Make-it-Fit Monday – Day 6 of Time to Quilt

Fellow Quilters,

Happy Monday!  How many of you had a fancy dinner last night for Easter?  I’ve seen a few posts on Facebook that show a traditional turkey dinner with all the trimmings and only 1 or 2 people are sitting at the table as we continue to practice social distancing.  What did you prepare for dinner, or have delivered by a friend/neighbor? There will be lots of leftovers this week – leftovers are the best!  Turkey pot pie is on the menu for Wednesday at our house, and Hubby is looking forward to turkey sandwiches until then, especially with that Gran Marnier cranberry sauce I made yesterday.

Today is Block 6 of the Northcott/Banyan/FIGO Time to Quilt quilt-along.  Do you have a favorite block so far?  My modern side is leaning toward Block 2 and Block 4.  And I’m getting used to sewing the piddly little pieces in the Midsommar make-it-mini size.  Although I usually don’t work with pieces that small, I must admit that the Midsommar blocks are adorable and I am super-pleased that the seams are matching nicely in the blocks.  So, let’s get to the block.

I made one small tweak to the instructions posted on Northcott, Banyan and FIGO’s Facebook/Instagram pages – I replaced a section of 2 plain squares with a rectangle to eliminate 1 seam.

original Block 6 and my revised version replacing the 2 center squares with a rectangle

It seems insignificant, but in the make-it-mini version it reduces bulk (there is proportionately a lot more seam allowance in this size).  I also had small scraps of fabric for this version and couldn’t get 5 A squares and 4 C squares from my scraps.

My 2 scrap pieces of Fabric #2 for the Midsommar version

Converting 2 C squares into a B rectangle saved me ½” – it made the difference between being able to use this fabric and not.  I had 1/8” left over at the end of my scrap of fabric after cutting my pieces.  Because we need the same pieces from each of the 2 fabrics used in the blocks I usually stack my 2 fabrics and cut them at the same time – it speeds up the cutting process, reducing the time required by almost half.  I did this for the Vino and super-size Shimmer versions.

Today’s tip:  Once I have the half-square triangle units sewn, it’s time to assemble the block.  I sew the 2 HST units in the top row together and I pressed the seam open to reduce bulk.  In the bottom row I also sewed the C square and right HST unit together.  Then I arranged the components of the block in 3 rows, with 2 units/pieces in each row as shown.

Block 6 ready for assembly

I flipped the right-hand sections face down on the left-hand units, aligning them along the right edge. Then I chain-pieced the 2 units in row 1, then the 2 units in row 2, then the 2 units in row 3 so that they are all connected by a thread chain.

I flipped the right-hand column of sections face down onto the left column of units and chain-pieced them

Here’s the important part – I didn’t cut them apart.  I kept them linked by the thread chain because this keeps the 3 rows in the correct order and correct alignment (not flipped around or upside down).

The 3 rows connected by a thread chain

A close-up

Then I sewed the horizontal rows of my block.  Easy peasy and much faster because I chain-pieced and didn’t have to go back to my notes to verify which row is top, middle, bottom and which unit is on the left edge/right edge.  This speeds up the block assembly by at least 50%. I cannot take credit for this concept.  I learned this from the book “400 Quilt Blocks to Sew in 20 Minutes or Less” by Linda Causee.  Thank you Linda!  And just like that, Block 6 is done!

Block 6 done!

You can find my instructions for Block 6 here.

Northcott has used the pretty Bouquet collection for today’s block, and Banyan is showing Baralla – lovely!  And I’m sure Daphne has some great layouts for you today too.

See you tomorrow for Block 7 😊

Cheers,

Patti