half square triangles

Still Sewing

16 Comments / Clothes, half square triangles, Hopeful Threads, quilt / By

Did you notice I said “still sewing” and not “still quilting”?!?  No, I haven’t given up quilting, I am just adding a little something new to my repertoire! With the encouragement of a very wonderful friend who I have truly come to treasure I have not made just one dress, but I have made 2 dresses in the last month!  Kristy from Hopeful Threads has been encouraging me to make a dress for Anne for months now, and last month I took the plunge and made a dress for her Dress A Girl challenge.

I read Kristy’s review on the Little Comet Tails – Gemini Jumper and I thought to myself…”I can do that”. Before we came down to California, I ordered the pattern and shipped it to California so it would be here waiting.  Now, keep in mind the only dresses I have ever done have been all straight line sewing AND neither have had pattern pieces!  I have to say, Kristy got her review spot on, I was actually able to do this pattern.  Now don’t get me wrong, I had to email Kristy with a slew of questions and at one point uploaded a picture to Facebook and tagged her in it just to make sure I was doing everything correctly.  She is so wonderful for helping me like she has!  What do you think?

The fabric is from 2009 and is Alexander Henry – I just love his fabric and I have to say I have been drooling over at Contemporary Cloth on the Alexander Henry that Sondra has in stock right now!

(Here’s Anne sitting in my Aunt’s garden!)

And now for the quilting! Since I have been here for the last 2.5 weeks, I have managed to get 3 quilts finished – the tumbler Flock quilt, my mom’s Mother’s Day gift, and a special gift for a special friend.

Please don’t ask me the fabric line…I have no idea, sorry!

This is my May Care 4 Caregivers project from Hopeful Threads.  Oddly enough, the caregiver that I chose to give this beauty to, is Kristy. The parameters were to pick a caregiver in your community and use your sewing talent to find a way to honor them. This community has become a huge part of my life and while I have only participated in 2 of Kristy’s challenges, I have been following her blog since last August and she just blows me away. I decided to recognize Kristy for all she has given to not only our community but to communities around the world. She has literally impacted lives around the world. Thank you Kristy for all you do!

What have you been sewing? This week I have been working on a Feathered Star block, it is going to be the center for a mini quilt I am working on, hopefully pictures for you next week!

 

 

Vintage Christmas Sampler – Waterwheel Block

6 Comments / block tutorials, half square triangles, quilt along, quilt blocks, Quilt Patterns, vintage christmas sampler / By

Waterwheel BlockThe next block in the Vintage Christmas Sampler is the Waterwheel Block. I saw several variations of this block in the Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns. I drew a few of them out and didn’t like the proportions of the blocks, so I started over and this is the block I ended up with, I hope you like it!

Get the know how after the jump! …

Vintage Christmas Sampler – Waterwheel BlockRead More »

4th of July Chevron Block Tutorial

5 Comments / chevron block, half square triangles, quilt blocks, tutorial / By

Chevrons seem to be all the rage these days. I have seen them EVERYWHERE!

I decided that it was time to add my own take on the situation and it is made in 4th of July celebratory colors!

This is a block that I made for a block swap I participate in, my partner asked for Red, White & Blue and I thought a tutorial might be in order!

Supplies:

Each square measures 4 1/8″ to get a 3.5″ block after cutting.

Top Chevron – White – 2 squares
Second Chevron – Light Blue – 4 squares
Third Chevron – Medium Blue – 4 squares
Fourth Chevron – Dark Blue – 4 squares
Fifth Chevron – Red – 2 squares

6.5″ square
Marking pen or pencil

Sewing – (make 12 Half Square Triangles)

Step one: white and light blue, right sides together – take a 6.5″ square ruler and a marking pen/pencil and go corner to corner – see example:

Step 2: Line up your foot on the line and sew along each side with a 1/4″ seam.

Sorry for the orientation of the pic – I had trouble rotating it 🙁

Step 3 – Cut the squares apart on the line

Press your seams – depending on how you put your chevrons together you will want to press towards the dark or the light fabric.

Construct your chevron block:

Follow my block for constructing your finished block

Sew your rows together. Top row – press your seams left, next row down – press your seams right, next row – press your seams left, bottom row – press your seams right.

Sew your rows together – the cutting measurements above will get you a 12.5″ square block.

Remember, you don’t have to do your chevrons in so many different colors, you can use as few as 2 or as many as 5.  Good luck!

I hope you have a Happy and Safe Fourth of July!

Here’s where I’m linking up this week.

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