Have you ever been in a quilting class and had the question of “pressing” come up? I’ll bet you have, and I’ll also bet that you heard a few different opinions on the matter. Pressing seams to one side, pressing all seams open, not pressing at all until the quilt is made…the options are many! None of them are right or wrong, it’s totally up the quilter!

In my experience, the most common pressing “rule” is to always press your seams to the dark fabric. That makes sense, and generally, it’s just fine. But sometimes you are working with patches or blocks that call for a little creative pressing. When I sew blocks I almost always try to press seams so that they “nest” with each other. ”Nesting” is pressing different seams in a block in different directions, so when you  sew them together the seams go opposite each other to cut down on bulk.

Today’s Step 3 of the Dozens of Daisies pattern for Quiltmaker‘s Back to School Party focuses on making block Z. Block Z is the perfect example of pressing seams so that they will nest with each other.

Here are the patches for block Z.

Block Z patches

The best way to sew this block together is to first sew it into rows. Then press the seams in the top and bottom rows towards the black polka-dot patches. Press the seams in the second row the opposite way, with the seams going towards the green patch.

Sew the patches into rows

Then you just need to sew the rows together. As you sew the rows together, it can be helpful to pin the rows together where the seams nest.

Sew the rows together

If you press your seams this way, your block will be nice and flat, without any bulk.

Block Z

Of course, there are different ways to press as you go. You may have a different way that works for you. That’s great! Don’t be afraid to experiment to see what you like best. How do you press? We’d love to hear!

Hope you are enjoying the Back to School party so far! Please don’t forget to send us pictures of your finished quilt, we’d love to see them!

Anita Grossman Solomon at The City Quilter - "Cut It, Sew It, Love It" Class

I love her simplified techniques for making blocks. I’ve made all 3 of her patterns that we’ve published in the last few years, Super-Sized Nine Patch in May/June ’06, Anita’s Arrowhead in Nov/Dec ’10 (digital issue available)

Anita's Arrowhead

and most recently Super-Sized Square-on-Point in Sept/Oct ’11.

Super-Sized Square-on-Point

I thought it might be fun to ask Anita a few questions about her techniques and “stuff” in general.

You have such a knack for simplifying traditional patterns. How did that come to be? When I taught quiltmaking at New York State’s Riverbank Park Cultural Center, I created techniques to make quilt block construction more manageable for students with limited eyesight or hand coordination.

How do you determine which blocks can be simplified? They all have been classic pieced blocks that have held my interest for years. Some ideas, such as Make It Simpler Paper Piecing, were instantaneous while others took years. Anita’s Arrowhead is an example of one that took years! I had to eliminate the paper-pieced version from my Perfect Blocks in Minutes book due to space. I kept that block in view for years. One day I looked at it, did a double-take and Anita’s Arrowhead came into being.

What is your process? Sometimes ideas just seem to happen. Twice I did deliberately set out to simplify blocks—the Square-on-Point and Pineapple are 2 such blocks. Other blocks evolve over time. I had collected over one thousand 6″ charm squares from online swaps and wanted to make a Square-on-Point without wasting any parts of the charm squares. I worked with paper samples I generated from Electric Quilt software to finally come up with the formula.

I like the fact that quilts constructed using my methods don’t look like “Anita” quilts. I only supply a tool, not the “look.”

Have you tried to simplify any blocks that just didn’t work? There is a triangle thing that I worked on years ago that continues to haunt me. It lives in a box in my studio. Its outside is all bias. It’s fun to sew, but I can’t accept the bias. I hope the day will come when I’ll look at it and resolve it to my satisfaction.

What do you like best about living in New York City? It pulsates; I feed off its energy. I’m inspired with every step I take. I don’t find inspiration; it just hits me over the head!

What’s next on your quilting horizon? While I have no expectation of ever using up all of my fabric, I do want to put a dent into the ideas and projects I’ve stored away. So, I’m unearthing them between teaching jobs.

What else would you like to share with our readers? I have a new product I’d love for them to try—Make It Simpler Fusible Interfacing. It will remedy stretchy edges of a quilt as well as stabilize blocks, such as a Super-Sized Square-on-Point, for off-grain cuts. It’s handy to store because it comes on a roll.

Leave a comment by noon mountain time on Friday, 8/26. I’ll randomly select one person to receive a giveaway of leftover blocks and fabric squares from one of my color options for Anita’s Super-Sized Square-on-Point.

Congratulations to Heather for her comment. An email has been sent to her for her address.

Water Lilies

The fabrics, Darjeeling by Rosanna Bowles plus Essentials, all from FreeSpirit, are bright and cheerful and using the AccuQuilt Go! Fabric Cutter made cutting the triangles fast and easy. I stepped out of my comfort zone with this design. Normally, I like my quilt designs to be symmetrical but with these fabrics I thought something playful might be fun. So I decided to cut into the triangles on 2 sides and insert white strips. Three-dimensional flowers scattered along these strips made the design complete! I love it!

We’re offering a kit for this pattern. And, the triangles have all been pre-cut for you. How convenient is that? You can whip this quilt up in no time! It would make a wonderful graduation gift or addition to your own home.

As of 7 weeks ago, I have a new grandson. Parker Stephen Beam was born 10/24/10, bringing much joy to our entire family. He needed a stocking to go with the ones I made for the rest of his family.

Parker's stocking

Here are the instructions to make this quick stocking:

Materials:

You’ll need 4 different fabrics for the patches on the front. From each one, cut 3 – 4 1/2″ squares. From one of them, also cut a
2 1/2″ x 6″ rectangle for the toe and a 2″ x 7″ rectangle for the hanging loop.

You’ll also need:

• 3/8 yard for the lining and top of the stocking (under the cuff) – cut a
  3″ x 12 1/2″ rectangle across the selvage and save the rest for the lining
• fat eighth (9″ x 20″) for the cuff – cut a 7 1/2″ x 16 1/2″ rectangle
• fat quarter (18″ x 20″) for the back
• fat quarter of muslin*
• batting: 13″ x 20″*

* You’ll need these if you quilt the front like I did. You can also skip the quilting step if you choose.

I arranged my squares in diagonal rows by color for the stocking front. Sew the lining rectangle, squares and toe rectangle together as shown below.

Piecing for stocking front

If you’re going to quilt the stocking front, layer the muslin, batting and pieced stocking front. I quilted a casual wavy line over the seam lines.

Stocking Pattern

On a 12″ x 20″ sheet of paper, draw a 1″ grid. Following the grid lines, copy the stocking pattern above and cut out along the solid lines. Lay the stocking front on the backing fabric, wrong sides together. Position the stocking pattern on top, matching the top of the pattern to the top of the stocking front. Trace around the pattern and cut out the stocking. In the same way, cut out the stocking lining.

All seam allowances are 1/4″.  With wrong sides together, sew the stocking front to the back. Turn the stocking right side out. With right sides together, sew the lining front to the lining back. Insert the lining into the stocking.

I used an embroidery machine to add Parker’s name to the cuff. You can also hand embroider or use a pigma pen to add a name. To center a name on the cuff, fold the cuff rectangle into quarters and lightly press. Add a name to the top right quadrant of the cuff. With right sides together, join the 2 short sides of the cuff. Turn the cuff right side out and fold in half along the crease (the raw edges will be at the top).

To make the loop for hanging, fold the 2 long sides of the rectangle to the center and press. Fold again and stitch close to the folded edges. Fold in half. Matching raw edges, baste the loop to the inside of the lining on the right side.

Insert the cuff inside the stocking, matching raw edges and the seams on the right, with the right side of the cuff to the right side of the lining (the name side of the cuff will be facing the front of the stocking). Sew around the top of the stocking. Fold the cuff over the seam to the outside of the stocking.

Stockings on the mantel

What “quilty” decorations do you have in your house? Leave me a comment by Friday, 12/17 at noon MST, and I’ll randomly draw a name to receive a bundle of holiday fabric. The winner is commenter #15, Lisa. Thanks to everyone for your comments.

Hi there! I’m so excited to post my first post for Quiltmaker magazine! And what better way to start off, than with a free pattern in our Countdown to Christmas?

I thought it would be fun to share one of my favorite Christmas designs with you.

“Joy” measures 28″ x 28″, and is a combination of piecing and wool applique. Of course, you can do the applique with regular cotton fabrics and it would be just as cute. But if you’ve never tried wool applique, you should! It adds a fun twist to your quilting projects. But be careful, because you might just get addicted.

“Joy” is a free pattern available through the end of December, especially for you. I hope you enjoy it!

Please join us here for holiday inspirations every Monday, Wednesday and Friday as we Countdown to Christmas.

I hope you have a wonderful holiday season, and as my family says, “Get your Merry on!”

Paula

Good-Natured Warning: Making These Little Blocks is Like Eating M&Ms…Hard to Stop!

I started making these blocks about five years ago as “Leaders & Enders” a la Bonnie Hunter at quiltville.com, but I had so much fun making them–they soon took over my Brain-Free Sewing Zone. Darlene Zimmerman used this block in her Bloomin’ 30s design for Quiltmaker’s Small Quilts last summer.

Little Christmas Windmills

Here is one little 4″ block:

There is only one patch size in this block: 1.5″ x 2.5″

Each block takes 4 patches of Color #1 and 4 patches of Color #2.

Join each Color #1 patch to a Color #2 patch.

Arranging the patches like they are in the next photo will help you begin to see the block design.

Join these into pairs like so:

You can also look at it this way—you sew both pairs together in the same exact way. In the picture above, one is rotated to show the block design. In the picture below, they are oriented identically. This is how I sew them together—it’s easier for me to make them match than to try and visualize the block design and sew them as shown above.

Rotate one and sew the sections together to complete the block.

Make as many blocks as you want and sew them together into rows. The little quilt shown is set 6 x 7 for a total of 42 blocks. I cut strips 2″ wide for the borders.

In the Brain-Free Sewing Zone, I make lots of these little blocks. Whenever I’m cutting strips for anything, I always cut a 2.5″ strip too and throw it into my pile. So I have lots of 2.5″ strips ready.

This is a very small portion of the 2.5" strips I have cut.

When I need Brain-Free Activity, I cut the strips at 1.5″ intervals to give me the patches I need for this block. I have thousands of these patches, 1.5″ x 2.5″.

I have made them into hundreds of these Little Windmill blocks.

When I want a Brain-Free Project, I think of a color scheme and pull blocks in those colors. It always seems to work! Here I pulled fabrics while thinking “yellow and orange.”

For this group, I pulled blocks while thinking “blue and green.”

Here’s a completed quilt I did a while back, thinking “blue, green and purple.”

Have some fun making Little Windmills of your own. If you think “bright holiday colors,” maybe your quilt will come out something like this one. It’s next to be quilted, so I can hang it up in the next few days—because the Countdown to Christmas continues!

Diane's Little Christmas Windmills quilt top

We’re hosting a giveaway of this issue at this post: It’s a Quiltmaker Jigsaw Puzzle! Leave a comment by noon Tuesday, May 11 for your chance to win. Another chance to win is found in The Two-Legged Half. You have until May 14 on this one.

Some of the issue’s featured designers will be hosting magazine giveaways. Feel free to explore everything these folks have to offer:

Jo Morton: jomortonquilts.com

Just a hint of Jo's Lone Star Salute

Darlene Zimmerman: feedsacklady.com

A peek at Darlene's Bloomin' 30's quilt

Lori Smith: frommyhearttoyourhands.com

One little block in Lori's beautiful design.

Becca LoGiudice: willowhillquilts.net

A peek into Becca's wool project for your tabletop.

And that’s just the beginning! Stop by tomorrow for a glimpse at designs from a reader, our staff members and more—plus another chance to win a copy for yourself.

Kathleen and DeLoyce

We’re two friends who combined our love of quilting, handwork, and embroidery together to form Mountain Patchwork in 2003. We have both sewed and quilted for most of our lives and enjoy sharing our ideas and projects with others.

Our patterns are small projects which are pieced and quilted by hand. We include a small amount of embroidery and buttons as embellishment to each pattern to add a bit of interest and fun. Our pieces are sewn together with our Double Stitch, which is a warm and primitive stitch. It is a simple running stitch – no fine hand quilting for our projects.

We love traditional quilt blocks and the versatility they offer the quilt maker. We find that when watching television, waiting for an appointment, watching the kids’ sports, or any other small chunk of time, that’s long enough to get so much done using the Double Stitch. It is a fun and easy stitch and the projects are totally take-a-long and can be sewn anywhere.

Although Mountain Patchwork encourages piecing and quilting by hand, not all of our personal projects are done this way. We love our sewing machines and all types of quilting. It is a hobby full of love, excitement, creativity, and friendship.

Kathleen & DeLoyce

Jan makes pet pillows and donates them to her local SPCA. Here’s how:

Using stash fabric, cut two squares or rectangles of the same size. They can be any size that is roughly appropriate for a pet to lounge on. Place the pieces right sides together and sew around the edges, leaving an opening on one side for turning. Turn the pillow right sides out.

Use your fabric scraps and thread clippings to stuff the pillow.

Jan says the scraps don’t have to be extremely small, just not extremely large. After stuffing, sew the opening closed.

Jan says the pillows are used for dogs and cats, who love them! The SPCA loves them, too, and even gives them to new pet owners for their newly adopted pets.

To find an animal shelter in your area, visit aspca.org. If you’ve read this far, please leave a comment about something you’ve sewn for a good cause and we’ll have a giveaway! The winner is Prairie Quilter, comment #18 and she has been notified. Congratulations!

This beautiful bundle holds nine fat quarters of brand new Benartex fabrics in a line called Playful Pups. It’s so new, stores don’t have it yet. We’ll draw for a winner on Friday, Oct. 30 about noon MST.

Another view of the fabrics included:

How cute are these?! Our thanks to Jan for sharing her good cause with QM readers.

I decided to play around and see what happened. The most obvious thing was to sew the rectangular patches together.

I made three strips like the one above.

I knew I wanted to use this fabric for some sashing. I love those little birds!

I sewed them together and liked what was happening:

I trimmed it up (no stressing over the irregularities) and started auditioning other possibilities.

Eventually decided against the red polka dots. A little too intense.

Landed here. I have an idea for the edge treatment, but first I’ll quilt the whole thing as a rectangle.

I love quilt basting spray for small quilts like this. I use just a few safety pins. I treated this as a practice piece for machine quilting. I tried all kinds of different ideas and it was really fun and relaxing. Here’a side shot of some clamshell-type quilting in the borders. It’s freeform, no marking and no stressing. I used pink thread.

Now I take the plunge: freeform cutting of the edges into soft, flowing curves.

I love it!  It’s just what the doctor ordered. In my next post, I’ll share a great tool for cutting bias binding strips, because of course on a curvy edge, bias binding works best.