Shelly picked a really fun block for March because it will be the first time some of us will be making a block using the quilt as you go technique and following the instructions in a tutorial provided by Cori George, a Pennsylvania quilter, on her blog Hey Let's Make Stuff.
design-seeds.com
Special thanks to Fabric Inspiration for the Month is fresh and exciting! Shelly chose a selection of fabrics that can purchased at Stitchcraft for our guild called “Lemonade on the Rocks”.
Here are the color matches for you (with a general color indicator):
- Kona cotton colors: Silver (light grey), Shadow (dark grey), Moss (dark green), Citrus (bright, cheery yellow, Stone (medium grey)
- Moda Bella solid cotton colors: Fog (light grey), Kansas Green (dark green), Sunflower (yellow) Stone (medium grey).
Our March block uses a different technique than we have used before – a quilt as you go block.
Don’t worry if you have never made one of these blocks. The tutorial by Cori at Hey Let’s Make Stuff is thorough and easy to follow. We will learn how to put these blocks and other types of quilt as you go blocks together at the March meeting.
Shelly's sample block
The back of Shelly's sample block
Shelly made a sample block from her own stash. Shelly suggests that you cut all of your fabric before sewing. She says to use scant ¼ inch seam or less when sewing strips. Iron after sewing strip and iron after quilting each strip to make a really flat block. Make the two upper left corner strips 3 ¾ inches wide rather than 2 ½ -- just to be on the safe side. She also said that it seems that it will take forever when you make the first triangle and strip set but after that it goes fast.
Each strip of the block graduates from light gray in the lower right corner to dark gray in the upper left corner. The flying geese go from dark yellow in the bottom right corner to lighter yellow in the upper left hand corner.
The back of the block looks great, too.
Other details:
- Blocks finish 18”
- Use Dream Cotton Request batting only
- Use any grey or reads grey fabric for backing
- Quilt block any way you desire. Even some big stitches would be great!
- Quilt with 50 weight white thread unless using big stitch
- Use ¼ inch seam
- Press after sewing each strip
- Trim loose threads as you go
I’m sure you will have fun sewing this block. Remember the more blocks you make the more chances you have to win the block lottery at our March meeting. And, you will get to try the new tips for putting the quilt together!
~ Jean Jankovich & Shelly Recicar