February sewalong part 2 ....and a finished project....and a new project( you HAVE to see this one!)

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 Hello again, 

I'm back with part 2 of our February sewalong, plus some other fun projects that I want to share with you today! Aren't we so lucky to have this amazing hobby/ obsession with this quilting craft? Every morning I wake up and consider what I might work on that day, and that brings me so much joy...oh, the possibilities a fresh new day brings ;).

Alright, let's jump right into part 2 of our sewalong ( if you missed the first part you can read about that here (click).

You have cut all your pieces and are ready to start sewing your blocks together. I found it SO much easier to lay the dark and light fabrics that needed sewing together NEXT to each other, like this: 

Remember that all our "logs" need to measure 4.5" after we have sewn them together, so if you have one that sticks out like a sore thumb you will know that it was sewn to the wrong "partner"! 

You can of course sew these chain-piece style, but I chose to do mine block by block so I could control the colors a bit. 

I used my wool mat ( click) to organize my pieces and laid that next to my sewing machine and then sewed the logs for each block together, like this: 

It is pretty easy to mess up and sew the wrong logs together, ( ask me how I know!) so laying them next to each other in a STAIR STEP way is a great way to keep them organized. Press your blocks.

Pressing your seams open makes it easier to sew your seams later, but do what you prefer. Now is the time to square up each block to 4.5"! If you do it now, you will have a much better chance of having a true-sized 8.5" block when you are done. And don't worry if your blocks are off....as long as they are all off the same amount you will be just fine! I love using my rotating cutting mat ( click) and Cute Cuts Trim it Square ruler ( click) for this purpose. So quick and easy! In fact, I own all the sizes up to 10.5 and they come in super handy for squaring up my blocks in all kinds of projects ( because, you know, my blocks are rarely square :P ).

After squaring up the 4 4.5" blocks, I  sewed my block together, like this: 

CAUTION: Pay very careful attention to how you orient your blocks here! Each block  is rotated once as you go clockwise around so that the long log ends up on the outside so please make sure you do just that! I found it easiest to grab my 4 blocks and lay them all the same direction, and then twisted and turned from there. Once I had made one block correctly, I kept that one in front of me, just to make sure I would orient all my blocks the same way.

Trim your block to 8.5" square. Go on and make as many blocks as you need/want for your project. I think that 3 by 6 blocks would make a nice table runner, and 3 by 3 would make a great small wallhanging. Obviously the bigger project you are planning, the more blocks you will need.

For those of you who decided you want to use 2.5" logs instead and make a 12.5" block, the instructions are pretty much the same. Lay your fabric pieces that will make a completed 6.5" log next to each other and sew them together block by block, BUT remember you only need 3 logs total for each block! 

Trim your blocks to 6.5" and them twist them to make a 12.5" block, with all long logs to the outside, the same way as explained in the smaller block above. 

 

Easy-peasy, don't you think? But if anything is not completely clear, please ask! 

As I told you last week, these blocks made with the 2.5 " strips come together very quickly and easily and I was able to make this baby blanket super quickly! Rather than adding appliques in the centers of all the blocks, I added one really soft and cuddly cow applique in one corner. Some quick machine quilting, binding, and one label later, I had completed my sweet baby quilt, and in plenty of time before baby's arrival! 

I definitely see more of these quilts in my future!

Alright, so for this coming week you can start sewing your blocks and next week I'll share some ideas and templates for appliques you could use in the center of your blocks.

But before I go I want to share a new project that completely captured my attention this past week:

My online quilt guild, Meander, had a guest teacher named Karen Eckmeier, who is famous for her Accidental Landscapes and Happy Villages quilts. Well, I watched her class on the Happy Villages and fell completely in love with Karen and her fun method of making these quilts, so I just had to start a village of my own! Here are some photos of my progress:  

I am now in the process of free-motion quilting over tulle around each of the shapes and that will take some time, but I will share the finished project sometime soon! And I will definitely be making more of these quilts! You can find out more about Karen here ( click).

Talk to you next week~happy creating!

Monique