A quick little finish, a teaching sample (top only) for my upcoming Dancing Plus class.
I'll be teaching the blocks at a PCQ class in May but I needed a sample to display at the April meeting to promote the class. This was a quick finish, 42 blocks for a baby quilt top that measures 36 by 45 inches.
Scroll down to the post below for more info, and find the tutorial for the blocks here.
Link up: Small Quilts and Doll Quilts
Recently in one of my color classes we were discussing the use of whites and creams together in the same project, and I showed my students this photo.
In the color class, there was quite a bit of interest in having a Dancing Plus class, and since PCQ's education chair was one of my students, we booked the class for May. I've long since gifted the quilt in the photo above, so I need to make a new teaching sample.
This Plus motif can be made with one 5" charm* square or a 10" remnant of a 2-1/2" strip. When the trimmed blocks are set in a half drop layout, the dancing effect is enhanced.
I need to make a teaching sample so I'll make a small top and some step-outs. Time to raid the scrap drawers! Bright, medium to dark colors work best to contrast with low volume backgrounds. I have 42 different prints here for the Plus motifs.
I'll use a variety of backgrounds including whites, creams, ivories, and pale greys. I can see in this photo that the khaki background fabric is much too dark, so that one has to go. I still need to find about six more low volumes. No worries, I have plenty.
I'm using each background fabric in two blocks so I can scatter them around the quilt. Tip: Use the same background for two colors that are very similar. You won't want those almost-same colors next to each other in the top, so your background fabric will likewise be separated from itself.
These little blocks go together quickly, especially when paired up and chain pieced. Here are all 42 blocks.
I want to lay out the colors on my design wall before I trim the blocks. Then I'll number them and identify which direction each one should tilt. I'll probably trim them, kit them up, and assemble the top at retreat the first weekend in April. I need to show the sample at the PCQ meeting on April 14 to introduce the class, so If I get the top done at retreat it'll be ready in time.
My sample will be six columns wide by seven blocks high, plus half blocks at the tops or bottoms of the columns for a half drop layout. It will measure 36 by 45", easily do-able at retreat. This is a great project for beginners or for a group because it's so forgiving. And the result is a fun little quilt.
I have a much larger version that I kept for myself. It started with one charm pack, then I added fabrics from my stash that harmonized with the charm prints. This one is 143 blocks, 66" wide by 81" long, and lives draped over the quilt ladder in my family room. I'll share this one when I introduce the class at the PCQ meeting, too.
Linking up with Small Quilts and Doll Quilts
*Charm packs usually come with 42 pieces which will yield a 6 by 7 block layout, 36" by 45", perfect for a baby quilt.
I cannot stress enough the importance of making a test block of an unfamiliar pattern or construction method.
I had previously cut a lot - a lot!!! - of 2" strips for a postage stamp project. I sewed them into strata and cross cut them to make checkerboards. This is what's left over after I cut all I needed for the blocks.
1. It was hard to cut through one strata with the ruler, awkward and didn't cut through in places. I tried several different rotary cutters. The pattern says to stack several strata and cut through multiple layers. Impossible for me.
2. I followed the pattern instructions exactly. They were somewhat confusing, so I reread them until I understood exactly how to place the ruler and make the cuts. I don't like the result. The points of the football shape are cut off, and the corner triangles extend inconsistently more than 1/4" into the seam allowances at the edges of the block. Upon close examination of the pattern, this is actually illustrated in the graphics. If I'm going to put all this work into something, I want it to look like it was made with skill. I want accurate points that meet where they're supposed to. It's just me, but I'm fussy that way.
3. My strata alternate dark and light stripes and I don't like how the light stripes disappear into the background. I don't think my strata are suitable for a ring design after all.
So, this ruler method is not for me, and this design concept is not working for my strata. I'll have to come up with a Plan B....
The original postage stamp project is kitted up for retreat in April. I have a few other projects I can take along to keep me busy. Plan B and the box of leftover strata can wait.
Linking up with Small Quilts and Doll Quilts
Last month I listed all my UFOs and WIPS, in hopes of getting something on the list finished this year. But instead of working on an existing project, I started a new one.
Some Kaffe scraps were donated to PCQ but they were smaller than we usually keep, so last year's chair passed them to me. They must have been a fat eighth bundle from which someone cut some chunks. I was able to cut a 7-1/4" square from each. I also added some of my own Kaffe scraps.
For now, the new project is just flying geese units. I also have a Kaffe jelly roll to do something with. I have a vague idea for where this is going, no actual pattern. It will evolve, I'm sure.
Linking up with Small Quilts and Doll Quilts
I was able to quilt the tops that Kevin the Quilter sent, and now they're ready for donation.
The larger of the two is about 48 by 64", made of immaculately pieced 1" squares.
The smaller one is about 45 by 60", with 1-1/2" squares, with equally beautiful piecing.
Kevin's tiny patchwork has inspired me to work with small pieces. Not that tiny, but I have a couple of projects going that use 1-1/2" finished squares. Slow going, but that's okay with me.
Linking up with Alycia Quilts
Last month one of the co-chairs of PCQ's Community Service Committee asked me to help make a small Irish Chain quilt and draft the pattern so we could use it for Community Service sew days. The intention is to use up the massive stash of fabrics languishing in the club's cabinets.
A true Irish Chain design has a lot of negative space, usually very light, which makes the chains pop. We don't have much in the way of very light fabrics. We do have some white/beige/ivory pre-cut 2-1/2" strips. We also have a few pieces tucked away from which we could cut more strips or squares, but we value it for the contrast it provides too much to use it all up in one or two quilts. So, my challenge was to come up with something that still has the Irish Chain look but uses something other than the background fabric in the alternate squares.
EQ8 to the rescue to start playing with ideas. What I learned while working in EQ is that the more closely the alternate squares match the background in value, the more the chain effect stands out. The more the alternate squares contrast with the background, the more the pattern looks like a nine patch variation, Win-win!
Then we raided the fabric bins. This is the first top Teri and I made to introduce the project at the sew day. It's 42-1/2", wheelchair size for Hospice or possibly baby quilt size. Our members prefer to make smaller charity quilts.
This is a scrappy version, all from the club's stash. Many dark blue, green, olive and brown fabrics were used for the chains, and several whites, off-whites, and creams for the background. Four watery novelty prints, related by theme and color, worked for the alternate squares, although the dark part of the ombre one is darker than I would have preferred.
In order to test the pattern, I made another version in a curated palette as well. Good thing I did, I had to make some corrections. EQ to the rescue once again! Here's my curated version, all fabrics from my personal stash. If the alternate squares are light, even a medium (as opposed to a dark) can stand out well enough for the chain effect.
