Building Blocks - Square-in-a-Square II

I've been thinking of doing a series of building blocks type tutorials for a while now.  

Cut your centre diamond square (the square-in-a-square block in the picture below) C + 1/2" by C + 1/2".

For the triangles (White with heart fabric below) I cut two squares B + 1" by B + 1".  I prefer to trim my blocks when they're finished.  It makes the next steps easier.  If you're a wonderful sewer and don't want to trim then cut your squares B + 7/8" by B + 7/8".

Sew two of the triangles on opposite sides with a 1/4" seam allowance.

If I am sewing anything with points, like this block, I'll sew it upside down.  (Like the picture below)  You can see a little X in the seam below.  If you sew just one thread into the seam allowance beside that X, you'll end up with perfect points without needing to pin.

Here is a close-up of the X.

And here is the point you end up with.  All without needing to pin.  (Yes, I'm lazy.  I'll avoid extra steps wherever possible.)

Anyways, back to the block.  Press towards the outer triangles regardless of whether or not they're the lighter colour and trim the dog ears.

Now, repeat for the other sides.  Here are the triangles sewn with a 1/4" seam.

Here is the square-in-a-square - untrimmed.

And here it is trimmed.

I'll be doing mini-tutorials on different types of blocks that are typically pieces in larger more complex blocks.

I'm starting off with the Square-in-a-Square.  There are two ways to make this one.  This second one I call the triangles method.  (If anyone knows the real name, please let me know.)

This is the one I use if "C" works out to be a multiple of 1/8" or if the centre diamond is a block.

Building Blocks - Square-in-a-Square I

I've been thinking of doing a series of building blocks type tutorials for a while now.  

I'll be doing mini-tutorials on different types of blocks that are typically pieces in larger more complex blocks.

I'm starting off with the Square-in-a-Square.  There are two ways to make this one.  The first one I call the squares method.  (If anyone knows the real name, please let me know.)

I generally use this method if the measurement "C" below does not work out to an 1/8" measurement.  It is a little wasteful with fabric, but has its uses.  The line diagram below shows a square-in-a-square block with the lines being the finished size.

For the inner diamond, (Dark red in the picture below) cut a square that is A + 1/2" by A + 1/2".

For the outer edges, (Lighter red in the picture below) cut 4 squares that are B + 1/2" by B + 1/2".

On the four smaller squares, draw a line diagonally on the squares.  This will be your sewing line.

Place two squares on opposite sides (see the picture below) and sew along the drawn lines.  If you can, sew one thread beside the line towards the outer edge.  This helps to give you a little room when trimming the finished block and makes your points sharper.

Take your ruler and rotary cutter and trim 1/4" from your sewing line.

Then press.  I press towards the outside, even if the outer triangles are the lighter fabric.  This helps make the block lay flatter.

Repeat this for the other two sides.

Once again, trim leaving a 1/4" seam

Again, press towards the outside, regardless of your colours.  And here you have a completed square-in-a-square block using the squares method.

Finishes, Finishes, Finishes!

My nephew turned 1 the other day.  So, now I can show you what I made for him.  I found the tutorial for this on here.  As soon as I saw it, I thought it was the perfect thing for a little boy.  We, of course, couldn't let Kevin the space man leave without a photo op.  I suspect Owloysious is teaching Kevin all sorts of ways in which he can be a corrupting influence.

A few weeks ago I was looking at the rather large pile of quilt tops I have waiting to be turned into quilts.  So, I started Finish it Fridays.  I figured if I re-arranged a few things, I could carve out a few hours on Friday's after work to work on UFOs.  This last Friday a few friends joined me to make a fun evening of it.  These 4 mini quilts are what I've managed to accomplish since I started doing this.

And, just because.  I finished a few more Jane blocks.

Quilt Show - General Quilts

Here are some pictures of quilts scattered around the park.

The colours in this one really caught my eye. (And these are not the types of colours I'm usually drawn to.)

I love how this one takes the same block and breaks it out.

Maybe this will be the next quilt after Nearly Insane is done. :)

I found this one with its simple flowers quite striking.

This one was called 'The Embarrassed Zebra'. What a great name.

I heart this log cabin setting. :)

I thought this was a great pattern. Two fabrics and one block. It's great how changing the dimensions of the one block created such a neat geometric effect.

Funky hearts.

I can't imagine where you'd even start to create a picture out of fabric.

This is one of the 'One Block Wonders'. These have been catching my eye lately....

Quilt Show - Quilter of Distinction

This year there were two special displays at the park.  An antique quilt display that was something special for this year.  (But went over really well and they had quite a few people indicate that they had antique quilts they were willing to put in the show next year, so here's hoping).  I was going to write it up and show pictures, but Mrs Sew n' Sew did a great job of it, so I'll just direct you to her blog.

The other special display was the Quilter of Distinction.  Each year a local quilter is chosen to be featured in the show.  This year was Aie Rossmann.

Here is an overview of the whole display.

The amazing thing to keep in mind when you look at her quilts is that until very recently she did everything by hand.

I love all the bright colours she uses.

This a a yo-yo quilt.  It said that she did all of these yo-yos on car trips.  hmmm.  I wonder how many car trips it would take to make a quilt.

I love this one.  You can't really see it in the picture, but her quilting is amazing.  Very tiny and very even.

This one struck me because it's quite different from her usual brights on black.  There were a few quilts here that took elements from her other designs and used them is really interesting new ways.  There was one that you really had to look hard at to recognize that it came from the other pattern.

This is one of her Affairs of the Heart blocks framed.  I thought that was a neat idea for stray blocks.

This is what you saw if you looked over the balcony.  Not quite what you think of when you see quilts. :)  Though, it was a great place to send husbands and kids. :)

Quilt Show - Knotty quilters

Last weekend I had the good fortune to attend the big annual quilt show.  There are over 500 quilts to look at.  Weather-wise it was wonderful.  Hot and sunny.  No rain all weekend so the organizers were able to hang the quilts outside.  (Much better than this weekend where we woke up to a blanket of snow covering to world.)

The show is held at a historical park.  Isn't it a wonderful location for quilts?

I'll have to stretch the pictures over a couple of posts.  Even though my camera batteries died before I saw the whole show, I managed to take lots and lots of pictures... :)

I belong to a wonderful quilt guild called the knotty quilters.  I think the name sums up our group pretty well. :)  These are some of the quilts our group submitted this year.  

This one was created when one of our members found out she was going to be a grandmother for the first time.  It turned out quite differently than she was first planning, her thoughts were to go with the traditional blue and pink, her children had other ideas. :)

This one is called 'Lucy's geese'.  If you'd like to hear the story behind the name, you can check out her blog.

This one was from the pattern 'Indian Summer' which one of the ladies showed us how to make last year.  This was the only one that was finished in time for the show.  

Actually, this year, there was not one single quilt that stood out as 'the' quilt for the year.  Each year, I've mad a bit of a game of 'spot the repeats'.  This started several years ago when the rag quilts first became all the rage.  Walking around the park that year, you couldn't help but see rag quilts each time you went around a corner.  After that, each year, we've started looking to see if there is a particular pattern or style that stood out.  I'm happy to say that this year we got to see 500 different quilts with very few repeating patterns or styles.

This one is a mariners compass surrounded by piles and piles of half-square triangles.  It's all batiks.  The colours are even richer in real life.  The compasses are paper-pieced with everything else pieced.

This jacket was made by the same lady who made the quilt in the previous picture.  (Pretty talented, isn't she).  She didn't enter it into the pieced clothing competition and boy did she get in trouble for it. : )  The 'committee' has told her that she's to enter it into the competition next year, or else!

Recognize this one? :)

5.5 Weeks!

My friend and I took our machines in for routine maintenance the other day.  It was supposed to take up to two weeks to get our machines back.  Not too bad, we could live with that.  5 1/2 weeks later!!!  We finally got our machines back.  Yes, we were not happy campers.  On the plus side, our machines are in good working order now.  

To make up for the sewing machine drought, I've been sewing up a storm lately. :)  Even if I should be spending more time working...

I got caught up on our guild's block of the month.

Plus, a picture of our next block was sent out and I was on a roll... :)

This used to be a swell charm pack.  I'll likely be turning this into a mini quilt.

And, it can't be a random posting without a few more Jane blocks.

Well, I'm off.  I've also got 4 applique tops that I'm leaning towards making mini quilts with.  (The original kits were pillows).  Plus, I'm prepping for retreat.  We do a little make and take each year.  So, each year I kit up our make and take and create samples for next year's choices.  I'll do my best to remember to take pictures.