Building Blocks: Snowball Bonus Block

Here's my easy method of making Snowball blocks and Half Square Triangles at the same time.
I begin with one large square (this one was 9 1/2 inch) and four small squares (these were 4 inch). The four small squares are marked with a diagonal line from tip to tip as you can see in this picture:

Of course, you only sew them on one at at time. So take one small square and match its unmarked corner to the corner of the large square. You may want to pin it in place; I don't but I'm a bit careless about things like that.

The diagonal line (which now runs across the corner of the large square) is your seam guide. Run you quarter inch foot along the line, so that your seam is a quarter inch from that line. Do that on BOTH sides of the line.

Once you have done this on all four corners (and used all four squares) you will cut along the marked lines.

Press the large square open and it's the snowball block (it will need to be trimmed a bit) and press cut off corners open for four HSTs.

Building Blocks: Seven Sets and Sashings

So now that you've made a nine patch block, or rather a stack of nine patch blocks, how do you put them together into a quilt top?

I'm so glad you asked.


1. One family favorite is a simple straight set with a solid alternate block. Straight set just means you're not tilitng it on an angle, so there's no need for triangles at the corners. Above is straight set. Below is "on point" note the need for triangles in the corners to make it square again.

2. Nine-patch, set on point with an alternate block like this is called a Simple Irish Chain. Typically the values are reversed and the chain is dark through a light background -- but I'm into traditional not necessarily typical.

This is also a place to add in a third fabric. Here I've laid out several fabrics under my blocks to play with how they would look together. Notice how some fabrics pop out against the block and some harmonize. Which do you like best?

3. Another option is to make more nine-patches with the values reversed. When you put them together it makes a checkerboard pattern. I think you loose the distinctness of the block unless you add a sashing. Like this:

4. Sashing works well with nine patch blocks. I like to use "corner stones" in my sashings (those are the smaller yellow squares). I think it makes a nice echo in the pattern.

5. And there is a type of sashing known as "Tic-Tac-Toe" which uses a three bar stripe and tiny nine-patches.
6. That three bar idea can also be used full sized as an alternate block. Instead of cutting all your 45 inch long three stripe units into rows of blocks for the 9-patch, cut some the size of the finished block. Our samples were made at the 2.5 inch cutting measurement for a 2 inch finished square (6 inch finished block), so the striped block will need to be cut at 6.5 inches.

Which can be used in a frame and cross setting direction like this:

Or a stripey setting like this:

7. Simple pieced blocks as the alternate block in a nine patch quilt make up quickly and easily. Here I've laid out my nine-patch blocke with some half-square triangle blocks of the same size.

Hint: this is what that 45 degree line on the rotary cutting ruler is for.

Play with it. Have fun. Who knows what you may come up with. :-)

Building Blocks: Nine-Patch Know-How

Here's the thing about strip piecing a nine patch block -- as long as you use the same measurement every time you cut, it doesn't matter what measurement you use. You'll see what I mean.

Take your 45" wide dark cotton fabric and fold it so you can cut a 45" strip off one edge using your rotary cutter (ruler and cutting mat). Start by trimming the fabric to a straight line.


Cut a strip Two and a Half (2.5) inches wide (by 45"). You'll need four of these from the dark fabric.

Take your second contrasting (light) fabric and do the same. You'll need five of those.

Now go to the sewing machine. Remember we're using quarter inch seam allowances.

Put the right sides of the fabric together and sew a dark strip to a light strip (along the 45 inch length). Do that three times. Don't freak out if the strips are different lengths -- textile manufacturers don't seem to always agree on how wide 45 inches really is.

As you sew you can use a method called chain stitching. It's a sort of assembly line method. When you're doing several seams/units that are the same don't worry about stopping after each one, just sew one right after another. That's called chain stitching you can snip the threads between them when you're done sewing. I find it cuts down a lot on the amount of wasted threads.

Now press your seams. (We will be pressing our seams towards the dark side for this block).

Back to the sewing machine. You should have three identical sewn strip units and two light un-sewn strips and one dark un-sewn strip left.

Sew a dark strip to the light side of the first sewn unit.

Then a light strip to the dark side of the second sewn unit.

And the light strip to the dark side of the third sewn unit.

And press. Go towards the dark side -- and that isn't really meant to be a Star Wars reference although it certainly sounds like it could be one.

Now we go back to the cutting mat. Begin by trimming off the selvage edges so you have a straight line. You can see my preshrunk blue batik is a good two inches shorter than my unwashed yellow fabric. Just trim off the extras and the selvage edges and start with a straight edge -- not a big deal.

[I prefer unwashed fabrics, for the puckering effect, but I wash my batiks and some darker fabrics because they tend to bleed a little.]

Next, our measurement was Two and a Half (2.5) inches, so cut at 2.5 inches so that you have three 2.5 inch squares already sewn together. Don't you love it?

Cut all the strips down like that. (And stack them in three fun this is what the block will look like stacks, or not, your call there.) You should have twice as many of the light-dark-lights as you do of the dark-light-darks.

Take one row of light-dark-light squares, and one row of dark-light-dark squares and pin them together at the corners of the center square. You'll notice that the seams butt up against each other going opposite ways, this will cut down on bulk and also helps lock the seam in place for crisp corners.
We're still using quarter inch seam allowances. Sew. And Press. This time you can press the seam anyway you want -- I'm pressing mine open for less bulk but you don't have to.

Now, to the other side of the dark-light-dark row sew another row of light-dark-light the same way. Pin, seam, press. You finished a block! (Don't forget to press it flat.)

Our 2.5 inch measurement makes a (six) 6 inch finished block -- it's 6.5 inches right now because it still has quarter inch seam allowance around the outer edges. Six inch blocks means you need to do a bunch of them to make a quilt. You'll need 42 six inch blocks (seven rows by six rows) to make a baby quilt that's 36 inches by 42 inches.

Are you impatient? I am too ....ummm.... make that really busy. So here's something we can do to make the quilt top work up faster, simply change our cutting measurement. Strips cut at 3.5 inches will make a 9 inch block, or 4.5 inches makes a 12 inch block and 5.5 inches will make a 15 inch block (although you need really interesting fabric to carry off a nine-patch block that big). There are all sorts of sizes in between too, as long as you always use the same cutting measurement it doesn't matter what size you're working with. Isn't that great?

Another way to make a bigger with our smaller blocks, and make it faster, is to use an alternate block, a solid square of fabric is the easiest alternate block but there are lots of different options, and sashing too can be narrow or wide making a difference in the size and look of the quilt top.





Is anyone else hearing a voice that says "Tune in next time for the continuing saga of P i g s I n S p a c e . . ." or is that just me and my Muppets?
In my next Building Blocks I'll take a look at simple Irish chains, alternate blocks, sashing, and other ways to spice up and finish up your nine patch.

Building Blocks: Ten Things to Begin With

You want to make a quilt but have never made one before? Obviously, there are some things to know about quilting. Here's my slanted opinion on the basics.

1. A quarter inch seam allowance is standard, and most sewing machine have an optional (or included) foot that is a quarter inch foot. I have one, and I just run the edge of my fabric right along the edge of the foot and Perfect (or close enough). I love my quarter inch foot.



2. You need to press the block as you make it. Some people press the seams open so it will lie flatter, some people press the seam allowance under the darker fabric so it won't show through, and some people only care about pressing it to the side that makes it look best when you flip it over to the front -- I'm one of those. You can finger press if you like but a good old ironing board and an iron (possibly extra spray starch) make life easier.

3. Rotary cutters are necessary. How pioneer women ever did without these pizza-slicer-like tools is beyond me. I like the occasional template but for squares and triangles (especially with machine strip-piecing) it's a rotary cutter every time. That means a cutting mat and an omni-grid ruler too. Trust me it's worth investing in one of these if you plan on making more than one quilt ever.

4. Buy thin pins. To be honest I rarely pin anywhere but the points of stars and triangles, but when I do I pin it's because I want my points to (mostly) match properly. Thin pins are less likely to shift the fabric as you pin, meaning the points are more likely to stay put. Thin pins are also less likely to break the sewing machine needle if you sew over them -- and you know that's not just speculation. If you can find glass headed dressmakers pins get those, they don't melt when you iron them. You might not think that's an important feature but, well, I do.

5. Use grey thread. I talked about that already here.

6. Most quilts use cotton fabrics, which come on bolts 45 inches wide and sold by the yard (or quarter yard). Get woven fabrics, not knits. Knits will stretch and ruffle and bumfle. And you really do want to use a natural fiber, I've made some wool quilts and quite a few cotton quilts and I'd be tempted by linens and silks -- but poly-cottons, double knits, and the like are a pain to sew through. They'll blunt your needle faster, and polyesters don't hold a crease (you'll never get those seams to lie flat).

7. Cotton fabric does shrinks the first time it's washed, a subject I sort of already talked about here.

8. When in doubt go for high contrast. Lighter lights and darker darks and brighter accent colors will stand out against each other more making the quilt block more highly graphic. If you're going to spend several hours (or years) cutting fabric into little bits and sewing it back together again you want that pattern to show up. (I'll talk more about color theory some other time.)

9. There are different ways to finish a quilt, you can use a quilting stitches to secure the three layers (top, batting, and backing) or tie it. I use pearl cottons or tapestry yarns instead of embroidery floss to tie a quilt, I like the texture better. And those raw edges can be hidden envelope style, or with binding, or by simply folding one edge over the other. I've used all three methods and I think I prefer the latter.

10. Start simple. Trust me the beautiful Lonestars and Mariner's Compasses are not easy. Don't start with the hard stuff, you don't teach advanced calculus in kindergarten. [Well, I suppose there might be some kid who... no, back to the subject at hand.] And start small, that is, with a small project like a baby quilt (not small as in you have one inch finishes squares --that's just nuts.) There are plenty of blocks that are easy and look wonderful. The Nine Patch, examples of which are pictured in this post, happens to be an easy block to sew as well as a favorite in my family.

Up Next -- Nine-Patch Know-How

Building Blocks (Part 2)

Sixteen units make a lovely block… and Yes, in my head that is set to the tune of “Sixteen Candles.” Here are several of the quilt squares that can be made using these simple quarter circle units as the building blocks.

I already mentioned Robbing Peter to Pay Paul (I’m certain this has something to do with the Biblical Peter and Paul and the collection of tithes in the early church, but I have no anecdotal proof.)

There are two versions of Robbing Peter to Pay Paul that use the unit we’re looking at. (There are also other variations that do not use this same basic unit).

If I had made an uneven number of units this next block could have been Wonder of the World (the four corners would have their values reversed) which is also pictured in the last post. With even numbers of light and dark quarter circles though, this is as close as you can get. Turns out this is Fool’s Puzzle, then.

Reverse Baseball -- Frankly, I don’t see the point of this one. Unless you use sashing the fact that it’s “reverse” gets completely lost. For more fun just go ahead and appliqué polkadot circles on wholecloth, asymmetrically of course.

Note that I am too lazy to sample all the possible patterns – I have used graph paper (don’t you love graph paper?) to illustrate the blocks Around the World which requires 16 identical units, and Love Ring also known as Nonesuch which requires 36 units so my sample would be huge. Sixteen units evenly divided works just fine for me, thanks. I know that somewhere there is another name for Queen’s Crown but I haven’t been able to find it. And really, since I’m being lazy today, one name is enough, don’t you think?

Many quilt names apply to more than one block, just as many quilt blocks have more than one name. The Snowball doesn’t always look like the above block and Ocean Waves (below) is also called Falling Timber.

There are two Drunkard’s Path blocks that use our quarter circle unit.

Drunkards Path – the version below anyway – is also known by the name of Rocky Road to Dublin. Which I’m hoping was not meant as an ethnic slur. I haven’t done the research on that one, but we’ll assume it wasn’t meant to indicate a drunken Irishman trying to find his way home from the pub, but was instead a keen observation on potholes and cobbles decorating the highways around that great town. While famous for its musical culture and the Book of Kells (housed at Trinity College, which people have also heard of), Dublin goes down in my book as being the home of the Italian restaurant Paddy Garibaldi’s. Twelve years ago my friend Fiona and I, tired and hungry, found it open on a bank holiday and were deserted by the rest of our group who went, in vain, to look for someplace better than “that hole in the wall.” Fiona and I ate there every night, and by the end of our week in Dublin everyone else in our group was eating there too.

Vine of Friendship creates diagonals that have many possibilities in setting. Placing them different directions could create diamond patterns, all striped diagonals, or zig zags. Fun.

And then there’s Wishing Well , when I sew my units together I think this is the pattern I’ll use. I love the round and flow of this pattern (and it’s perfect for penny fabric).

For those of you wondering why I’ve switched fabrics between posts – I have a yard of the pennies, and there’s something fitting about using a money print to illustrate Robbing Peter to Pay Paul and Wishing Well – don’t you think? Basically though, I ran out of carrot fabric. I knew I would. I only bought a fat quarter to began with, and I have used it in sampling several times already – always in combo with that lovely repro Depression Era orange which began life as a third (of a yard) and so is also running low. In case you’re curious, the test samples I make up generally become potholders or pillows – obviously the carrot samples became potholders.

Building Blocks (Part 1)

Who needs math? I remember arguments with my parents over doing useless algebra equations and geometry exercises. I remember my absolute certainty I would never need those word problems in the real world. And who would ever need to know how to draw a stupid parallelogram or enlarge a triangle?

Then I became a quilter. I don’t want to mention the number of times I’ve muttered “a squared plus b squared equals c squared… now add a quarter inch seam allowance.” Knowing math means being able to figure out how to take that tiny complicated block and grow it up into a larger still-complicated-but-I-don’t-have-to-make-as-many block. God bless math.

Dissecting quilt blocks to their core units allows me to recognize patterns, repeating shapes that are used and reused in different blocks. This is particularly obvious with the curved seam unit that is used to construct the block known as Drunkard’s Path. Four of those units put together one way make Robbing Peter to Pay Paul, while sixteen units laid out completely differently make Wonder of the World. I can see from a quick dip into my favorite reference books that there are many more possibilities as well.

What are my favorite reference books?
849 Traditional Patchwork Patterns by Susan W. Mills, The Quilter’s Album of Blocks and Borders by Jinny Beyer, Carrie Hall Blocks by Bettina Havig, and The Art of Classic Quiltmaking by Harriet Hargrave and Sharyn Craig.

What other quilt blocks use this quarter circle unit?
Wait and see.