April 2014 Economy Block Along: Charity Quilt

Good evening one and all. And many thanks to those who attended the meeting yesterday. We have lots to report but first off I’d like to post the details about the charity quilt discussed at the April meeting.

Goal: To create one or more scrappy I Spy quilts to be donated via AZ Blankets for Kids using economy blocks. The organization specifically mentions a need for boy quilts so we would like to have the quilts be neutral or boy themed.
Request: Economy blocks measuring approximately 8.5″ (for an 8″ finished block) with a center square that features an identifiable object or theme. Other fabrics can be solids or prints, bearing in mind that ideally we’d like neutral or boy quilts to meet the need of the organization. Please press all seams to the outside.
Date Due: The May meeting on May 17th. It may be nice to gather at the design board to work together on layout possibilities.

How To
For the demo yesterday the following fabric cuts were used:

• Center Squares: 4.5″
• Inner Triangles: two 3.75″ squares cut diagonally (tip: if you prefer more wiggle room try 4″ squares)
• Outer Triangle: two 5″ squares cut diagonally

The main inspiration for the demo came from the following two tutorials:

• Red Pepper Quilts: Tutorial is for 5″ finished but technique is the same. This is the size of the text print blocks I showed.
• Crazy Mom Quilts: Measurements given for 8″ finished block.

Tips from Me

• Pinch your triangles and block in half to use the crease to line up your pieces.
• After the first four triangles have been added your block will be right at about 6 1/8″
• A Bloc Loc flying geese ruler eases trimming
• If you find that your triangles are too off center to allow your square to trim to the right size increase the squares you use for your half-square triangles. Needing to trim a little more fabric can be well worth it if it saves you from stress that can take away the joy of sewing.