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Quilting by Celia

Quilting by Celia

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Baby Quilt, Orca Bay Part3 and other blocks

This week has been very productive..
I'll start by showing you a baby quilt I made for a colleague  at work, who's going to be a grand-mother for the first time in January 2012.



When I saw this fabric at the store recently and loved it, so I had to get some. It was designed by Sarah Fielke (Australian designer).  I made some Pinwheel blocks, added a few solid blocks and with a stripe accent fabric and there you have it !!




Orca Bay - Part 3

This week's challenge was to make 350 half-square triangle units to end up with a block measuring 2".

Before I began, I gave myself a task of investigating various methods of coming up with this block. I identified at least 8 methods and tried 5 of those. 

I start with the premises that I am big on accuracy even if I have to make an effort with trimming the blocks. I'm also not that keen on cutting or sewing triangles so my decision was not too hard to make.

Option 1 : The option suggested by Bonnie, using the Easy Angle ruler.
                After trying this option I decided that cutting or sewing triangles was not for me.




Option 2:  Using the AccQuilt value die, used the Half Square triangle shape.
               This one was speedy in terms of having the triangles cut out fast, but I'm not
                keen on sewing triangles. In the end this would be my second preferred option.



Option 3:  Investigated using the Square in a Square Ruler Video by Jodi Barrows.
                Once again I have had this ruler for years. 
                This is a good method but for this exercise I don't think its the fastest method.



 Option 4: This option is mostly suitable if you have already precut 2 1/2 " squares in the
                desired colours. I had some in blue and white. For this method, I simply rule a
                diagonal line and sew on each side of the line. Cut on the marked line and
                you'll end up with two blocks. 


     


Option 5:  This is the method I have chosen to complete my blocks for part 3.

                It involves only cutting squares, only sewing on straight lines and
                it makes 4 blocks at once.
                It's the same technique I used for the Pinwheel block I used on the baby quilt
                completed above.  For more information take a look at ttp://missouriquiltco.com
                - How to make pinwheels for a quilt the easy way!
                I started by cutting a 3 1/2" square of white and blue fabric. Sew completely
                around your square sandwich then cut diagonally twice and you'll end up
                with four blocks. Very easy and very accurate.

I must point out that for all methods I trim the blocks carefully.



I've made 95 blocks this morning, so I better get back to completing the rest ..



Doing this exercise was of great value to make me learn new techniques or think about skills I had but don't often think of its use outside the project I used them on. For those who are doing this quilt, I encourage you to try various options which you may use for future projects or later on another part of this quilt.

  ......And lastly...

I have been playing with another of my favourite rulers which I have not used for years.
Its the "Flying Geese" ruler made by Quilt in a Day.
My friend Jan-Maree sent me a lot of scrap fabrics recently and I made these blocks for her to make charity quilts. It was great fun combining the fabrics.



Each block is 12 1/2" and I made 20 to send her.





11 comments:

  1. Oh your scrappy star blocks are beautiful!

    Love hearing about the different methods you thought about on how to do step 3 - I also thought about doing it Bonnie's way and I'm glad I did not. That would have been a lot of tedious cutting and I always worry about accuracy when doing that. I ended up doing the method using foundation paper.

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  2. What a great week. I love the fabric on the baby quilt. You seem to have an eye for fabric.
    350 HST, OH!!! No wonder you had to choose the fastest way to do them, and so tiny they are. Can't wait to see the final results.
    About the Flying Geese ruler, what to you think of it? should I get one? I love flying geese but I find hard to know the exact measurements.
    Beijos para todos,
    Teresa

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  3. Everything looks wonderful. The scrappy stars looks great - will be fun to put them together into a quilt.

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  4. Hola Celia,
    las telas de los quilts me han encantado
    las estrellas preciosas
    un abrazo
    Lily

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  5. Celia,

    que lindos blocos!!! a colcha de bebe está um encanto, sua amiga vai adorar este presente. Como sempre as cores são sensacionais. Também vou fazer uma manta para dar de presente a um bebe que irá nascer no final deste mes.

    Beijos

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  6. Your experiments with different methods was very interesting. Your baby quilt is very cute, too. I was wondering if you have Blogger, how do you get it to use the whole screen instead of just the center like on my blog. Is it a template that determines it?

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  7. I started Step 3 for Bonnie's Orca Bay today with your Option 5. It's working a dream. Much faster than one at a time. Thank you for going through the different ways and sharing your findings.

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  8. It's good to try new ways to make blocks, thanks for your info. I love the scrappy stars, it will make someone very happy.

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  9. Love the colors you are using and yes it is great to learn new techniques. This is such a fun Mystery quilt.

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  10. Olá Célia,
    Também amei o tecido do baby quilt!!! É muito fofo!!!
    E adoro também o teu quilt com a técnica "flying geese"...os padrões florais são lindos!! Parabéns!
    Bjinhos

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  11. Thank you so much for taking the time to list these HST methods!

    This is a tremendous help on my current project!

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