The Washington Star Quilt Block is a relatively easy to sew 4 patch quilt block.
Before I cut the patches, I saw that some could be combined, saving time for both cutting and sewing.
Watch the video to see how I figured out which patches could be combined. Basically I took patches that were side by side squares of the same color. Then some were cut at rectangles and others were cut as larger squares.
In the video you will see how I marked my block pattern in order to cut the right size and shape.
Most any quilt block can be converted into a fabric postcard.
This Rolling Star quilt block is just made as a 4 inch block, two 1 inch strips are added to the sides to make it postcard shape, a backing is added and the postcard is finished. Add a greeting, and the card is ready to be sent to your friend – or possibly a soldier in the Middle East.
Fabric postcards can, in fact, be sent through the mail. If there are beads or other embellishments on the card, you may want to put the fabric postcard in an envelope so it will arrive safely. If your card is just “plain,” add a stamp (a little extra postage to cover the fact that it can’t be run through a postage machine), an address, and drop it in the mail.
Penny’s Postcard Posse continues to Roundup fabric postcards to send to the soldiers in the Middle East. You can use the Rolling Star fabric postcard, or visit www.QuiltBlockLibrary.com to get other fabric postcard patterns for free.
Here’s the video showing how to make the Rolling Star fabric postcard:
m. mouse is celebrating his 15th birthday (in people years) later this year, so we are making special quilt blocks for him,
A week or so ago, we made the All Those Fish quilt block for him, and now this week we are making a block called Cats and Mice.
It turns out that there are several different blocks called Cats and Mice. This one is a little more interesting than some of the others, and it has a center square that is perfect for a picture of m. mouse.
In the video you will see how I printed the picture onto a piece of pre-treated fabric. The key to maintaining the colors in a photo that has been transferred to fabric is to make sure that it has been treated properly.
The easiest thing to do is purchase fabric that has already been treated. Another option is to pre-treat your own. If you do, there is a product called Bubble Jet which is great for that purpose.
Visit www.QuiltBlockLibrary.com for a free download of this pattern. There are hundreds of patterns available on the site – some free, some for purchase.
It seems that new quilting shortcuts and techniques to make sewing easier pop up every day.
Saturday, as I was flipping through the pages of one of my books, I ran across a new use for freezer paper.
I’ve used it for years for hand applique – place the freezer paper on the back of the fabric, shiny side up (we’re not talkin’ eggs, here), and then press the seam allowance onto the freezer paper to hold it in place.
Then you can press the piece onto your background fabric and the freezer paper will hold the entire piece in place as you sew it onto your background.
It works well, especially when you get the freezer paper exactly the right temperature to melt some of its wax. (That’s the tricky part, and sometimes it takes me a few tries to get it to stick.)
But this tip was new.
It was to iron the freezer paper onto bias edges to keep them in place when you sew strips or patches.
Interesting.
So, for this week’s block, I decided to try it.
I searched for a block that had some triangles that I find a little more challenging to sew. I’m not even sure what they are called, but they are long and skinny and don’t have right angles. They are just a pain to sew.
The block is called Augusta, and the video is posted below.
I cut the fabric first. Next time I may press the fabric onto the freezer paper and then cut it so the raw edges and the side of the paper are even.
You will see in the video that it is possible to see through the freezer paper in order to sew the pieces together, but I still think it would be better to have
the edges even.
It was somewhat easier to sew, however, now that the block is finished, I see that it is sorely cockeyed – and a fantastic subject for an article about how to
square-up your blocks!
