Monday, April 5, 2021

Texas Monthly - Month 5!!

 It has been a bit of a wait, (issues with fabric supply) but I am super excited to get back on track with the  Texas Monthly Block of the Month program!   This BOM is hosted by Stitchin' Heaven  and is so much fun!!!    And we are moving on to Month 5 today :)   

So let's get going and there are 3 blocks this month and we get to do regular piecing and a little paper piecing as well :)  The blocks are all pretty basic and fast and fun to sew.    So let's get piecing!!!  


Cutting
I like to start out by pressing all of my fabrics.  Then it is time for cutting!!!  I like to cut all of my pieces for all of my blocks at the start.  Just be sure to keep them in piles separate for each block.  

And with all your pieces cut . . . you are ready to move on to the first block.




The Eight Pointed Star Block

First up, draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of your 8 colored squares.   Pair your colored squares as shown.   We will be using the squares on the top of each pairing first.  (Fabric 18, 15, 2, and 16)  


Place a marked square onto the left hand side of a Background rectangle as shown.   Stitch a seam directly on the drawn line.   Trim a 1/4" away from the stitched line.  Press towards the Print triangle.   Repeat for all 4 squares in the first pairing.   


Now we will repeat on the right hand side.  Be sure to match up your fabric pairings as shown in the first picture.   Place a marked square onto the right hand side of the pieced Background rectangle as shown.   Stitch a seam directly on the drawn line.   Trim a 1/4" away from the stitched line.  Press towards the Print triangle.   Repeat for all 4 squares making 4 Flying Geese Units.   


Layout the 4 Flying Geese Units, 4 Background Squares, and Center Print square as shown below.  Isn't that center fabric just so fun!!!  


Place the right and left hand column pieces onto the center column pieces with right sides together.   Align and pin if desired.   Stitch a 1/4" seam along the edge of all the units.   On the center unit, if you take care to stitch directly through the center of the thread X created from the flying geese units, you will get a perfect point on your stars ;)  


Press the top and bottom row outwards towards the Background squares.   Press the center row inwards towards the Print square.  This will allow you to nest your rows.  


Place the top and bottom row onto the center rows with right sides together.   Align and pin if desired or you can just nest the seams.   Stitch a 1/4" seam along the edge of all the units.  Again, stitch directly through the center of the thread X for perfect points ;)    Press the seams open.  


And just like that, you have a super fun Eight Pointed Star Block that should measure 14 1/2" x 14 1/2" unfinished.  




So now you are ready to move onto to making two of the . . . 

Pinwheel Block with Quarter Square Triangles

We will start with those little triangles.   Align the Background triangle onto the Light Blue triangle with right sides together and stitch a 1/4" seam along the edge.   Press the seam towards the Light Blue triangle.   Trim the dog ear from the corner.  Repeat to make 4 Pieced Triangles.  


Now, align the Pieced Triangle onto the larger Dark Blue Triangle with right sides together and pin and stitch a 1/4" seam along the edge.   Press the seam towards the Dark Blue triangle.   Trim the dog ears from the corner.  Repeat to make 4 Pieced Squares.  


Now layout your four Pieced Squares as shown to create a Pinwheel.  


Place the right hand pieces in each row onto the left hand pieces with right sides together  Align, pin, and stitch a 1/4" seam along the two pinned edges.  


Press the two seams open.  


Place the top row onto the bottom row with right sides together.  Align the Center seam and pin.   To ensure a perfect point in the center of your Pinwheel, you can use this little pin trick to align all the points :)  Stitch a 1/4" seam along the pinned edge.  When you reach the center, take care to stitch directly across the bottom of the Fabric V to ensure that perfect center point.  


Press the seam open.   And now your Pinwheel is done and we just need to add the Quarter Square Triangles to the block.   So grab the Background and Green square and draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of the Green square.  


Align the two squares with right sides together.   Stitch a 1/4" seam on either side of the drawn line.  


Cut on the drawn line and then press the seam allowances towards the Green triangles.   


Now draw a diagonal line in the opposite direction of the seam on the wrong side of one of the HST's.


Align the two squares with right sides together nesting the center seam with the green fabrics on opposite sides as shown.   Pin in place and then stitch a 1/4" seam on either side of the drawn line.  


Cut on the drawn line and then press the seam allowances open.  Trim the dog ears from the edges of the Quarter Square Triangle Units.  They should not need to be trimmed beyond the dog ears ;)


Layout the two Quarter Square Triangles as shown below with the Green Triangles on the sides and Background Triangles on the top and bottom.  


Place the top QST onto the bottom QST with right sides together.   Align, taking care to match the seams on the corners and pin.  Stitch a 1/4" seam along the pinned edge.  


Press the seam open.   Now grab your Pinwheel and layout the two blocks as shown.  


Place the Quarter Square Triangle Blocks onto the Pinwheel Block with right sides together.  Align the Center seam using the pin trick to align all the points :)  Stitch a 1/4" seam along the pinned edge taking care to stitch directly across the bottom of the Fabric V for a perfect center point.    Press the seam open.  


And now you have a beautiful Pinwheel Block with Quarter Square Triangles and absolutely perfect points!!!  It should measure 6 1/2" x 9 1/2" unfinished.  



So now you are ready to move onto to making the . . . 

Panhandle Block

And we are back to Paper Piecing!!!  So grab your Add a Quarter Ruler and Folding template, and make 4 copies of the Panhandle Block Paper Piecing Template.  


And we have done a lot of Paper Piecing by now, So I will just skim over that part.   But if you need a refresher course on Paper Piecing, see the Month 2 post ;)     For each of the 4 Units, you want to Trim the original seam line, Stitch the 2 piece onto the seam with right sides together, Press outwards towards the Background rectangle, and then repeat for the 3 piece.   


Once all of your Paper Piecing is complete, trim the 4 Units along the Outside Line to create your 4 perfect Flying Geese Units.  


Now layout the 4 Units as shown with the darkest purple on top moving to the lightest.    Then place the Second Unit onto the First Unit with right sides together and the Fourth Unit onto the Third Unit with right sides together.   Align the edges and pin if desired then stitch a 1/4" seam along the two pinned edges, taking care to stitch right through the center of the thread X for perfect points.  


Press the seams open.   Then, place the First Pieced Units onto the Second Pieced Units with Right Sides Together.    Align the edge and pin if desired then stitch a 1/4" seam along the pinned edge and through the center of the thread X.    Press the seam open.  


And now you have made a beautiful Panhandle Block that should measure 5 1/2" x 14 1/2" unfinished.  


And now all your blocks are made!!!!  All that is left for this month is to take those blocks and sew them into into Two Block Sections!!  So for 

Section 1

Layout your Eight Pointed Star Block and the Indian Paintbrush Flower block from Month 2 as shown below.  


Place the Flower Block onto the Star Block with right sides together.   Align and pin the edge.   Stitch a 1/4" seam along the pinned edge taking care to stitch through the thread X and at the bottom of the Fabric V for perfect points.  Press the seam open.  


And Section 1 is complete!!!  Super easy :)  


And that leaves us with 

Section 2

And to start this section, the first thing we need to do is trim the adorable Bluebonnet Panel that came with this month's fabric.   You will need to trim the panel to measure 8 1/2" tall and 9 1/2" wide.   This means you will just be trimming a little off the edges, so simply center your ruler and on the panel and trim.   I made sure when aligning top to bottom that the Stock Number on the panel was outside of the 8 1/2" mark so it would be trimmed off when I rotate the panel to trim the final side.  


Layout the trimmed panel, the Panhandle Block, the Pinwheel Block with Quarter Square Triangles and the Indian Blanket Flower Block from Month 2 as shown. 


Place the Pinwheel and QST Block onto the panel with right sides together.  Align and Pin the edges.  Stitch a 1/4" seam along the edge.  Again, if you take care to stitch directly along the bottom of the Fabric V at the seams, you will ensure perfect points.  


Press the seam allowance towards the Panel.  


Now, place the Panhandle Block onto the left side of the Center Pieced Unit with right sides together.  Align and Pin the edge.   Then place the Flower Block onto the right side of the Center Pieced Unit with right sides together, aligning and pinning the edge.   Stitch a 1/4" seam along the two pinned edges, taking care to stitch through the thread X and at the bottom of the Fabric V's for perfect points.    Press the two seams open.  


And you are done with Section 2 and that means you are also done with Month 5!!!!


Wasn't  Texas Monthly Month 5 just so fun!!!  I know I sure liked it :)

If you have any questions on this tutorial, please don't hesitate to email me at happyquiltingmelissa@gmail.com or leave a comment.  

Hope y'all enjoy making this month's blocks! 

 Looking forward to Next Month!

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Thursday, April 1, 2021

Serendipity Quilt Along - Release 2

Today is the second release of the Serendipity Quilt Along and it's a whole Flock of Fun!!!  This is Fat Quarter Shop's 8th Annual Charity Quilt Along to benefit Make a Wish and I always love quilting along :)     So here are the Row 2 blocks . . . lots and lots of Flying Geese, oh, so much fun!!   



And don't they just look awesome offset in the row!!!  I just love all of those Happy Geese in Happy Days Fabric by Sherri and Chelsi.  and they just pop on the Grey Background, especially the new citrine color :)  So great!!! 



So are you joining in with the Serendipity fun???   You can download the block pattern right here and it is requested for each pattern you download to donate $5.00  to the Make a Wish Foundation :)  And I am super excited to say that even though it has just started,  Fat Quarter Shop's annual charity QAL has already made the goal of  $50,000!!!  So now it is being extended to grant 10  wishes.   So amazing!!!  


And Fat Quarter Shop is doing Live  You Tube video tutorials this time.  Kimberly will walk you through the process of making the Release 2 blocks and sew right along with you.   The Row 2 live Video will be Released on April 5th at 9 am CT.  So fun!!! 



Be sure to share all of your Serendipity progress on social media with #serendipityqal and check out Fat Quarter Shops post for Release 2 for lots more Serendipity Inspiration!!!

And that's it for the Second Release in the Serendipity Quilt Along!!!!      

Thanks for popping in today ;)  Have a Happy Quilting Day!!


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