Block Construction 101

I don't know if the Chicago White Sox won their first game or not. It was so rainy that after several hours everyone left and it was only the fourth inning. Everything has changed in a very short time, or so Gordon says. No longer can you sit and swill beer and not pay the bathroom line consequence. Hey guys, welcome to our world; women and lines into the bathrooms. Nah nah na nah nah.

I am so sick of trying to get good slides from my 35 mm camera and being disappointed that I decided to send them via email to www.iprintfromhome.com . It was sooo easy. I just photographed my pieces on
black polar fleece propped up on a (stretched over a frame) quilt I had in the house. Then I just emailed them in. I will see how well it works this week because they should be coming to me by Wednesday.

I had a lot of interest in how I make my blocks via blog and private email so I had to make sixty or so more so I thought I would document the process.

These are scraps that were in the scrap bin that I pulled out. I usually put them in there when they seem to be too small to work with, but it always ends up that I can cut at least center squares out of them so, once again, I am picking through the trash.

Then I take the colors that I am using (in this case, they are specific colors but their placement within the block is totally random) and cut out strips; some are fatter than others and I don't use a straight edge (ruler) to cut them. That's what helps make the non-precision look of the blocks. As it is, I have used a rotary cutter so long that I pretty much cut a straight line every time anyway, so in some cases, I have to intentionally cut crooked.

Now I have the supplies needed to start the block construction. I take a center block and put on two sides. Whatever block composition you decide to choose, you need to break it down to what to do first, second, etc. Then you do them all that way.



Now the other two sides are added. As you can see the sides are not the same size at all (intentional). Some times I press and sometimes I don't. It pretty much depends on how wrinkled it is and if I can continue to work with it the way it is. There is no pattern, no measurements; it is just random placement of color and size. The plan comes in when you construct the quilt top; where to put what colors, what sizes, etc.

A corresponding color is added to the top (which will end up not necessarily the top in composition).


Then I sew two pieces together and stick them on the right side. I do this over and over until I have a pile to use for my quilt.

This represents 56 blocks, all different sizes and colors and also represents the bulk of my day yesterday. Today I will complete the quilt.

Before G left to go up north, he helped me drag my sewing machine into the master bedroom so that I would spend the major amount of my time in the house with Mazy. What we don't do for that dog!!!! As it was, she spent at least three hours staring out the front door, waiting for G to come back. I just finished printing out this photo of the two of them and will prop it up by the front door.


It should help, don't you think?