Hometown Nostalgia Row Quilt Reveal and Tips!

Happy New Year! My Hometown Nostalgia quilt top is finished and ready to share!

It's just a fun quilt, I think!  I love that the blocks do subtly represent the seasons, I sewed mine together in the order that I made them, but you could totally arrange them in any way you would like.  

I've been hearing an ad recently for the show Mad Men that talks about nostalgia and it really summed up what this quilt means for me.  It speaks of nostalgia being a twinge in your heart, calling you back to a place and time where you knew you were loved.  My original version definitely had that quality, the fabrics reminding me of my childhood in Colorado.  It will probably remain one of my favorite quilts I have ever made because of that connection.  

The first few rows will sew together easily - pin at each seam joining the blocks and the seams in the blocks themselves don't line up, so no worries about the bulk there!  When you get to the August block, you'll have to start matching the block seams as well, and there will be some bulk where they come together.  Just match to the best of your ability and sew through them.  I do make some effort to make sure my points line up and don't get sewn through, but I really am not obsessive if they are a little off.  After all, this is a quilt that will be used, not entered into a show.  As long as most of them line up, I'm happy and am in it to just enjoy the process.

As far as pressing the row seams - I look to see which way the seam wants to go, and press in that direction.  That's usually the side with the fewer seams, or less points.  You can also press your seams open if desired. If you want to make your quilt a little larger, you could add a narrow sashing in between.  In that case, you would press the seams toward the sashing strips.  Without borders this top finishes at 60 inches wide and 72 inches long.  I don't plan to add a border to mine, but it you like, you can add borders to bring it up to the size you want.  

As far as quilting this goes, my original quilt is done with diagonal cross-hatching. For this one, I'm contemplating custom quilting each row.  I've got a couple of other projects to finish up before I will work on this, so time to contemplate!  I'll show you progress, of course, when I get there!

Yes, I am planning another project for 2025!  This will be a fun one, I think - it will be starting up at the end of January, and I'll be revealing it shortly.  It is called The Wanderer's Path and it will feature a nature theme.  It is still in the design phase, so no preview for now, but very soon!  Hope you will join me again, I really enjoy these projects!

Row 12 of the Hometown Nostalgia Row Quilt

 I can hardly believe that it's time for the final row! I hope you are ready to sew the final blocks, this time of year seems to get so busy that it can be hard to find sewing time.  This block I call Twisted Star.

The good news is that if you survived last month's row, this one will be a snap!  We'll be using the same unit, but won't have to worry so much about the color placement so you can whip these together with less brain power involved.

 

If you are making this row using the same fabrics, you will need about 3/8 yard of background, 1/8 each of light and medium, and 1/4 yard of dark.  For this December row I chose wintery colors because it's a good month for snow, and dreaming of a white Christmas! 

Sew the quarter square triangles together, right sides facing with the background fabric on the top.  Make sure you sew these all consistently so they face the correct direction!  Press seam toward medium fabric and trim the dog ear from the corner..

Sew these pairs to the half square triangles.  Press seam toward the dark fabric and trim dog ears. 

Lay your pieced squares out around the center light square.  Notice how the background triangle will go to the outside edge of the block.  Now place your background squares in the corner and sew your block together!

How not to sew your block!  Don't know how I managed this one, but I got to use my seam ripper!

I really love the finished blocks - very "winter" looking!  

Next week I plan on sewing my rows together and showing my finished top!  

Download this month's block pattern below (I've corrected the link so the file is correct now!):

Download the Free Pattern Here!

Row 11 of the Hometown Nostalgia Row Quilt

 This month's block is Card Trick.  It isn't really too hard to sew, but it might give you a challenge to lay out and get all the pieces in the right order!  Don't work on this one if you are not alert and awake!

Card Trick is a block that uses two varieties of triangles - half square and quarter square.  You can make this block with four different fabrics, or you can use three, just make sure you put your duplicated colors opposite each other.  

To make this block in all the same fabrics you will need 3/8 yard of background and 1/4 yard of each of your colors.

I'm using shades of black for my blocks on this row - I remembered I had a Stack of Island Batik Bodacious Blacks, so that gives me a nice variety for my blocks!  I'll be using each fabric twice.  The lightest ones I pulled out and substituted other fabrics from my stash. 

Now, on to the sewing!  I started out with sewing the 2 7/8 inch colored triangles to the 2 7/8 background triangles.  Use a 1/4 inch seam, then press the seam toward the background and trim off the dog ears.  Next I sewed one of each of my colored quarter square triangles to a background quarter square triangle.  Sew with the background triangle on the top and stitch from the corner to the point.  Press seam toward the colored triangle.

At this point you will need to lay out your block to make sure which triangles to sew together.  Take your time - and try taking a picture and looking at it on your phone to make sure everything is laid out right!

Here is an example of what not to do!  The center is fine, but I've got some pieces in the wrong places!  

This one was almost right, but I had the two dark fabrics switched in the center.  This is a tricky block, so take your time!  I hope to do better on the next ones.  

To sew the center, sew your triangles together in pairs, then sew the pairs together.  Press seams toward the dark for the pairs, then however you like for the final seam.  For the remaining units, sew your pairs to the half square triangles, and press the seam to the half square side.

When it's all sewn together correctly it should look like this!  Just take it slow and you will be ok, and if not, there's always the seam ripper.  I've learned my lesson on taking my time, and the next two blocks didn't need one!

I'm liking this row a lot so far!

Download the free pattern here!