Agri-Spouse Friday - Week 24

Welcome back to our Agri-Spouse Quilt Along.

This week did not go as well as I had hoped it would. I posted last Friday that Rhylee was off to a Tae Kwon Do competition on Saturday with Quinn. He was very excited to make a road trip on his birthday with just Daddy and him. Well, a storm hit that afternoon/evening and the competition was cancelled for our team so he didn't get to go. Completely last minute we decided to take the four of us and one of his friends to an indoor amusement park here for the day for a birthday party. Even if it was totally last minute, we all had a great time. I can hardly believe that our little man is ten already. He is growing up so fast.

Monday was a PD day from school so the kids were home from school so of course I didn't get anything done that day. Tuesday I got the house tidy from having the kids home for three days but then I got the math done for the pieces required for the blocks for the next few weeks.

Wednesday I started sewing with the thought that I would get at least two, maybe three or four blocks put together. I was so wrong. I got just Swallow put together. I must have been out of practice since I forgot to trim my HSTs so when I added the triangles, I figured I did the math wrong for the triangles so I took them apart and cut larger triangles. Then I tried to put it all together and when it wouldn't go together properly, I realized what I had forgotten so I took it all apart again, trimmed the HSTs, added the original triangles and put it all together again. *Sigh* With all of that, I only got Swallow put together but I believe that it is important for people to know that, even for more experienced quilters, things don't always go as planned and we all make mistakes. There is a reason we all have stitch rippers and many of us even have more than one. I know that I tried to add a second one just after Christmas but my LQS was out of the type I like so I will keep trying so that I can have one upstairs where I hand piece my EPP and another one downstairs in my quilting room where I machine piece.

So, yesterday I started the morning off with Strawberry Basket. I took the photo of the fabric pieces and did my first step of sewing. I went to take my second photo, only to find out that the camera battery had died so I had to pause for twenty minutes to get some charge into the battery, then finished sewing the block and taking photos. Then I had lunch and charged the battery some more so that I could get to work on Temperance Tree. I got that one partially pieced but Thursday is early dismissal at school and then Tae Kwon Do practice so not too bad. Then we got hit with another massive snow storm so this morning I got to spend an hour shovelling up the mess and then I got Tree finished so that I could at least post instructions for three blocks and here I am! Not the way I planned for the week to go but sometimes that is just the way piecing goes.

With that, I will start by posting the photos I have been sent of finished blocks. This week they are all by Suzanne. So, we have Bowtie:

Friendship:

Friendship Block:

Hovering Birds:

And, last but not least, Sawtooth:

That's all the photos that I have for this week but I love what Suzanne has sent. Even if I had a bad week, I am still excited to get going again. Even when life gets in my way sometimes, I love doing this. Both the Quilt Along and quilting in general. With that, let's get to this week's blocks, even if there are only three. Hopefully next week goes a bit better. Also, I am going to start with the more simplified instructions this week so if there are any problems, please let me know!

With that, the first block this week is Block # 93 - Swallow.

Cut four 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" yellow squares.
Cut four 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" red squares.
Cut one 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" red square.
Cut one 1 1/4" x 1 1/4" yellow square.
Cut two 1 1/4" x 4" yellow rectangles.
Cut two 2" x 2" yellow squares.
Cut two 2 3/8" x 2 3/8" red square and cut these on the diagonal.









Take the one 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" yellow square and place it RST with one 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" red square and stitch it together to make HSTs. Repeat for the other three red/yellow pairs of the same size. After my mistakes, don't forget to trim your HSTs to 2" x 2" square!

Organize your pieces the way they should look.





















Place the short side of the red triangle RST with yellow side of the HST, sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Next place a red triangle RST with one yellow rectangle and sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Then place the small yellow square RST with the remaining yellow rectangle and sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. 





Now place the long yellow rectangle RST with the yellow rectangle/red triangle combination, sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Sew the pieces of the block together so that they look like the picture to the left.







Lastly, flip the red/yellow triangle RST with the larger piece and sew a 1/4" seam. Before pressing, place your ruler along your stitch line and cut off the extra fabric. Now set the seam and press to one side and your first block is finished!

Our second block this week is Block #91 - Strawberry Basket.

Cut ten 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" yellow squares.
Cut eight 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" red squares.
Cut two 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" green squares.
Cut one 3" x 3" red square.
Cut one 3" x 3" brown square.
Cut four 1 1/2" x 2" red rectangles.
Cut one 2 7/8" x 2 7/8" green square and cut this on the diagonal.

Place the red and brown 3" squares RST and sew it into an HST. You will only need one of these. The other is extra that you may be able to use later. Take eight of the 1 1/2" yellow yellow squares and place them RST with the eight 1 1/2" red squares. Sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Place the short side of the red rectangles RST with one of the remaining little yellow squares. Sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side.




Sew each of the red/yellow pairs into a four patch. Place one of the remaining red rectangles RST with the yellow square, sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Your red/yellow "L" shape needs to look like the pieces in the picture to the right.









Place the green triangle RST with the red/yellow "L" so that they look like the left. Sew a 1/4" seam just inside the long edge of the green triangle. Cut off the little red triangles, set the seam and press to one side.










Organize your pieces the way you want them to look. 













Once again you have a standard nine patch to put together. Since we have done quite a few nine patches, I figure I shouldn't need to post the instructions for final construction. Just watch for neatly nesting seams.





















And our second block for this week is finished!

Our third block this week is Block #95 - Temperance Tree. 


Cut nine 2" x 2" light purple squares.
Cut nine 2" x 2" dark purple squares.
Cut two 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" blue squares.
Cut one 4 7/8" x 4 7/8" blue square.
Cut one 2 7/8" x 2 7/8" dark purple square, cut this on the diagonal.
Cut one 1 1/2" x 4" blue rectangle.









Place one light purple 2" square RST with one dark purple 2" square and make it into HSTs. Repeat for the other eight light purple/dark purple squares. Trim your HSTs to 1 1/2" square. Place the short side of the purple triangle RST with the blue rectangle, sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Repeat with the other purple triangle on the other side of the blue rectangle.

Mark the centre of the large blue square. Place the edge of the blue purple piece RST diagonally along the centre of the large blue square. Sew a 1/4" seam and cut off the extra part of the blue square. Set the seam and press to one side. Trim the piece to 4 1/2" x 4 1/2" square.

I prefer to avoid long seams as much as possible so sew your pieces together into pairs.

Sew the pairs together into four patches.

Sew two of the HST four patches together and sew the other three four patches together so that they look like the left.

Place the short rectangle RST with the large blue/purple square, sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side.

Lastly, place the last long rectangle RST with the larger piece, sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Our third, and final, block for this week is finished!

Hopefully next week goes a little more smoothly for me. I'm pretty sure that there aren't any PD days next week and I already have the math done for the pieces required for the next few blocks so with any luck I will be able to put together more than three blocks.

We don't seem to be starting things out any better though since I just got the news that the city I am in as well as the city Quinn is in is under a winter storm warning so at this point we don't know if he will be able to make it home tonight. With the storm, his flight may be cancelled. Now while I hope he can make it home, I fully admit that I prefer for him to come home later and safely rather than sooner and risk problems.

Have fun and we'll see you next week!

Tara

Agri-Spouse Friday - Week 23

Welcome back to our Agri-Spouse Quilt Along.

Things have been pretty busy for me for the last few weeks. As I mentioned, Quinn and I got each other a Dominican Scuba vacation and we were gone from the middle of January until a few days ago. I don't like posting publicly exactly when we are gone even though Mom was at the house with the kids so I hope everyone understands.

We had a great time and got our advanced diving course done so that was nice. We only took our dive camera with us since it is good in and out of water most of the time but when we took it underwater the first time we found out that there was a crack in the battery cover and the thing filled up with water and fried so it was useless for nine of the eleven days we were gone. I did still get some great photos with our iPads but I haven't got them off there and onto our main system so I can't post them yet. I'll do that soon when Quinn can get some time to help me out.

Other than that, Brianna has been doing well in Tae Kwon Do and is off to a promotion test tonight. Best of luck to her even though we know she is ready.

Rhylee is also doing well. Tomorrow is our little man's TENTH birthday! How did our little man get so big? How the time flies. He is also off on a day trip with Quinn tomorrow to Whitecourt for a Tae Kwon Do competition. He is so excited to be doing a road trip with Daddy and we know he will work hard.

I also have some great shots of blocks to share. We are all getting caught up and in the next few weeks I will get caught up with my own sewing and post instructions. I will also do up a post soon about the EPP (English Paper Piecing) that I have started.

First though, the new blocks I have to share from everyone else!

Marian has sent me a whole bunch of photos of her getting caught up so here we go.

Marian's Sawtooth:

Hovering Birds:

Big Dipper:

Honey's Choice:

Linoleum:

Ozark Maple Leaf:

Buzzard's Roost:

Wild Goose Chase:

Cups and Saucers:

Windows:

Practical Orchard:

Steps to the Altar:

Pine Tree:

Beautiful blocks Marian! I love them all.

I also have some photos from Mom.

First is Mom's Waterwheel:

Railroad:

Puss in the Corner:

Prairie Queen:

Broken Sugar Bowl:

Awesome job Mom! 

I think that everyone is doing such a great job on their blocks. Mom mentioned to me that even as a beginner, she only really needed me to post instructions for a particular "piece" a couple of times. That is to say, she only needs me to post the instructions for how to piece, say, an HST or Flying Goose, or whatever a couple of times to get it down pat and after that if she needs a reminder then she will just go back to an earlier post for the instructions. So, this is what I am planning to do after this post - mostly because the instructions after this were already typed up when I added the section above this. If anyone disagrees with me, please let me know.

With that, I will start off with the instructions for the next blocks.
Our first block this week is Block #10 - Bowtie.

Cut two 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" pink squares.
Cut two 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" black squares.
Cut four 2" x 2" grey squares.













Place one grey square in the corner of each of the larger squares. Draw a line diagonally across each of the grey squares.

Sew directly on the line you just drew. Place your ruler on the line you just drew and slice off the corner, 1/4" from the seam you just sewed. Set the seam and press to one side. Press the pink squares toward the pink and the black squares toward the black for neatly nested seams.








Organize your squares the way you want them to look. Flip one pink square RST onto a black square. Sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Repeat for the other pink and black squares.








Flip the two pieces you have sewn RST onto each other. Sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side and you have finished the first block for this week!

Our second block this week will be Block #40 - Friendship Block.

Cut one 3 3/8" x 3 3/8" green square.
Cut two 3 3/8" x 1 1/4" orange rectangles.
Cut two 4 3/4" x 1 1/4" orange rectangles.
Cut four 2" x 2" orange squares.
Cut four 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" green squares. Cut these on the diagonal.










Line up the short side of the green triangle with the orange square and place it RST, lining up the right angles. Sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Repeat for the other three orange squares.










Place the short side of a green triangle RST with an orange square after a quarter rotation. Sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Repeat for the other three orange squares.

Place the smaller of the long orange rectangles RST along the side of the large green square. Sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Repeat for the other small rectangle on the opposite side of the green square.

Place one of the remaining orange rectangles RST with the green square on a side that hasn't been sewn on yet. Sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Repeat for the other large rectangle.

Place one of the orange/green triangles that you pieced previously RST along the side of the orange/green square. Sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Repeat with another orange/green triangle on the opposite side of the square.







Lastly, place one of the remaining triangles RST along one of the two sides of the square not yet sewn on. Sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Repeat for the last orange/green triangle on the remaining side and your block is finished!

Our third block this week is Block #39 - Friendship.

Cut four 4" x 4" purple squares.
Cut one 4" x 4" blue square.
Cut one 4" x 4" red square.
Cut one 4" x 4" orange square.
Cut one 4" x 4" green square.

Apparently I did not take a picture of the pieces before getting sewing them but there really is just eight squares. So place one purple square RST with one blue square and pin on the diagonal. Draw a line diagonally on the wrong side of the lighter fabric. Sew a seam 1/4" from the line you have just drawn. You don`t need to bother sewing on the other side of the line you drew. Then place your ruler along the line you drew and slice the two triangles apart. Set the seam and press to one side. Match each of the other three colours with a purple square and repeat above. You should now have four purple and another colour HSTs.

From each of the four coloured triangle pieces, cut one 2" x 2" square. Place this square RST in the all purple corner of each HST, matching the little square with it's own colour on the other side of the HST. Draw a line diagonally across the wrong side of the fabric and sew directly on this line. Place your ruler along your stitch line and slice the little triangle off, 1/4" away from your stich line, set the seam and press to one side. Watch that you press seams in opposite directions in order to get neatly nested seams.

Once again you have a four patch to put together. Place the top two squares RST, sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Repeat for the bottom two squares.








Lastly, place the top rectangle RST with the bottom rectangle, sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Our third and last block for this week is finished!

I am now about six blocks behind so my current plan is to get get us caught up again over the next few weeks. As usual, sew what you can, when you can and I will happily post your block photos as you send them to me!

Have fun and see you next week!

Tara