Community Sampler Week #11

Community Sampler Week #11

Can you believe it, we're on week #11 of our Community Sampler sew along? My co-host and sister Art Gallery Fabrics designer Maureen Cracknell and I are so happy to have you sewing with us and can't wait to see your block.

There are eleven blocks in our quilt, block setting, and optional borders and each Wednesday will be a new PDF block release or finishing step for the quilt. If you are just joining us, pick up the Introduction PDF on the Sew Along page and you'll get a material list along with coloring pages so you can get started planning your quilt. Then, work your way through the first Community Sampler post to the present.

Many of the patchwork units (like Quick-Corner, Flying Geese, Half-Square Triangle, and Square-in-Square units) used in this year's sampler have already been oversized to allow for trimming and squaring of units before assembling your block. Please cut your pieces EXACTLY as given in each of the PDF instructions because bumping up the size of the pieces from the measurements give will not bring great results in some cases. Take advantage of my in-blog tutorials for each of the different quilting techniques used in our sampler.

Accurate cutting and use of a true 1/4'' seam allowance is a must for successful patchwork piecing. All your blocks will measure 12-1/2'' square (unfinished). Review how to cut strips, sew with a true 1/4'' seam allowance, and other helpful piecing tips on my "Are You Ready to Sew" post.

Let's start sewing the last full block in our sampler--New Four-Patch. Download the free PDF on the Sew Along page.

This week's block consists of Half-Square Triangle units and Four-Patch units. To review how to make Half-Square Triangle (HST) units , take a look at the linked HST post.

Accuracy is always our goal so make sure all cut pieces are true to size as you work and maintain an accurate 1/4" seam allowance when sewing and the pieces will go together beautifully.

If you're wanting to use directional prints for the HST units you may want to check out my tutorial for controlling directional prints that was first posted during the Sewcial Bee Sampler sew along. 

Strip Sets

Four-Patch units are pretty straight forward but we have a lot of them in the New Four-Patch block and I thought today's lesson could be about making Strip Sets. Strip Sets are strips cut to size and sewn together into a long strip that's then cut into sections for quicker unit construction.

In my New Four-Patch block I made all my Four-Patch units the same. If you'd like to try making Strip Sets for your block but want more variety to the units, simply cut shorter strips and mix up the fabrics used in the strips.

To begin making my Four-Patch units I started with one 2'' x 42'' strip of fabrics D and E as shown on our PDF instruction for this block. Again, if you want more variety then maybe cut strips from fat quarters to measure 2'' x 21''. 

Sew the strips right sides together lengthwise using an accurate 1/4'' seam allowance, using a short stitch length. NOTE: that if your fabric is thick, you use a thick thread, or aren't sewing with a true 1/4'' seam allowance, these factors will effe ct the accuracy of your Strip Set and you'll come up short once they're sewn together. 

Once strips have been sewn together lengthwise, press to set the seam before turning to help give the sharpest seam when pressed open to the darker fabric. You can also press the seams open if this gives you the flattest strip set. Measure your Strip Set to make sure it's measuring 3-1/2'' wide. 

Trim and square off the leading edge of the Strip Set, removing any selvage edges. 

Subcut the Strip Set into 2'' wide sections as shown above. Make a total of sixteen sections.

Noting placement, sew two sections together to make a Four-Patch unit. Make a total of eight Four-Patch units. 

My Community Sampler is made entirely of Art Gallery Fabrics Pure Elements solids. If you'd like to know the colors I'm using I've been including the sku names and numbers in almost every post and I've kept fairly true to my original fabric pull and concept. That early mood board work really paid off!

Other Quilty News

If you hadn't already caught it, I was a guest on the Modern Sewciety Podcast hosted by the lovely Stephanie Kendron.

Stephanie and I talk all about the making of my Utility-Style Quilts for Everyday Living book from Landauer Publishing. You may remember the beautiful quilt Stephanie made for my book blog tour! 

It was so much fun talking with Stephanie about being a textile designer and photography! You really need to add podcast listening to your sewing sessions because it's like having a quilting party right there with you as you sew! 

A big thanks to Stephanie for having me back on her show. xoxoxo

Signature Fabrics

It's that time of year again and Quilt Market is right around the corner. I won't be attending the Portland show this spring but that won't stop me from promoting my new Signature fabrics collection from Art Gallery Fabrics from here at home!

I've so many sewing projects planned and a new sewing room/photography studio in which to show them off in! Life has been crazy busy lately and I'm making stuff faster than I can share. I promise there will be more about my new collection soon and if you want a daily dose of what's happen, follow me on Instagram @sharonhollanddesigns as it's quicker to post there on a daily routine then create new blog post. 

Be sure to stop over at Maureen's blog to see her lovely Community Sampler blocks being made from her Art Gallery Fabrics Love Story collection. Also be watching her feeds for news about her Autumn Vibes collection that will also be part of the spring AGF collections. 

COMMUNITY SAMPLER SPONSORS

Lady Belle Fabric  Omnigrid   Aurifil Thread  Art Gallery Fabrics  Hobbs Batting  Dritz  Fat Quarter Shop  Bloc-Loc

Be sure to use the #CommunitySampler hashtag when posting your blocks to Instagram and tag both my @sharonhollanddesigns and @maureencracknell so we don't miss any of your beautiful work!

Don't forget that this Friday's a Giveaway Friday on the Community Sampler sew along. Maureen and I will take turns hosting a giveaway each week where one of our generous sponsors will be featured and offering amazing prizes both here on our blogs and also on Instagram. Maureen will be hosting the giveaway this Friday and you'll be instructed how to enter at that time.

Happy sewing!

Community Sampler Week #9

Community Sampler Week #9

Can you believe it, we're on week #9 of our Community Sampler sew along. My co-host and sister Art Gallery Fabrics designer Maureen Cracknell and I are so happy to have you sewing with us and can't wait to see your block.

There are eleven blocks in our quilt and each Wednesday will be a new PDF block release or finishing step for the quilt. Today we start our third and final column of blocks. If you are just joining us, pick up the Introduction PDF on the Sew Along page and you'll get a material list along with coloring pages so you can get started planning your quilt. Then, work your way through the first Community Sampler post to the present.

Many of the patchwork units (like Quick-Corner, Flying Geese, Half-Square Triangle, and Square-in-Square units) used in this year's sampler have already been oversized to allow for trimming and squaring of units before assembling your block. Please cut your pieces EXACTLY as given in each of the PDF instructions because bumping up the size of the pieces from the measurements give will not bring great results in some cases. Take advantage of my in-blog tutorials for each of the different quilting techniques used in our sampler.

Accurate cutting and use of a true 1/4'' seam allowance is a must for successful patchwork piecing. All your blocks will measure 12-1/2'' square (unfinished). Review how to cut strips, sew with a true 1/4'' seam allowance, and other helpful piecing tips on my "Are You Ready to Sew" post.

Let's start sewing the Morning Star block. Download the free PDF on the Sew Along page.

Although this week's block is all review for patchwork techniques there's a lot of moving parts to the Morning Star block and accurate cutting, seam allowance sewing, and trimming will be the key to keeping all those points crisp and everything going together nicely. 

We need to make eight Flying Geese units for this block so if you need a refresher on how to piece the No-Waste Flying Geese method, read an earlier tutorial on this technique. 

Also, if you're concerned about keeping directional prints in line, here's a tutorial for controlling those bossy prints. don't forget to cut that center square on-point if you're concerned about the print's direction.

For my sampler I'm sewing with Art Gallery Fabrics Pure Element solids. I've been getting a lot of questions as to the exact colors I'm sewing with so I will start including a swatch image each week showing the sku number of each solid. 

I thought these spring greens and golden honey solids helped this block live up to it's name and I love how it turned out. 

My co-host Maureen Cracknell and I are continually amazed by the joy and excitement each of you bring to our virtual community. Thank you for making this sew along so special. Please visit Maureen's blog and see the progress she's making on her sampler quilt, using her beautiful AGF fabrics Love Story collection. Be sure to use the #CommunitySampler hashtag when posting your blocks to Instagram and tag both my @sharonhollanddesigns and @maureencracknell so we don't miss any of your beautiful work!

COMMUNITY SAMPLER SPONSORS

Lady Belle Fabric  Omnigrid   Aurifil Thread  Art Gallery Fabrics 

Hobbs Batting  Dritz  Fat Quarter Shop  Bloc-Loc

Don't forget that this Friday's a Giveaway Friday on the Community Sampler sew along. Maureen and I will take turns hosting a giveaway each week where one of our generous sponsors will be featured and offering amazing prizes both here on our blogs and also on Instagram. Maureen will be hosting the giveaway this Friday and you'll be instructed how to enter at that time.

Community Sampler Week #8

Community Sampler Week #8

Welcome to week #8 of the Community Sampler sew along and the last block in our second column. My co-host and sister Art Gallery Fabrics designer Maureen Cracknell and I are so happy to have you sewing with us!

There are eleven blocks in our quilt and each Wednesday will be a new PDF block release or finishing step for the quilt. If you are just joining us, pick up the Introduction PDF on the Sew Along page and you'll get a material list along with coloring pages so you can get started planning your quilt. Then, work your way through the first Community Sampler post to the present.

Many of the patchwork units (like Quick-Corner, Flying Geese, Half-Square Triangle, and Square-in-Square units) used in this year's sampler have already been oversized to allow for trimming and squaring of units before assembling your block. Please cut your pieces EXACTLY as given in each of the PDF instructions because bumping up the size of the pieces from the measurements give will not bring great results in some cases. Take advantage of my in-blog tutorials for each of the different quilting techniques used in our sampler.

Accurate cutting and use of a true 1/4'' seam allowance is a must for successful patchwork piecing. All your blocks will measure 12-1/2'' square (unfinished). Review how to cut strips, sew with a true 1/4'' seam allowance, and other helpful piecing tips on my "Are You Ready to Sew" post.

Let's start sewing the Weathervane block. Download the free PDF on the Sew Along page.

To make this week's block we will be using techniques we've already played with in earlier Community Sampler blocks. If you'd like to review how to make the Quick-Corner units see the tutorial from Week #2.

If you need a refresher on how to make Half-Square Triangle (HST) units see my in-blog tutorial from Week #3.

For help on controlling those obvious directional prints, read my tutorial from the Sewcial Bee Sampler posts. Remember, these blocks will be set on-point so you may want to fussy cut that center square on-point.

For my sampler quilt I'm using Art Gallery Fabrics Pure Elements solids. Using all solids is a personal challenge for this pattern designer and is not without it's own set of additional challenges because solids are very unforgiving and show every little missed point. Again, this is a good challenge even for a quilter that's been doing this awhile and I will need to take extra care in my stitching!

Art Gallery Fabrics has the most beautiful colors for their solids and of course the quality of the material in un-matched! Above are the color name and sku number information for the fabrics I used in my block. 

Maureen and I both love seeing your blocks you post to Instagram and of course the community of support you give to your fellow CS makers. Be sure to use the #CommunitySampler hashtag when you post to Instagram and tag @maureencracknell and myself @sharonhollanddesigns so we don't miss any of your beautiful blocks.

Don't forget to visit Maureen's blog to see her Weathervane block!

COMMUNITY SAMPLER SPONSORS

Lady Belle Fabric  Omnigrid   Aurifil Thread  Art Gallery Fabrics 

Hobbs Batting  Dritz  Fat Quarter Shop  Bloc-Loc

Don't forget that this Friday's a Giveaway Friday on the Community Sampler sew along. Maureen and I will take turns hosting a giveaway each week where one of our generous sponsors will be featured and offering amazing prizes both here on our blogs and a second chance on Instagram. I will be hosting the giveaway this Friday and you'll be instructed how to enter at that time.

Happy sewing!

Community Sampler Week #5

Community Sampler Week #5

Welcome to week #5 of the Community Sampler sew along where we not only work on our patchwork piecing techniques but also share our makes on Instagram and have fun with a like-minded community of quilters. My co-host and sister Art Gallery Fabrics designer Maureen Cracknell and I are so happy to have you sewing with us and look forward to spending the next few months with you.

There are eleven blocks in our quilt and each Wednesday will be a new PDF block release or finishing step for the quilt. If you are just joining us, pick up the Introduction PDF on the Sew Along page and you'll get a material list along with coloring pages so you can get started planning your quilt. Then, work your way through the first Community Sampler post to the present.

Many of the patchwork units (like Quick-Corner, Flying Geese, Half-Square Triangle, and Square-in-Square units) used in this year's sampler have already been oversized to allow for trimming and squaring of units before assembling your block. Please cut your pieces EXACTLY as given in each of the PDF instructions because bumping up the size of the pieces from the measurements give will not bring great results in some cases--especially in this week's block. Cut carefully and as stated in the instructions. Take advantage of my in-blog tutorials for each of the different quilting techniques used in our sampler.

Accurate cutting and use of a true 1/4'' seam allowance is a must for successful patchwork piecing. All your blocks will measure 12-1/2'' square (unfinished). Review how to cut strips, sew with a true 1/4'' seam allowance, and other helpful piecing tips on my "Are You Ready to Sew" post.

Let's start sewing the Cactus block. Here we make two, half-blocks that fill positions 4 and 5 in our quilt. Download the free PDF on the Sew Along page.

Tutorial for Piecing the Cactus Block

The success of this block rest solely in your ability to cut and sew accurately. You'll be put to the test here and hopefully rewarded for your efforts.

If you're wanting to use directional prints for either the HST units or the rectangle units you may want to check out my tutorial for controlling directional prints that was posted during the Sewcial Bee Sampler sew along. 

Rectangle Units

Cut your A and B pieces exactly as stated in the instructions. Yes, that means a true 7/8" on the end of those cut size numbers. The reason we are using a 7/8'' measurement rather than rounding up to the nearest full number is we are cutting our pieces on the diagonal and creating our necessary 1/4" seam allowance on our pieces and not trimming down when done. 

Draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of each 2-1/2" fabric A square. Noting orientation of the drawn line, place a marked square right sides together on a corner of a 2-1/2" x 6-7/8" fabric B rectangle as shown in the instructions. 

Sew just outside the line (a needles worth) to keep the unit square. Trim 1/4" past the sewn line (like we've done in making other types of units). Press toward the darkest fabric. 

Note that I've rotated my pieced rectangle so I can align the 45° mark on my ruler with the long edge of my rectangle. Rulers vary for where these additional markings are placed and you will have to flip your ruler around a bit to get the 45° angle aligned to a long edge according to your ruler and if you're right or left handed.

Noting orientation of the seam and using the straight edges and 45° marking on a ruler, cut the opposite end of the rectangle diagonally, creating an angled end parallel (running the same direction) to the stitch line. Cut diagonally from the corner point of the rectangle on a 45° angle. This makes one A/B rectangle unit that measures 2-1/2" x 6-7/8". Make a total of four in this orientation. 

In the same manner as in the steps above, and noting the orientation of the drawn line and parallel diagonal edge cut, make a total of four A/C rectangle units. Press seams toward the dark fabric.

Notice how I've rotated my rectangle and aligned the 45° marking on my ruler on the long edge of the unit. These are just two different rulers but the results are the same, rulers can vary for where they've included these extra markings. Just make sure the diagonal cut is parallel (running the same direction) to the stitch line and cut from the corner point of the rectangle on a 45° angle. 

Sew a large fabric A triangle (a 4-7/8" squares that's previously been cut in half diagonally to make two HST shapes) to a A/B rectangle unit to make a quarter section. Use the shorter of the two long edges and square short end of the rectangle to align the large triangle, right sides together. Notice how the tip of the large triangle extends past the rectangle unit. The seam line will enter right in the "V" of these two pieces. Press toward the dark fabric. 

Repeat with the mirror image A/C rectangle unit and large fabric D triangle. Sew the two quarter sections together to make one half block. Make a total of two half blocks. 

I believe the success of this block comes first from good piecing and second from upping the contrast a bit so each shape can stand out. In my block there's obvious light and dark fabrics and they stand out in the solids. By always press toward the dark fabric I was assured my seams would nest when it came time to piece and this locking in of the seams made the points nice and sharp. 

It's unavoidable that the longest edge of our half blocks are bias edges. Normally these two half blocks would be sewn together into one block but for our quilt layout we need three half blocks. You may want to starch this block if you think it will get a lot of handling between now and the time the block is sewn into a top. Just take care not to stretch or vigorously press this block to avoid distortion. 

You can see how this would make a beautiful full block and I have already designed a baby quilt using this block from my new spring collection for Art Gallery Fabrics (coming in May, so be watching soon for spring Market reveals). For my sampler, I'm using Art Gallery Fabrics Pure Element solids  and when it came time to photograph this block I happened to have this vintage quilt nearby and realized how the green backing of this quilt almost matches the Pistachio Creme green (PE-462) of the AGF solids!

Thank you for making this sew along so special I love seeing all the blocks being posted. Please visit Maureen's blog and see the progress she's making on her sampler quilt, using her beautiful AGF fabrics Love Story collection. Be sure to use the #CommunitySampler hashtag when posting your blocks to Instagram and tag both my @sharonhollanddesigns and @maureencracknell so we don't miss any of your beautiful work!

Community Sampler Sponsors

Lady Belle Fabric  Omnigrid   Aurifil Thread  Art Gallery Fabrics 

Hobbs Batting  Dritz  Fat Quarter Shop  Bloc-Loc

Don't forget that this Friday's a Giveaway Friday on the Community Sampler sew along. Maureen and I will take turns hosting a giveaway each week where one of our generous sponsors will be featured and offering amazing prizes both here on our blogs and a second chance on Instagram. Maureen will be hosting the giveaway this Friday and you'll be instructed how to enter at that time.

Happy sewing!