Monday, August 7, 2006

Heirloom Stitches July Blocks

Finished the two pieced July blocks for Heirloom Stitches - more or less anyway. They would both be done except a square of green was inadvertently left out of my kit. It's pretty tough to cut 2, 2 7/8" squares from one 4" square. I emailed them today and they are sending another square right out. So as soon as it arrives I can finish the Union Square block.

The other block is called Aunt Martha's Tulips. I love how it turned out, but it's one of the most complicated blocks I've ever pieced. It's just 12" square, so those half square triangle squares finish at 1 1/2". If I counted correctly there are 93 pieces in this block - that's a lot of pieces to squeeze into 12". There are 16 flying geese units alone, and that's one of my least favorite units to piece. This would make a wonderful looking quilt but I don't know that I'd want to take that much time for an entire quilt. This one block took me several hours to cut and piece. I know one thing - if I were going to design a quilt around this block I'd draft it to be considerably larger than 12"!

I thought some of you might like to see the back so you could see how I pressed it. Notice I didn't hesitate to press seams open, or clip seams so I could press part in one direction and part in another. I'm not at all afraid of the clip weakening the seam on the quilt. After all, when I used to sew clothing I'd make lots of close together clips on the bottom of the armseye when sewing in a sleeve, and would do the same for the crotch seam on a pair of pants. If those seams didn't rip open while wearing the garment with all the stress on them while being warn and washed, then I have no fear of the quilt seams ripping open at these points. They will certainly suffer way less stress than the clothes I used to make for my kids!

The is also an appliqué wreath block for July - prepping that for handwork is my next quilty task That and quilting Broken Dishes, which is loaded onto Gandalf and has had the first three passes of the pantograph stitched. I'll finish it as soon as the weather cools down a little. As you can see the stitching I've done hardly shows up at all, so I chose a very simple pattern called "Surf's Up", just to give it some texture and hold the layers together.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love your heirloom blocks. And that Broken Dishes quilt still knocks my socks off every time I see it!!!

Anonymous said...

Neat to see the broken dishes that close... "Retro fabrics"

Anonymous said...

you've given me my fill of eye candy this morning -- good thing its all virtual calories!

Anonymous said...

I like the Aunt Martha's block. You have done very well to have sewn up that block with so many pieces in it.

Anonymous said...

Oh I love those heirloom stitches blocks but I especially LOVE Aunt Martha's Tulips! That would make an awesome quilt! I would be tempted to do it! I LOVE that block!

Anonymous said...

Patti - thank you for showing the back of that block - I have been doing a lot of piecing lately - after years of doing lots of log cabins- and I have been frustrated about the pressing of seams - tonight I am going to repress some of the seams on the blocks I just made - without fear!

Anonymous said...

Wow, that block is very complex! But beautiful - your piecing looks perfect too - nice job.

Anonymous said...

Love the pictures...Theblock Martha's tulips is as neat on the bck as the front....I've got a lot more practice before I confess the sins of the backside of my quilting (VBG)...
Thanks for sharing...I quilt everyday in my mind by reading your work....
Melanie

Anonymous said...

aunt martha's tulips is gorgeous but you're right a whole quilt would take a long time, making it a 16 inch block might help... hooray for the Mariners win!!. now if only the Red Sox would get it together!!

Anonymous said...

For all the work, it is a spectacular block. I'd work with 18" at the very least.

Great job started on the Broken Dishes.

Anonymous said...

That Aunt Martha's Tulips looks like the block I'm working on. Except mine doesn't have as many pieces. :)

Anonymous said...

*smacks head* Duh! That IS a union square block! I was thinking there was going to be white triangles where the missing green ones are supposed to go.

It's tons of fun trying to get all the edges even after you add each triangle isn't it?

Anonymous said...

Great! You got Broken Dishes in the frame and closer to being on your bed. The Surf panto looks like a good choice.

Anonymous said...

Aunt Martha's Tulips is a really cool block. It would make a great center for a medallion quilt or an Ostrich! I love seeing your Broken Dishes getting quilted. All those cute little calicos! What a delight! By the way, I opened my e-mail link the other day. Yeah, I worried about spam, etc. I think I will find a different e-address eventually. (I already have two...)

Anonymous said...

Surf's Up was the perfect choice for the broken dishes. Gives it the texture and it's not a distraction.
93 pieces? For me, not in this lifetime at that size.
Have fun with the applique.

Anonymous said...

I'm glad that you could post pictures now because these are all great!

Anonymous said...

That is one gorgeous quilt. It's just lovely to see some of those fabrics up close. It must have made a big dent in your scraps!
*hugs*
Tazzie
:-)