Friday, February 20, 2015

Agri-Spouse Friday - Week 27 and Week 28

Welcome back to our Agri-Spouse Quilt Along!

As usual, things have been busy this week. The kids had Monday off school due to our Family Day Holiday. That was nice for them but of course it meant less time for me to sew. I did manage to sew up two blocks on the weekend. The kids know that they aren't supposed to be in my quilting room but that never happens. So of course Brianna was in the room the whole time I was sewing. It took me three times as long to sew those two blocks as it normally would have while she made pictures with my pins in my pincushion and asked questions. She also played with my small basket of scraps. Either way, when I looked at the next block, I was nervous about putting it together with her distracting me so I put it off until Tuesday when she was back at school. 

It took me the whole day to put together Corn and Beans and I hated it. It was not a happy finish as I lost just about every point in the block. When I was finished I redrew the block on graph paper and rethought it. I ended up dividing it into a simple nine patch. Now, although I ended up with a couple of seams in spots where they don't show in the book, I also ended up with nice points. If you want to put it together more like book, please feel free but mine was a disaster.

Wednesday I worked on stuff for Rhylee. They have this Marketplace thing that they do at his school and this month was his class' turn. We had fun getting it all together but that took the whole day of course. Thursday was when I actually resewed Corn and Beans and that is early dismissal and Tae Kwon Do and then this morning I did up the last block for this week and now I am typing up the instructions.

We will see how the next week goes. Rhylee has a Tae Kwon Do competition tomorrow and the kids have Thursday and Friday off school next week due to our Teacher's Convention. I am two blocks behind my schedule right now but there are three blocks on the schedule for next week so if I can get five blocks sewn up this week I will be caught up to my plan.

Other than that, I have two photos to share from Mom. First we have Whirlpool:




And we also have Whirlwind:




Mom says that she is feeling very comfortable with HSTs now. It sure looks like that is the case since she has gotten a fair number put together. It's nice to hear too since she was quite nervous about HSTs when I tried to explain them to her back in July. Now she is sewing them up with confidence. Great job Mom!

The first block we do up this week will be the second block from week 27 and the three blocks from week 28.

So our first block is Block #53 - Jackknife.

Cut two 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" raspberry squares.
Cut two 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" grey squares.
Cut two 3" x 3" raspberry squares.
Cut two 3" x 3" grey squares.
Cut four 1 1/2" x 1/2" raspberry squares.
Cut four 1 1/2" x 1/2" grey squares.
Cut one 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" raspberry squares.









Place one 3 1/2" raspberry square RST with one 3 1/2" grey square and make it into an HST. Repeat for the other 3 1/2" raspberry/grey pair. Slice this HST perpendicular to your stitch line. Place the triangles RST so that the colours alternate. Sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side, making QSTs. Trim to 2 1/2" square.






Next place one 3" raspberry square RST with one 3" grey square and make it into an HST. Repeat for the other 3" raspberry/grey pair. Trim to 2 1/2" square. Place one of the small raspberry squares RST in the grey corner of this HST. Draw a line diagonally across the raspberry square. Sew directly on the line and trim off 1/4" from your stitch line. Place one of the small grey squares RST in the raspberry corner of this HST. Draw a line diagonally across the grey square. Sew directly on the line and trim off 1/4" from your stitch line. Repeat for the other three HSTs.




Organize your pieces the way you want them to look.

Once again we have a basic nine patch to put together, as we have done so many times before.





















And our first block for this week is finished!




Our first block for week 28 and the first block for this week is Block #7 - Birds in the Air.

Cut six 2" x 2" pink squares.
Cut six 2" x 2" brown squares.
Cut six 2" x 2" brown squares. Cut these on the diagonal.
Cut two 4" x 4" pink squares. Cut these on the diagonal.










Place one of the pink squares RST with one of the brown squares. Make this pairing into HSTs. Repeat for the other five pink/brown squares.

Organize your pieces the way you want them to look.








Place one brown triangle RST with one HST so that the corner of the triangle matches up with the corner of HST. Sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Repeat with another triangle/HST pair. Place one HST RST with an HST/triangle pair, sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Take the other HST/triangle pair and place another triangle in the next corner so that the corner's match. Sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side.  Lastly, place the brown/pink triangle RST with the brown/pink strip, sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Repeat for the other sets until you have four pink/brown triangles.




Place one pink triangle RST with a pink/brown triangle. Sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Repeat for the other three triangle pairs. Trim your squares to 3 1/2" x 3 1/2".








 You now have a basic four patch to put together. Once this is done, you have finished your next block for this week.




This is the block I had so much trouble with. These instructions are for the method that I used and was happy with. The seams are a bit different than the book shows but I do have points so I am okay with it. 

With that, the next block is Block #22 - Corn and Beans.

Cut fourteen 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" blue squares.
Cut two 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" grey squares.
Cut four 1 1/2" x 2 1/2" grey rectangles.
Cut four 2" x 2" blue squares.
Cut two 2" x 2" red squares.
Cut two 2" x 2" grey squares.
Cut four 2" x 2" red squares. Cut these on the diagonal.
Cut two 2 7/8" x 2 7/8" blue squares. Cut these on the diagonal.






Place one 2" blue square RST with a 2" grey square and make it into HSTs. Repeat with another 2" blue/grey pair. Place one 2" blue square RST with a 2" red square and make it into an HST. Repeat with another 2" blue/red pair. Trim these HSTs to 1 1/2" square.

Take two of the 1 1/2" blue squares and two of the 1 1/2" grey squares and sew them into a four patch.

Take one of the 1 1/2" blue squares and place it RST on the end of a grey rectangle. Draw a line diagonally across the square and sew directly on the line. Trim of the little triangle 1/4" from your seam line, set the seam and press to one side. Repeat for the other three grey rectangles. Next place another 1 1/2" blue square on the opposite end of the grey rectangle, draw a line diagonally across the square and sew directly on the line. Trim of the little triangle 1/4" from your seam line, set the seam and press to one side.




Place one red triangle in RST with a red/blue HST so that the corners match. Sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Repeat for the three other red/blue HSTs.

Place one blue 1 1/2" square RST with a blue/grey HST, sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Repeat for the other three blue/grey HST and blue square pairs.




Place the other red triangle RST with an HST/triangle pair. Sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Repeat for the other three HST/triangle sets.

Place one flying goose set RST with a blue square and blue/grey HST. Make sure they are oriented properly. Sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side.






Place one blue triangle RST with a red/blue triangle. Sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side.












Now you have a basic nine patch to put together again.

























And with that, Corn and Beans is put together with points intact!




Now, this is my good version. All of my points are intact and things are lined up nice and neatly. Even though there is the extra seams from the four patch in the centre, I am happy. Below is a picture of the two blocks. The block I am happy with is on the left and the block I am not happy with is on the right. Just about every point is gone. I started with a QST in the centre and then stitched triangles together, sewed them on, then added the grey triangles and then another strip of the blue/red triangles and finally the big blue triangles. The little triangles had to get sewn on the bias and there was no way to trim so everything ended up all wonky. Not happy. So much happier with the one on the left.

If anyone else can manage to put it together with only the seams the book shows, I would be happy to see it. In the meantime, I am happy with my results.




Now for our last block this week. This one went together from math to completion in slightly over half an hour.

Our last block for this week is Block #30 - End of Day.

Cut two 2 3/8" x 2 3/8" orange squares. Cut these on the diagonal.
Cut two 2 3/8" x 2 3/8" blue squares. Cut these on the diagonal.
Cut four 2" x 3 7/8" blue rectangles.
Cut four 2" x 3 7/8" purple rectangles.










Place one orange triangle RST with a blue rectangle so that the right angle corners line up. Sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Watch your orientation. Now place one blue triangle RST with a purple rectangle so that the right angle corners line up. Sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Watch the orientation of your triangles again.






Place one blue rectangle/orange triangle set RST with a purple rectangle/blue triangle set. Line your ruler up so that it goes from the corner of the triangle to the top corner of the rectangle. Once trimmed it should look like the triangle in the top right corner of the picture to the right. Sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Repeat for the other three sets.






Organize your pieces the way you want them to look and you have a simple four patch to put together.










With that you have completed the last block for this week. While Corn and Beans was a fight to put together, End of Day was a snap.




This would actually be a good block use in a quilt as an alternating block of one colour and then the opposite but since I only had to do one I did it this way. I am really happy with all of my points though.

I hope that everything goes together well for you. I am looking forward to seeing pictures from everyone else.

I hope you all have a good week. I am hoping to get five blocks put together over the next week so that I get caught back up to where my plan has us. We'll see!

Tara





Friday, February 13, 2015

Agri-Spouse Friday Week 25 and Week 26

Welcome back to our Agri-Spouse Quilt Along.

Last week we put together three blocks. Swallow and Strawberry Basket were supposed to be done for week 24. Temperance Tree was the first block for week 25. This week we will start with the second block of "week 25" and do both of week 26 and start week 27. Today was supposed to be week 28 but we will get caught up again. With these four blocks, I am only four blocks behind the plan I made.

First though, I have photos to share from Suzanne and Mom!

From Mom we have Broken Dishes:




And Peace and Plenty:




Mom has gotten to the start of the group of blocks we did for a few weeks that were loads of HSTs. Guess she is going to have lots of practice with HSTs in the next little bit. 

From Suzanne, we will start with the block that gave me so much trouble. Hopefully Suzanne had better luck! Swallow:




Then Strawberry Basket:




And last, but not least, Temperance Tree:




I like how Suzanne apparently thought that the "strawberry" part of the basket needed to be red just like I did. Red strawberries just felt right to me. I realized while doing it that Temperance Tree felt very familiar. I flipped through my completed blocks and realized that except for the width of the "trunk" it was the same as Pine Tree. I missed that when doing the original organization somehow or we would have done those two blocks together.Oh well. Also funny to me, when I placed the two side by side, I realized that I had done both of those two blocks with light purple and dark purple HSTs. Whoops! At least they won't be placed side by side in the completed quilt. 

So with that, on to this week's blocks. I had a bit of trouble again on the first block. The measurements that I have posted are what I ended up with but it took a bit of trial and error - and stitch ripping of course. I haven't ever done a block anywhere near to this so it was a learning experience but one I am glad to have learned. I hope the instructions are clear since the photos aren't perfect.


Our first block is Block #96 - Tulip.

Cut one 2" x 2" raspberry square.
Cut two 2" x 5 1/2" raspberry rectangle.
Cut one 3 7/8" light pink square, cut on the diagonal.
Cut one 1 5/8" x 5 1/2" brown rectangle.
Cut one 1 5/8" x 5 1/2" dark grey rectangle.
Cut two 2 3/8" x 2 3/8" light grey square, cut on the diagonal.
Cut one 1 5/8" x 4 1/2" light pink rectangle.
Cut one 1 5/8" x 4 1/2" blue rectangle.
Cut one 3" x 3" light grey square, cut on the diagonal.





Line up the small raspberry square RST at the end of the long raspberry rectangle. Sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Place the other long raspberry rectangle RST with the right angle of the pink triangle. Sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side.









Place the long raspberry rectangle RST with the pink/raspberry piece. Sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. The raspberry "tails" can stay for now.










Take your brown rectangle and place your ruler at the inside corner and cut a 45 degree angle corner off. Make sure that you cut it off so that the angle goes the way you want it too. Repeat for the long dark grey rectangle, ensuring that the angle goes in the opposite direction of the brown. Place the long side of one of the four smaller grey triangles RST with the short side of the brown rectangle. Allow a 1/4" of the triangle to hang beyond the brown. 
Sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Repeat for the dark grey rectangle. The same thing is going to be done for the pink rectangle and the blue rectangle. Cut off the corner, place the pieces RST with a 1/4" overhang and then sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Watch that your angles all go the right way.




Place the short side of one of the remaining triangles (not the long like the picture) RST with the pink "rectangle", sew a 1/4" seam and set the seam. Once again, make sure you have the angles going the direction you need them to. I finger pressed the grey triangle up at this point to make sure that everything was lining up right. When everything is good, use your ruler to cut off the extra pink fabric. Repeat for the blue rectangle. Place the "blue" side of the triangle RST with the "pink" side of the other triangle. Sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side.

Lastly, place the just finished triangle RST with the pink/raspberry triangle. Sew a 1/4" seam and set the seam. Cut off the raspberry "tails" and press the seam to one side. Finally, trim your block to 6 1/2" x 6 1/2" square. That finishes up our first block for today. I will admit that I had to take this one apart a few times but I finally got it all put together!



Our second block this week is Block #74 - Ribbons.

Cut sixteen 2" x 2" green squares.
Cut four 2" x 3 1/2" light orange rectangles.
Cut four 2" x 3 1/2" dark orange rectangles.













Place one of the green squares RST one the end of one of the light orange rectangles. Draw a line diagonally across the blue square. Sew directly on the line. Place your ruler on the stitch line and slice off the little triangle a 1/4" from the stitch line. Repeat for the other three light orange rectangles. Repeat again for the four dark orange rectangles but make sure the diagonal goes in the opposite direction as the diagonal on the light orange rectangles. Set the seams and press to one side




Place a green square RST on the other end of your rectangles. Draw a diagonal line on the square in the same direction as previously sewn. Sew a 1/4" seam and set the seam. Cut off the little triangle, 1/4" from your sew line. Repeat for the other seven rectangles. Watch your angles!








Organize your pieces the way you want them to look.













Place two of your rectangles RST, sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Repeat for the other rectangles so that you have four pairs.











You now have a regular four patch to put together. Place one square RST with another square, sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Repeat for the other two squares.








Lastly, place your two rectangles RST, sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Your second block is now finished!



Our third block this week is Block #90 - Storm Signal.

Cut two 2 3/8" x 2 3/8" grey squares.
Cut two 2 3/8" x 2 3/8" black squares.
Cut two 1 7/8" x 1 7/8" grey squares.
Cut two 1 7/8" x 1 7/8" black squares.

Cut one 2 5/8" x 2 5/8" grey square.
Cut one 2 5/8" x 2 5/8" black square.
Cut two 4" x 4" raspberry squares, cut these on the diagonal.








Place the grey and black 2 5/8" squares RST and make them into HSTs. Place a grey and black 2 3/8" square RST and make them into HSTs. Repeat for the other grey and black 2 3/8" squares.

Take the HSTs made from the 2 5/8" squares and slice them in half, perpendicular to the seam line you sewed. Place two of the new triangles together so that the grey and black alternate and sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side and you have made a QST. I did this for the other two triangle pairs and made an extra QST for use later, I just don't know when later!

Organize your pieces the way you want them to look.



The black and grey portion of your block is just a nine patch at the moment so those pieces will get sewn together just like all of the other nine patches you have made.




































Place one of your raspberry triangles RST along the edge of your nine patch and sew a 1/4" seam. Place another of your raspberry triangles RST on the opposite side of your nine patch and sew a 1/4" seam. Set the seams and press to one side. Next place a raspberry triangle on one of the remaining grey/black sides and sew a 1/4" seam. Place the last raspberry triangle on the last grey/black side and sew a 1/4" seam. Set the seams and press to one side and the third block is finished!




Our last block for this week is Block #52 - Hovering Hawks.

Cut four 2" x 2" green squares.
Cut three 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" green squares.
Cut three 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" brown squares.
Cut two 2 3/8" x 2 3/8" brown squares, cut on the diagonal.
Cut one 2 3/8" x 2 3/8" green square, cut on the diagonal.
Cut two 1 1/2" x 5 1/2" brown rectangles.








Place one of the green 2 1/2" squares RST with one of the brown 2 1/2" square and make it into HSTs. Repeat for the other green/brown 2 1/2" squares. 

Fold the brown rectangle in half the long way and finger press to find the centre. Do the same with the green triangle so that the long edge of the triangle has the fold through it. Place the centre of the green triangle RST with the centre of the edge of the brown rectangle. Sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Repeat for the other green triangle and brown rectangle. Organize your pieces the way you want them to look.




Look at the pieces almost like a four patch. Take two of the 2" green squares and two of the green/brown HSTs and make the into a four patch. Repeat this with the other two 2" green squares and two more of the green/brown HSTs.

Line the short side of a brown triangle up RST with an HST. The corner of the triangle should match up with the corner of the HST. Sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Repeat with another brown triangle and HST.

Line up another brown triangle on the next side of your HST, again so that the corner of your triangle matches the corner of your HST. Sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Repeat with another brown triangle and HST.

Your pieces should now look like the pieces to the right.





Place your brown/green triangle RST with the edge of your brown rectangle. Sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Repeat with another brown triangle and brown rectangle.










Trim each of the two pieces with the brown rectangles to 3 1/2" square.














You now have a four patch to put together again. Place two of your pieces RST, sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Repeat for the other two pieces.








Lastly, place your two long rectangle pieces RST, sew a 1/4" seam and set the seam. Press to one side and the fourth block and last block for this week is finished!




Our Family Day holiday is on Monday so the kids are home again. Quinn was home for part of last Monday as well as yesterday and the kids had a PD day the week before. At this time of year I don't seem to get a whole week to myself with all a holiday, PD day, teacher's convention and who knows what else. 

I am still having a great time doing this though so although I am happier when I am caught up to where I want to be, I refuse to stress myself out over it. Quilting is supposed to be fun and I will do everything I can to make sure that it stays that way for myself and anyone who wants to quilt along with me.

Have fun and I'll see you next week with who knows how many blocks!

Tara