Happy Quilting Quilt-A-Long 16 Patch Block Instructions

So are you ready to start sewing??  I am so excited!!!  To start we are going to be making 16 patch blocks.  I know, not what you expected, but trust me, this is a fun and fast way to whip this quilt together.  So to start, check out the chart below and find the size you are making.  It will let you know how many 16 patch blocks you need to make.  So for example, I am making a 3 x 4 size or 51 x 68 so I will need to make 6 16 patch blocks :)

So if you know how to make a 16 patch block go to it.  If you are a beginner, no worries, I will walk you through step by step on how to make your block.  First, you need to decide if you are going to make all of your blocks together in assembly line format or if you want to make one at a time.  I will be showing how to make one at a time but if you want to do assembly line just repeat the instructions for how many blocks you are making :)

Onto the sewing!!!!  We'll start by matching 2 patch pieces.  Grab 2 of your 5" squares.  Try not to worry to much about what you are putting together, you want to keep it random.  I just make sure that I am not aligning 2 of the exact same prints next to each other :)

Lay your first 5 " Square onto your second 5" square with right sides together.  Pin along the edge.  Now go ahead and repeat this step 7 times so that you have 8 pinned together sets.  That is for one block :)  If you are doing assembly line pin together the number of blocks you need times 8 :)  Make sense??  And just in case you are wondering, Yes, you should have extra charms.  We will get to those in a week or so :)

And you are ready to sew.  Grab your first set of 2 and sew a 1/4" along the pin side.  Make sure to remove pins as you go.  I know it is tempting to run over them but it is a really bad habit (one I am still working on breaking :)  Once  you have finished your first set don't cut your threads.  This is where you chain stitch.  Chain stitching is sewing all of your pieces one after another.  It saves a lot of time.  So keep feeding your sets through until you have sewn a 1/4" seam along all the edges.

When you have sewn the last set go ahead and remove them from your machine.  Clip the small set of threads between each of your 2 patch sets.  (I know, I need a new ironing board, this poor guy has been with me since college and has been used and abused :)

Now go ahead and open your 2 patch pieces.  You are going to press the seams open.  The reason for this is to reduce the bulk that is created.  Go ahead and press all of your 2 patch pieces.

So now you have a stack of 2 patch pieces that look like this :)  Aren't they just cute :)

Now we are going to turn those 2 patch pieces into 4 patch rows.  Once again, try not to stress to much about the way things are lining up, just try to avoid repeat patterns next to each other :)

Lay your first 2 piece patches onto your second 2 piece patches with right sides together.  Pin along the edge.  Now go ahead and repeat this step for all of the 2 piece patches are pinned :)

Once you are all pinned you are ready to sew again.  Once again, chain stitch your 1/4" seam running all of your pieces through one after another.  

And once again, go ahead and clip the threads between your now sewn together 4 patch rows and press your center seam open :)  Repeat for all of your 4 patch rows.

So now is where you really see it start to come together.  Go ahead and lay out 4 rows.  This is the time where you can play with the layout a bit to get a look you like.  Once again though, don't stress about it to much, it will get mixed up again :)

Once you get a layout you like you are ready to pin.  Lay your first 4 patch row onto your second 4 patch row and then lay your third 4 patch row onto your fourth 4 patch row, making sure to have right sides together.  You want to start with pinning your 3 center seams first.   (Where the arrows point).  Make sure to align your seams as perfect as you an.  This will give you nice crisp corners.

If you find that aligning your seams perfect results in a bubble no worries.  Just smooth the bubble down and put a pin in horizontal.  This will help to keep the bubble down and out of your way when stitching.   Also, after stitching I realized I would have preferred a few more pins, so feel free to put a pin in the center of each 5" squares as well.

Once you are all pinned up go ahead and stitch your 1/4" seam along the pinned line.  Before reaching seams, I like to just run my finger under to smooth out my underneath seams.  This just keeps them from "flipping over" and creating bulk.  Once you are done stitching go ahead and clip your threads and press your long center seam open :)  (You are a pro at this now, I figured you didn't need a picture).

So now you are here, and you only have one more seam to do.  That's right, you know what to do!!

Lay your top now sewn together row 1 and 2 onto your bottom now sewn together row 3 and 4 with right sides together.  Once again, make sure to align your seams first.  I added the extra pins this time and found the sewing easier :)  Now that you are a pro you can do it all without pictures, right :)  Just sew your 1/4" seam, clip your threads, press your center seam open and presto!!!

You have a beautiful 16 patch block!!!  So fun!!!  I am just so excited to see all of your fun blocks.  Once you are done, feel free to post pictures on our little quilt-a-long flickr page so we can all see your progress :)

Happy Quilting Quilt-A-Long Cutting Instructions

Good Morning All and  Happy Valentines Day!!!  We'll I know many of you have been waiting for this so let's get right to it.  Here are the cutting instructions to get going on our Happy Quilting Quilt-A-Long :)

Today we will be cutting the 5" squares of your super fun prints.  I am so excited for the great prints that are being used!!  Your pictures on Flickr are awesome!!  I know you might be itching to cut everything but we will save the sashing until we get closer to that part.  (mainly because I want to double check the exact measurement on my sewn pieces, I want to make sure my calculations aren't off a 1/4").  Now, I know some of you already know everything that follows but we are trying to keep this beginner friendly.  Just use what you need for your skill level :)

So, for your 5" squares, you need to first know how many to cut.  So find the size you are making, and see how many 5" squares you will be cutting.

Square Quilts

Rectangle Quilts

Okay, Now on to the cutting.  I will show you the method for cutting your pre-cuts and your yardage.  If you are going Scrappy I figure you already have enough experience cutting to cut your desired 5" squares :)  (and I just couldn't figure out how would be a good way to show cutting up scraps :)

So Pre-Cuts :)  If you have charm squares just set them aside :)  You are already done :)  On, to the Layer Cakes.  Now, you will be getting four 5" squares out of each layer cake piece.  So, you can figure out how many "pieces of cake" you need to cut up by dividing 4 by the number of squares needed.  For Example, if you are doing a 3 x 4 quilt take 144 / 4 and you get 36 slices of cake needed.  Which means, you can pull out 6 slices of cake and save them for a future project :)  Or, if you are like me and you like 5" squares you can just skip this step and cut up your whole layer cake and then have some extra "charms" when you are done :)

Okay, So how do you cut up your Layer Cake.  Grab 3 - 5 (Depending on how sharp your cutter is) 10" squares and line them up on top of each other and along your grid lines of your mat.  I like to do this as a double check.  See how the square fits perfectly in my mat grid :)

Now align your ruler up so that the 5" mark aligns with the side edge of your slices of cake. (sorry, the reflection of my light kind of made it hard to see where the corner lines up.)  The other side of your ruler should be right along the grid line of your mat.  That is your double check.  Once you are all lined up, go ahead and slice along your ruler edge.

Now, don't move your pieces!!  Without moving, flip your ruler in the opposite direction so it is now across your slices of cake.  You are going to measure the exact same way.  Line the 5" mark of your ruler along the bottom of your layer cake pieces.  Double check that the other side of your ruler is lined up along the horizontal line on your mat.  Go ahead and slice along your rulers edge.

Now your have 4 adorable little "charms" out of each print.  Repeat this process for as many Layer Cake pieces that you need.  I am doing my whole layer cake and having some leftovers :)

Onto Yardage!!!  Okay, so once again, we start with a little math.  First you want to figure out how many charms you want out of each print you have.   You will be getting eight 5" squares out of 5" strip of yardage.  So, you can figure out how many 5" strips you need to cut up by dividing 8 by the number of squares needed.  For Example, if you are doing a 3 x 4 quilt take 144 / 8 and you get 18 5" strips.  Let's say you have 9 prints you are using.  So divide 18 / 9 and you get 2 strips of each print.  The math won't always work out this perfect but you get the idea.  If you have questions, please feel free to email me or leave a message on flickr.  I love to figure fabric yardage :)  

Now, onto cutting.  I will be showing how to cut 2 strips.  (If you have a 24" ruler you can cut up to 4 strips at a time and still be fine, anymore than that and your ruler won't be long enough :)  So start by ironing your fabric piece.  I don't starch but you are welcome to if that is what you prefer.  Now, disclaimer, I am using a piece a fabric that I got at Wal-Mart for 25 cents a yard.  It is horrible, it actually started melting when I ironed it (hence the wrinkles) , but since I didn't need any 5" squares of a print right now, I don't mind wasting this stuff :)  Align your folded edged along the bottom line of your cutting mat.

Once your fabric is nice and aligned go ahead and cut a straight edge using your mat grid.  I had to measure in quite a bit as my edges didn't line up at all.

Once you have a nice straight edge you are ready to cut your strips.  From your straight edge, count 5" over.  Align your ruler along the mat grid lines on the top and bottom of your fabric piece.  Go ahead and cut along the edge of your ruler.  (hint . . .When I am cutting long strips like this I like to place my hand along the bottom of the ruler, I cut about 1/2 way up, pause, slide my hand up the ruler, and then finish the cut.  It just seems to help with slipping :)

Now, Don't move your cut strip.  Measure over another 5" , align your ruler along your mat lines, and cut again.   Repeat this process until you have your desired number of strips.  (Once again, don't do more than 4 at a time ;)

So now you are ready to cut on the Horizontal.  Start at the top of your strip.  Go ahead and line your ruler up along the horizontal line of your mat that is just below the selvage line.  Go ahead and cut off the selvage edge.

Now, from your nice new cutting edge, measure down 5".  Align your ruler along the horizontal grid lines.  Once you are nice and aligned go ahead and slice across all your rows at once.

Continue measuring down 5" and slicing until your get to the bottom of your pieces of fabric.  You should end up with about an inch to an inch and a half left along the bottom.  Go ahead and make your final cut.

You now have 8 squares per 5" strip.  Remember there are 2 in each set as your fabric was folded.  And you will have a little bit of scrap at the bottom of each strip.  Yippee Skippee for Scraps :)  Continue this process until you have all of your "charms" cut.

Alright, That's it for today!!!!  If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to email me at happyquiltingmelissa at gmail dot com.  Or you can always leave a note over at the flickr group :)  If you like, you can post pictures of your charms as soon as you get them cut.  They are going to be so cute!!!

The plan is to start the Sewing on Wednesday.  So try to have your squares cut by then :)  I am so super excited to get going on this project!!!  Happy Quilting!!!!

A Few Things and a Giveaway :)

Good Morning All!!  I have a few things to announce and then it is on to the giveaway :)

First, If you are quilting-a-long with us keep getting that fabric together.  Last I heard everyone needs a few more days to gather fabric.  I think I will start the cutting instructions on Monday.  If that won't work for you just send me an email :)

Second, Voting for the Love Nest Contest begins at Gen X Quilters today.  If you get a chance, head on over and cast your vote for your favorite.  :)  This was my entry.  Anne Marie has done a great job lining this all up and I am sure she would appreciate everyones support by voting for your favorite :)

 

Third, I know I haven't posted any Block-A-Palooza blocks recently and that's because I haven't made any.  I am a little behind, but never fear, I will get caught up and post them soon :)

Okay, On to the giveaway.  I have to say, I am major blown away!!!!  I just closed the 300 follower giveaway 2 1/2 weeks ago and yesterday (or the day before possibly) Happy Quilting made it to 400 followers!!!  Yippee Skippee!!!  I just can't begin to explain how excited and happy I am that there are so many people out there interested in my little quilting corner of the web :)

So, to say Thank you, we are going to have another giveaway!!!  I thought I would do something a little different since we just had a fabric giveaway.  Remember my amazing friend that designed my blog??  We'll she also makes cards!!! Amazing, creative, adorable, original cards!!!!  She recently moved (Le sigh for me) and was cleaning out some of her card stash and was kind enough to give them to me.

So I thought I would share :)  Up for grabs is a set of amazing handmade, adorable cards :)  And since we are celebrating 400 followers we will have 4 winners!!!  So, on to the nitty gritty.

Since this is a follower giveaway celebration you have to be a follower to win.  So if you are a follower just leave me a comment.  Anything will do :)

If you are not a follower, simply click on the Follow button either on the left hand column of the blog or on the navigation bar on the top of the blog.  After doing that just leave a comment.  Anything will do :)

I will end the giveaway on the evening of the 17th and announce the 4 winners on Friday morning, the 18th :) (oh, and just FYI, I will be checking to make sure you are following, it's only fair :)   Good Luck and Happy Quilting!!!  

Mail Day :)

Look what came in the mail Yesterday!!!  My Quilt-A-Long fabric, Yippee Skippee!!!  I am so excited!!  I just can't wait to cut into that wonderful layer cake!  I will give everyone a few more days to get their fabric together and then we will get cutting.  If you have your fabric, feel free to put a picture of it on our Flickr Group so I know you are ready to go :)

If you haven't gotten your fabric, here is another option.  Leah just got in the beautiful Oasis line.   She even did a mock up of it so you could see the beautiful prints in the pattern.  Isn't it just beautiful!!  Don't forget you can get it 10% off with your Coupon Code HQQAL for 2 more days over at Burgundy Buttons

It's a Block Party!!

So have you heard about the Block Party over at Quilt Story??  Super fun!!!  They have categories for Creative, Modern, and Traditional.   I figured, I always have blocks that I am working on so why not give it a go??

My Creative Block has now been turned into a mug rug that I love having on my wall by my machine.  It's my new sewing mantra and it fits so well :)  I chuckle a bit each time I see it.

My Modern Block is one that I made for my Bee recently.  Personally, I think HST's are about as modern as it gets.  Who ever came up with this idea props to you!!!  So much better than sewing triangles together!!  I really had a ton of fun designing the layout for this one.  It just blows me away how you can take one layout and make it look like 20 different blocks just depending on how you insert colors and neutrals.

My Traditional Block is a new project I am working on.  Gotta love Log Cabin Blocks!!!  I am hoping to get to B - Z in the next month or so.  Each letter will be done in different color-ways.  What a fun way to use up scraps :)  Oh, and I think I am going to add and eye to the alligator, he just seems like he is missing something

Now I know you have some blocks lying around.  Go ahead and join the party.  The more the merrier!!