X and Plus Block, So Many Options

I have had a love affair with this block for years. Looking at the piles of scraps that have been accumulating, it's high time I start doing something with them. This block has been around for many years. It can be scrappy or organized, you can have so much fun with it! They are like potato chips, bet you can't make just one!

We have the X and Plus Block Group formed on Facebook now and you can join in the fun. There will be directions for several different sizes and video tutorials to walk you through the construction of this block. The link for the Facebook site is X and Plus Block Group Come join the fun!

Here are some links you might enjoy. There are so many creative ways to make these blocks, get inspired here:

https://stashbandit.net/plus-and-x-block-instructions/

https://badskirt.blogspot.com/2011/04/japanese-x-and-scrappy-quilt-tutorial.html

https://madebyabrunnette.com/2015/04/06/x-plus-block-double-size/

http://www.myquiltinfatuation.com/2016/01/snippets-and-scrappy-x-plus-method.html

http://www.bijoulovelydesigns.com/2013/03/x-plus-quilt.html

These are some of the blocks I have created so far, I tossed them together on Mosaic Maker to give you an idea of how a bunch of unrelated fabrics can work together with this block. For my blocks I am using a Kona White for the background but you can mix it up, using darks, lights, low volume, what ever you have. There are no rules. 

This year we are going to use up some scraps and make a bunch of blocks. At the end of the year we will see what we have and put some quilt tops together!

Let's Make a Tea Towel!

This is a quick fun project that even a beginner can make! You will want to gather up the following supplies to make two tea towels:

1/2 yard main fabric

1/8 yard accent fabric

Thread

Scissors

Iron

Sewing Machine

Rotary cutting mat, ruler and rotary cutter

Pins or clips

To construct one tea towel; from your main fabric cut the following:

one -  18" x 21" rectangle

one -   5" x 21" rectangle

From your accent fabric cut the following:

one -  5" x 21" rectangle

Please read all instructions and watch the attached video before you begin.

IMPORTANT: All seams are 1/2". (there is a spot in the video where I said 1/4" in error)

Carefully place your accent fabric, right sides together, along the long edge of your larger main fabric piece. Be sure you are not placing it along the side. If you have a couple inches hanging off the end you need to turn your fabric so that you are stitching both long sides together. Press to your accent fabric. Repeat this for the remaining piece of your main fabric, stitching it to the bottom of the accent fabric. Press to the accent fabric.

There are many ways to finish the seam on the back of your towel. This is how I like to do it. At your ironing board, press under your seam allowance by 1/4" toward the stitching. Fold once more so that your seam is completely encased and pin in place. Stitch on the edge using a 1/4" top stitch. You can see this illustrated in the video tutorial. Press and repeat this process for both seams.  

Some other ways to finish this seam: Use your serger if you have one, pink the edges and top stitch from the right side of the fabric. You can select what pleases you.

We are ready to hem the tea towel now using the same method we employed for the napkins from the November 5, 2023 tutorial. Here is a link to that tutorial if you wish to refresh your memory: Let's Make Some Napkins!

Press under 1/2" all around your tea towel. Line up two corner edges and pin. Unfold your point carefully.  Line up your ruler along the folded edge of your fabric and close to the intersection of your ironed corner. Use a removable marker to mark a line from the folded edge to the open edge of your tea towel.  Stitch on that line. Trim kind of a wedge shape from the outside edge of your tea towel to the beginning stitch point, careful not to cut through that point. Repeat for all four corners. Turn your corners out and press. Press along the edges of your tea towel and pin or clip the hem in place.  Finish by stitching along the edge of the fold, press again and you are done! Finished size is about 24" x 19".

These make incredibly cute gifts, tuck them into a basket with a jar full of candy raspberries and blackberries. You can add them to a basket with some spagetti sauce and a fun pasta. How about some scone mix, a nice jar of honey or homemade jam. The options are endless and it will just brighten up someone's day. A perfect Valentine's Day gift!

You do not have to make these with an insert. If you just have a pretty fabric and you want it all one fabric cut your piece to measure 28" x 21". Finish your corners and hem as above and your are all done. A pretty piece of embroidery would be lovely. Vintage linen table cloths can be repurposed. Embellishments can be added, some pretty lace, rickrack, buttons, applique, the options are only limited by your imagination!

Hope you enjoyed this little tutorial. Go have a great day and make something pretty!

Blue Bird of Happiness Quilt Pattern

This last week I have been working on this quilt pattern for you. With Valentine's Day coming, this is a perfect quick table topper, mini quilt or wall hanging. You could even take this quilt and continue with additional blocks and borders to create your own quilt the size you wish. The link for the pattern is here: https://sisterofthedivide.etsy.com 

This quilt has some Half Square Triangles, instructions are provided. It also has 2 pieces that are paper pieced. You will need to square up your border blocks before finishing your final border. The ruler that I used for squaring up is the Sew Kind of Wonderful Sew Square 4 ruler. You can use any ruler that has a 45 degree marking and a 1/4" marking on two sides. This will let you quickly square up your border blocks and maintain the seam allowance.  

This is a great pattern to use up your bits and bobs of fabric. It doesn't take much for the hearts and the bird. Gather up your scraps and have some fun. You can put this together in a weekend!

For the quilting, I wanted to create the effect of a vintage lacy doily or the kind of lacy effect that you see on lots of Valentine's Day cards. I used the Tulips B2B by Linda Matteotti and reduced the size quite a bit, cropped around the heart and the bird. On the heart I quilted a feather heart with some embellishments. In the first border I quilted pennies and the second border is pretty much left alone, the blue areas have an inverted square which was skewed to fit each area.

You can quilt it anyway you wish. This would be beautiful hand quilted.

I hope you enjoy this pattern, it was fun creating it. Happy Valentine's Day!

 

 

Let's Make and Can Cranberry Juice Two Ways!

Let's Make Some Cranberry Juice and I will show you how to can it two ways!

To make your cranberry juice you will need the following:

7 Quart Canning Jars with lids and rings

3 1/2 cups of white sugar

3 12 oz bags of Cranberries

Orange peel is optional

In each jar, measure 1 1/2 cups of cranberries, 1/4-1/2 cup of sugar depending on how sweet you like it, top with water to the 1" mark on your jar, wipe the rim with a clean towel and place your lids and rings finger tight. Finger tight means just that, you are not cranking it down hard.

Now place these jars in your water bath canner with water covering the tops of the jars by 1 inch and bring to a boil. Once boiling you will process at sea level for 25 minutes, adjust the time for your altitude. We are at almost 5000ft so I add an additional 10 minutes.

When done, remove your jars to a cloth covered counter to cool for at least 24 hours. Do not tighten the rings. The sugar will not be dissolved, don't worry, you are going to let these sit on your shelf for 4-6 weeks before you open them. Check your seals the next day, make sure you have a good seal on your jar, remove the rings and wipe the jar well. Lable with content and date and set in your pantry.  You can shake them before you use them and the sugar should have gradually dissolved. Strain the juice and save the berries. You can use them in cakes, breads, muffins, etc.

You can flavor your cranberry juice by adding a strip of orange peel, some apple slices, raspberries, cherries, grapes, what ever you like! Don't be afraid to be creative.

The second way to make your cranberry juice is to place your 3 bags of berries into a large pot, add 10 cups of water and 3 cups of sugar. Bring to a boil over medium high heat and boil until the berries are soft and release their juice. Strain the pulp and ladle the juice into clean quart jars, wipe your rims with a clean cloth and place your lids and rings, again finger tight. Process in your water bath canner same as above. These are ready to drink right away. If you want some for your table, there is no need to process additional jars, you just pour what you want in a pitcher and can the remainder.

Again, don't toss out the berries you have strained off. You can use them to make fruit roll ups, you can make ice cream with them, you can add them to your baked goods, you can even use them to make a bbq sauce. This is a no waste option.

 And now you know how simple it is to make cranberry juice! I found my berries on sale for $1.50/bag and with the sugar it ended up costing me 69cents a quart! And you know what's in it!

I hope you enjoyed this post, please feel free to share with your friends. Comment below if you like. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram!

Let's Make Some Napkins!

Let's make some napkins! These are quick, easy and inexpensive, finish beautifully and they will look lovely on your table. Suitable for gift giving, tucked into a basket with some additional small gifts or even just tied with a pretty ribbon and gifted on their own! Wonderful for a housewarming, bridal shower, birthday, picnic in the woods, you can think of a million ways to enjoy them and gift them.

To start you will need 1 fat quarter per napkin. 1 yard of fabric will make 4 napkins. You can mix and match your fatquarters if you like or have them all the same!

Cut your fabric to measure an 18" square.  Press under 1/2" all around the edges of each napkin as shown below.

Now fold your napkin on the diagonal, matching up one side and creating a point, as shown below. I found it helpful to place a pin to align your edges. 

Using a ruler mark a line measuring 1" as shown below. Line your ruler up with the bottom of the folded fabric as shown and the top of your 1" should rest on the edge of the napkin as shown below. Make your mark with either an air erase pen, or a small sharp pencil, or chalk...just mark with something that will come out easily.

It will help you if you pin the edges of the Napkin as shown before you stitch on the line.

TIP: Start your stitching just a few stitches in from the edge and backstitch to catch and secure, then when you stitch off, backstitch again to secure your other edge.

This is important, you will clip each of the corners after you stitch, you want a clipped shape like the photo below with the wide part to the outside edge and the narrow part to the inside as shown below. Becareful not to clip your stitches, you don't need to get that close.

Finger press your seam open and turn it right sides out, gently use a chopstick or a knitting needle to help turn out your point. Press your napkin and topstitch close to the turned edge as shown below.

You can press again and you are finished! You have beautiful mitered corners and are ready to set your table!

 

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. Share it with your friends and be sure to follow on Facebook and Instagram for more!

Everyone Needs a Zippered Pouch!

 

I have a weakness for pouches, I love them! I love to make them. They are great for organizing not just make up essentials but quilting essentials, EPP kits, first aid supplies for your home or car, quick grab and take office supplies for on the road, there is literally no end to the multitude of uses you can find for pouches.

What a fun way to use up your scraps! For this pouch I have used some 2.5" squares that were left over from a quilt. I simply stitched them together until I had a piece large enough that I could fold in half for the pattern. I chose a pretty liner fabric that would coordinate.

The FREE pattern for this pouch is available through Riley Blake Designs and here is the link for the PDF pattern. Taco Pouch Templates There are several sizes and I will post the video tutorial at the end of this blog. For this pouch I selected the Large Size Template. I used a Chalk Marker to mark around the template and then cut it out with scissors.

 

 

 
This is what your piece will look like when you open the fold.

 

 

You will also need to cut your lining and interfacing materials with the same template.

Make sure you get an extra long zipper, it makes this pouch quick and easy to create. Follow the directions in the video tutorial by Riley Blake Designs below and you will have yourself a cute pouch! This would be an excellent pattern to use for crumb piecing, using all your random bits and scraps, stitched together to create your own fabric design. For that I would recommend that you cut your interfacing and crumb piece directly onto that to support your work. Have fun with it!

Be sure to watch the video below for complete step by step instructions to create your pouch!

Tips When Making The Wensleydale Quilt

 

 

Are you working on or contemplating the Wensleydale Quilt by Jen Kingwell? Have you decided if you will hand piece or machine piece this quilt? Will you be paper foundation piecing? So many decisions. For me, hand piecing is out. Her book Quilt Recipes has templates and complete instructions for making this quilt. I will not be providing those here. What I will provide are tips for what is working well for me and tell you why. There are a multitude of ways to approach this quilt and my way is not the only one. I have chosen to Foundation Paper Piece for accuracy.

This is a list of things you will need to make this block:

Quilting Recipes Book by Jen Kingwell

Foundation Paper packet for the Wensleydale Quilt

Elmer's Washable Glue Stick or glue stick of your choice

Template plastic or clear plastic from folder

Permanent Marker  

Add a Quarter Ruler

An old pair of scissors for cutting the template plastic

Scissors

Rotary Cutter

Rotary Cutting Mat

Old Sewing Machine Needle

New Sewing Machine Needle

Thread and Bobbin

Sewing Machine

Iron and Pressing Mat or Ironing Board

My first recommendation is to get her book. Links have been provided for recommended items. In her book are templates for each of her quilts. Find the Wensleydale templates and make a photo copy of them.

Get yourself some template plastic. You can find this at your local quilt shop, at your local hobby shop, online and if you prefer to save some $$ then just get yourself a clear  plastic folder from The Dollar Store.  You will need a permanent marking pen with a medium tip. Place your clear plastic over the photo copy of her templates in the book and trace them with your permanent marker. TIP: place an arrow to indicate your seam line. This will help you when you are cutting directional fabrics or motifs that you want to align in a certain way.

Take an old pair of scissors and cut out your plastic templates.  

 

 

Now you may ask, why cut out templates when you are Foundation Piecing? I do this to save on fabric and to allow me to make accurate cuts for directional fabrics and special motifs. By using the template, I know I have a piece of fabric cut to the right dimensions and there will be very little waste when trimming. The plastic template is clear and I can see what I am lining up for my cut. The beauty of having a template to use and Foundation Paper Piecing is that you do not have to worry about being on the cross grain of the fabric, it just doesn't matter.

 

 

 

Purchase a package of the Wensleydale Foundation Papers. They come 60 to a package and that is enough to make the quilt. If you want a larger quilt, purchase an additional package.

 

Tear off about 5 sheets of the foundation paper, keeping them lined up. Put an old needle into your sewing machine and remove your thread and bobbin. Now stitch over all of the solid lines on the foundation paper. You don't need to stitch over the very outside lines as these are just the 1/4" seam lines for when you join your blocks. So on one side you will have the solid lines and when you flip the paper over you will see your lines from your needle perforations like the photo below. I only do five sheets at a time so it keeps the perforations crisp.

 

 

 

 

These are the indicator lines that will help you align your fabric, you will stitch on the other side on the solid lines. Now change your needle back to a nice sharp sewing needle, thread your machine and place your bobbin. Get yourself a washable glue stick which you will use to place your first fabric. Using your template A, select your center fabric and cut it out. Use your glue stick to adhere that fabric to the Wrong side of your foundation paper. Spread the glue stick only on that center rectangle area, avoid the perforations. You don't need a ton of glue, just enough to stick your fabric for a bit. 

 

 

 

 

You will notice that your center piece hangs over your perforated lines. This is correct, you want about a 1/4" around as that will be your seam eventually.

 

 

 

 

 Now, selecting your B and C templates, go ahead and cut out your pieces. Line up your pieces for opposite sides, either B or C and pin them in place. Put your pins to the center so they are out of your stitching area. 

 

 

Turn your paper over and stitch on the solid line, starting about 1/4" beyond the line and finishing 1/4" beyond the line. Check and make sure you have not folded back a piece of your fabric when placing it under your needle. Speed is not the object here as much as accuracy. Take your time and you will avoid a date with Jack the Ripper. 

Do the same for the opposite side and then take to the iron and press open.

 

 Repeat this step for your side pieces next.

 

 Don't worry if things look a bit wonkie here. I want you to place your foundation paper with the fabric on the bottom. Carefully, fold back the line that corresponds to the outside of the current area you are working on, this will be your next seamline and we want to trim things up a bit. Don't fret if your paper tears a bit at the intersection of the seams. You will want to use your Add a Quarter ruler to trim back to just a quarter inch. To do this, fold your paper back to the perforated line, lay your ruler on top of the fabric, you will notice there is a ledge that will catch on the paper giving you a perfect 1/4" seam allowance, you will trim any excess fabric beyond the ruler. 

 

 

The rest is a repeat of the instructions above, take your next templates, cut your pieces of fabric and align them with the edges as shown below and turning to the opposite side of the paper, stitch on the corresponding solid lines, press open and place and stitch your next pieces. Press open and then trim as outlined above.

 

Once you have added your final round of pieces, turn to the paper side and trim your block to the very outside solid line. You will have a perfect block. Now repeat that 59 more times...LOL

 

Hope this helps you a bit. It's a beautiful Quilt and there are tons of fabric options for you to choose from. I highly recommend that you watch her video on selecting fabric, then pick out what you love and have at it!