June Mini Madness 2021 - Block 16

Ready for more triangles?  Today's block, Hovering Hawks, features them in two different color combinations.  This block looks complicated, but it's actually quite easy to sew.

Cutting:

For a 4 inch block, cut two 1 7/8 inch squares light, three 1 7/8 inch squares medium and five 1 7/8 inch squares dark (cut in half diagonally) Cut three 1 ½ inch squares of dark and two 1 ½ inch squares background.

For 6 inch block, cut two 2 3/8 inch squares light, three 2 3/8 inch squares medium ad five 2 3/8 inch squares dark (cut in half diagonally).  Cut four 2 inch squares dark and two 2 inch squares of background.

I once again cut my triangles using the folded corner ruler, but decided that I needed to stabilize it because I was having trouble keeping it from sliding.  I remembered I had some adhesive gripper tape for quilting rulers, and dug it out of the drawer.

When I first purchased this, I thought it was brown sandpaper, but the brown in just the backing tape.  The strips are clear, which makes it really nice for the back of the ruler.  I cut three small pieces to place on the back of my ruler and they worked like a charm.  Much easier to cut accurately if your ruler isn't sliding all over.

Now to sew all the triangles.  

Lay the block out - this one is easier to sew in rows since there aren't identical quarter sections.

Start be placing the medium/dark triangle units with the medium triangles facing the center.

Then add the light/dark triangle units with the light triangles toward the center

Sew the first set of pairs, keep them chained together.

Add the third column.  Use clips to pair them up if you have to move them to the sewing the machine.  I prefer to lay it all out right next to the machine and sew there, so I can add just one at a time.

Add the final column in the same manner.

For this block I pressed the seams before sewing the rows together, but I don't always take the time to do this.  It does make it a little easier if you do, I have to admit!

The finished block, looks great, I think!

See you tomorrow with another block!

PDF file of instructions for Blocks 11 - 15

June Mini Madness 2021 - Block 15

You are halfway done after this block!  Doesn't it seem like June is flying by?  I love this design, it is called Windmill.  For this block, I'll tell you about another way you can make half square triangles.  

Cutting:

For 4 inch block, cut two 1 7/8 squares each light and dark and four 1 7/8 inch squares of background (cut in half diagonally).  Cut eight 1 ½ inch squares background.

For 6 inch block, cut two 2 3/8 squares each light and dark and four 2 3/8 squares of background (cut in half diagonally).  Cut eight 2 inch squares background.

I chose to cut the dark fabrics from a 2 inch strip using the Folded Corner Trimmer.  There are a variety of these available and they are great for cutting triangles out of strips.  I think I would like to try the Creative Grids version because I'm a fan of their nonslip qualities!  

For the light fabric I cut squares (1 7/8 for the four inch blocks and 2 3/8 for the six inch version)  You can also round this cut up and trim up your blocks after sewing.  Draw a line diagonally across the background squares and sew 1/4 from each side of the line.

The diagonal seam tape makes it easy to sew an accurate quarter inch, line up your center line and point on the 1/4 inch mark and just sew your seams.

Cut triangles apart on the drawn line and press seams to the dark side.  These units should measure 1 1/2 (2) inches at this point. Cut off dog ears, and trim to correct size if you have rounded up your cutting measurement.

More options!  You can sew this block by making four identical corner units.

You can sew the center pinwheel first, then sew the background squares together to make the sides and assemble as an uneven nine patch.  Or, you can simply lay the whole block out and assemble in rows.

I chose to sew mine in quarters.  Press seams away from triangles for the vertical seam, and press the horizontal seam toward the center.

I'm very happy with these points!

Sew together to make your block - see how the seams all nest nicely?  This really helps you to get those nice sharp points!

Thanks for sewing along with me, congratulations if you are keeping up!  See you tomorrow as we start the second half of June Mini Madness 2021!

June Mini Madness 2021 - Block 14

 Are you ready for a block with no flip and sew?  Today we'll be making some traditional triangles for our block!  I cut my triangles from the same size strips as the squares using a folded corner trimmer ruler.  If you have that or an easy angle ruler, you could do the same - or follow the instructions to cut squares and cut in half diagonally.

Cutting:

For 4 inch block, cut two 1 ½ inch squares dark, four 1 ½ inch squares medium and six 1 ½ inch squares background.   Cut two 1 7/8 inch squares each of dark and background (cut in half diagonally).

For 6 inch block, cut four 2 inch squares dark, four 2 inch squares medium and six 2 inch squares background.   Cut 2 3/8 inch squares each of dark and background (cut in half diagonally).

Since I already had a 2 inch strip cut of my dark fabric, I used the Folded Corner Trimmer to cut my triangles.  I layered the dark fabric with the background fabric and cut both layers at once.  

The first step is to sew the triangles - just four of them, so that's not a big job at all!

Next, sew the triangles with a dark and background square to make two corner units.

Sew medium and background squares together to make two four patch units.

Arrange as shown - make sure the medium squares form a diagonal line and the dark squares are out at the corners.

Now some them all together to make the Road to Oklahoma block!

See you tomorrow with block number 15 - the halfway point!

June Mini Madness 2021 - Block 13

 Wishing you a restful weekend, today's block won't take you long, so you'll have plenty of time to do whatever it is you like to do when it's finished!  More of the sew and flip technique will make short work of this interesting block - Hatchet.

Cutting:

For 4 inch block, cut four 2 ½ inch squares of background, and four 2 inch squares of dark and medium fabrics.

For 6 inch block, cut four 3 1/2 squares of background fabric.  Cut four 2 ¾ inch squares of dark and medium fabrics.

Sew two dark squares to one 3 1/2 background square using the flip and sew technique.  Make two of these and repeat using light squares.

Trim and press triangles out.

Arrange dark and light units as pictured and sew togetherr.

That's it - you are finished!  Have a wonderful day, and I'll see you tomorrow with block 14 - we are edging up to the halfway mark!

June Mini Madness 2021 - Block 12

A happy Saturday to you all!  Today's block is a fun one, another sew and flip block - easy and quick!

Cutting:

For 4 inch block, cut four 1 ½ x 2 ½ inch rectangles of dark and medium.  Cut sixteen 1 ½ inch squares of background.

For 6 inch block, cut four 2 x 3 ½ inch rectangles of dark and medium.  Cut sixteen 2 inch squares of background.

This time I used tape on my sewing machine bed to help me sew the diagonal lines on the background squares.  Make sure you sew the angle as shown - otherwise your swirl will go the opposite direction.

This tape is available in quite a few places, and it's very handy!  Just search diagonal seam tape on google - it'll pop right up for you.

Trim off the triangles and you are ready to do the other side.  

Press the triangles out to the corner, then turn around and add the remaining squares to the other side.

Trim and press the second side, and you are ready to sew them into pairs.

Place the pairs so that the dark fabric strips are in the center of the block.

And you have a finished Swirl!

Super fun!  I love the movement in this one!

See you tomorrow with block 13!

June Mini Madness 2021 - Block 11

 Apologies for omitting the cutting instructions for yesterday's block - I think this month is catching up with me.  I've added them to the post, so you can find that here:  Block 10 instructions.  So sorry!

Block 11 is an interesting one - I've changed the way the block is constructed in EQ8 and used the sew and flip method to make this block a breeze to cut and sew!

Cutting:

For 4 inch blocks, cut two 2 7/8 squares (cut in half diagonally) of dark and background, and eight 1 ½ inch squares medium.

For 6 inch blocks, cut two 3 7/8 squares (cut in half diagonally) of dark and background, and eight 2 inch squares medium.

Sew the dark and background half square triangles together to make four 2 1/2 (3 1/2) inch squares.  Trim the dog ears off.

The next step is to sew a 1 1/2 (2) inch square to each corner of the pieced squares.

Trim off the excess, and press the corners out for two of the squares, and carefully press the seam allowances toward the center on the other two squares.  This will allow you to nest the seams nicely when you assemble the blocks.

I have the pdf ready for blocks 6 - 10, you can download them here:

June Mini Madness 2021 Block Instructions Page 2

I decided to go ahead and complete the rest of the videos, but I won't have time to work on them for a couple of days.  I'll post them when I get them done, but will continue to post the written instructions each day.  

See you tomorrow!

June Mini Madness 2021 - Block 10

 Woohoo - here we are at day 10 of June Mini madness 2021, which means that we are one third of the way done!  Todauy's block is a fun one - True Lover's Knot.  It looks a lot harder than it is, you will be surprised at how quickly this one goes together!

Cutting:

For 4 inch block, cut eight 1 ½ inch squares of background and four 1 ½ inch squares each of dark and medium plus four 1 inch squares each of dark and medium.

For 6 inch block, cut eight 2 inch squares of background and four 2 inch squares each of dark and medium plus four 1 ½ inch squares each of dark and medium.

Seems like a lot pieces, but once you start sewing, this block will be ready in a flash!  Start out by sewing one of the small squares to a background square using the sew and flip technique.  I like to keep mine all chained together, then line the stitched seam up on a line on my sewing mat.  Measure 1/4 inch from the seam then - off with the whole line of triangles at once!

Then press the triangles toward the outside of the blocks.

Match the background units with the solid squares and make four bow tie blocks with them.  

These will sew together to make the finished block!  Super easy, right?  

OOPS - I forgot to get a picture of the finished block, so I'll add that to tomorrow's post.  

I am interested in making a whole quilt of this block, too - I played in EQ8 and really like it set on point like this:

I'm thinking it might be fun using 30's reproduction prints and scrappy!

Here's the link to the video of me making the True Lover's Knot Block

I have a question for you - I've noticed very few views for the videos, so I'm thinking that if the videos aren't something that people are very interested in that I would rather spend my time doing something else.  Let me know if you really like them and want me to continue, otherwise I think I will change course and save myself the work!  Thanks so much :)

See you tomorrow with Block 11!