V-blocks

While I was making the border for my Disappearing Shoofly QOV, one of the units that I needed to make is what's know as a V-block.  The V-block unit looks like this, and is a common unit in many quilt designs:

An important thing to know about a V-block is that the top of the  "V" does not go to the corner of the block.  It is inset slightly, about an eighth of an inch. (The sides of the block below have not yet been trimmed, so they appear wider.)

I have a special ruler just for making this type of block, and although it looks complicated with all the markings, it produces perfect V-blocks every time, and I think it is worth the effort to figure out how to use it.

    

The ruler makes 11 different sizes of V-blocks, and you can also you it for making 60-degree triangles.  The directions that come along with the ruler are well-written and have diagrams.  The cutting allows for slightly larger units than necessary because let's face it, no one sews perfect quarter-inch seams 100% of the time!  Your unit will be slightly larger to allow for those imperfections, and will trim to the exact size you need.

Basically, the ruler has 2 functions: Cutting the patches, and trimming the block.  Let's look at it:

The first thing is to cut strips of fabric for your units.  In the right part of the ruler, circled in yellow, it tells you what size strips to cut.  Basically, an inch larger than your finished unit.  I needed a 4" finished unit, so I had to cut a 5" strip.  This same yellow section is used to cut the sides of your V.  You need a left and a right side, (mirrored images) so if you fold or put your fabrics right sides together, you can cut both at the same time.  The part of the ruler circled in green is used to cut the center V of your V-block.  The very first V you cut on your strip will be cut on a fold using dark black line on the ruler shown by the blue arrow.  This is because WOF strips have straight edges, and we need a 60-degree angle.  So fold the fabric strip just enough that when you put the bold black line on the fold, you will be able to get both sides of the triangle with one cut.  After that, you just align the left edge of the 60-degree triangle in the green circle on the fabric and cut.  You will need to rotate the ruler from the top of your strip to the bottom after each cut. The part of the ruler circled in red is used for trimming you v-block unit after it is sewed.

I needed 4" finished V-blocks for my border.  You can see that there is about an eighth or a quarter inch "wiggle room" in the block to be trimmed off. The tip of the V fits into the "4-inch finished size V" on the ruler, you trim the right side and the top of the V-block.  Then  flip the v-block unit over, align the now-trimmed straight edges with the "4 1/2 inch cut size markings."  The point of the V fits perfectly in the X, and you can now trim the other two edges.

I know there are other rulers that do the same thing as this one, but I have used it in various projects over the course of the years and was always happy with the results. I know rulers can be expensive, and this one is no exception. But I think it is worth it. 

Recalculate!

My Disappearing Shoofly Quilt of Valor has been sewn and I found a really cool border pattern and I thought it would be perfect since it has the same layout as my Disappearing Shoofly QOV, 4 x 5 for 12" blocks.  I cut the fabrics all at once since it was my intention to chain piece the units.

I don't usually cut all the fabrics at once.  Usually I make a sample to see how it goes together, and cut fabric as I go along.  I have miscut fabrics more then once, and it was a lesson I learned the hard way more than once.  This time, it was a little different.  Lucky for me, I laid out the units BEFORE I sewed them together.  I could see right away it was too long for the quilt.  How did this happen??  I checked the pattern, measured twice, cut once.  It should have worked.  The math and the measurements matched.  Hmmm.   LIGHTBULB!!  The border was patterned for 12" blocks.  My shoofly block STARTED out at 12", but then I cut it in quarters, rotated, resewed.  The new version of the block only measured at 11.5"!!  Well, better the border too big then too short.  And there was an easy fix.  Whew!  After recalculating, I could trim 1/2" from each of the "rail" units, and it would fit perfectly.  And it did!

I laid out the rest of the units into borders, sewed them, and here is the finished quilt top!

From start to finish, this quilt top only took 2 weeks to do! I think this is a new record! It measures 56" x 63".  

New Quilt of Valor

 After making the Disappearing Shoo Fly block, I decided that I will need some samples of each stage if I want to use this block as a teaching session for the quilt guild.  I decided to use my Patriotic fabrics for these blocks, and as I made one, and then another and then another  ... !  Oh my!  Looks like I got a little carried away!  So I decided to use these blocks in an actual quilt instead, and it didn't take long, and presto!   I ended up with this:

What a fun quilt!  It looks like a party going on!  Twenty blocks in just a week, and each block is unique.  No two are the same.  Now  to make a pretty border.  I have something in mind, if I can just find the pattern!

Now that I have used my blocks for this quilt, I still need to make some for my quilt guild demonstration, but there's no hurry on that.  Due to Covid-19, all gatherings are cancelled until August!

Block of the Week

I allowed myself to become ... diverted... to a new quilt. It's a Block of the Week, for 16 weeks, a Sampler quilt.  I love sampler quilts, they are interesting and fun, and so diverse.  No block is the same, and you can substitute blocks if there is one you don't happen to like.  A block of the week gives plenty of time to work on other projects too, so it's really not a big diversion. (Right?)  So, here are my first 2 blocks!

  

Here is a diagram of the quilt, and a color suggestion.  You can see I am using different colors.  It's not a large quilt, only 58 x 58", so it's a nice easy project.

Here is a link if you'd like to join or get more information: 2020 Summer Sampler

Sidetracked!!

Because of Covid-19, all of my Quilt Guild spring meetings have been cancelled, but we had one in June, outside, social distancing 6 ft apart.

We will meet again like this in July, and it is my turn to present the lesson.  My turn for the lesson was actually in May, but that was cancelled, and I got put in the July slot for teaching.  It's hard to know what to teach the group.  Lots of experienced quilters here, not really any newbies.  The Sew '  Sews have been meeting now for 7 years. 

I have found lots of "disappearing" blocks that look really hard, but the construction of the blocks is not in the sewing, it's in the cutting.You start with a simple block, a pinwheel or a 9-patch for example, and cut, rotate, and Voila!  A new exciting complicated-looking block results! It was my plan to show some of these blocks to the group.

As everyone knows, the best of plans can go astray!  While experimenting with this idea, and making sample blocks, I came across a very simple block and got ... sidetracked! 

It's all the fault of the "Disappearing Shoofly!"  Here is the Shoofly Block, a simple 9-patch block consisting of 4 HST's and 5 squares:

Cut like this, rotate like that...

   

Voila!  You get this...

It's a really quick and easy block, and there are no matching seams to worry about-- nothing touches!.  There are a few corners that touch each other,  but that's easily handled with nested seams. Even when you put the blocks in rows, still no area touches each other except at the corners.  It doesn't get much easier than this!!

 SO!!  Looks like my program presentation next month will be about the Disappearing Shoofly!