Sowing Stitches: Calico Dots and Gingham Quilting Bee

Greek Cross

I decided to go 'simple' for this bee block..thinking 'simple' is best for putting the fabrics in the spotlight. Then, I fell in love with this block, (Greek Cross). The block makes up fast with nice clean lines and the fabrics just sing! I'm pretty sure that the next baby quilt I make, the Greek Cross will be my block of choice.

Below you will find the tutorial for this fun little block.

You will need the following:
2 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch rectangle template
4 3/4 inch square rectangle template
4 1/2 inch square rectangle template
scissors or rotary cutter
pencil
ruler
iron
pins

Fabric: 3 different pieces:For this bee I selected: calico, dots, gingham

Creating the block:Cutting the fabric you will need to cut and place pieces by unit.

Fabrics stacked and ready to assemble

Cut 1 calico 4 1/2 in square [for center]


Unit #1 creates 4 
Cut 4 calico 2 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch rectangles
Cut 4 gingham 2 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch rectanglesUse 1/4 inch seam, press open

Unit #2 creates 4
Cut 2 gingham 4 3/4 inch squares
Cut 2 dots 4 3/4 inch squares

Place facing fronts together using one gingham and one dot fabrics, draw a diagonal line corner to corner then stitch 1/4 inch from the line on each side. After you've stitched 1/4 seams on both sides of the drawn line, cut along line to create two completed units.

Unit 2

Units ready to layout

Ready set Row! Using 1/4 inch seams.

Press seams open.

Why I press seams open. It's a simple tribute to my grandmother who taught me to sew when I was only 4. I have tried over the years to press towards dark or gasp even avoiding the process all together. I just can't, so help me, press my seams any other way than with a hot dry iron pressing the seams open and flipping and pressing the seams from the front as well.

Almost done! There are only 2 remaining seams! I told you this was a quick and easy block. :)
Now for this step, I pin! I'd rather take the few seconds to pin matching seams than to dig out the seam ripper dealing with drifting stitches. I think it might take a total of 45 seconds to pin the rows together matching seams.

Pin matching seams! This prevents drifting stitches!!

Press open your row seams and ta~da! You have a brand new Greek Cross quilt block.


Enjoy!
Happy Quilting!
with love as always,
Carol a.k.a. Beulah

We Bee With It January - June 2014

January is my month to be Queen Bee
in the We Bee With It online quilting bee!
For me, the hardest part of quilting bees is choosing the block, there are so many wonderful blocks to choose from!!! Finally I have decided which block I will be using, thanks to "Modern Quilts from the Blogging Universe"

(I just love this book!) I was inspired by Kati Spencer's "Improv Color Blocks", immediately I thought these blocks would be a great way to use many of my scraps, Kati's quilt is on page 72 of the book. My blocks will be Scrappy Blocks instead of Color Blocks with at least one piece of solid white or muslin per block. As I stated earlier, I was inspired by Kati's Improv Color Blocks...my blocks will be 12 1/5 inch square and not 10 inch square.  

Once all the blocks are completed I plan to sash them with very narrow dark sashing add a border...create a scrappy back and hand quilt. I hope to have it completed by the first warm Spring day so I can celebrate with a picnic! :)

 
Making the Improv Scrappy Blocks[the best part: no 2 blocks are the same]

You will need:
12 1/2 square template[I made one using copy paper]
fabric scraps
iron
sewing machine
thread
scissors and or a rotary cutter


1. Gather fabric scraps, you may need to iron them if you are like me...wrinkled fabric doesn't trim well.
2. Make sure that there is some white or muslin fabric in your scraps.
3. Prints, solids, florals, plaid, dots basically anything goes.
4. Lay out your fabrics, in the shape of a square roughly 16 to 20 inches. Don't panic, this allows for seam allowances and trimming.
5. When assembling the blocks, work in small sections, pressing seams open after each seam is stitched...this prevents 'bulk-build-up'. After the individual unit sections are completed the assembly of the block is a snap!
6. Once the block is in one piece, press again [so it will lay nice and flat] pin the 12 1/2 inch template in place and trim. The remaining scraps can be used in your next scrappy improve block or yet another creative adventure!


                 ::TIP::
        Y Seams are your friend!
When creating improve blocks, let's face it, seams don't always line up nice and neat. Y Seams allow for what I like to call 'broken seams' and mismatched shapes.

When creating Y Seams, it helps to leave about 1/2 inch un-stitched where the seams come together temporarily as you fit the sections to each other...this makes joining the seams much easier.

To help if you have never sewn Y Seams here are a couple of tutorials, the first one is 'still shots' and the second is a video.

http://www.freshlemonsquilts.com/?p=1373



http://www.jinnybeyer.com/quilting-with-jinny/tips-lessons/detail.cfm?instanceId=71DAA699-0AFE-8A90-85D38BA999BD18D8

These blocks are a fun way to use bits and pieces of fabrics scraps of almost any size can be used! I am looking forward to being able to use many of my favorite fabric scraps...I'm sure you have some too! You know the ones...the fabrics you love and just can't part with even the smallest scrap.

Happy Quilting!
with love as always,
Carol a.k.a. Beulah

Chasing the Winter Blues: 39 days to Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics!

No winter blues allowed in 2014!
The mulli-grubs, winter blues, hibernating, longing for warm sunny days will not be tolerated this year!
There is just no time for the energy sapping brain drain of the winter blues!
On tap for January: We Bee With It quilting bee, Calico Dots and Gingham quilting bee, purging fabric scraps, once a month bake off, details next week for the Sowing Stitches "Go for the Gold" Block Challenge [in celebration of the Winter Olympics February 7 - February 23 2014 in Sochi], making my nephew's wedding quilt, hand quilting my Valentine's quilt, teaching sewing classes...and this is just the beginning of many great creative adventures.
I feel like I'm forgetting something.....
 
Enjoy the last few days of 2013!
with love as always,
Carol a.k.a. Beulah

In the Stitch of Time

Trimming blocks and snipping threads was the 'theme' last week as I put together my bee blocks from a recent online quilting bee. I so enjoyed creating these blocks and found it quite difficult to stop making them after I had completed the blocks for all of the other bees. Which I am now thankful I kept on making them [sadly, many of the bees dropped out]had I not made all of the additional blocks this lovely quilt top would still be drifting along in my imagination! I keep hoping the missing bee blocks will arrive in the coming days...I plan to use them to create pillow shams or a matching baby blanket!

Now to decide on the border...and the backing! This is going to be a large quilt when completed, roughly 96 X 96 inches.

Curiosity is getting the better of me!
What would you choose to create the border and the backing?

Merry Christmas!
May your week be filled with Joyful Delights, Love and Laughter,surrounded by Family and Friends!

with love as always!

Sewing Machines and Ministry You Bet!

I have a dear friend in the ministry, her name is Bess of Bess Graham World Ministries. She will be going to the Women's Ministry Graduation in India, January 2014, just a few weeks from today.
At that time there will be 23 women graduating from the Tailoring School.
She hopes to gift each of the graduates with a sewing machine so they can have a way to take care of themselves.
These women are widows and abused women.
A sewing machine cost $150.
If anyone is interested in helping please message me and I can give you Bess's contact information.
I appreciate any help you can give towards these machines, our sisters in India will be greatly blessed!
Together one stitch at a time we are binding up the wounds and spreading LOVE around the world!

with love as always!

The Adventure began Sunday December 9, 2012

It has been a year since I decided to join the blogging family...One whole year! 
December 9, 2012 I made my first post a huge step for this pencil and paper loving girl!
Looking back, I'm glad I took the plunge. Regrets?
Certainly, wishing I had a set schedule to post regularly...but...as I see the learning curve from here, there is always tomorrow or next year in this case.
I plan to be more organized in 2014!
This was a huge 'technology/social media' year for me.
Not only did I take the plunge and start blogging but I also started hanging out at Sowing Stitches on Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Flickr!
I tested quilt block patterns for Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Magazine and various designers, pieced a quilt top that will be in John Adams [Quilt Dad]new book to be published in the spring, hosted and participated in several other online quilting bees, hopped in blog hops and still found time to sew!
Don't panic! I am still very much in love with my paper and pencils, I filled up countless journals this year...writing new books, creating designs, and recording dreams and my doodles.

Thanks to each of you who have made this journey into the cyber world an easy transition! I could not have made it this far with out you!!!

with love as always