National Dog Day - August 26
"A day patched with quilting seldom unravels."
Greetings Quilter - Progress is moving right along on the Fat Quarter Quilt. The sashing has been added and I'm ready for the borders. As with any quit, there have been challenges along the way. The first was not having enough fat quarter fabric to make all of the blocks the way I wanted. To solve that problem, I purchased additional fabric by the yard, planning to use the new fabric in my light-valued patches. Once I got the blocks sewn together and hanging on my flannel wall, I realized that what I wanted to be "light" fabric was actually "medium" compared to the other fabrics in the blocks. And, the yellow I used for the rectangles around the center square patches is a very bright color and stands out. In an effort to tone down the yellow and add some "light" fabric to the design, I added sashing with cornerstones made from a very light value fabric for the sashing, and the same "light" batik I used in the center patches of the block. I will be adding the same sashing with cornerstones around the outside of the quilt top center, and then determining what I will do for the borders. I am inclined to make pieced borders, using a block - possibly small pinwheel blocks. This week will see additional progress!
Until later - - - Happy Quilting!
Applique Baby Quilts Everyone gets excited about the birth of a new baby – especially us quilters! We love making quilts for the little bundles of joy! People often ask how to make a baby quilt and the answer is easy. A baby quilt can be a scaled down version of a full size quilt. Reduce the size of each piece, or use fewer pieces or blocks in your baby quilt. Appliqué is a fun method for making a baby quilt. And with our other appliqué resources featured this month, I thought was appropriate to bring you some additional ideas for appliqué quilts. Years ago when it seemed like all of my friends were having babies, I made a series of heart appliqué quilts. I cut out hearts using various fabrics and then sewed them onto a 4 inch background. Sometimes I hand appliquéd the hearts, and other times they were machine appliquéd. The backgrounds varied as well. Sometimes white, other times, I used a colored background. In addition to the small baby quilts, I made what I considered to be a baby quilt for engineering son, Bubba. It was actually twin size, and made a nice floor cover for him to scoot around on. There were animals appliquéd onto the quilt. For other ideas about appliqué baby quilts, check out this article: Appliqué Baby Quilts
Check out the Heart Spangled Star Quilt Block from earlier this month. Postcard Quilts for the Troops – Halloween Roundup!
It's time once again for our Annual Halloween Postcard Roundup. This has been one of our most popular Roundups because it is just a fun holiday that even kids have a great time decorating fabric postcards for. The deadline is September 22. Send your cards to: Diane Malaznik Diane will send a box of our postcards to be distributed to soldiers on Halloween. Remember, if you have sent a postcard already, you can see pictures of it at www.Fabric-Postcards.com. And, as always, free postcard patterns are available at www.QuiltBlockLibrary.com. Make your holiday card list to see how many you will need to create, then have fun with the free patterns at www.QuiltBlockLibrary.com. Be sure to make a few extras to send as last minute gifts or just to be a step ahead for next year! Fabric postcards are also a very special way to say “thank you” for the holiday gifts you receive.
Featured Block in Video Dog Bone Quilt Block
August 26 marks National Dog Day - a special day for all dogs and dog owners. So this week's featured block is the Dog Bone quilt block. This 4 patch is pretty easy to sew. Each patch is the same design, just the colors are reversed. And since this is a two fabric block, it's easy to keep the patches in order. There are a couple of different ways to sew this together. Your pattern will have a square patch with a corner cut out of it - all set up to add the little triangle. In the video, you will see that I have cut those a full squares and then added the triangle onto the corner. This makes it easier to cut the fabric (as square patches) and increases accuracy when you are sewing the patches together to make the block. Get a free download of this pattern at www.QuiltBlockLibrary.com and check out the other patterns there, too! This block is also included in the patterns for the month.
Enjoy!
August Quilt Block Patterns The August selection of free quilt block patterns includes:
Click here to download your August FREE quilt block patterns |
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