Tuesday, March 25, 2014

April Quilt Block

I'm ahead of schedule, and am in all honesty procrastinating from the other projects that I'm behind schedule on...so here are the instructions for my April block! I'm so excited about this new project...and still aim to have my 2013 quilt done before all of your lovely blocks start showing up on my doorstop!!

For this month, I've chosen the stacked books block...it is a gentle and easy beginner block, and makes use of all of your odds n' ends in your scrap bags.



I was inspired by this quilt and this quilt and and this Flickr gallery and  this tutorial is fantastic and the one you should use to make this 12" block. I think the design will work well for a Bee effort...

Some ground rules:


  • Please use plain white...no white on white please! I used Kona White for mine and love the crispness of the white. If you don't have Kona, please find a whiter white instead of a creamy white.
  • I love bright and cheery modern prints (I'm not keen on mottled solids or batiks), and based on my experience with the 2012 quilt I made, fussy cut objects that make it in to the final quilt layout will give me delight for years to come...I play iSpye on a regular basis with my first quilt!


Here are my step by step photos to show how I made my first block!
The stash...for the 'books'.

The final choices ironed and in neat little piles. I tried to use all colours, and mix up the values. 

Pressing open the seams during the ironing...
Laying the strips out (I played around with the colours and placement quite a bit) and then I cut down the left side of the strips to make a straight edge...and then sewed the white tails onto the other sides!
Almost there...
The first block done...I may undo the seams at the fifth strip and move that Amy Butler green more in the middle...it bothers me all the way out there on the left, and I just realised the bottom blue could move over a bit more to the right... But, you get the idea!! 

Can't wait to see you what inspires your creations.

xo  Katy

4 comments:

  1. Now this looks like fun Katy. Great choice for using up our scraps that even I have started accumulating now.
    Just to clarify, would you like us to also press open the seams where the completed strips join each other?

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  2. Oh Anthea, good question, and the answer is, I'm not fussy! Whatever you prefer. I ironed them all in one direction... I'm not a precision quilter... Please enjoy the process! Can't wait to see what you make :)

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  3. Gorgeous!!! I love this quilt! Can't wait to get started.

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  4. Can't wait to find a few fabrics to fussy cut. Love your choice of block for this month Katy, thank you! So happy to see the fabric from my aunt being used again too! ;-)
    xoJennifer

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