Carolina Lily

This week's block on Barbara Brackman's Civil War Sampler is inspired by the Carolina Lily. The 'real' block has 3 lilies and some applique. This one only has one lily, placed in a 'vase'.

The block uses (mostly) the 6" LeMoyne star collection for the 6" size block. For the 8" size block, follow Brackman's directions, or make the 6" block, and then Log-cabin it, using the 1" Log Cabin collection, to make the 6" block into an 8" one.

I would hybrid-piece this one. Use the machine for most of the seams, but hand-stitch the inset seams between the petals of the lily, just as I would an ordinary / full LeMoyne star.

Brackman's post.
Printing-table.

Free Pattern - Passacaglia

In the year 1973, the British author Lucy Boston made a quilt for her friend, harpsicordist Colin Tilney.
As all of her quilts, it is fairly simple in it's basic construction, yet very intricate in its execution.

In early August of this year (2009), I was given a copy of Diana Boston's book "The Patchworks of Lucy Boston", and saw the picture of the quilt.

The book has no directions, just a few pictures, but since when has that stopped a determined quilter :-) I fell in love. Hard. Really, really hard :-) And started to make blocks to make my own version of this quilt. As of now (December 2009), I have finished 30+ blocks, all of which you can see on my other blog.

Then, a couple of months ago, I wrote Diana Boston, and asked her permission to make a pattern, and she graciously granted that. The quilt is not in her posession, however, but resides in Canada, with Colin Tilney.

When I started to write the pattern, it turned out to be very, very difficult to make lucid AND comprehensive, wherefore some very hard decisions were necessary. This is why the pattern I'm giving away this Christmas, is a pattern for a table-runner, and not a full quilt. Should you want to make a full quilt of your own, however, it should be possible to do with the information in the pattern.

The pattern turned out to be impossible to write it up for the blog, which is why you need to download it at Linda Franz Inklingo home-page. It is written for the Free Collection, so if money are low, but stash is high, you need not go out and buy anything at all.

You can buy Diana Boston's book direct from her, right here, or, if you are in North America, from Linda Franz, right here. Be aware, though, that there are no patterns in the book, just pictures of the quilts Lucy Boston made.

You can download your free Passacaglia pattern here : http://lindafranz.com/product.php?productId=55

Merry Christmas ! And if you don't celebrate that, then Happy New Year :-)

Hexagon bonus block # 9

"Diamond Cube"
Finished size : 3" to the side.
Uses Collection 1

Fabric 1 (background / outside pieces)
6 diamonds, 1" (p. 55)
3.5 x 6" (printed landscape
Fabric 2 (light)
7 diamonds, 1" (p. 55)
3.5 x 7.5"

Fabric 3 (medium)
7 diamonds, 1" (p. 55)
3.5 x 7.5"
Fabric 4 (dark)
7 diamonds, 1" (p. 55)
3.5 x 7.5"


Even though it doesn't much look like it, this block is really a Hexagon-flower with an Attitude.
There are basically two ways to make it.

Make 7 hexagon-shaped blocks, each from one light, one medium and one dark diamond. Make sure the values are placed the same way in each of the blocks.

After having done this, you can make it as you would a Hexagon-Flower block (Cathi's Tutorial is right here)

The other option is to do it in strips, laying out your pieces like shown on the picture.
I would then machine-piece the dark-and-medium-(and-background)-fabric) "strips", and hand-piece in the light fabric diamonds afterwards


Barbara Brackman's "Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns" #240

Bonus block - Rolling Star

Uses either the free collection or the 6" LeMoyne star collection.

This too is an "outside of the normal order of things" block, because this - like Dove at the Window - ends up completely wrong size compared to the majority of the blocks in this Sampler project.
It ends up same size as Dove at the Window, though. If you use the Free Collection, it will be 6.125", if you use the 6" LeMoyne collection, it will be 8.5"

The Free Collection

Fabric 1 (background)
4.25 x 8" (p. 16, 8 squares, 1.32")
3.5 x 6" (p. 22, 4 HST, 1.86")

Fabric 2 (focus A)
6.25 x 7.5" (p. 8, 12 diamonds, for centre star and the outside round)

Fabric 3 (focus B)
3.5 x 5.5" (p. 8, 4 diamonds, for the centre star)


The 6" LeMoyne Star Collection

Fabric 1 (background)
5 x 9.5" (p. 26, 8 squares, 1.75")
4 x 7.5 (p. 28, 4 HST, 2.5")

Fabric 2 (focus A)
7.5 x 9.25" (p. 18, 12 diamonds, for centre star and the outside round

Fabric 3 (focus B)
4 x 6.5" (p. 18, 4 diamonds, for the centre star)

Start by printing all your shapes. The pages on which you find the shape catalogued, is in the parenthesis behind the measurements you need.
Cut fabric and freezer-paper the same size.
Press fabric to freezer-paper
Print.

When you have cut it all apart, make the LeMoyne star the way you prefer. I usually make them by machine.

Add the squares, one in each corner of the star. I prefer hand-piecing here, because I am (still) not particularly good freinds with my sewing-machine.
If you hand-piece, all the squares can be added with one, continuous thread. You can find this technique described in the Inklingo Handbook, p. 53

Add the outside row of diamonds. Again, if you hand-piece, they can be added with one, continuous thread.

Finally, add the corners. Hand-, or machine-piecing, as you prefer.
Press
Finished.

If you hand-piece, throughout, the pressing can be left until last. If you machine-piece, though, I would recommend that you press after each step.

If you know of patterns or books that uses this block in this size, please let me know, and I'll make links to each of the ones I'm aware of. miz_pal (at) hotmail (dot) com.

Barbara Brackman's "Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns" # 3805

Hexagon bonus block # 5

Hexagon Pinwheel
Uses Collection # 3
Finished size (of side) : 3"

Fabric 1 (background-fabric)
4.5 x 5.5" (for triangles)

Fabric 2 (focus-fabric)
4.25 x 10.25" (for half-hexagons)
OR
6 x 7.25

From p. 143 in collection 3, pick
the ink-colour that works best
with your fabrics.
Cut a 4.5 x 4.5" piece of
background-fabric and same size
freezer-paper.
Iron freezer-paper to front (right side) of fabric.
Print.

From p. 107 in collection 3, pick the ink-colour that works best with your fabrics.
Cut a 4.25 x 10.25" piece of background-fabric and same size freezer-paper.
Iron freezer-paper to front (right side) of fabric.
Print.

Start by joining the triangles to the half-hexagons, forming new triangles with a finished size of 3". Make 6.


Lay out the 6 triangles, so they form the pinwheel.

Join them in two sets of three.

Join the two sets.

Finished

Bonus block - Dove at the window

I am posting this one outside of the normal order of things; that is because it will end up "wrong size" no matter what LeMoyne star collection you use.

If you use the free collection, it will end up at 6.36" square, if you use the 6" LeMoyne star collection, it will end up 8.5" square. Neither is possible to fit in with the general scheme for this sampler, of making blocks that are 6" or smaller (and thus can be made into 6" blocks), but I just think it is too, too lovely not to make and show.

You could "just" make it, and then use it (either size) to make one of Tilde's Tiny Totes, or make 4 (or 6) and make a doll-quilt, or hot-pads. I can always find a use for a loose block (or two), so I don't worry about what will happen with mine :-)

There are many blocks called Dove at the Window, but I think this one is my favourite :-)

If you look at the two blocks, you can see, that the colour-distribution on the diamonds differ. Choose which version you want to make before you start sewing.


The Free Collection (6.36" finished size)

Fabric 1 (background)
4.25" square (to print four 1.32" squares, page 16)
3.75 x 10" (to print twelve 1.86" QST, page 22)

Fabric 2 (focus A)
3.5 x 9.75" OR
5.25 x 6.5 (to print 8 diamonds, page 8)

Fabric 3 (focus B)
3.5 x 9.75" OR
5.25 x 6.5 (to print 8 diamonds, page 8)

Fabric 4 (focus C)
One 1.86" square (Cut 2 3/8", no printing available)


The 6" LeMoyne Star collection (8.5" finished size)

Fabric 1 (background)
5" square (to print four 1.75" squares, page 26
4.25 x 11.75" (to print twelve 2.5" QST, page 28)

Fabric 2 (focus A)
6.5 x 7.5" (landscape, to print 8 diamonds, page 18) OR
4 x 11.5" (portrait, page 18)

Fabric 3 (focus B)
6.5 x 7.5" (landscape, to print 8 diamonds, page 18) OR
4 x 11.5" (portrait, page 18)

Fabric 4 (focus C)
2.5" square (cut 3", no printing available)


Start by making 4 identical half LeMoyne Stars
Add two triangles and a square to the halves, making this shape.

Make the centre economy-patch.

Join a half LeMoyne star to each side of the economy patch centre. There is an almighty congestation of seam at the middle of each side of the centre patch. Make sure you do not sew into seam-allowances, because if you do, twirling of this intersection might be impossible, and you will have trouble pressing this meeting of many points flat.

Join the LeMoyne star halves to each other, sewing the last 4 seams.

Finished.

If you know of other patterns or books that uses this block in this size, please let me know, and I'll make links to each of the ones I'm aware of. miz_pal (at) hotmail (dot) com.

Barbara Brackman's "Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns" # 2539

Hexagon bonus block # 2

The Hexagon Star or Starflower.
Finished side is 3"

- and again Linda has joined me, and have stitched this hexagon in a different colourway.

For still more ways to colour this block, you can see right here.

This block uses collection 3.

Fabric 1 (background)
5.5 x 6.25"

Fabric 2 (focus)
5.5 x 6.25"

This block uses the 1.5" diamond shape found on p. 122 in collection 3.

From this page, pick the ink-colours that work best with your fabrics.

Iron your fabric, to a piece of freezer-paper the same size.

Print.

This block is made like the LeMoyne star, only with 6 star-points rather than 8.

As with the LeMoyne star, to me, the simplest way to do this star, is by hybrid-piecing. I piece the star on the machine, and do all the inset seams by hand.

Machine-piecing :

Join two diamonds.
Press seam to one side.
Add a third diamond.
Press to the same side.

Repeat, making certain that you press the diamonds in the second set, the same way you pressed the diamonds in the first set.



Join the two star halves.
Press, and twirl the centre where 6 seams meet.


Hand-piecing

Join the outside diamonds in one, continuous seam, to the star-shape.

Press.

Finished.

Hexagon bonus-block # 1

To satisfy the hex-lovers out there, I've decided to put in a few bonus-blocks that finish as hexagons. I will strive to make them so that they get 3" finished sides, and thus should be able to fit together in the end. BUT, as is the case with the square blocks, I make no promises.

You can see more interpretations of this block right here.

And Linda from NY is making hexagon blocks with me, her version of this block is to the right.

The first hexagon bonus-block is a flower ; the basic flower that you use for Grandmother's Flower Garden.

Cathi Godwin has a tutorial on how to do this flower the old-fashioned way, by hand-piecing, so I thought I would use this space to show my way of hybrid-piecing of this block.

As you can see, this block does not only sport the flower, there are some "leaves" around it to make it into a regular shaped hexagon.
If you make it by hand-piecing only, make the flower first, and then join the leaves in the "holes"

Fabric 1 (background / leaves)
3.5 x 6" (printed landscape)

Fabric 2 (focus A, flower petals)
6 x 8.5"

Fabric 3 (focus B, center)
1 charm / scrap the size of your printer's minimum size. Mine is 3.5 x 5"

From p. 22 of collection 1, pick the ink-colour that works best for your petal-fabric. Cut a piece of fabric 6 x 8.5" and freezer-paper the same size.
Print

From p. 55 of collection 1, pick the ink-colour that works best with your leaf-fabric. Cut a piece of fabric 3.5 x 6" and freezer-paper the same size.
Print, and remember to print in landscape.

From p. 22 of collection 1, pick the ink-colour that works best for your center-fabric. Cut a piece of fabric the smallest size your printer will accept, and freezer-paper the same size.
Print.
... or use one of your printed petal-pieces as a template to cut the centre hexagon from a small scrap. 2.5" square should do the trick.

You can make this block the same way you would any hexagon flower block, and then add the diamonds to "fill in" the edges of the block and make it a straight-sided hexagon with 3" sides.
You could also make it by hybrid-piecing. The below is one way of doing that. There are more, but this is the one that works best for me.

Machine-sewing :

Join 3 petal hexagons to the central hexagon (picture left)

Join 2 diamonds to each side of the 3 remaining hexagons (picture right)




Hand-sewing :
Join the leaves+petal units to the centre-unit.
If you click on the picture, you can see some green arrows, showing you what seams to join.

There are lots of inset seams here, so hand-piecing is the logical option ... unless you are extremely good freinds with your sewing-machine ... in which case, you probably would not join the flower as I have here.

Answer to Leslie's Comment :
Yes, I go from cross-hair to cross-hair when I machine-piece hexagons or other seams that needs to be opened (diamonds, both 60- and 45-degree ones come to mind). If you don't want to do that, leave a short end of thread before and after each seam, and then unpick the stitches that are in the seam-allowance. The slightly longer thread-end is, so that the seam will not unravel on you, the unpicking so that you can fully open the seam when pressing.

LeMoyne star

I've decided to start this sampler with the free collection. You need to register to "buy" it, but it is free, and Linda is one of the Good Guys and will not abuse your information.

To see other interpretations of this block, click right here.

She and Monkey even printed and made some lovely, bright LeMoyne stars for us to start with :-)

Directions on how to download an Inklingo collection, are here.
The free download on printing custom paper sizes is right here.

One Block

Fabric 1 (Background Fabric)
3.75 x 8" (printed in Portrait mode)

On page 30 of the Free Collection, you find the catalogue of the combo shape-collection. Pick the ink-colour that works best with your fabric, and print 1 set.

Fabric 2 (Focus Fabric)
Either 3.5 x 9.75 (printed in Portrait mode)
OR 5.25 x 6.5" (printed in Landscape mode)

On page 8 of the free collection, you find the catalogue of the diamond shape. Pick the ink-colour that works best with your fabric and print 1 set.

Directions / Help on how to sew a LeMoyne Star can be found in chapter 1 of the Inklingo Handbook. This chapter is a free download, and comes with the free collection (pp H1 - H48).

Before you start joining the bits, lay them all out on a scrap piece of batting, to make sure you have all the bits.

I prefer to do LeMoyne stars by hybrid piecing. I piece the star by machine and do the inset seams by hand.

If you want to make this block a 6" finished, cut 2 strips 1.25 x 5" and 2 strips 1.25 x 6.5 ", and 'log-cabin' the block.

6" LeMoyne Star
This star is sewn exactly like the above. The only difference is in their finished size, and therefore, in the fabric requirements.

One Block

Fabric 1 (background)
4.5 x 9.75" (portrait)

Fabric 2 (focus)
4 x 11.5 " (portrait)
or
6.5 x 7.5" (landscape)


Doll-quilt :
To make 12 blocks with same background-fabric throughout, here are the requirements when using the free (4.5") collection

Fabric 1 (Background Fabric, page 30)
4 sheets, each 7.75 x 10.5", printed in landscape mode

Fabric 2 (Focus Fabric, page 8)
4 sheets, each 7.5 x 12.25", printed landscape mode
OR
4 sheets, each 7.75 x 11.5", printed portrait mode
OR
6 sheets, each 6.25 x 7.5", printed portrait mode (in case you only have letter-size freezer-paper)

You could also do like Linda has done : Print the combo on p. 32 and make two (or more) mirror-image blocks. One combo-set reqires a sheet, 6.75 x 9.75"
You will also need fabric for sashing (if you want that) or setting-squares, and for border, binding and backing as well. The requirements above are solely for the making of the blocks.

This block, in the 4.5" size, is used in the Dear Jane quilt.
If you know of other patterns or books that uses this block in either of these two sizes, please let me know, and I'll make links to each of the ones I'm aware of.

You can contact me at : miz_pal (at) hotmail (dot) com.