anothernancy

It sure doesn't take away from the beuty! I could not see any mistake either!

joycet

Sorry for being so late in sending this but I've been sick again. Hope 2014 is a lot better year!!! Lovely quilt!!! I do like the grid better than just blocks sewn together. I have discovered Lori Holt. She has an awesome tip for making blocks and I"m sure it would work for putting them together too. She takes foam board and on one side adds a layer of batting. Then she glues binding to the edges to make the foam board look pretty. She has these boards in all sizes. She said that most mistakes are made from the design wall to the sewing machine. I agree. I made one for each of the members of my quilting bee and they seemed to really like them. I'm not advertizing for Lori Holt. Just very satisfied with her idea. She's on YouTube showing how to do this and other stuff.

n2scraplvr

Thank you, joycet, so much for this tip and I surely hope you recover quick and that 2014 will be a better year for you and all of us! I said a quick prayer for you! Well, the name Lori Holt sure rings a bell with me and apparently, I've come across her website before for something or other. I will check out her technique for sure! Eliminating any block errors from the design wall to the machine would be a help!! I must've turned the blocks 100 times. It was so frustrating that my small hst's were then off, but fortunately it did not affect the outcome of the quilt that much that it was noticeable. I look forward to checking on her video! I'll let you know the results! Thank you again for being so helpful to me and others who may need it too! Thank you, Lord Jesus, for touching joycet and healing her. Amen.

n2scraplvr

I watched the video! Here's the link in case others would like to know how to make their own portable design boards that Lori made in order to prevent those errors from happening going from the design wall to the machine or ironing board!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nSZtoionpA&noredirect=1

The thing I have always used are pizza boxes (placing fabs on the tops) in sizes large to small to use for transporting the block parts from the design wall to the machine. They are portable and not as fancy as Lori's but very effective too!

Either idea would really help eliminate getting blocks/parts mixed up before sewing! Hope this is helpful to those who need it! Thanks again, joycet, for a great tip!!

BrendaK

Wanted to let you know that while I was looking at your quilt my DH looked over my shoulder and said, "Oh I like that". So could you tell me the name of the pattern? Does it really matter how it's turned? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks for sharing. BrendaK

n2scraplvr

Thanks, Brenda, for your DH's nice compliment and your interest too! I couldn't find much about it on the net but I did find 3 links for you, but I think it would be better if I did a mini-tut and post it here. I didn't do mine like the one at Quilter's Cache or even Rosewillow's site, but it's a really easy pattern and very effective with some large scale prints.

No, it doesn't really matter which way it all turns as mine was ok as you can see even though I didn't pay attention to the direction the blades were spinning. It can work just fine either way. However, if you want those small HST's between the blocks to come out right, then the blades should all spin in the same direction. That way, the darks would meet darks head-on and lights would meet lights head-on.

I'll post a mini tut here for you and for others too who would like it. The name of the pattern is King's X and it is usually made without a grid. The blocks were squared to 4.75" and I'll get all the info posted here for you. It's a nice way to use up some scraps! Let me look for my notes as I do so many different quilts and sizes and write down all you'll need to make it. Thanks for loving my scrappy and I can't wait to see yours!! Be looking for my mini-tut!! n2

Here are some links for you:

http://www.quilterscache.com/K/KingsXBlock.html

http://ajourneyinfabric.blogspot.com...ings-x-34.html


http://rosewillow.org/2010/02/14/kings-x-tutorial/

n2scraplvr

Okay, BrenkaK, here's the mini-tut on the King's X:

Quilt top: 47.5 x 58.5
# of blocks: 30 (5 rows x 6 rows)
finished block size: 8.5"
square up the qtr. blocks to 4.75"
cut 5" squares of darks, mediums and lights
cut 2.5" squares of darks, mediums and lights
cut 1.25" x 9" muslin strips (you'll need 6 strips per row)
cut 1.25" x 49" muslin strips (you'll need 7 strips per row) (I always cut the strip longer than what I actually need for safe measure)

Prepare blocks ahead of time by drawing a line down the backs of your light 5" squares. This will be the cutting line so any dark ink used is okay.

Do the same thing with the 2.5" light squares.

*Step 1. Pair up the dark 5" squares with a coordinating light 5" square RST and chainsew 1/4" away from the drawn line down each set and without removing them from the machine, chainsew down the other side 1/4" away.

Step 2. Cut the chainsewn blocks apart with a pair of scissors.

Step 3. With rotary cutter, cut the blocks apart on the drawn line separating the 2 sets. Every HST will produce a matching set. Keep the 2nd set separate to add at a later time.

Step 4. With a pair of scissors, snip the ears off each end of both sets.

Step 5. With your 2.5" squares (2/block), lay them face down RST on top of the HST and sew 1/4" away from the drawn line. The dark square is laid on top of the light HST and vice versa, the light square is laid on top of the dark HST. Chainsew groups of blocks at a time to minimize thread use and speed up sewing time. Cut the HST on the drawn line. Press the blocks and square up to 4.75".

*Step 6. Repeat Steps 1-5 until you have 120 qtr. blocks.

Step 7. On the design wall, place 1 set of the blocks on the wall scattering the dark blades. Use your 2nd set of matching blocks to fill in areas so the duplicates aren't placed near one another.

Step 8. After the blocks are in place, remove them from the design wall keeping them spinning in the same direction you want (either to the right or to the left) and sew the blocks together. Although it's not necessary, you can have the blocks spin whichever way looks best! It's your quilt so have fun with it and do something unique and different!

Step 9. If you use a grid, sew 1.25" cut strips to the right-hand side of each block. Sew a strip to the left-hand side of the first block starting each row.

Step 10. Join the blocks in each row.

Step 11. Sew the horizontal grid to the bottom of each row, plus one to the top and bottom of the quilt. Join the grid together. Add borders, if desired. Finish off with sandwiching, quilting and binding.

Tips: For best results, use good contrast. I put no more than 2 really dark blades in each block. After your qtr. sections are sewn together, identify the blocks that are the darkest and place them on the design wall first! Scatter those blocks with the dark blades first and then start filling in areas with the blocks that are mainly medium and lower level than the darks. This will ensure a good mix of color. The very first thing noticed in your quilt will be those dark blades! You can't miss them so that's why I limited my use of really dark fabrics. It's good to have some, but too many will 'weight' the quilt down and interfere with the movement. Those medium shades will really lift the quilt up and cause good movement!

Next rotate the blocks on the wall with the darkest blades so you have an even distribution of dark color. Just by rotating the block one qtr. turn, will bring an amazing accomplishment and you'll notice how better it looks after you've rotated a few. It can change the look of an entire section. It was fun to play with.

The nice thing about this quilt is having the extra block when you make an HST. Adding different 2.5" squares to each set helped to change the look from its duplicate while giving the scrappy more scrappiness and being able to use more colors and different 2.5" squares.

Thanks for following along with me in this lengthy tut, but I think it will help you to have a more balanced colorful scrappy. Hope yours turns out fantastic!! n2

heather1949

That looks just beautiful, well done.

Ginny4jah

Wonderful job! Beautiful Quilt!

Stitchnripper

Really beautiful. My favorite kind of quilt. Sometimes I can't get the pieces from the design wall to the machine without confusing them. I had a scrappy carpenters star up perfect and by the time I sewed it together it was kaflooey!!