Christmas wall-hanging

Good morning!  It's December 1st already - are you going crazy yet??  I'm not quite there, but I'm certain it's just around the corner.  I can begin projects and list-making and shopping (mostly online) weeks and even months before Christmas and yet I'm always looking for last-minute projects to finish! I must be addicted to the rush of the deadline....or something...

 I designed this star block wall-hanging from adding to an Ohio Star and wanted to share it with you - it makes a lovely block for a wall-hanging or table runner. (It probably has been around for decades, but I was just playing with fabric and didn't follow a certain pattern and this is what popped out!...well....not exactly "popped"...you'll see how in the pics & tutorial. Hopefully, I can remember what exactly I did...) :))
Finished size: 16" square

Here we go: Cut 2- 3 1/4" squares of a light fabric and cut corner to corner to make 4 triangles. These will be the points of the Ohio Star portion of this star block.

 Cut 2- 3 1/4" squares of a contrasting fabric  and sew together into the sets to the right..
Now sew 2 of these sets to each other, making the quarter-square triangle sets. You will have 4. They should be 2 1/2" squares. Set aside for later..

Cut 4 - 2 1/2" squares of your darker contrasting fabric and one light 2 1/2" square for the center of the star.
 Sew together in rows to make the Ohio Star block below.

   

Ohio Star

Next, cut 4 - 2 1/2" squares of the light fabric. Draw a line from one corner to another.  Cut 4 - 6 1/2" squares of the dark fabric. Place light square over one side of the dark and sew on that line, corner to corner. Do the same for the other side as below.  Make 4 of these units.

   Now sew 2 of these units to the

Ohio Star block top and bottom as below. Then sew 2 dark 2 1/2" squares to the ends of the other 2 units and add on the sides.

 

Next cut 8 - 1 1/2" x 10 1/2" strips of the dark fabric and 4- 1 1/4" x 10 1/2" strips of the light and sew together as below.  Add the side strips first. Cut 4- 3 1/8" squares for the corners and add to top & bottom strips and sew on last.  Bind and add tabs to hang on dowel rod - or you can sew on a sleeve on back for the rod to slip through.

 

   And there you have it! Hope you have fun creating your own stars!

Quote of the day: Christmas is not so much about opening presents as about opening our hearts.

The Disappearing 4-Patch Block!

Hello!  Are you ready for some sewing fun? Here we go....!

Here's what we'll be making...  Isn't that just plain fun??  I used Lily & Loom fabrics - the Daisy Collection - from Craftsy.  Loving the bold colors and thinking it will go for either baby boy or girl.  I haven't added borders yet, but will show the finished quilt after I do that.

I used the charm pack size - 5" squares and made 4-patch units using 2 white squares and 2 of each print.  I found out the hard way that it's much better to use squares that when sewn together are divisible by 3 because you'll be cutting the 4-Patch into Thirds.  The 5" squares sewn together came out to 9 1/2" blocks which was not exactly the most fun I've ever had as I tried to cut them evenly into thirds... Here's a sample block:

So...

I tried 4 3/4" squares when I made this blue sample block and it comes out to 9" which of course easily divides into 3's! Yay!  Much, much easier!

                                                     

And this final picture shows how you can rearrange the pieces to make the design I used on the baby quilt above.
I hope you'll try this and have fun being creative as you experiment!



Here's your inspirational quote of the day:

"Beautiful things come together...one stitch at a time."  ;)
                                                   

Disappearing 9-Patch block!

Good evening!  Hope your day has been marvelous!  The weather here in the Midwest has been absolutely beautiful and we are thankful and blessed.

I want to show you a new block I recently learned and it's so much fun!  It's called the Disappearing 9-Patch block because you sew together a traditional 9 patch block and then cut it up and create different blocks from it!

This is the finished product - I made mine a table runner.

 I wanted mine to have a striking pattern so I used 2 bold colors plus white.








First of all, in case you've never made one - a traditional 9-patch block is simply 9 squares cut the same size and sewn together in rows of three.  See below:

And after that you cut them apart right down the middle both vertically and horizontally.  It's important to measure carefully and also to sew all seams 1/4" wide.













Then you just play around with arranging them different ways like I did below.  Lots of options!  And it's fun with more variety in the fabrics, too.  Like using busy, busy prints with solids, etc.  The possibilities are endless!

I hope you enjoyed this little tutorial and will share with me your successes, too!
Next quilt tutorial will be on the Disappearing 4-Patch!  Makes a really cute baby quilt!

Quote of the day: "Whoever said 'Less is more' never had a dessert - and she certainly never bought fabric!!

And also this famous one: "When life gives you scraps - make a quilt!"

All for now...rest well tonight so you can quilt all day tomorrow! 

:)

mary lou