Layer Cake Sampler Quiltalong

I've been having fun taking part in this quiltalong designed and organised by Amanda at Material Girl Quilts. Every Friday Amanda has been releasing two new blocks and we've just passed the halfway point.

 

All you need to make the quilt is a layer cake of forty 10" squares and background fabric. This is what the finished quilt will look like

 

 

I decided to use a Splash Cracker pack which is Hoffman's version of a Layer Cake. However, I couldn't decide which background fabric to use; light or dark. So I decided to be a bit different and use both

 

I like to be a bit different every now and then. I'm a kind of 'What if.........' quilter.

So here are my blocks up to block 12, in sets of four. The finished size of the blocks are 16" square and I don't have a design wall or space big enough for all of them at once!

Blocks 1 to 4

Blocks 5 to 8

 

 

Blocks 9 to 12

I'm loving how my points are meeting nicely, I think because you trim the HST units before joining them. And I'm quite pleased with how using two fabrics for the background is working. It is meaning that I'm needing to think about the best arrangement for the blocks each time. Amanda gives you a couple of alternative layouts for each block too.

So only eight more blocks to go!

And finally..........you know I said I was a 'What if' kind of quilter? I thought I would make some more blocks using one of the Hoffman 1895 pre cut packs which are plainer fabrics and use a patterned batik for the background......and here are blocks 1 and 2 using Taffy

 Oh...........and I'm using a 5" charm pack instead of a layer cake so the HSTs are trimmed to 2" square making the finished blocks 6" instead of 16". I think they will all be quite cute!

Linking up with Amanda's halfway blog post and giveaway
 

Full of the Joys of Spring part 2 - and a tutorial!

So the rest of my day yesterday was spent sewing.

 

And yesterday I made a quilt top! It was so quick and easy I've put a quick tutorial together as I'm thinking it has the possibilities to be as good as the #scrappytripalong that is all the rage online.

 

One of the marketing girls at the offices gave me a charm pack of thirty two 5" squares that are subscription gifts for a Sewing for Pleasure show the magazine is attending in a couple of weeks.

 

'What can you do with this?' she asked.

 

I wasn't immediately struck with inspiration but as usual the creative juices starting flowing and I have come up with this. It measures 38" square but if you kept adding blocks you could make a bed-sized quilt really quickly.........and use up a lot of scraps. You don't have to use one background colour either like I have done here, which would use even more scraps up!

 

 

I'm calling it a #scrappychurndash and here's how you make it.

 

What you need:

Assorted 5" square scraps or a charm pack

Matching background or assorted light or dark scraps. I used calico.

 

Cutting:

1. Cut 5" strips from your background and sub cut these into 5" squares.

 

Method:

1. Take one, 5" background square and cut it in half to make two, 2.5" x 5" rectangles.

2. Join these rectangles to opposite sides of one, 5" scrappy square. Press seams towards scrappy square.

 

 

3. Take one, 5" scrappy square and cut it in half to make two rectangles as before and join them to opposites sides of one, 5" background square. Press seams towards scrappy rectangles.

 

 

4. Cut this second pieced strip in half to make two, 2.5" x 9" rectangles.

 

 

5. Place these pieced rectangles on opposite sides of the first pieced strip.

 

 

6. Join the strips together to complete the block. It should measure 9" square (finished size 8.5" square) and the seams should nestle nicely because you have pressed them in opposite directions.

 

And hey presto one very quick and easy block!

 

 

What do you think? Want to play along too? If you do, tag your images #scrappychurndash

 

Joanna