Block 11 of the Growing Up QAL

Here it is, the November block for the Growing Up QAL, 

designed by my fellow blogger, Alida, of Alida Tweloq Designs.

This also happens to be the last block for the QAL, so now it's on to arranging all of them, and going through Alida's suggested sashing ideas. A lot left to do!

For this month, I went with block 2, as I had difficulty figuring out where to put my three colors, red, white, and blue in block 1. This block design just worked a bit better for three colors.

Notice I was a bit of a messy paper piecer.

But once the edges were trimmed, it was pretty again.

Unfortunately, I don't have any hints on sewing this one this time. For the curves, I just suggest going slow, don't pull on the fabric, and let the machine do the work. 

Sometimes things end up perfect, and sometimes they don't. In this picture, some points are spot on, others lopped off, and some too long. 

Maybe if I'd kept the paper on, things would have been different? Can't say I do enough curved paper piecing to know what works. 

As for the layout, I hope to get to it in January, as December is really busy - I'll keep you posted!

Happy Quilting!

Scrap Happy Baby Quilt

Introducing Scrap Happy, in a baby quilt size! 

This is my fourth quilt made from the Charm School (affiliate link) book, with Sea Glass, Lickety-Split 1, and Lickety-Split 2 the others. Any more quilts from charms are of my own design (hint, hint - there's some in the works!) but those are for another day.

I must say, I really enjoyed this book, and had hoped to make a couple more from the patterns. But, as I said a few weeks ago, distractions have gotten in the way. So, I'll say adieu to Charm School, (affiliate link) and move on.

Scrap Happy details

I know, this is what you're really waiting for - quilting eye-candy! Let's have a look:

Made from charm squares, with a fast and fun way to make 4-patch units that easily achieve scrap variety. If you haven't seen the videos on that technique, check out The Charming 4-patch: Fast, Fun, and Fabulous, and The Charming 4-patch on Overdrive!

Ah, the quilting! Crosshatching in the sashing,

stitch-in-the-ditch on the squares, and a really simple line fill in the sashing stars adds a bit of specialness!

And guess what? I have a video on how to fill those stars, which can be done on a domestic or longarm machine - yeah! 

To start off, the star has a 1/4" border stitched inside, and two lines in the star arms divide the space for the magic to happen. 

The video starts with the last bit of a dividing line being stitched, then moves onto the fill.

Pretty easy, right? Just another idea for a star fill, if ever you need one!

And if you wondering why there's no awesome fill in those 4-patch squares, well, I had one planned, then changed my mind. I really liked the poofy squares that stitch-in-the-ditch provided. Plus, they look pretty cool on the back, with that grey flannel of pink birds.

Soft and cuddly for a sweet baby!

Thanks for coming to Charm School (affiliate link) with me!
Happy Quilting!

The Charming 4-Patch - On Overdrive!

The Charming 4-Patch - Fast, Fun, and Fabulous tutorial and it's companion Youtube video are rocking the quilting world - ready to take it to the next level to make multiple 4-patches?

I promised this is for the over-achievers out there - those that really want to go full throttle with this technique - but anyone can do this!

Sew charms together

Just as in the Charming 4-patch tutorial, sew those charms into a strip. Sew as many into a strip as you're comfortable with, but sew an even number of charms. Another hint to make this all happen!

For my demo, I'm working with 8 charms,

and cutting 2.5" from the left.

Cut units for step 1

With a longer strip, the top layer is folded back out of the way, so that cutting can continue on the bottom layer. 

The 2.5" piece just cut is folded over and ready for the next cut.

Continue folding and cutting on that layer until all pieces are cut. Here there are 8 units from all that step 1 cutting.

Sewing for step 2

Once again, these units are turned and sewn together to make a tube.

And the cutting begins 2.5" from the left

As before, fold the top layer out of the way, and work on the bottom layer, folding and cutting. 

What not to do

Now, in the above picture, it looks tempting to just measure over 4.5" to make the next cut. But don't do this, because if the seam is a bit fat, the error is going to carry through to the end of the strip. And that means the units will end up different sizes, and their center seam will be off.

Just treat the folding and cutting as part of the process. Better to measure 2.5" off of the folded over seam, eliminating cutting errors to the other units.

Charming 4-Patch - On Overdrive Video

This tutorial wouldn't be complete without a Youtube video, Charming 4-patch on overdrive, showing the process step-by-step.

Final Charming 4-patches

And here they are, all 8 4.5" 4-patch blocks, ready to go!

Make a checkerboard or make them scrappy - go wild!

Most of all, have fun!