January BOM: Winter Trees

I took my cue for this month's block from Mother Nature. Look outside and you will see a variety of bare trees in all shapes and sizes.

In order to keep the palette simple and modern I encourage you to use a solid background in shades such as these blocks from @quiltoph. Think of the morning sunrise and sunset and how the sky changes throughout the day when choosing your background colour.

Branches and trunk should be solid black in sizes ranging from 3/4" to 2" wide strips and in various lengths. Your tree shape and branch and trunk sizes are totally up to you.

Method: Improv

I was uncertain as to how to approach the actual construction of this block but happily found free instructions for a Spooky Tree at auntemsquilts.com but my instructions are more detailed

Materials:

1 - 14" square for background in a solid colour. I recommend this size to allow for any mishaps and so that the block can be easily trimmed to 12.5"

An assortment of solid black strips in various lengths and ranging in size from 3/4" to 2" wide for trunk and branches

Rotary cutter

Pencil or other marking implement

Ruler

Step 1: Draw a trunk and branches on your 14" square

Draw tree on background block

Step 2: With your rotary cutter, cut along all the marked lines on the left side only. You don't want too many pieces in play at one time which could lead to confusion. I recommend you take a photo to aid you in remembering the correct placement of the cut pieces

Cut along drawn lines

Step 3: Starting from the top choose a branch size and using a 1/4" seam allowance, sew a black strip to the edge of one background piece, right sides together. Finger press. Sew a second background piece to the black strip. Continue to sew strips strategically to the background pieces and finger press as you go. Don't be too concerned about the direction of the seam allowances. They tend to naturally go in the correct direction.

NOTE: Although improv is very forgiving, it is important to visually line up the fabric and flip it over (much like paper piecing) to ensure that the edges align before stitching your seam.

First branch added. Note the alignment of the edges

Trim the edges and continue to trim after the addition of each black strip

Edges trimmed

Left half of block almost complete

Step 4: Using the same procedure, complete the second half of the block

Step 5: Select a black strip for the trunk and sew it to the left half of the block, then sew the right half of the block to the trunk strip

Step 6: Press seams with an iron

Step 7: Square the block to 12.5 inches

I hope you enjoy making these Winter Trees. I know I did!

November BOM: Old Maid's Puzzle

Leslie Stobbart here with the November BOM design. 

The block that we'll be making for our monthly block lotto is a traditional quilt block design I'm calling "Vintage Triangles." I'm sure there's an official name for this block, but I don't know it. (If you do know the name, please share! I'd love to have an actual title for this beauty!) called Old Maid's Puzzle. Thank you to Brenda for finding the correct name for this block!

Our block design is inspired by a photo of a vintage quilt that Annabel Wrigley (@littlepincushionstudio) posted on Instagram on August 2, 2021. Remember when she came and did a workshop in person for our guild in January 2020? Remember in-person workshops?? 😭😭😭 

She bought this quilt at an antique mall for $25, which is an excellent deal! What a lucky quilt.

I saw this photo on Instagram and immediately saved it in my "BOM Ideas" folder. So today's the day we get to make it!

Colour Choices:

Maker's choice! 

Blocks can be made with any two fabrics of your choice, as long as there's some contrast between the two. Solids, prints, linens, voiles, whatever your heart desires! I think this pattern is going to look great with a mix.

Cutting and Construction:

All seam allowances are 1/4" for this pattern

Completed blocks will measure 14" (unfinished)

For each block you'll need to have:

• 6 HSTs (half-square triangles) that measure 5" x 5" made from both fabrics

• 3 squares cut to 5" x 5" from the lighter (in colour, not weight) of the 2 fabrics  

You can refer to an HST tutorial to help you make multiple half-square triangles in one go. I really like the two-at-a-time HST method, personally. I found a great tutorial blog post from Blossom Heart Quilts if you want to refresh/learn this technique. 

The finished size for these HSTs will be 4.5", so if you're doing the two-at-a-time method, and you want to end up with minimal trimming once you cut the two HSTs apart, you would start with one square of each fabric cut to 5 3/8". If less than a 1/4" measurement makes you sweaty, you can always cut your two starting squares to be 5 1/2" and then trim the HSTs down to 5" once you've done the sewn the two seams and cut the two units apart. You're your own boss!

So, after you’ve got your solid blocks and HST units cut and sewn, arrange them as below:

Now sew the nine pieces together like a nine-patch. I like to sew the three rows together into top, middle, and bottom strips, and then sew those three strips together to make the finished block. But you could also go left/middle/right, if that's more to your liking.

HOT TIP: 

Nest your seams! This block is a good opportunity to practice this technique if you're not familiar. Here's how I nest: 

Once you've sewn your three rows, press the seams for your top and bottom rows OUT (towards the outer edges of the strip), and then press the seams for your middle strip IN (towards the centre of the strip). 

When you go to sew the three strips together, the seams should sit right up against each other really beautifully and create really clean triangle points. This is called nesting and you'll do a tiny happy dance when you get it right. 

However, if you miss the nesting, it's actually *not* a big deal. I find that perfect points feel very important in the moment when you're sewing them, but then they're not actually that important once the quilt top has been made and quilted and washed and it's winged over the back of your couch or your kid has had it on their bed while they're potty training (woopsie!). But perfect points ARE satisfying in the moment and I don't want to deny you that moment of joy, if perfection is your thing.

So there you have it! Vintage Triangles! Old Maid's Puzzles! I think these are going to look so great in a mix of all of our fabrics, and because they're a fairly large block, we may get enough entries to allow for two draws in January.
Thanks as always for participating in this activity. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's blocks at the January 2022(?!) meeting.

October BOM: Hexagons

Theresa Cody here. As you know Leslie Stobbart and I are sharing BOM ideas. It's my turn for October so let's get to it!

I have had the book Hexagons Made Easy by Jen Eskridge for years and although I had the best of intentions to make a hexagon quilt, it hasn't happened. I am sure a good majority of you can relate. So now I finally get to make a hexagon block and now you can too. I have modified the instructions slightly.

Some of you are familiar with English Paper Piecing (EPP) which is one method of making hexies. I missed the EPP workshop that our Guild held when I was at Quiltcon in Nashille in 2019. The method we will be using today to make hexagons is machine faced hexies that are machine appliquéd to a background block.

Finished Block Size: 10 inches

Supplies for the Templates:

Print 3in template  or  Hexie Templates Various Sizes

7in template

If you do not wish to print templates or do not have a printer available to you, you can draw your own hexagon. I am a word person myself and avoid anything mathematical if I possibly can. But if you want to give it a go, here is just one method using a compass and a ruler: How to draw a hexagon  I think even I could manage that

• Cardboard (a cereal box works well) or a flexible cutting board from the Dollar Store for the templates
• Glue stick and scissors
• Rotary cutter
• Ruler
• Pencil or marker

Fabric for the Background: A 10.5 inch square of low volume fabric

Fabric for the hexies:

Note: I used squares of fabric simply because I had some available. You can use odd shaped pieces of fabric instead as long as the hexie shape fits with about 1/2 inch to spare around the perimeter of the hexie

For the 3 inch hexagon: A 4 inch square of focus fabric. I used a 5 inch square of focus fabric for the 3 inch hexagon simply because I had some charm squares on hand. The focus fabric for each hexie can be a solid or a print or a combination of prints and solids depending on your design choice

For the Facing: A 4 inch square, preferably in a similar colour to the focus fabric so that the facing will be inconspicuous when it is appliquéd to the background block. I happened to have 6 inch squares on hand so that is what I used for the facing for the 3 inch hexies

For the 7 inch hexagon: An 8 inch square of focus fabric

For the Facing: An 8 inch square for the facing, ideally in a similar colour to the focus fabric

You can choose to make only 3 inch hexagons or you can appliqué a 7 inch and one or more 3 inch hexagons to the background block. You do not necessarily have to stick to these suggested sizes as there are multiple sized templates available for printing. So by all means make whatever size hexies you like that will fit on the 10 inch background fabric bearing in mind that you should have enough space around the 10 inch background block to allow for 1/4 inch seam allowances when the finished blocks are sewn together

Focus and Facing Fabrics

Method:

1.  Glue the paper template to the cardboard and cut out the hexagon shape. Mark the size on the hexie template. If you are using a flexible template, simply trace the outline of the hexie directly on the flex template and cut on the marked line. Mark the size of the hexie directly on the flex template

2.  Trace the hexie shape on to the WRONG side of the FACING fabric

Optional: Cut out the shape 1/2 inch away from the marked line on the facing fabric. DO NOT cut on the marked line or your hexie will be too small. The seam allowance will be trimmed once stitched. I did not do this. I simply positioned all of the facing fabric on the focus fabric square because if I can possibly skip a step, I undoubtedly will

Trace hexie shape on WRONG side of FACING fabric

3.  Pin the facing fabric, right sides together, to the focus fabric and stitch completely around the marked line using a small to medium stitch length

Pin and stitch around the entire hexie

4.  With rotary cutter and ruler, trim 1/4 inch around the stitched line. Trim the FACING fabric about 1/8 inch less than the focus fabric. This is called grading the seam allowance and will ensure that there will be no lumps or ridges around the perimeter of the hexie. Clip each of the six corners of the hexie to reduce bulk and allow for crisp corners when the hexie is turned right side out

Trim and clip points

5.  Snip open the facing side of the hexie, enough to allow room for turning. Try not to make the opening too large. I snipped about 1.5 inches for the 3 inch hexie and about 3 inches for the 7 inch hexie

Cut opening on FACING for turning

6.  Turn the hexagon right side out pushing at the points to make a crisp shape

7.  Press

8.  Arrange the hexies on the background fabric in a configuration that is pleasing to you. You can arrange them diagonally or horizontally or randomly. Pin and machine stitch as close as possible around the entire edge of the hexie. Alternatively you can hand stitch the hexies to the background block if you have the time and inclination. The yellow utensil in the background is an old Rubbermaid orange peeler that I use to push at the points when turning the hexie. Some people use a tool made specifically for that purpose

Pin and machine stitch

And there you have it. Hexagons. Hexies. I look forward to seeing your finished blocks. Hopefully you are inspired to make your own hexagon quilt. For the sake of consistency, please continue to email Leslie before the next meeting to let her know how many blocks you made so that your name can be entered in the draw. Remember to post photos of your completed blocks on Instagram using the hashtag #ottmqgBOM