Floating Squares Quilt Pattern

Introducing my newest pattern...Floating Squares

71" x 80 

You will need:

4 yards brown fabric
1 ¾ yards orange fabric
1 ¼ yards cream fabric
4 yards backing fabric

Cutting Directions:

All strips are cut WOF (Width of fabric)
14 - 5" strips brown, sub cut 7 strips into 56 - 5" squares
4 - 2 ½" strips brown, sub cut into 56 - 2.5" squares
8 - 3 ½" strips brown for the border
7 - 5" strips cream, sub cut into 56 - 5" squares
7 - 5" strips orange
8 - 1 ½" strips orange for the border
9 - 2 ¼ strips brown for the binding 


Making the 4 patch blocks:
With 7 brown strips and 7 orange strips sew a 5" strip of brown to a 5" strip of orange along the long side.
Press towards the brown.
Sub cut the strips into 5" pieces making each piece 5" x 9 ½".
Repeat with the other 6 strips to make 56 pieces.

Sew the 56 pieces together to make 28 brown and orange 4 patches

Making the Bowtie blocks:

First you need to get your machine ready. Do you have a marked line or a piece of tape along your 1/4" line? Just about everyone I know around here does. What you do is put your needle in the down position and raise your presser foot. Insert a ruler against the needle and lower your presser foot. Line up a line on your ruler perpendicular to a line on your machine table so you know your ruler is straight, ie. the 4" line on the ruler. Then with a fine point sharpie draw a line against the ruler or place a 1/4" piece of tape in the same spot. I didn't have any 1/4" tape when I did this so I used a piece of painters tape that I cut with my rotary cutter to 1/4". And don't worry about the sharpie, you can always remove it with denatured alcohol.

With the 56 cream 5" squares and the 56 brown 2 ½" squares:

Place the brown 2 ½" squares on the top right corner of a cream 5" square. Make sure they edges are even.

Start sewing at the place where the top left corner of the brown square begins. Keep the bottom right part of the brown square even with the tape line on your machine and continue sewing till you reach the bottom right point of the brown square.

Make 56 of these

Trim the brown triangle piece that is closest to the cream point off. In other words the part you will not see. This will keep the integrity of the square in case your points are a little wonky

  

Press the points over and you will have 56 connector squares

 

Sew a connector square to a brown 5" square. Be sure they are sewn together like the picture below. Make 56 sets.

Sew 2 sets into a 4 patch to make the bowtie blocks. Make 28 blocks.

Putting it all together:

Using the diagram below sew 4 rows like this, pressing towards the left

and 4 rows like this, pressing towards the right.

Then sew the rows together

 
Adding the borders:

Sew 2 orange 1 ½" strips together along the short side. Make 4 sets of these. Sew the 2 side borders on and then the top and borders on.

Sew 2 brown 3 ½" strips together along the short side. Make 4 sets. Sew the 2 side borders on and then the top and bottom borders on.

Baste. Quilt and Bind as you would like.

I hope you enjoy this pattern!

I'm a Snake Charmer Now

If you are looking for the Darling Heart FQ bundle giveaway click here.

I admit it...I am a new snake charmer :)

No I don't mean real snakes (just the fact that I can type that word is a big step for me) but I did charm some charm squares into a cute quilt top.

I used the Snake Charmer pattern by Little Louise Designs. The great thing about this pattern is that its available as a PDF from The Fat Quarter Shop! This is my favorite way to purchase patterns. I can save them to IBooks on my Ipad and have it ready whenever I need it.

Instead of a charm pack, I used 7 FQ's from my Darling Heart Garden FQ bundle and made it a little wider and longer. The pattern is so easy that adding to the quilt is easy. There's no real quilt math to do.

And it uses one of my favorite techniques, connectors. If you missed my connector tutorial you can find it here.

You might have noticed that it's not all the way done yet, there's 2 reasons for that (aka my excuses):
1. I have been slaving away trying to finish my son Tyler's quilt before he goes back to school. I'm very sad to say that I did not accomplish that goal, but I'm very close. All I have left to do is the binding. It's a new Original Craizee Corner pattern so I can't share it until I get it all finished and written up. But Tyler loves it and I hope you will too.
2. I decided on a single fabric border and didn't order it until Sunday. Here's what I am using for the border.

This fabric is from the other colorway in the Heart Garden line called Beloved Heart Garden. I want the border to pull any red out of the snakes to make it pop more.  

But I do plan on finishing this quilt this weekend. I am going to send it to my Mom for Valentines Day. 

I also want to share an email I got from a follower yesterday. Alyce wrote me:

Awww, so pretty!!
I just wanted to share my creation from last night inspired by your mug rug yesterday!
http://justsewblossom.blogspot.com/2012/01/valentines-mug-rug-candy-love-hearts.html

I was so excited to learn that Alyce used Monday's tutorial to make her own mug rug. She modified it a bit, which I think is awesome and something I do often. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, well this just about knocked my socks off! As a blogger you never know if anyone's really reading the blog or if you are reaching anyone. This totally made my day, along with the other great comments y'all left this week. If you make any of these projects I'd love to hear and see them too :) 

Here's my question for today, what would you make if you won this awesome FQ bundle of Darling Heart Garden from the Fat Quarter Shop?

Come back tomorrow for another V-Week project. I have to tell you a secret...It's not done yet. I am taking a class tomorrow and that will be the last project for the week.

UnNamed Block

If you are looking for the Nifty Notion Rulers giveaway click here.

A few weeks ago I was asked by Jane of QuiltJane to share a new block I had designed. I said yes and was very excited. Then confusion settled in and for some reason I got this mixed up with another upcoming blog hop I am in. So I am sorry if you came here earlier to see this block post. Between my confusion and not knowing the time difference (plus internet problems this a.m.) this is a bit (well maybe more than a bit) late. 

If you are visiting from QuiltJane please have a look around.

I am excited to be part of the Desperate Houswives Quilt. Jane is showing us 100 quilt blocks, 2 every week.

Today I have a block that was used in my first pattern, which was published last week. I call the table runner Countdown to Christmas. 

I have yet to decide on a block name. So I need your help in naming it. What do you think?
The table runner is made with 12" squares, but I am going to make the block a little smaller with directions for an 8" square to fit into the Desperate Housewives Quilt if you are making it. See the original pattern for the 12" version.

Note - I have linked back to other tutorials I have posted on my blog. You can follow these directions or make the HSTs by your preferred method. The finished squares will be 2".
You will need

¼ yard red fabric

¼ yard white fabric
¼ yard green fabric

Cut 4 - 2½” squares and 8 – 1½” squares out of the green fabric.

Following the directions found here make 12 red/white Half Square Triangles from 2½” strips. Note - If you use an alternate way to make HSTs make sure they are 2 1/2" after squaring up.

On 8 of the red/white HSTs you will be sewing the green 1½” square onto the white part. See this tutorial to learn to sew on connectors.

8 of your red/white HSTs will now look like this.

You will now have 3 different type of blocks.
A.      4 - Green 2 ½” squares,
B.      4 - Red/white HSTs
C and D. 8 - Red/white HSTs with a green connector.

Make a 4 patch using this pattern, repeat to make 4 – 4 patch blocks.

Sew the 4 – 4 patch blocks together according to the diagram below.
Note - C and D are the same block.

This block will measure 8 1/2" unfinished.

Thanks Jane for letting take part in the Desperate Housewives Quilt Block Show. 

My first pattern...AKA Countdown to Christmas Tablerunner

Here's my very first pattern. I love all things Sweetwater including Countdown to Christmas. You can get some Countdown to Christmas at The Fat Quarter Shop.

Here's the PDF version.

Countdown to Christmas Table Runner

Fabric:

¼ yard Green                                                  16”x40” piece of batting

¼ yard Black                                                    16”x40” piece for backing     
½ yard Red
½ yard White

Note - this can also be made scrappy as long as you get the same number of squares cut.

Strips are always cut width of fabric (WOF)

HST = Half Square Triangle

Cut (the other pieces will be cut according to the technique you use for your HSTs)
12 green 3 ½” squares
24 green 2” squares

You will need to make 8 black/white HSTs

You will need to make 28 red/white HSTs

Note – If you are using a HST ruler make sure you read the how to directions first.

Here’s 2 different ways to make the HST’s.
Using a HST ruler:

( see this tutorial http://craizeecorner.blogspot.com/2011/04/using-half-square-triangle-ruler.html for more info)

Cut

2 - 3 ½” strips of red
3 - 3½” strips of white
1 - 3½” strips of black.

Place a white and a black strip right sides together. Starting with the ruler facing

this direction (like a right triangle) cut your first set of triangles. Usually it’s the direction that has the writing right side up so you can read it.

Flip the ruler and cut the second set of triangles. Continue until you have 8 black/white triangle sets and 28 red/white triangle sets cut.

Starting with the part of the triangle set with the flat tab, line your needle up with the left corner of the tab and sew using a ¼” seam allowance to the bottom of the triangle.

Make 8 black/white and 28 red/white HSTs

** See the pressing directions before pressing.

Traditional HSTs:

Cut
2 - 3 7/8” white strips, sub cut into 14 - 3 7/8” squares
2 - 3 7/8” red strips, sub cut into 18 - 3 7/8” squares
1 - 3 7/8” black strip sub cut into 4 - 3 7/8” squares

Put a black and a white square, right sides together.

Draw a diagonal line on the white square from point to point.
Sew using a ¼” seam on both sides of the drawn line.
Using a rotary cutter, cut along the diagonal line to make 2 HSTs. Trim to 3 ½”.

Make 8 black/white HSTs and 28 red/white HSTs.

Pressing: Very important

Press half the black/white HSTs towards the white and half towards the black.

Press half the red/white HSTs towards the red and half towards the white.

Adding the Connectors:

On all 8 black/white blocks and 16 red/white blocks (8 pressed towards the red and 8 pressed to the white)  you will be adding a 2” green connector to the white half of the HST block.

See this tutorial http://craizeecorner.blogspot.com/2011/10/corner-triangles-aka-connectorsa.html for an easy no-draw way to attach connector squares

OR you can do it the traditional way of drawing a diagonal line on the 2” squares and sew along that line.

I suggest only cutting the middle piece (the unused part of the connector) and not the bottom 2 layers, that will keep the integrity of the square and make piecing easier.

Putting the table runner together:

You will have 4 different squares at this point.

A – 12 - 3 ½” green squares
B – 12 - 3 ½” red/white HSTs with no connectors
C – 8 - 3 ½” black/white HSTs with green connectors
D – 16 - 3 ½” red/white HSTs with green connectors

Layout the blocks following the diagram below. Starting with the top left Block B alternate the direction the blocks were pressed. This will make matching the points easier. Make each star block and put them together.  To make sure the points match nestle the seams together on the diagonal when you are sewing the blocks together. The points will meet at one point.

Baste, Quilt and Bind as you normally would.

There you have it...a table runner that can be made for any season. Instead of the 4 A blocks put together you can fussy cut a 6 ½" square to go there.

Corner Triangles aka Connectors....A Tutorial

A while back on twitter I asked what a square with a small half square triangle (HST) on one of the corners is called. We decided it was called 'corner triangles'. Then I went to my quilting class that week and found out that the term is called connectors, although I like corner triangles better.

On Wednesdays post about the Friendly Quilt Along I promised to show you a way to sew the connectors on...
"On Saturday, October 8th I will be showing you a very easy way to sew the connector squares on with out pinning or drawing on the back of the small square or even just guessing where the diagonal really is. It's a fool proof way that will make this quilt go fast."

Like so many other things I learned this technique from Gail at The Berry Patch. She is probably the most knowledgeable quilter I know, I always learn something new and wonderful at her classes.

For each square you will need a larger square (mine is 5") and a smaller square (mine is 2.5"). These sizes are not set in stone, your pattern might be different.

1. First you need to get your machine ready. Do you have a marked line (like with a sharpie) or a piece of take along your 1/4" line? Just about everyone I know around here does. What you do is put your needle in the down position and raise your presser foot. Insert a ruler against the needle and lower your presser foot. Line up a line on your ruler perpendicular to a line on your machine table so you know your ruler is straight, ie. the 4" line on the ruler. Then with a fine point sharpie draw a line against the ruler or place a 1/4" piece of tape in the same spot. I didn't have any 1/4" tape when I did this so I used a piece of painters tape that I cut with my rotary cutter to 1/4". And don't worry about the sharpie, you can always remove it with denatured alcohol.  

Now you are ready to start piecing.

2. Take your 5" square and place the 2.5" square on one corner, right sides together. Make sure the corner and edges line up. When I talk about the top left and bottom right part of the small square it is from this position I am referring to.

3. Take the squares to your machine. You will start sewing from the top left corner of the small square and sew down to the bottom right corner. Line your top left point up with your needle and the bottom right corner with the left side of the tape. Stitch down the center of the triangle, watching the tape line (your machine will keep sewing if you look away from the presser foot and needle for this, I promise).

If your bottom right corner of the small square follows the line the needle will end up right at the bottom right corner. There you have a perfect diagonal line. 

4. Press the square over to make a triangle.

5. Normally you would be told to trim the bottom 2 pieces under the triangle, but I think it's best to only trim the center. If you are off by any amount (and lets face who isn't at times) keeping the bottom part (in other words the part of the big square) will keep your square integrity and give you the correct line to sew on.

There you have it...an easy way to sew on the diagonal...no pins, no pencils and no guessing.

There's so many applications this can be used for, not just connector squares. Can you think of any others?

I am off to Quilt Sitters and Sit and Sew at The Berry Patch today and will pick a winner of the Quilting Design Wizard later. If you haven't entered I am giving you a few more hours :)

Are you planning on joining the Friendly Quilt Along? I hope so, this is a great quilt and is so easy now that you know how to make these pieces.

Sha :)