Fellow Quilters,

Apparently I have slipped back into my pre-Time-to-Quilt-quilt-along blogging schedule.  It’s been 3 weeks since my last post – where does the time go?!?  Spring garden clean-up has taken some of that time.  After weeding the beds, I divided some daylilies and planted 2 flats of annuals that Hubby bought.  I must admit that I am not a very good or enthusiastic gardener.  Except for a few obvious species, I can’t tell the weeds from the perennial flowers.  My friend says a weed is just a flower that you don’t like.  I feel that way about the mini begonias that Hubby bought.  I have never liked begonias.  I think I shall do the flower buying next year – just saying.  I have left quite a few green sprouts in several of the beds, waiting to see if they are more recognizable in another week or two.  I almost pulled out all the Evening Primrose thinking it was a weed.  Hubby bought the last rhubarb plant in town – a scrawny pathetic thing – that will probably need 3 years to establish itself before I can harvest any.  The rhubarb plant at our old house was finally at a stage where it was producing a nice sized crop.  I really wanted to dig it up and bring it with us when we moved last year but thought the hole in the ground surrounded by bricks might be rather obvious.  I would also like to plant 2 pear trees though Hubby says he needs to do some re-leveling of our backyard before that can happen.

So, speaking of the quilt-along, I managed to get 2 of my sets of blocks sewn into quilt tops AND quilted.  The FIGO Midsommar mini one was easy – small, with straight-line quilting.

Midsommar-time quilt done!

I used a variegated thread with orange, pink and purple – it was perfect.  I loaded it on my longarm machine and used the channel lock function to stitch perfectly even straight lines in no time flat.  I used my extra test blocks on the back for a splash of color.

The back of Midsommar-time

Then it was on to the Vino version.  I added the outer borders and loaded it on my machine.  I decided to use some plastic Baptist Fan templates for the quilting – I haven’t used them in forever.

Plastic Baptist Fan templates

I pulled out what seemed like half my thread stash and finally decided on a variegated thread.

The variegated thread matches nicely with the prints.

I threw the quilt on my son’s bed (when he comes for an overnight stay) just to take a photo and I’ve decided that it belongs there.

My Vino Time-to-Quilt found a home.

So that leaves the stack of super-sized Shimmer blocks.  I’m not motivated so I’m asking for your help.  Inspire me!  Show me your finished Time to Quilt quilts or quilt tops.  You can either email me a picture of your quilt/quilt top at patti.pattispatchwork@gmail.com or post a picture on my Pattispatchwork Facebook page.  If you do this by June 12^th (my son’s birthday), your name will go into a draw for a bundle of fabric.

Speaking of Facebook, I am participating in a fun 3-day event June 2-4. The Designers Tips & Techniques Virtual Show takes place from noon until 8pm each day.  Each participating quilt designer has selected a time slot and will do a 15-minute Facebook Live post at the top of their hour, demonstrating their tip or technique.  The schedule is here.  My time slot is June 3 at 3pm, and I am madly researching how to do a Facebook Live post.  Between you and I, I am very nervous!  What if my post doesn’t go live as planned?  What if I forget what I’m going to say, or leave out vital details?  What if my internet goes down part-way through my talk?  Hubby has jury-rigged a device to hold my phone – lots of duct tape was involved.  I still have several dry runs to do before June 3.

I am also participating in a Designers Shop Hop July 13-18.  Just like with a traditional shop hop, each designer will have a free unique block pattern in their online shop for the duration of the hop.  Quilters travel online to each shop to collect the block patterns and see what each designer has done with the blocks to make a quilt.  Stay tuned for further details – I’ll be posting more information on my Pattispatchwork.com website, on Facebook and in a future blog post.

Time for me to do another dry run of my Facebook Live demo…

Cheers,

Patti

Fellow Quilters,

Happy Saturday !  I was sitting down yesterday to write my blog post when my plans got derailed.  Back on track now.  I am sitting at my kitchen island “office” looking at snow flurries outside my window.  Hellooo!?! It’s May!?!  It’s supposed to be 17°C (60°F) at this time of year.  No matter, I suppose, if I need to stay inside and social distance – a good opportunity to get my Time to Quilt blocks sewn together and into a quilt top.  If you’re following along, Northcott has a backing prize up for grabs.  For your chance to win, select at least 12 of your blocks and assemble them in a quilt top, then go to Northcott’s Facebook page on Monday May 11^th to post a picture of your quilt top.

So, on Wednesday I talked about assembling your blocks in a straight setting using the same principle we used to sew some of our blocks together.  The chain-piecing of each row of blocks to the next row makes assembly of our blocks and quilts warp-speed.  The added bonus is that it keeps the units or blocks in the correct orientation and order.  I showed how I will sew my FIGO Midsommar make-it-mini blocks together – straight-set with no sashing strips between the blocks.  So how do we apply this concept if we have an on-point setting such as the one I’ve selected for my Vino quilt?  Let me show you.

My Vino blocks laid out in an on-point setting

Here is a photo of my quilt blocks laid out in my almost-final arrangement.  Now, I needed 50 blocks for this, so I quickly whipped up another pair of Block 4 since it was so fast.  Even though I am putting sashing strips between the blocks and cornerstones at the intersections of the sashing strips I have not laid them out with the blocks because I don’t need to – I will add them as I’m sewing the blocks together.  So you may be thinking that this doesn’t look easy to sew into rows.  Let’s take another picture, on an angle this time – can you see the rows and columns now?

We pick up the units in columns 2-12 from bottom to top

Just like for the straight-set layout, we’ll pick up the blocks in all but the first column from BOTTOM TO TOP.  We’ll include the setting triangles as well, keeping them aligned as they are in each column (this part is important).  Note that the first “column” is just the corner triangle. Then we label each stack and flip all but the first column so that the pinned label is still at the top edge.

Label each stack and pin the label to the top edge so that all the pieces are attached

I leave the corner triangles from Stack #6 and #7 aside – I’ll add them at the end.

The bottom triangle from Stack 6 and top corner from Stack 7 are set aside and attached at the end

Gather them up in order and take them to the sewing machine.  I’ve got my pile of sashing strips and cornerstones handy as well.

My piles of cornerstones and sashing pieces are handy

We are going to add our sashing/cornerstone pieces between each stack of blocks.  Now, for Step 1 let’s take that first column (the corner triangle) and add a vertical sashing strip to it – center the triangle on the sashing piece so that there is ⅜” of triangle protruding beyond the top and bottom edge of the sashing (remember this tip from Block 3?). For Step 2 we are going to add Stack #2, but notice that there is nothing to sew the setting triangle units (the first and last pieces in our stack) to.

Steps 1-3

We can add the block to the sashing piece and we can also add the horizontal sashing pieces above and below the block by sewing them to a cornerstone (see Step 2 in the diagram).  Step 3 is adding a vertical sashing/cornerstone column – we can add the triangles from Stack #2 at this point.  We continue adding stacks alternately with vertical sashing/cornerstone columns, also including the horizontal sashing pieces between the blocks in each stack.  My mantra as I’m working is “wide (block) column, then narrow (sashing) column”.

Continue adding Stacks 3-12

By the time we’re finished sewing the stacks together, the piles of sashing and cornerstones are gone.  Then we sew the horizontal rows together.  I pressed all my seams toward the sashing.  This means that I pressed away from the cornerstones, and everything nested beautifully when I sewed the horizontal rows.  Here is my quilt top at this point, just waiting for the outer border.

Just waiting for the outer border

Now, because I wanted full cornerstone squares around the perimeter, I had to use extra-large setting triangles and add them at different stages than I do when I usually sew an on-point layout – it requires another level of concentration and coordination (ugh!).  Apparently 2 large mugs of tea is not enough caffeine for this job, so I had some unpicking to do.  I timed myself while assembling this quilt – it took 6½ hours.  Let me know how you do!  I rewarded myself with a beverage courtesy of the mixologist – a homemade concoction of banana, apple juice, crème de cacao and orange-flavored Blue Curacao (which made it green).

Our fruity concoction as a reward for getting my quilt top (almost) done

Speaking of the mixologist, Hubby finally selected a winner from the comments left on May 2^nd’s blog – it is Judy Duffy.  Congratulations to Judy!

Good luck with your quilt tops.  I look forward to seeing them on Northcott’s Facebook page on Monday.

Cheers,

Patti

Fellow Quilters,

Good Wednesday morning!  Are you continuing to Stay-at-Home-and-Quilt?  I had a conversation with a friend recently – she was asking what we had learned about ourselves during this stay-at-home period.  For me it’s probably been virtual learning, though sadly not much in my life is different since I work from home.  Hubby has learned to borrow virtual books from the library.  And he has learned several new cocktails.  The most recent ones were a choco-nut banana “martini” that I think is really more of a blender drink (he bought too many bananas and we’re trying to use them up before the fruit flies find them).

Sunday’s choco-nut banana beverage

Also a chocolate-orange-banana concoction using a homemade chocolate orange tawny port (yum),

Monday’s cocktail

and most recently a modified version of White Russian using Goldschlager – he had a miniature bottle of this and wanted to use it.

Tuesday’s cocktail du jour

He doesn’t like cinnamon so he didn’t use much.  Apparently Goldschlager will be on the menu again soon.

So, big news on Northcott’s Time to Quilt Facebook page – there is another prize up for grabs.  Northcott is throwing in a backing prize.  To qualify, create a quilt top with at least 12 of your blocks by Monday May 11 and post a picture on Northcott’s Facebook page.  The winner will receive enough backing for their top.

Today’s tip:  I have a great tip for you today – it’s all about assembling your blocks into a quilt top.  Remember way back on Day 6 when I talked about sewing the units of your block together and keeping the rows connected by a thread chain?  I also talked about this on Day 7 wen we sewed the center part of Block 7 before adding the large triangles to the corners.  So, we can apply the same principle to assembling our blocks into a quilt top. I worked with the FIGO blocks for this example. I arranged my blocks in 8 rows of 6.

My FIGO blocks are arranged in 8 rows of 6

Notice which blocks are in the first and last rows (top and bottom).  Okay, now I stacked the blocks in Column 1 in order from top to bottom, so #1 was on the top and #8 was on the bottom of the pile, keeping the top edge of each block at the top edge of my stack.  I basically walked down the quilt, adding each consecutive row’s block to the back of my stack. I pinned a #1 tag to the top center of my stack.  Then I started on Column #2.  I picked up the last block (Row 8), then added the block in Row 7 to the back of my stack, then the block in Row 6 to the back of the stack, and so on until I got to Row 1.  I now have a stack of the 8 blocks from Column 2 with the block from Row 8 on the TOP of the stack and the block from Row 1 on the bottom of the stack.  I pinned a #2 tag to the top center of my stack.  I continue to Column 3, working from bottom to top – the block from Row 8 is on the top of the stack and the block from Row 1 is on the bottom of the stack.  All the columns except the first on are picked up from the bottom to the top.

The first stack has blocks 1-8 (1 on top) and the rest of the stacks have blocks 8-1 (8 on top)

When you look at the photo you will notice that the block on stack #1 is from Row 1 and the blocks on stacks 2-6 are from Row 8. THEN I flip Stacks 2-6 over so that they are face down AND the pin is still at the top.

Flip Stacks 2-6 over so that the pin is still at the top

See that pin at the top?

This keeps the blocks in the correct alignment in the quilt. Now I can take stacks 1 & 2 to the sewing machine and sew them together.  Stack 2 is ready to be added to Stack 1 – the block on the top of the face-down stack is from Row 1 and it’s in the correct alignment to be sewn to the right edge of the first block in Stack 1.  Once I sew Stack 2 to Stack 1, I pin my #2 tag to the Row 1 or top block. I grab Stack 3 and sew the blocks to the Stack 2, then continue, adding Stacks 4-6.  All the blocks are attached in a lattice and all the vertical rows have been sewn.

Each stack has been added – the vertical seams are all sewn and thread chains connect the rows to make a lattice

I usually finger-press the seams in the odd-numbered rows to the left and the seams in the even-numbered rows to the right.  Now I simply sew my horizontal rows.  Done!

Tomorrow or Friday I will show you how to apply the same concept to an on-point layout with sashing as I assemble my Vino quilt.  It makes assembling the quilt 3 times faster than sewing each row together, then placing it back into the layout and sewing all the rows together.  I will also announce the winner of the free pattern then – Hubby hasn’t made his choice yet and he’s gone to pick up a rack of moose antlers from his harvest last Fall.  They’re not going to hang above the fireplace, that’s all I’m saying.

Cheers,

Patti

Fellow Quilters,

Good Sunday Morning!  If you’ve been following along with the Time to Quilt quilt-along and read right to the end of yesterday’s post you know there is a prize up for grabs if you post a comment about the quilts shown in yesterday’s post.  Silly me – I forgot to include a deadline – so the deadline to leave a comment to be eligible for the prize is Tuesday May 5^th at 11:59pm EST.  Thank you for all your comments so far, and for the lovely emails that I have also received.

I’ve got a few more quilt ideas for you to consider today, as I alluded in yesterday’s post.  I played around with my 12” super-size Shimmer blocks and came up with some ideas that could also work with the 9” blocks.  Let’s take a look.  My original Shimmer quilt with the 4 color palettes I selected was rather colorful.

My original design idea for my 12″ Shimmer blocks

Partway through the quilt-along I decided to replace some of the color in the blocks with black and my resulting quilt looked like this.

My revised design with black in some of the blocks

I liked it much better – I found that the black calmed it down.  I had an email conversation with one of my fellow BMQG members who was following along and making the 12” blocks – we discussed different layout options.  I mentioned that this version is rather large – 94” x 118” – and I might consider removing a row of blocks to bring the quilt down to 94” x 107” and use the extra row of blocks in a bed runner.  I still wasn’t entirely happy with my color choices for this quilt, so was also considering taking out the coral blocks and using them for another smaller quilt.  So I opened up EQ and started playing.  By selecting only the blue/green/purple blocks and placing the blocks on-point I came up with this arrangement and a size of 94” x 113”.

My blue, green and purple blocks arranged in an on-point setting

Now I like this quilt! Okay, let’s play with the coral blocks.  I recolored 2 pairs of blocks to remove some green and purple and placed the blocks on-point with an alternate block.  Here’s what I got.

My coral blocks set on-point with an alternate chain block

How cool is that?  With a 4” border this quilt is 63” x 80”, a nice throw size.  Now, in EQ it’s very easy to make adjustments to quilts simply by clicking a button, so I wondered what size this layout would be if I used the 9” blocks instead.  Here’s what my quilt image looked like.

I reduced the block size to 9″ but didn’t change the border width – surprise!

My work-around in EQ to get full squares instead of half-squares for those outer ½-blocks was to add a narrow border with triangles to make the other half of the square (you can see that inner border on the blue-green-purple version).  When I reduced the block size it reduced the length of those border blocks but not the height of them so the triangles became pointier.

The original border block (using cream instead of black) and the shortened block

Look at those outer large “squares” in the alternate blocks – they’re now arrowheads!  Haha!  An accidental design choice – I like it!  Have you made any accidental design choices?  Maybe ran out of one fabric and your substitute created a surprising but happy result in your quilt?

I think the few downpours of rain yesterday impacted the mixologist’s choice of cocktail – we had Hurricanes, not necessarily the cocktail of choice for a cruise, however they were quite tasty.

Hurricanes were on the menu yesterday

My friend Daphne has posted some notes on her blog about what she plans to do with her Tapa Cloth blocks,  Apparently she has recruited her resident mixologist as well 🙂

I’m off to get a pattern written today.  I have 1 more post relating to the quilt-along that I want to do, with a great tip for assembling your quilt.  If my pattern-writing goes well, I’ll blog again tomorrow, otherwise it’ll be Tuesday.

Cheers,

Patti

Fellow Quilters,

I think Hubby is enjoying his new-found role of mixologist as we continue our virtual cruise to Europe.  Yesterday was Juno Beach with a side trip to Paris, so the cocktail du jour was French martini – a combination of vodka and gin, dry vermouth (Noilly Pratt of course, since it’s French) with a generous splash of Cointreau. Delicious!

Yesterday’s cocktail was a French martini

The latest round of weekly winners was announced on the Northcott Facebook page – were you one of them?  Check the post today to collect your prize.  And I see on FIGO’s Instagram feed that if you post a pic of your quilt top (that’s all the blocks sewn together, with borders and sashing if you’ve decided to go that route) by May 8 you’ll be entered for the grand prize drawing.  Well, let me give you some ideas for those blocks you’ve so meticulously pieced over the past 24 days!  PS.  If you haven’t started yet, or you’re not finished yet, there’s still time.

So, on Northcott’s Facebook page today there is a picture of a quilt made with all 48 blocks, sewn together without sashing between the blocks, and what looks to me like a 5” border.

Simplest option – no sashing, and 5″ border

For this 64” x 82” quilt you’ll need roughly 40” of border fabric, cut into (7) 5¼” strips – join end-to-end and cut into (2) 72½” pieces and (2) 64” pieces.  Sew your blocks together in 8 rows of 6, then sew the 72½” strips to each side then the 64” strips to top and bottom edges.  Done!

On the Facebook page there is also a link to some finishing instructions.  The quilt shown in here has sashing – 1” strips between the blocks and finishes at 70” x 90” including the 4¾” border. I used this layout for my Vino #1 quilt, made with 9” finished blocks, and this is what it looks like.

Vino #1 with 1″ sashing and 4 3/4″ borders – finishes at 70″ x 90″

Then I opened up my Electric Quilt program and played (it’s so easy to “make” quilts in EQ).  I wondered what the blocks would look like on-point.  Daphne made some virtual quilts with on-point layouts during her daily Time to Quilt blog posts.  Here is my first rendition – no sashing and no borders – for a quilt that finishes at 64” x 77”.  Let’s call this Vino #2.

Vino #2 – 64″ x 77″

Then I added 1½” sashing (cut 2”) to give the blocks a bit more space – Vino #3 finishes at 75” x 90”, similar in size to #1.

Vino #3 – 1 1/2″ sashing to finish at 75″ x 90″

What if I made my cornerstones (the squares at the intersections of the sashing strips) a contrasting fabric?  It makes the quilt busier but it also adds interest – we’ll call this Vino #4.

Vino #4 – also 75″ x 90″ – with contrasting cornerstones

For my final version, Vino #5, I added an 8” border to make the quilt 92” x 107”.

Vino #5 – 92″ x 107″ – with 8″ border

So many choices!  It really depends on what size I want my finished quilt to be – a large throw, a twin-size or a queen-size.

I want your opinion here.  Please help me choose.  Which of my 5 options do you like best? Please post a comment below.  Also tell me which option you would choose for your blocks.  I will randomly select a winner (the mixologist does this, actually) to receive a complimentary pdf pattern from Patti’s Patchwork.

Tomorrow I will post some design options using the 12” super-size Shimmer blocks, and also a couple more ideas for the 9” blocks.  See you then!

Cheers,

Patti

Fellow Quilters,

Happy Friday 😊 Woo-hoo!  We made it to the 24^th and final day of the Time to Quilt quilt-along.  If you’re following along, Friday is the day to pop on over to Northcott’s Facebook page and post a photo of your 2 favorite blocks.  Don’t forget to also like the page and the post for your chance to win some major swag.  You can also post your photos on Instagram and #timetoquiltfigo.  Good luck! I hear tell there might be a couple more prizes after today, maybe some quilt layout instructions on the Northcott Facebook page, and maybe even another quilt-along.  If you’re a subscriber to my blog, you’ll get all the details.  And please share my posts with your quilty friends/fellow guild members and encourage them to subscribe if you have enjoyed this quilt-along.  Shall we get to our final block?

Block 24 is similar to yesterday’s block but easier – no HST units in the corners.  Did you find yesterday’s tip about the order in which you add the sew-and-flip corners helpful?  When I was assembling the units in my super-size Shimmer version, I almost went rogue and changed the way they were arranged.  So many choices!

Same block, different options

I didn’t make any changes to the original pattern on Northcott’s, Banyan’s and FIGO’s Facebook page, simply added pressing notes and the 3 size options.

As I was piecing my blocks I was reflecting on the tips I have shared for the past 24 days, and also the tips Daphne has shared on her daily blog.  Two that she mentioned bear repeating.

Tip #1:  Practice makes perfect.  While making all these blocks over the past 24 days I have found that my piecing skills have improved, as has Daphne.  How about you?  I think we can all agree that we are now experts at half-square-triangle (HST) units.  We’re better at snowball or sew-and-flip corners.  We’re now pretty good at 4-patch units too.  I’ve also become much better at mini-piecing, having worked on the 4½” make-it-mini version.  Some of you would say that isn’t mini, however it’s much smaller than I usually sew.  So give yourself a pat on the back if you’ve made all 24 blocks.

Tip #2:  Daphne posted a great tip about sewing those snowball corners.  Place a line of tape on your machine in front of the needle and make the bottom tip of your angled corner square follow the line of the tape.  This saves having to draw a line on every snowball corner square.  It also works for those HST units.

Tape lines on my Janome travel machine

I have these tape lines on my Janome Gem travel machine, and I had them on my old sewing table when my machine was mounted into a table.  That table didn’t make the move when Hubby and I relocated last year. Now my machine sits on a different table so I don’t have enough space in front of the needle to really take advantage of this tip.

Tip #3:  I have used the same thread for all 3 versions for all 24 days – a medium beige and medium gray Aurifil.  These are my go-to colors.  I put one in the top and the other in the bobbin so that I know which thread is the top thread (it’s easier to unpick if I need to do any).

Medium beige Aurifil in the top and medium gray Aurifil in the bobbin

I was also going to give some tips on sewing machine feet however I shall save that for another post so stay tuned for that.

Here are my finished blocks.  Time to celebrate!

Block 24 done 🙂

Here, by the way, was yesterday’s Stay-at-Home-and-Cruise cocktail du jour – Hubby’s version of an apple-tini since we were scheduled to be in Normandy.

Our version of an apple-tini for our Normandy port of call.

You can find my instructions for Block 24 here.

Northcott’s blocks today are made with Material Girl and Banyan’s are done with Vintage Chic.  I wonder what FIGO is showing in their quilt today.

Speaking of quilts, I played around with my blocks yesterday in my EQ program and came up with some very nice arrangements.  Since today’s post is already long enough I shall save them for tomorrow.  You will be inspired!

I really would enjoy seeing your blocks and your finished quilts.  Please do share them with me, either by posting pictures on my Patti’s Patchwork Facebook page or by emailing them to me at patti.pattispatchwork@gmail.com.  I am also very interested in your feedback on this quilt-along and your favorite tip.  Please post your comments below.  Would you be interested in doing another one?  How often – daily, twice a week, weekly?  How many blocks?  What size of block/quilt?  If you’ve done other quilt-alongs, which one was your favorite, and why?

Thanks sew much, and I’ll see you tomorrow 😊

Patti