A "Scrap Happy" Quilt

My scrap bins are overflowing, so I a going to make some scrappy quilts.  Using the Fusible Grid (see my March 16th post), I am making these blocks:

Some of the blocks will have black corners, and some will have white corners.  They will alternate in a checkerboard like pattern. Not sure how it will turn out, but it's fun making these blocks and goes fast.  Hope to use up a smidgen of scraps this way.

Here is a variety of possible layouts:

     

I'm leaning toward the first layout, although what I originally had in mind was more like the second layout.  I like #3 as well.  I made these in EQ7, a really useful program!  We'll see how this quilt evolves!

Easier Construction

I have one last thought about the Quilt of Valor that I just finished.  When I received my quilt kit, I had directions for the quilt block and instructions to make 20 of them.  I started working making those blocks.  It was only after I started sewing the blocks and rows together that it occurred to me that there was a far simpler way to construct this quilt.  It would have been far quicker, and easier, if only I had seen a picture of the finished quilt, I might have done this entirely differently!

Here is the block, constructed according to the pattern I received:

When you sew block to block, you have to match those blue strips, the white squares and the red squares.  But what if the Block looked like this instead:

AND you added sashing strips and cornerstones: 

+

You'd get the exact same look of the quilt, but with far less matching and cutting.  You could have one large center red (instead of 4 smaller squares that come together).  You could have 4 rectangles instead of 8 squares.  Add a long blue strip between the blocks (instead of 2 rectangles end to end), and a sashing strip with cornerstones between the rows.   I think that would have been much better.  It would pay to study the whole quilt pattern, not just a quilt block pattern!

Quilt of Valor Under the Needle

My Quilt of Valor is coming along nicely.  I WAS able to get more of my dark blue fabric for framing in the quilt center.  SO happy about that!  It looks great.  The quilt top is finished now:

There was a problem when it came to PINNING the quilt, however.  I have arthritis now in my hip, and it has become problematic and painful.  I have a cane to help me get around, but I am unable to get down on the floor to tape and pin a quilt as I have always done in the past for each and every one of my quilts.  SO!  How do I make the quilt sandwich???  I have heard that you can tape smaller projects to a table, but this quilt is rather large  (62" x 80").  Pin half at a time?  I gave that a try.

I laid it out on the design board, all 3 layers, pinned in a few spots and then took it over to my work table.  I used fusible batting, so it stuck together fairly well in that transition, and then I proceeded to pin the top, smoothing things out as I went.  When the top was finished, I flipped it over and smoothed out the back.  I had to move every single pin, because even though I THOUGHT it was tight and smooth, it wasn't.  When the back was re-pinned, I flipped it over to the front again, and did it once more.  This took a long time, a couple days, and was hard on the back.  But I finally was satisfied that I could quilt it with no puckers, and so under the needle it went.  It quilted beautifully, and I am pleased with the finished result.

Finished! (Sorry for this blurry picture.)

This shows the binding, quilting, and backing.

Quilt of Valor Blocks

Interspersed with the  making of  Bailey's graduation banner, I have also been working on my Quilt of Valor blocks.  I have them all done now, and have been auditioning different fabrics for the outer border and inner border.

I don't have enough of that dark blue to frame in the body of the quilt.  I added a lighter blue strip, (on the left), but I don't care for that either.  I think a trip to the fabric store is in order to see if I can get more of that dark blue that you see in the blocks!  

Phyllis, the gal in charge of our QOV project, gave me some yardage of the "hearts and home" fabric for the outer border, and I think that looks ok.  I'm going to add it but cut the fabric WOF instead of the long grain line.  This way, I can sew it with all the hearts facing into the quilt center, and there won't be an "up, down, left or right" to the quilt.  That's one of the things I don't like about directional fabrics in quilts.

Graduation Banner

Bailey's Graduation banner is finished!  This was a fun project to make.  Easy to quilt because it was a smaller project.

Here's the quilting.

The Quilting

This shows the backing.

Close up of the center applique.

Quilt of Valor

My Quilt Guild is working on making Quilts of Valor for the local vets.  We had a couple of weekend "sewing events" to kick off the project.

  

 

I attended one of these weekend get-togethers and received my quilt kit.  I have set all my other projects aside for awhile while I worked on the QOV.  It doesn't have to be finished until Veteran's Day next fall, or maybe if enough are finished, Memorial Day.   I hope the Vet who receives it will like it!

Fusible Grid

I recently discovered a sewing product out there in Quiltworld that I found to be very interesting, useful, extremely helpful.  It's called Quilter's Grid, or Fusibile Grid.  Many different companies make it, and it comes with different sized grids.  I bought a bolt of 1 inch fusible grid by Pellon.

  

The fusible grid allows you to place small squares of fabric on the fusible side (glue side up) in nice neat rows by aligning the edges of the fabric squares with the lines on the grid.  You then press the squares. (Don't "iron", you will disturb the squares and move them out of alignment!  PRESS with the iron--place the hot iron on the squares, press down, count to 10 or so, and then pick the iron up and move it to a new section, and press the new section.  Continue pressing until all small squares are fused to the grid.)  The picture below shows a 9" piece of grid with 1.5" squares laid out on it.  The blocks will eventually finish off at 6".  This means that you need to take into account your seam allowances when cutting the correct size of fusible, and your squares.  You will lose 1/2" for every seam you sew because of seam allowances. I would also give the squares on the outside edges a little extra length sticking off the grid to make the final squaring-up process as accurate as possible.  (I do this with all my paper-piecing blocks too!)

After your squares are pressed and fused onto the grid, flip it to the back and fold the first row onto the second row, right sides together, and crease the fold with a fingernail.  The fold may or may not be on a grid line.  Sew along the fold with your usual quarter-inch seam.  Slit the fold, or trim off a sliver off the length of the fold, iron it open.  

This shows the slivers of 2 folds that have been trimmed off so the seam
can be opened and pressed flat.  Each is only about 1/16th of an inch wide.

Some people prefer to slit the seam open with a sharp seam ripper or scissors.  I found it was quicker and easier to slice off a sliver.  Because you are actually cutting off some of the seam allowance by cutting slivers, you might want to give your seam allowances a little more width (as in a "fat quarter-inch," which is the opposite of a "scant quarter-inch!")  

Repeat with row 2, and all the remaining vertical rows.

 

 Now do the same thing with the horizontal rows.  Your block will become square again as you sew all the horizontal rows.

Recap:  Step 1:  Cut the fusible grid to the correct size.

Step 2:  Align the fabric squares on the fusible grid.  Press in place.
Step 3:  Sew the vertical seams.  Slit or sliver the folds and press open.
Step 4:  Sew the horizontal seams.  Slit or sliver the folds and press open.

You can use any size fabric squares on the grid.  Regardless of what size squares you use, you will get perfect corners every time!  Just sew a seam!  No points to match, no sewing square to square or row to row!  If you are going to do a lot of small squares (think Irish Chain quilts or postage stamp quilts), then Fusible Grid would save you so much time and effort, and your results would look phenomenal!

The picture below shows a  blue square made up of 2.5" squares, (to finish off at 2" after you sew the seam allowances, and a character made of 1/2" squares.  (That's not a typo!  One-half inch squares!)  Who would ever sew 1/2" squares?  No one!! But you COULD if you wanted--the fusible grid makes it possible with little effort.

 

                      Front                                                  Back

Notice that the 1/2" squares are the same size as the seam allowance.  I did not iron these open, I just ironed them all in the same direction.  

After you have your beautiful blocks finished up with all their tiny squares aligned perfectly, now what?  If you sew these blocks to each other, you would still have to align and match all those little squares, right?....   Maybe not!  Use sashing strips!  Or put the blocks on point with corners!  You can easily match your blocks now!

One more VERY helpful hint before I wrap this up.  If you have an area of your quilt block that uses a lot of the same fabric, you don't need to cut individual squares to place on the grid!  Just cut one strip or rectangle or square of fabric big enough to cover that area!  When you sew the seams, vertical and horizontal, it will give the ILLUSION of having placed individual squares!

This is ONE large piece of fabric pressed to the fusible grid!  I

sewed the center seams only, but you can see that it looks like 16
little squares are sewed in the center.

I hope you will give Fusible Grid a try!  I'm so glad I discovered it!