MTSwap - Finished

MTSwap - Finished

Originally uploaded by PioneerValleyGirl

A Sawtooth Star, my favorite! And I love that skinny blue border. So fresh!

Email List

Hey, swappers!  I have just sent you all an email regarding sending and receiving quilts.  Please email me if you did not receive this email (it means I missed adding your name to the MT Swap mailing list).

Don't forget, the deadline to ship is June 8, 2010 for international swappers and June 15, 2010 for domestic swappers.  If you think you might be late, you need to email me so that I can notify your partner.

Also, we love what you're making.  Keep adding those photos to the group pool so that we can get a sneak peak at all the gorgeous creations.  Here's what I've got so far:

I've always been curious about house blocks, so I figured this was a good chance to just go with it!  I'm calling this Neon Houses.  Of course, this is only a sneak peek.  There's still more to come!

"StarStruck"

"StarStruck"

Originally uploaded by jennewby71

Love that dotty binding, Jen.

What a gorgeous use of solids; they pop out beautifully against the white background Jen used. I love the stars in the corner; which is your favorite?

Starz

Starz

Originally uploaded by Pat Deck

Check these beauties! I posted about super-loving star blocks in my inspiration post... Maybe this is for me!

I'm going to convince Pat to do a guest tutorial. What better for our blog than a modern twist on classic stars?

Square Dance

Square Dance Completed

Originally uploaded by KarrieLyne

Here's another one done. KarrieLyne is fast! Could this be coming to your mailbox?

Eye Candy

MT Swap

Originally uploaded by PioneerValleyGirl

Check out this quilt, already finished and sent by pieceful kwilter to PioneerValleyGirl.

Not many swappers are posting sneak peeks to the flickr group. Please do! We'd love to feature your photos on the blog.

Martha Washington Star

This block is named for the first First Lady of the United States.  According to her biography at US History.org, she seemed to be a beautiful but uncomplicated woman.  Maybe that's why this block is named after her.

As usual, 12" block measurements are listed first with 8" block measurements in parenthesis.  Before you start, make sure to check out the Flying Geese Tutorial to refresh your memory on our fast and easy flying geese method.  The math is done for you, but it's necessary to be familiar with the steps of construction (they are not shown here).  

Magic Cross

Magic Cross is a fun and simple block.  I especially like this block because it's reminiscent of a star block, without messing with all those flying geese.  The devil is in the details, though, so make sure that you at least read the whole step before sewing.  Otherwise, keep your seam ripper handy!  As always, measurements for the 12" block are listed first, with 8" measurements listed in parenthesis.

Hither and Yon

This block is a doozy.  I ripped a lot of seams while working this tutorial.  As you all know, I'm making 8" finished blocks for a Christmas quilt.  Unfortunately, the 8" version of this block has some strange measurements, and so we're not able to use any of the easy piecing methods we've learned.

As always, I'm listing the measurements for 12" finished blocks with 8" measurements in parenthesis.  If you're too scared of triangles, check this tutorial to make a 12" finished block using easy piecing methods.  If you're making 8" finished blocks, you're stuck with this!

Antique Quilts 2010

Look what I found in my Google Reader: Antique Quilts 2010 from Better Homes and Gardens.  Anina posted about it just today.

This magazine takes 22 traditional antique quilt patterns and remakes them into modern quilts.  This is right up our alley!  Does anyone have this magazine?  What are the projects like?  Are there any blocks in there that we've already learned how to make and experimented with?

Corner Star

Sorry for being tardy to the party.  I'm not usually the one to make a fashionably late entrance, but this block boggled my mind for longer than usual.

The Corner Star block is made up of flying geese and square in a square units.  If you've been quilting along with us, this will be a piece of cake for you!

This tutorial lists measurements for a 16" block, since that's what we'll need for our project this week.  Measurements for the 8" block are written in parenthesis.  If you need 12" measurements, just ask!

Sunshine

I love the look of this block-- it's similar to Sawtooth and Bear's Paw blocks, but just unique enough.  You can make this block using one, two, or four medium or dark focus fabrics plus a light fabric for the background.  My block uses four focus fabrics; if you want to use less, just adjust your cutting instructions as needed.

Just like last time, measurements given are for a 12" block.  Measurements for an 8" block are listed in parentheses.

Flying Geese Tutorial

Lesly was right when she said that making flying geese is "mind-bogglingly tedious."  All of that cutting and matching and pressing can get extremely confusing, not to mention extremely old (extremely fast!).

It turns out, there's a better way.  Thanks to the kind folks at Quilter's Cache, I learned a couple new ways to make flying geese.

This tutorial covers my favorite method.  It creates four flying geese at once.  Of course, there is a little bit of math, but don't worry, it's only simple addition.

Eight Hands Around - Fix

Hi, people.  I am a moron and listed all kinds of wrong measurements for the 12" block.  I made mine in 8", so I didn't notice that the 12" measurements were off.  I've fixed them in the tutorial, but I want everyone to know they need to look again.

If you already started, please don't give up.  Make another one, I'm begging you.  I love this block and want to see your creations in our flickr pool.

Here are the new, correct measurements:

Step 1 -  Cut light fabric as follows:

• Cut 1 7 1/4" square.  Divide into four quarter-square triangles.  (8" block -- 5 1/4") 
• Cut 1 4 1/4" square.  Divide into four quarter-square triangles.  (8" block -- 3 1/4")
• Cut 2 3 7/8" squares.  Divide each into half-square triangles.  (8" block -- 2 7/8")
• Cut 1 3 1/2" square.  (8" block -- 2 1/2")
• Cut 4 2" squares.  (8" block -- 1 1/2")

Step 2 - Cut medium fabric as follows:

• Cut 4 2 3/8" squares.  Divide each into half-square triangles.  (8" block -- 1 7/8")

Step 3 - Cut dark fabric as follows:

• Cut 6 3 7/8" squares.  Divide each into half-square triangles. (8" block -- 2 7/8")

Eight Hands Around

What a cute block!  In this tutorial you're going to get brave and sew with triangles, instead of cheater squares.  Don't worry-- if you don't press too hard and pull too much, they'll turn out just fine.  But, you're going to wish you had eight hands when it comes time to make this.

Maleficent Mosaic

This block gave me so much trouble!  Many of my pieces were way too big and when I trimmed them down, I messed them up.  Others were too small.  I really had to work to make this block look right and I didn't do that great of a job.

Don't let the picture deceive you!  This block is pretty wretched in real life.

Card Trick

Card Trick relies heavily on the use of light, medium, and dark fabrics. Be sure to choose fabrics with obvious contrast, otherwise you'll just have a lot of triangles.


As the name suggests, this is an extremely tricky block. We'll be piecing this block using actual triangles instead of our easy cut-squares method. I tried to figure out how to do this using the easy method, but because of the necessary light-dark combinations, it doesn't work. Don't try it! Trust me.

Lady of the Lake

Contrast is key with the Lady of the Lake block.  Since the center blocks are so big, choose fabrics that you would like to showcase.  Here's a great resource on making Lady of the Lake and, of course, some inspiration

Lady of the Lake has a beautiful name but is kind of a pain to make.  If you're worried about your half-square triangles coming out perfect, bump measurements up to an even 3" and 9" then trim after sewing and pressing.

Antique Tile

Here's my version of the Antique Tile block.  It's gorgeous.  I've definitely underused the red/green shot cotton in my other blocks.  I'm considering going back to redo some blocks with different fabric choices.

Courthouse Steps

This block is a Log Cabin variation.  It's very simple and intuitive to put together.   I, of course, think it is modern in its simplicity.  We'll see if you agree!