Quilt Block Fun...

Have you visited Craftsy? It's an online community with the motto of "Learn it.. Make it". You'll find projects, online video classes, and special deals on supplies like jelly rolls and charm squares. It's not just quilting either... there are classes for knitting, crochet, clothing and costume making, and more. One of the latest offerings is a free Craftsy Block-of-the-Month class featuring instructor Amy Gibson. You just need to sign up on the Craftsy site and then enroll in the free class. The Asterisk block above, and the Wonky Pound Sign below are the two 12" blocks for January- the "slash" blocks.

The videos are comprehensive, and divided into easy-to-reference chapters. You can watch along while you make the block; or watch and then review as needed when you are ready to cut and sew. At the end of the series, participants will have 20 blocks with which to make a quilt. Amy is a delightful quilter and instructor, and there is a forum where students can post photos of the blocks they are making. That's always a plus because it's inspiring and fun to see what fabrics others are using, and how they may vary the blocks. There are class materials you can print out that have the block patterns, too. I'm trying to avoid over-using my printer though (it seems to have an unquenchable thirst for inks), so my goal is to make the blocks with the videos only.  

Fabric requirements are based on using fat quarter bundles, or you can use assorted fabrics from your stash. I found this Free Spirit "California Dreaming" fat quarter bundle on eBay, and the vendor was super prompt, so I was ready to jump into this project quickly. But the bundle I purchased has only the 16 fabrics seen in the photo above, and in the two blocks I've completed. More will be needed. I'm combing the shelves to see if I have some compatible prints to use with these. I think the two pictured below, in the background along with one of the Free Spirit prints, will do, don't you? However, I did a major purge of my fabrics recently, so I believe shopping is still in order! I seem to have an unquenchable thirst for fabric. 

Not So Liberated Quilt Blocks

I've admired these blocks on various blogs, and been wanting to make some myself. Some sources call them "Sticks" (as in the book "Freddy & Gwen Collaborate Again"). Others call them "insertion strip blocks". At any rate, it seemed a simple enough slice-and-stitch proposal.

But I forgot something. If you want the second insertion strip to be visually aligned from one side of the first strip to the other within the block (and I do), then the piecing becomes a bit trickier. You can see four blocks looking the way I want them to in the photo below. That's because they were the last blocks sewn.

The first block I pieced was way off kilter. Uh oh! Deciding I could not accept that look in the blocks, I knew I needed to refine my technique. And because the seams fall at various angles within the block, no two blocks were alike. So my approach to sewing was to just jockey the pieces around, pinning and eyeballing, flipping them right side up to check, until they "looked right". And little by little, they got more "right". Right, by defnintion then, is "inside my comfort zone". I've seen quilts made from insertion strip blocks that are randomly joined. And I like them. I'm just not quite there in my blocks at this point. I don't mind at all that the strips won't line up at the edges of the blocks when set together. That's a good part of the plan. But inside the blocks? Another story.

You can see in this photo of four blocks how "wrong" looks from my perspective. But now that I study the photo, I think I can include these in the quilt, and be okay with it. I'm warming up to these blocks! They certainly become easier and quicker to piece when they are more random. Yeah... they'll be fine.