In the meantime, this is the next project that Mom and I will be working on:

There’s a story behind this. It will almost certainly be a raffle prize in a fundraiser on behalf of my uncle, who is dealing with a rare form of cancer. He is a hunter who trains bird dogs, and is active in the local bird hunting community. Hunting friends approached him about doing a fundraiser hunt and he suggested that they raise money for a local cancer support organization instead, since he didn’t need the financial assistance. Mom and I volunteered to make a quilt for the raffle that will be part of the event, and this is what I came up with.

I knew from the beginning I was going to use the Birds in the Air block. What else could I use? I also wanted to use the Barn Raising setting, which is the diamonds formed by the gold blocks. A Barn Raising is a traditional event where a community comes together to build (or “raise”) a barn for one of its members. Community coming together to help? Most definitely. The Barn Raising portion is a little off center because, well, so is my uncle. The gold color represents the fields where they hunt. The blue section is the dogs and hunters approaching the hunt area, and the green, red and gold in the corners are the birds flying away as they’re flushed.

This is a generous bed sized quilt, about 85″ x 97″ (220 cm x 250 cm). It’s made entirely of half square triangles – 2,240 of them, to be exact. The small triangle units finish at 2″, and the block is 6″. That is 672 half square triangle units, plus 672 small half square triangles, plus 224 large half square triangles. But who’s counting.

We’ll use Triangle Papers to construct the HST units, but the rest of the triangles will have to be cut and sewn individually. I’ll be honest – most likely Mom will be doing the majority of the sewing on this. She is retired and has the free time, and I’m still (happily) working on the Double Wedding Ring. I have a goal to finish it before the next Stitch & Bitch on February 11, just two weeks away. The Birds in the Air quilt needs to be finished by early March, so we have some time.

I have to say one more time how much I love EQ7. As I mentioned, I knew it was going to be a Birds in the Air block, and I had the Barn Raising setting in mind. I started rotating blocks in EQ7, building the diamonds, and when I got through the fourth ring I thought, “I kind of like the way it looks with some of the blocks unrotated.” I looked at the space at the bottom left and wondered what other patterns would happen if I rotated blocks differently. After just a few minutes of playing around, the squares developed. I built a sort of fence around that section to define it further, then started playing with colors. All in all, even including changing the colors in each individual block (two clicks per block – one for the black prints, one for the color), it took me less than 30 minutes start to finish to design the quilt. I attribute the design partly to serendipity, partly to the pure dumb luck that I was able to recognize an interesting pattern when it appeared in front of me, and partly to the ease with which you can change things in EQ7.

Seriously, go get this book. (Click on the image above to read about it.) It’s available for Kindle for just $12.99, or you can do like I did and order an autographed copy AND buy the Kindle version. Because I want to read it NOW and I want a hardcover to add to the collection on the shelf.

So the funny part is, I managed this all by myself. Think about it – how do you hold a camera to record a video, and use both hands for the demonstration? Answer: You find the last remaining wire coat hanger in the house and bend it into an odd shape that both fits over your head so it hangs around your neck AND holds the camera in exactly the right position. Well, I’m nothing if not resourceful. I also created a YouTube account and uploaded a video for the first time. Isn’t that… thpecial?

Instead, I offer this photo:

Yes, I started working on the Double Wedding Ring again. I finally figured out what works for me for curved piecing, and since – FOR ME – it is completely pin-less, I made a lot of progress this weekend. I have to make 16 more footballs, which will take about an hour. The top row is completely assembled and the second row is mostly assembled, but needs to be attached to the top row. I got that far then decided I needed to lay it all out to be sure the distribution of fabrics looked good. I’m pretty happy with it so far. I’ve had a few “let it go” moments, and some seam intersections don’t line up as neatly as I’d like, but I’m trying to take a deep breath and move on.

I cut this using the Accuquilt Go Double Wedding Ring dies, and I have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, it’s very fast to cut and the little notches make it easy to line up the pieces. On the other, it just doesn’t go together well once you start assembling the footballs. Most (though not all) Double Wedding Ring templates have corner pieces with curved edges, but this one uses squares. I do a pretty good job with my quarter inch seams, and yet the footballs (aka melons) have, without exception, turned out either ruffly or with a puffy center. We also had trouble with one of the dies bending during the cutting process. It was replaced by the vendor, but the second die bent in the exact same place. I still think the AccuQuilt Go is a great tool for certain applications, but it’s far from perfect.

Anyway, I’m hoping to finish the top in the next couple of weeks. As long as the forward momentum continues, that’s a strong possibility.

I’ve also made very slight progress on the Dear Jane quilt. I completed three blocks – simple blocks, and they were cut out several months ago, but progress is progress.

In case you don’t remember, this is what it will eventually look like. (Whether it’s finished in my lifetime is another question.)

And for the gratuitous cat photo, here’s Buttercup sleeping on top of the entertainment center. When the fireplace is on, she goes to high ground and then melts into a boneless puddle. I couldn’t actually see anything but her ears because she’s so high up. I held the camera up and took several blind shots to get this:

http://www.quilterssurvey.com/

The survey will only be available until January 30, and there are some big ticket prizes available.

Of course, I hate to follow patterns. Applique isn’t really my thing, either. As I looked at the photo in the magazine, I realized that one relatively small design element increased the difficulty level, and with a teeny little change, almost unnoticeable in the finished design, it became a much easier project.

In the process, I did some searching to try to find if there was a traditional block in this design. I found a block from 1936 that is almost identical to Granny’s Stars, called Arrowhead.

Here’s an EQ7 illustration of Granny’s Stars:

And an illustration of Arrowhead:

And an illustration of my slightly revised block:

Side by side – see the differences?

This variation allows you to use the basic components Jeanne and I have covered so far in the Skill Builder Series to create the block. If you can make a nine patch, flying geese, and quarter square triangles, you can do this block. If I had to put a skill level to it, I’d call it Adventurous Beginner.

We decided this quilt would look good scrappy, and we chose colors based on what we thought the recipient would like. Here’s an illustration of the whole quilt in the chosen colorway:

It’s pretty traditional, but the large (16″) block could easily accommodate more contemporary fabrics. Here are some illustrations:

Mom’s working away at this – here are her blocks so far:

It’s very difficult to take photos of items on the design wall. Here’s why:

Yep, we have a design “wall-way.” (Get it? Wall + Hallway? I crack myself up.) And you may recognize these blocks –

I actually have nearly all of the blocks done so far for the Test Your Skills Sampler. I have to make two more and then I’ll be caught up. Funny that I’m behind on making blocks for MY OWN quilt along. This weekend I made 21 blocks. Yep, I was that far behind. Not good.

Did you get any fabulous Black Friday deals? My mom braved the crowd at JoAnn Fabrics and scored this full roll of Warm & Natural batting.

It’s regularly $520 (that’s 40 yards at $13 a yard!), but she had a 50% off coupon, plus a 20% off your total purchase coupon (or was it 25%?), so she paid about $200.

As you can see at the bottom, Buttercup thinks it’s a giant scratching post, which annoys me to no end. I need to put it up, or at least wrap something around it. In the meantime, she also uses it as a place to nap…

…and a step toward the top of the bookshelf – and the toy mousie residing there!

Isn’t she ‘dorable?

I know, that cat has me wrapped around her extra toes.

The next block for the Test Your Skills Sampler is the Diamond in a Square block, sometimes called Square in a Square. For the sake of clarity, I’m calling it Diamond in a Square to differentiate it from the popular log cabin variation that’s also called Square in a Square.

If you’re following the White & Bright layout, this block contains an assortment of fabric, ending with the background as your final round. The block finishes at 9″ (9 1/2″ unfinished).

This block can be frustrating if you have trouble with accurate 1/4″ seams. The Skill Builder Series post about this component provides two different methods, one using triangles and the other using squares. Unfortunately, the one using squares only works for a single round with a plain center. Multiple rounds and pieced centers just don’t work.

Traditional Method

I’ll be honest, I took the cutting instructions for this block directly from EQ7, and I don’t understand the logic behind some of the instructions. Everything works properly, but I can’t explain why sometimes it has you cutting squares in half diagonally once, and sometimes you cut them in half diagonally both ways. I decided to just go with it, since calculating the sizes manually was overtaxing my brain.

Cut (2) 1 5/8″ background squares (or cut 1 3/4″ squares and trim later)
Cut (2) 1 5/8″ color squares (or cut 1 3/4″ squares and trim later)
Cut (1) 3 1/2″ color square, then cut in half diagonally BOTH ways
Cut (2) 3 1/8″ color squares, then cut in half diagonally ONE way
Cut (1) 5 3/4″ color square, then cit in half diagonally BOTH ways
Cut (2) 5 3/8″ background squares, then cut in half diagonally ONE way

Sew the 1 5/8″ (or 1 3/4″) squares into a four patch and trim to 2 3/4″.

Following the assembly instructions in Method 1 of the Skill Builder Series post, add each round of triangles. Be careful not to stretch the fabric, and sew accurate 1/4″ seams. Trim the points that stick out at each side before sewing the next round. (The points are often called “Bunny Ears” for obvious reasons!)

If you wish to cut the triangles larger, you may. Be sure to trim after EACH round is added, otherwise your block will be a mess!
After adding round 1 of the triangles, your block should measure 3 5/8″.
After adding round 2 of the triangles, your block should measure 5″.
After adding round 3 of the triangles, your block should measure 6 7/8″.
After adding round 4 of the triangles, your block should measure 9 1/2″.

Alternate Method

If you struggle getting the accuracy you want using the traditional method, you can also foundation piece the block. You will have to make the center four patch separately (not foundation pieced), and then pin or fuse it to the center of the foundation. Triangles are easily added from there. If you are familiar with foundation piecing, it’s simple to draw the block on your own. Draw a 9″ square (use newspaper or a cut up paper bag if you don’t have larger paper), and find the center of each side. Connect the center points, then find the center of each of THOSE lines. Connect those center points, and repeat two more times. Add 1/2″ seam allowance to the outside of the block.

For those of you who have not tried foundation piecing, wait just a bit. Both Jeanne and I will be posting instructions on foundation piecing before too long.

Be patient with the piecing, remember to sew scant 1/4″ seams, and you should be able to create this block. If all else fails, set it aside and we’ll work it out with foundation piecing later!

Let me know if you have any questions!

She used heavy card paper to create her own templates and she’s giving away a set of the cards. She also provides a link to a PDF file you can purchase – be sure to check it out, because her price is really reasonable considering they list not only the name, number and manufacturer of the color, but a little color chip as a reference guide. You have to print them and attach your own fabric swatches, of course. She points out a couple of key advantages to this method – larger swatches, and the ability to place swatches next to one another to see how they look together.

You’ve seen my stash, you know how I looove to organize, so you can imagine how excited I am about this idea.

P.S. – I am 43 years old. Yes, I use the word “cool.” Just be thankful I didn’t call it “bitchin’” or “like, totally awesome.” That’s my era.