased with the result and, to my amazement, the block comes in at an almost perfect six and one-half inches.

I don’t remember Mum having a cut glass dish (she may well have had one), but I do remember the Cut Glass dessert she made with cubes of Jell-O mixed in whipped cream.

Half Square Triangles

Quilting

I’m a little behind on my Craftsy Block of the Month lessons. These are the two blocks for February. The theme this month was half-square triangles. I’ve more or less perfected a method for half-square triangles and I was reluctant to try a new way. But these lessons are meant to be about learning new techniques so I forged ahead and tried her Magic Triangle method.

The first block (Windblown Star) was done using the Magic Triangles technique. The squares are cut two inches larger than the finished size. You sew around all four edges of the square leaving a quarter-inch from each edge. I marked the corners so I knew where to end the stitching before turning the piece to stitch down the next side. Then you cut the square into four along the diagonal lines and you end up with four half-square triangles the perfect (in theory) size.

The second block (Chunky Chevron) was done using the method I’m familiar with – drawn lines. After I had cut the pieces for the blocks I worried that she was using the 7/8” addition rather than the one-inch that Deloise taught me. She apparently has heard of Deloise’s method and I was fine.

I liked both methods. The Magic Triangle certainly involves less work, but I don’t think the triangles are necessarily the perfect size (at least in my case). There is a lot of work to the drawn-line method, but I ended up with more accurate blocks.

Beginnings (Cookie Tin Exchange)

Quilting
Click to enlarge

When the exchange started in the fall I asked the members of my group to recreate their first block, or a block from their first quilt. I enclosed the two blocks that I used as hot pads for Stacia and Deloise.

The “Sawtooth Star” is a block that Barb used when she taught her beginners class. Barb is a beautiful quilter and has given me so much help and advice. Barb also made the star block with the circular center. Her note in my book was signed “The old wise one.”

Sandra made the rail fence block. She says it is from her first quilt called “Lightning Strikes.” Sandra is one of the regular Tuesday morning quilters.

Suzanne added the 9-patch block. She travels to Europe frequently to visit relatives and, while there, she checks out the fabric shops. She’s used some of that fabric in my block.

Our Guild President made the Sunbonnet Sue block. Her first quilt was made for her daughter when she was 5 or 6 (she’s 43 now). The pattern and fabric were ordered from the Eaton’s catalogue, and she even included a photo of that first Sunbonnet Sue quilt.