Quilt Blocks Progress

Quilt Block

My computer considerately decided to die this week which gave me no excuses to slock off with my quilt blocks, so I managed to complete 10 out of 12 this week, though my weekend thus far has been spent catching up on all the things I wanted to do earlier (and enjoying the sunshine) so I haven’t completed the last two yet.

I am uploading the blocks as I go to my flickr, and while you’re over there you should check out the fantastic inspiration in the fabric, patchwork and quilting pool.

Stack & Slash

Stacked and Slashed

The stack and slash method is quite an easy way to get started straight away and make some interesting and colourful blocks. It is often used for crazy quilts. First you need a number of squares cut to the same size and stacked one on top of each other. Mine were 16" squares.

You will need a Rotary Cutter, Self Healing Mat and a 24" ruler.

You will need one square of fabric for every block you would like to make. 9 squares of fabric will give you 9 finished blocks. In this case I used 12 squares of different fabric because I want 12 unique and different blocks.

After making the first cut through all the layers, anywhere you like, some people like to mix up the blocks by taking the bottom piece from one stack and placing it on the top. I didn't want to worry about lining everything up again, so I just cut.

Repeat until you have done 4 cuts. This should give you 9 pieces similar to mine. Next take these pieces and spread them out in a pleasing arrangement, then sew them together. I joined mine together using 1" strips of black cotton.

Starting a Quilt

Choosen Fabrics

Now this isn’t exactly my first quilt, however last time I made what I consider to be some critical mistakes...

1. I used corduroy instead of high quality cotton
2. I didn’t actually "quilt the layers" because I couldn’t work out how to prevent puckering
3. I didn’t know how to do an edge binding.

So all in all my first quilt wasn’t exactly a quilt, though it turned out well enough considering I was still starting to feel my way around a sewing machine.

I decided recently that I wanted to have a proper attempt at quilting to spice up my guest room and attempt a new skill, so I started out by watching some youtube videos. I found the best ones were by Jeanette White who shows everything from basic piecing to binding and other skills and techniques.

Then I looking at examples of other peoples works and finally settled on a style I wanted to attempt. The idea for the pattern is based on Kathleen Bissett’s pattern, however being unable to find a source to purchase it, I have been making it up as I go along.

The next step will be to do a "stach and slash" to create my pieces and start putting them together.