How to use the "Fit to be Geese" Ruler for square-in-a-square blocks

Okay, so about 2 weeks ago, a good friend and I went to one of our favorite quilt shops for a few additions to our stashes, and while there we were introduced to the "Fit to be Geese" ruler. It's made by Open Gate Quilts.

We were admiring a square-in-a-square-in-a-square (yes, that many!) quilt top on their design wall and were marveling at how beautifully the blocks were pieced and how precise they were.  Every quilt we see in the shop is always that way!  So we commented on how accurate the piecing was, and the gal who was working said that all their piecing is done by making blocks bigger than necessary and then trimming them down.....often using this little goodie!

The ruler is designed to be used in making flying geese blocks, and there are instructions for that purpose that come with the ruler, but here is a tutorial on how to use them for square-in-a-square blocks!

This is the ruler:

Step 1 - Here are a 3 1/2" four-patch block and a 5" charm square:

Step 2 - Here are the same with the charm square diagonally cut into quarters:

Step 3 - Sew two quarter-square triangles onto the four-patch on opposite sides and press:

Step 4 - Sew the remaining two quarter-square triangles onto the remaining two sides and press:

Step 5 - Place the ruler with the black 90º angle lined up with one of the
90º angles on your block:

See how the top of the ruler makes a perfect 1/4" seam allowance?

Step 6 - Trim off the excess like this:

Step 7 - Turn the block and do the next side:

Step 8 - Continue around to do all 4 sides so it looks like this:

Voila!  A perfect square-in-a-square with proper seam allowances and no wonky parts!!

That was easy!

Happy Quilting!

This post was first seen on the Piecing the Past Quilts Blog

Easy-Peasy Pinwheel Quilt!

A few weeks ago I had some fun making these quilts for my grandkids.  They went together so easily and I just love how playful they are.

I made the pinwheels using Jenny Doan's method over at Missouri Star Quilt Co.  Here's a video you can view to see what I mean.  I don't think I'll make pinwheels any other way ever again!

So, for each quilt I used two 42-piece Lexington charm packs and had leftovers.

I  paired a light and a dark for each pinwheel and then scattered them on my design wall until a pleasing pattern emerged.

Once they were sewn together, I bordered them 3 times....
First with a 1/2" dark strip...
then a 2" light strip...
and finished with 6" outer borders set with 4 pinwheels for cornerstones.
(I made larger pinwheels out of yardage for the cornerstones so I'd have a bit bigger outer borders, but 5" would work, as well.)

There is no border length measurement greater than 43 1/2", so I was able to cut all of them from the width of the fabric, with a total of just over 1 yard!
Backing was about 2 3/4 yards.

I machine quilted it using a wavy line stitch on my faithful Bernina 730 (which I bought used in 1985 for more than the original owner paid for it!!), and had them done in under 2 weeks!

Here's the pertinent info:

Quilt Size:
45x55

Block Size:
About 5 1/2", finished

Set:
Straight
5x7

Border Sizes, finished:
Inner: 1/2"
Middle: 2"
Outer: 6"

MATERIALS:

Blocks:
2 charm packs

Borders:
4" of dark narrow inner border fabric
10" of light middle border fabric
24" of outer border fabric

Backing:
2 3/4 yard

Have fun and Happy Quilting!!

The joys of cold weather!

I am a California girl on the inside.  I was born and raised there, and didn't leave until I was 40.  My internal seasonal clock still revolves around summer.  As in, "We just finished summer," (in November), and, "Only 3 months til summer," when we hit spring.  So when we moved to the northwest, I had to learn to find joy in the often cool and rainy days, especially in the late fall and winter when the cold outside doesn't agree with me.

So I do a lot of piecing and quilting in the "dark months."  And I love it.

Here's a teaser for a project I've started with small blocks.  Stay tuned!

Happy Quilting!

Saturday at the Quilt Museum!

Ocean Waves

You know that feeling when you see a quilt, and somehow it speaks to you?  And pretty soon, you just know you have to make it?

That's how it was for me with this green Ocean Waves quilt that I saw at The Quilt Index. It even ended up on our website header!

Here is the EQ7 version I created based on the original.  It has a divided center block, with one row of triangles around it.  A sea of green......

Original Quilt Information:

• 76.5" x 78"
• It was hand pieced and hand quilted by a Scott family member in New Jersey.
• It is dated 1850.
• You can see the original at the Quilt Index here.

And this is another one that speaks to me.  I recreated it in EQ7, as well.  I love the rich colors and the play of lights and darks that almost seem to reflect the nature of sparkling water.  You'll notice that the blocks are made differently from those in the green one above.  The quilter used a solid center, surrounded by two rows of triangles.  Isn't color amazing?

Original Quilt Information:

• 71" x 79"
• Hand-pieced and hand-quilted by an unknown quilter.
• It was made in c1870.
• It resides in the New England Quilt Museum's permanent collection.
• You can see the original at the Quilt Index here.

If you're interested in looking at more Ocean Waves quilts from the 1850-1875 period, you can follow this link to take walk into the past and rejoice in the diversity and creativity of our quilting fore-mothers!

Thanks for joining me on our jaunt to the Quilt Museum!

Happy Quilting!

PLEASE NOTE: I am not a quilt historian.  I simply enjoy finding interesting quilts and sharing them with you!

Civil War Sampler

So, last week when I was messing around with the cactus basket pattern, it occurred to me that it might be fun to share the Civil War Sampler I mentioned in my last post.

In May of 2013, I started blogging about the quilt that my good friend Annie and I started together.  We decided to make Barbara Brackman's Civil War Sampler, and do it together, kind of like a friendship quilt.  We divided up the blocks and made two of each and shared with each other.  So my quilt has blocks from her, and hers has blocks from me, as well as our own.

As you can see, we've been at this for awhile!  Our hope, after the first of the year, is to get the backs together, get them basted, and then start on the hand quilting so maybe we'll be finished before 2020!

Here are EQ7 renditions of the finished tops.  I don't have actual pictures at this point, but I'll share them when I do.

This is Annie's

This is mine.

It's been such a treasure working on these together.  Maybe that's why it's taking us so long!

Here's a link to the blog with the whole story.

Civil War Quilting Sisters

Happy Quilting!

Cactus Basket

Today I was playing around with making another block for the block designer on our website, and I decided to do a cactus basket variation.  I first saw this pattern on Barbara Brackman's blog.  She called it Grapes of Wrath and it was part of her Civil War Sampler quilt, which I have made.

The Texas Cactus Basket is very similar, looking like this.  There are a few lines changed, is all.

  I really like how the block for my Civil War sampler quilt came out, so here is a rendition of it in blue and brown where I've used the block in a complete quilt.  I like how the baskets stand out from the neutral background.  And I always enjoy making a quilt that looks as if it is "matted" like a photograph.

I think I'll have to make this one!

You can play with the Cactus Basket block here in our Block Designer.

Sunbonnet Sue and Overall Sam

This quilt has always been part of my life.  It goes back as far as memory, for me.

I grew up sleeping under it at our cabin at Pinecrest, in the Sierras of California.  It was my favorite quilt.  I loved all the different colored dresses on the little girls and the funny boys in overalls.  I didn't know its story then, but I loved it.

My dad sold the cabin in the 70's, the quilt was packed in a trunk, and I saw it now and then at my folks' place.  And then one day, after my mom had gotten sick and couldn't tell me where things were anymore, I went looking for it and couldn't find it.  I asked my dad.  No idea.  Whew.  I wondered where in the world it could have gone.  Several years passed, and still no sign of it anywhere.

Then one day when I was helping my dad move stuff out of the old barn, I caught a glimpse of green and white and thought, "What in the world???"  I pulled that green and white off of some old boards, and there it was.  "My" quilt.  Very dirty, but still intact!

I took it home and it sat for awhile.  I wasn't sure what I should do to care for it.  Eventually, it started smelling moldy and I decided it was time to take it apart and see what I could do with it.

It was a tied quilt, so I took out all the ties and separated the top from the back.  What I found inside was amazing to me.  Several old wool sweaters had been taken apart and opened up flat and then stitched to a flannel sheet to form the batting. I recognized  two of them from pictures.  One had been my uncle's and one my mother's.  Truly a Depression Quilt.  I washed both the top and back and then set them away again, waiting until I knew what to do next.

In the meantime, I talked with my uncle, and he told me that it was their aunt - his and my mom's -who had made the quilt for my mom in 1937 or '38.  I got inspired to restore it, but still didn't really know what to do.

In 2011, Maggie and I were blessed to fall into an incredible quilt group.  I took the quilt top and asked them what they would do with it, and I was given good advice, which I followed.

So, after soaking it in Oxyclean, repairing some of the embroidery, then using some of the uneven border fabric to patch the holes caused by the ties pulling through, I sandwiched it with cotton batting, and basted it.

I started with outlining the Sues and Sams and the four sides of each block with hand quilting.  I thought that would be as far as I would take it.  I hadn't been a hand quilter until then.  But with the gentle encouragement of my compatriots at our quilting group, I decided to crosshatch all the blocks, as well.  Then when that was all finished, I added the twisted rope border in the sashing.  And then I bound it.  The only fabric that is not from the 30's is the binding.  If ever I find an original 30's piece of museum green that matches the sashing and border fabric, I'll probably replace what I've used.

The fabrics in this treasure are a wonderful representation of the patterns available in the 30's.  The prints are sweet.  The solids wonderful.  The back is a delightful patchwork of 3 different fabrics.  I just love the historicity a piece like this contains.

So, in memory of my mom, Winifred Brown Thompson, I have this fabulous reminder of her childhood and mine because Helen Moe took the time to make and gift to Mom a quilt during the Depression.  Thank you, Aunt Helen.

Happy Quilting!