How to Quilt: Augusta Quilt Block, Free Quilt Block Patterns

Augusta Quilt Block Video and Fussy Cutting Diamonds

"Finished is way better than perfect!"

Greetings Quilter -

That quote is so true!

This weekend I decided to sew a quilt block together using a tip I ran across.

The tip was to iron freezer paper onto the back of your bias strips or patches and then sew them together. The theory is that the freezer paper will secure the bias edges and your finished quilt block will be more accurate.

I have to admit that I got a little lazy and didn't trim the edges of my freezer paper, counting on the notion that I could see through the paper to find the edges of the fabric.

And, for the most part that is true. However, the block is still cock-eyed, and will need to be fixed. It's finished! And far from perfect.

Watch the video below showing how to sew the Augusta Quilt Block to see how it was done.

It's all on purpose, however. I recently had been asked by several quilters about how to square up a block. And, now I have the perfect block.

One last chance for this fantastic resource for making star quilts. Quick Star Quilts

This was also the weekend for another experiment.

And that is with the new diamond templates that came with Jan Krentz's book, Quick Star Quilts.

I just love the book and have found the quilt I will make.

So, I decided to use the templates to cut the center diamonds for my quilt.

And, now I just love the templates.

Check below to see how I cut the fabric for the center star in my new quilt.

I seem to be having problems ordering books and templates, though. First I ran out of books, and, I now have a bunch of both books and templates unclaimed.

So, if you haven't gotten yours yet, now is the time. I promise, this is the last time I will offer them. I have 9 books and 7 templates, and first come, first claimed!

Quick Star Quilts and Diamond Templates

One last chance to get your hands on this quilting treasure - whether you are ready to make a crazy quilt this year or next!

Also, I ended up with a couple of unfilled orders for the Crazy Quilt Handbook, and will be placing another order for them on Friday.

Prior to getting this book, I wasn't at all interested in crazy quilts.

But with the popularity of the Quilt as You Go technique, this seemed like a natural extension, and once I looked at this resource and started reading about crazy quilts, I can't wait to start cutting fabric.

The thing is, the books to out as fast as they arrive. All I have had time to do is get a few pieces of fabric and dream about cutting it up.

But, before I start cutting, I want to take a good look at the roadmap that Judith set in this book, to make sure that my first crazy quilt is fun and easy - not a frustrating experience.

Wow! This was a busy week. There were questions about the Binding Club, and here are the answers:

These will be all new methods of binding than are in The Ultimate How to Bind a Quilt DVD Mentor
Each DVD will be the same format as the DVDs in The Ultimate How to Bind a Quilt DVD Mentor - each DVD will be from start to finish demonstrating everything you need to know about the style of binding
You can cancel your membership any time you would like - no obligation, no hurt feelings
Square Patch Members and above of TheQuiltingCoach.com will receive a new DVD each month as a benefit of membership. So, you might want to join up and get all of the benefits of membership, including the Binding Video of the Month
You can order each one separately - pick and choose only the ones you want. There will be a new and different method each month for at least 10 months, or until I run out of methods.
At the end of each month, that month's video will be taken off the market. Yup, you have until March 31 to order the Binding with Curves video separately. Next up is Binding with Striped fabric.

And now for the rest of the news - -

Happy Quilting!

penny halgren

Eavesdrop on a Telephone Conversation

Georgia Bonesteel will be joining us either April 1 or next week. Originally our plan was to have the Conversation on April 2, but her granddaughter is competing in a Spelling Bee, and Georgia will be there cheering her on!

Best of luck to her :-)

I'll let you know when Georgia will join us as soon as we have the date. The time will be our usual - 5pm Pacific Time, 6pm Mountain Time, 7pm Central Time and 8pm Eastern Time.

Cutting Diamonds with Jan Krentz's Template

With the economy the way it is, I have decided to focus my quilting on the fabrics in my stash. Lord knows I have plenty.

As I pawed through, I found this fun little stripe, and looking at Jan's book discovered that she uses fabric with stripes and other geometric patterns. So, I decided to give it a try.

	Because the diamond template is half of a diamond, I folded my fabric in half so I could place the template on the fold. I made sure to line up the stripes in my fabric so they would line up with the diamond shape.

Next I decided how large I wanted my diamond to be. The template is marked with lines going from side to side (parallel with the bottom of the template). I am assuming these are inch lines, and would represent an inch on both sides of the diamond - although that will remain to be seen. I decided that I wanted my diamonds to be a moderate length, so I chose the 5th line from the tip to be the center of the diamond, and placed that line on the fold of the fabric.

	As I placed the template on the fabric, I discovered that you can use some of the lines to center it in the design of your fabric. For example, the second red line from the tip could be centered between the stripes next to the turquoise. That would ensure that the diamond is cut in the center of the fabric design.

Once you have the template lined up, cut the fabric and separate the piece. Because I was cutting with both left hand and right hand, my first cut on the right side missed the mark, and I had to straighten out the cut.

	As I opened up the fabric, I noticed that there was a cool little red design that crossed the diamonds. Since the fabric needed to be re-folded in order to get enough diamonds, I made sure to fold the fabric so that the red design would match the diamonds already cut. Check your fabric to see if there are designs that appear, and see what you can do to line them up.

Once all of the diamonds were cut, I placed them on my flannel board, ready to sew together. You will notice that there are two different designs. I could have cut the fabric so that there would be only one design. This is the center star of my quilt. I will make the Painter's Palette design from Jan's book, Quick Star Quilts. I can't say that mine will be a painter's palette, but I liked the design of the quilt.

For more information about Jan's book, and to get your copy, visit: Quick Star Quilts

Postcard Quilts for the Troops

July 4th Roundup Next - Deadline MAY 20!

Penny's Postcard Posse has sent more than 15,000 fabric postcards to our troops in Iraq, Afghanistan and the hospital in Germany.

As quilters, we know what those postcards mean to the men and women who recieve them. Some who get them receive no other mail from home. And for all of them, it's a reminder of the wonderful freedoms they are fighting for and the comforts they will enjoy when they return home.

The 4th of July Roundup is in full swing - the deadline is May 20!

It's not too early to start making patriotic cards for our 4th of July Roundup. This will mark our 4th Year! Check out the postcard patterns on www.QuiltBlockLibrary.com I will continue to add designs, and patterns for the fabric postcards are always free.

Notes from Diane:

This just in from a soldier on the front line -

"I wanted to send a few lines to thank you and the women for the lovely postcard quilts that you sent the team for Easter. Everyone on the team enjoyed receiving the quilts and were moved by your support. Everyone on the team is making a point to display their quilts by their bunks to show them off.

I noticed from your address that you are from Michigan. I moved my family (Wife and Daughter) to Paw Paw, Michigan for this deployment so she could have the support of her Mother while I was gone. Is there still a great deal of snow on the ground or has spring started for you?

Once again, thank you for all the lovely quilts and your letter of support!!!

Take Care!!"

Remember the Birthday Roundup - Diane had a great idea to send over a package of Birthday postcards that can be handed to soldiers the day of their birthday! What a great idea.

So, we've set up a deadline of August 10, and there is plenty of time to get some postcards made by then. She will send over a big box and the soldier "in charge" can hand them out as birthdays arrive. I will be adding birthday-themed postcard designs to www.QuiltBlockLibrary.com, so keep on checkin'

To make the 4th of July deadline, get your cards to Diane by May 20.

Please send your cards to:
Diane Malaznik
14215 Westmore St.
Livonia, MI 48154-4149

Diane is doing a fabulous job keeping the pictures updated, and if you have sent cards in, let your friends and family know that they can see pictures of them here: www.Fabric-Postcards.com

Remember you can get FREE postcard patterns at: www.QuiltBlockLibrary.com

Special Note - we are in the process of changing the Picture Gallery on the Fabric-Postcards.com site. It may take a few days, so bear with us. Not to worry - We have all of the pictures and will get everything squared away soon.

Featured Block in Video - Augusta Quilt Block

Securing Bias Edges with Freezer Paper

Saturday, as I was flipping through the pages of one of my quilt books, I ran across a new use for freezer paper in quilting.

I've used freezer paper for years for hand applique - place the freezer paper on the back of the fabric, shiny side up, and then press (iron) 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.)

This new technique suggested that you could press freezer paper onto fabric with bias edges and then sew the pieces together. The idea is that your bias edges would be stabilized and wouldn't stretch as you sewed them.

Sounded like an idea worth trying.

Yesterday I went in search of a block that had a bunch of triangles. And I found one called Augusta. It has several triangles, and especially the ones that I find particularly challenging - those long skinny ones with no right angle.

So, I decided to test out the freezer paper method. You'll see my experiment in the video below. By the end of the video I had come to the conclusion that it was a pretty ok method. It takes extra time, but possibly the increased accuracy is worth the effort.

However, later I put the block on my cutting mat and placed a ruler on top of it, only to discover that it was rather cockeyed! I recognize that I didn't cut the paper to the exact shape of the fabric, and that may have been the problem. I also figured that maybe next time I will press the whole piece of fabric onto the freezer paper and cut them at the same time.

I guess I've decided that it's worth a second try. But it is a lot of effort.

In any case, you can see how the block is sewn together and choose to use the paper - or not.

Visit www.QuiltBlockLibrary.com to see other quilt block videos and get free patterns. While you're there, invest in Pattern Credits (minimum $54) and get a FREE DVD showing 6 different ways to sew Half-Square Triangles together. We've only got 14 of these left, so get yours quick.

Enjoy!

augusta quilt block

Download the Augusta Quilt Block Pattern

March Quilt Block Patterns

The March selection of free quilt block patterns includes some especially for celebrating St. Patrick's Day as well as some great quilt patterns for any time of the year.

Click here to download your March FREE quilt block patterns