Monday, June 28, 2010

quilt along week 4

Welcome to week 4 of the quilt along! It's mostly sewing from here on out. Woo-hoo! Throughout this assembly process, try to focus on sewing an accurate 1/4" seam. (I know I have to slow down and work on this myself!) It will save you tons of hassles later. Trust me...I know this from experience.

Select 8 patchwork segments and lay out 4 at the top and 4 at the bottom of the center block.
Sew the top 4 together, press. Repeat for the bottom 4 segments.
Sew these to the top and the bottom of the center block and press.

Select 16 segments and place 8 on each side.
Sew them together and press. Make sure everything is lining up...you should have a checkerboard effect. Make sure you don't have 2 whites or two prints together.

Then attach them to the center block. Press well.

Next, take the 2 sashing pieces that measure 16 1/2" x 2 1/2" and sew them to the top and bottom of the center block. Press seams.
Repeat using the 2 sashing pieces that measure 20 1/2" x 2 1/2", one for each side.
Sew and press.
The block should now measure 20 1/2" square.
That's where we will stop for today. Wouldn't this make a fun block to repeat? I love it!

6 more weeks and we will have a completed quilt top!

Feel free to add your progress shots to the flickr group. Thanks for quilting along with me!

26 comments:

Oleander said...

beautiful! You make it look so easy.

Oleander said...

beautiful! You make it look so easy.

paulette said...

I love this block - thanks for the tutorial!! Paulette

Jean @ Quilted Cupcake said...

That is a dedicated piecing project. I admire your stamina.

pratima said...

Very pretty!! the pattern is so sweet and simple!

Stephanie said...

I love it it's gorgeous!!

Thimbleanna said...

Oooh CrazyMom! That's an awesome idea to repeat that block -- I'll have to give that some thought for my fat quarter stack!

Laura said...

I don't know if I just messed up cutting or what, but I have a few strips left over from my fat quarters (after the 62 strips)- I may use them to make this block again as a front of a throw pillow! I love it so far Amanda Jean!

Anonymous said...

I really love how this turned out. Thank you for the tutorial.

Emily Cole said...

I love this block setting!!! It's so cool how it looks woven together. I really wish I could get into my sewing room right now... I'm itching to cut some fabric and stick this together!

Sooz said...

Hi AJ,

I'm inspecting the pix closely, but I'm not sure which way you are pressing your fabrics. Advise, Please?

Thanks!

Sooz

Laura said...

Sooz- I was wondering the exact same thing! All of my seams are pressed every which way!

Cheryl Arkison said...

You are making this look so easy! I love it.

Annalee said...

Ditto on the question about which way to press seam allowances...

Rhonda said...

Very pretty quilt block!

Terriaw said...

I love seeing how this block comes together. It looks like such a fun project to piece. Well done!

Amanda Jean said...

as far as pressing goes, anything that i attached to the center block, i always pressed away from the center. that even goes for the sashing. i chose that option so my blocks would lay flat easier. there are two seams per strip that need to be interlocking...where the sashing is pressed one way, make sure that the patchwork units are pressed the opposite way. for the rest of the seams, it really doesn't matter which way the seams are pressed. does that help at all?

Staci said...

Just wanted to say I am really enjoying making this quilt!
Thank you so much for sharing your pattern and hosting this!

Chris said...

Anyone else finding their white strips are just a bit too long? I've been really careful with the quarter inch seam allowance too and I know it's accurate. Is it ok to trim the white strips down? They are about .2" too long....too much to work in.

~dawn~ said...

I'm thinking mine are going to be a little long too, but I'm going to just wack them off. The longer pieces that we cut earlier on, I actually just left long, planning to do just that when I got to it.

Amanda ~ I'm loving this quilt. Thanks so much for hosting this QAL. First quilt in a long while that I'm just keeping for myself. :)

~dawn~ said...

Wait - I take that hack and whack right back! I am now picking out those sash peices that don't fit, to try and work them in a little more. (Note to self: don't make hasty decisions so late at night then pass the idea along to others. Sorry.)

Kelly said...

got mine done! but i still haven't cut out all the segments. lol.

Kristin said...

Just got all the segments cut! Trying not to fall too far behind :)

Are all of the segments in pairs? I was thinking about using this as my leaders/enders project and make a bunch of 4-patches, but I don't want to if the rows are all even. Does that make sense?

pdudgeon said...

just now got all caught up to date. my prints are all sorts of different fruits and vegetables (1 per square) so my quilt will be a colorful version of a Farmer's Market.

Wendy said...

Just caught up! Whew! My material arrived during week 2 of the quiltalong, so I am getting there. Looking great so far. Thanks!

Sooz said...

I'm making another one of these QAL quilts. I offered the first as a donation to a friend's benefit who is suffering from testicular cancer. a bidding war ensued, and I was asked to make a second. Of course! And this time I won't make so many mistakes!

Thanks so much for this design, and for your wonderful directions.

Best to you,
Susan