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BLOCK 4
I love the quilting community. Everyone is so willing to share. I never stop learning. Even though I have been teaching quilting for over 20 years I am still learning from my students. After the directions came out for block 4 I was reading the posts and someone posted another way to piece this block. It was ingenious! I asked her if I could share it and she said I could. Carolyn Acrey Shepard was the one who came up with it and I will share it after I show my way of doing the block.
For those who have my Cutting Corners template set you can cut the triangles with the triangle template using a 2-1/2" x WOF strip instead of cutting squares and then cutting them into half-square triangles as in the original instructions. I really like using it because I can trim the corners of the triangles and they fit with the squares without any dog ears to cut off.
You can also use it to cut the large triangles using a 4-1/2" strip.
Once you have all of your pieces cut out, lay them out to the left of your sewing machine. You can piece these just like I showed how to piece the nine-patch blocks. (Sorry the white fabric is hard to see on the white quilting surface.)
Fold the middle column (square and triangle) on top of the first column (matching triangle and square). See how nice they match with no edges sticking out! Pin and sew one right after the other. Do NOT clip the threads. Press to squares.
Fold third column square and triangle over on the second column triangle and square. Pin and sew one right after the other. Do NOT clip threads. Press to squares.
This is what it looks like so far.
Fold first row down, match seams, pin and sew together. Press seam up.
Fold bottom row up. Match seams, pin and sew together. Press seam down.
The resulting section.
Now you are ready to sew on the side triangles. Since I cut them using my "Cutting Corners" triangle, I don't have to match the center. The triangle ends meet the ends of the squares perfectly. Otherwise you do have to match the centers, pin and sew.
Repeat on the other side. Section should equal 6-1/2" square.
Here is how Carolyn did it. She made a strip set of 3 dark strips at
2-1/2" x LOF and 2 light strips at 3-1/8" x LOF. She sewed the strips together with 1/4" seams and pressed to the dark fabrics. She then cut the strip set into 2-1/2" sub strips. Don't forget to even up the edge before cutting it into subsets.
Then cut the cut strip set into 3 sections. Cut from corner to corner of the triangles.
Now line them up and sew them together like I did matching seams. Wasn't that fast!
One more thing I want to demonstrate. I saw the question of what is a diagonal seam. Ashley did a great video on that. I use diagonal seams because they don't show up as much in borders as a straight seam does. Also on bindings it has less bulk when you fold them in half and then sew them on your quilt.
There are many ways to sew diagonal seams. This is what I do. I like to overlap the two edges, right sides together, so that a small amount sticks out from the two strips. I use my cutting mat to line up the strips on the lines so that they are at 90 degree angles to each other. Pin them together and draw a line from intersection to intersection (where the two strips cross over each other). Your needle should start and end where they cross over each other, when you sew them together. Then trim the seam to 1/4" and press the seams open. I like to press them open to reduce bulk but there is no hard and fast rule about it.
NATIONAL QUILTER'S CIRCLE
National Quilter's Circle is offering a great special on their membership. For only $25 you can get a Gold membership and get free classes and free downloads for a year! Use this link to get the special price and please use this code "TOBY25" when checking out. I want to say that I do get a bonus if you use my code.
I still have lots of great end of the bolt fabrics on sale. Don't miss out. I will be having a great Black Friday and Cyber Monday sale so be sure to check out my website on Friday and Monday for the special code for a great discount!
