January 2017 Block of the Month - Sawtooth Star

Sawtooth Star Block

The color recipe for this one is Jade and Coral in honor of Empire’s 35^th Anniversary year.

The main component of this block is the flying geese blocks around the center square.  I received a recommendation to try a new way of making flying geese blocks.  I have included the link for the technique I used which – conveniently – yields the four flying geese units needed for this block.

http:// www.generations-quilt-patterns.com/no-waste-flying-geese-quilt-blocks.html

The center square for this block should be 4-1/2" x 4-1/2"

The corner squares for this block should be 2-1/2" x 2-1/2"

I assembled the finished block by attaching two flying geese units to the left and right of the center square.  Then the corner blocks were attached to the top and bottom of the remaining two flying geese units.

Once assembled and pressed, trim block to 8"x 8".

If you prefer, this also works as a jade star on a coral background - like the block shown below

Lisa's Bow Tie - November

Empire member Lisa Kehrle presents this Bow Tie block for our November BOM. 

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The Bow Tie block is in honor of Charles Osgood – one of my favorite TV hosts.  He recently retired as host of the CBS Sunday Morning show and was known – among other things – for wearing a bow-tie.

The background fabric should be neutral and the bow tie fabric should be a high contrast fabric or a fun print.

CUT:

Cut two 3-1/2” squares of the neutral background fabric.

Cut two 3-1/2" squares of the bow tie fabric.

Cut two 1-1/2” squares of the bow tie fabric. 

Draw a diagonal line on the back side of these two little squares.

DIRECTIONS:

Align a small square in a corner of a background square, right sides together, as shown below.

Sew a seam directly on the marked line, then press, as shown below. Trim away the two layers of fabric behind the blue triangle. Make two of these.

Arrange the four squares into a bow tie (as shown at top) and sew. Press.

The final block measures 6” completed.

October 2016 - Hashtag Encore!

This block was so much fun last year, let's do Hashtag again! 

Start with a 6" square cut from solid white, off-white, or a very light print.

Cut 4 strips: 1.25" x 7.5" from a colorful print.

Cut the square in thirds vertically (2" x 6").

Insert two colored strips. Press seams toward the print.

Cut the square in thirds horizontally. Insert two strips. Press.

Trim to 6" x 6."

Enter your name in the drawing once for each block that you bring to the September meeting. You might be well on your way to making a new quilt! Enjoy!

Big News! Lisa Kehrle Designing BOM's!

Lisa Kehrle will join Karen Griska in designing blocks for our BOMs! We will take turns. This will be fun! Welcome, Lisa!!

June - Random Block With Red Centers

 Start with a bit of red in the middle and then randomly add light colored print fabrics any which way you please, as shown below. Trim to 6" square. 

The finished blocks will have different numbers of pieces.

Use your ruler to see when your block is big enough, then trim.

I like how the red centers tie all the blocks together. This will make a pretty summertime quilt. Enjoy!

NOTE: Due to my computer problems, this is a repeat of a block we did a few years ago. Hopefully you agree that random piecing never gets boring. 

April - Botanical Garden Quilt

Let's hurry the arrival of spring by making a classic 16-patch block with pretty floral fabrics of any color. Green foliage is good too. Use 2.5" wide strips. Have any jelly rolls handy?

Cut two strips: 2.5" x 42. (These will yield two blocks.) Then cut them in half on the fold (above). Sew two strips together lengthwise. Then cut the sewn strip in half lengthwise (below).

Place the two units together and sew (above). Press all 3 seams in the same direction.

Cut into 4 strips: 2.5" wide (above).

Turn two strips upside-down (above), making a checkerboard.

Sew the strips together. Press.

Enter the drawing once for each block that you contribute. 

This will make a beautiful springtime quilt!

Happy quilting!

March - No BOM

The March meeting is devoted to Charity Quilts. Stay tuned.

Feb. 2016 - Scrappy Bow Ties!

Choose two fabrics for this classic block: one dark and one light. The contrast between the two can be high or low. The prints can be bold or quiet. A big variety will make a great quilt.

Cut 5 blocks: 3" x 3," as shown above. Cut one block on the diagonal (it can be a dark or a light).

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Place the dark triangles on the light squares, by eye, as shown above. If you make the triangles too big, the bow tie will look chubby, so keep it smallish. The variations in all our blocks will add charm.

Sew a 1/4" seam along the long edge of the triangles, as shown below.

Press open, as shown above. Trim off the excess dark triangle fabric. You don't need to trim the light fabric that is behind the triangle.

Sew the two squares in the top row together. Then sew the two squares in the bottom row.

 

Press seams away from the triangles (above).

Sew the last seam to finish.

The block as shown below measures 5.5" square.

 In the finished quilt, each block will measure 5" square. 

 These bow tie blocks made from all our favorite scraps will be stunning.

Happy quilting!

January 2016 - Lost Socks!

Do you ever lose just one sock? Well here they are in this quilt. All kinds, all shapes, plain and fancy.

Quick applique, hand or machine.

1. Choose a light fabric for the background, print or solid. Cut into a 6" square.

2. Choose a medium or dark fabric for the sock. Cut into a 3.5" x 5" rectangle.

By eye, cut any sock shape that you like. Position it in any direction on your background.

Applique the sock to the background using any method. 

Do you want to make tights or low ankle socks? Baby socks? Pairs of socks? Lace edging?

It's all good. 

November - Butterfly

To whip up a quick Butterfly block, choose a very light print for the background 

and a colorful print for the butterfly (any color).

Cut 4 squares for the background: 3" x 3."

Cut 1 square for the butterfly: 3" x 3."

Cut the butterfly square in half on the diagonal.

Place the triangles on two of the light squares by eye, as shown above. 

Sew 1/4" from the long edge, as shown below. Press open. Trim.

Finally, sew the 4 squares together. Press.

The resulting quilt will be very colorful and interesting, 

benefiting from our combined fabric resources!