A little more update on the progress of my blue and white quilt.
I have posted the previous progress HERE>
I am falling in love more and more with this quilt as it progresses.
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Blue and White Quilt Pattern: Patchwork Barn by Edyta Sitar
The pattern is Patchwork Barn by Edyta Sitar but I may change the layout since I am not really into the barn center of the original quilt design.
The blocks are 6.5″ unfinished and there are 3 blocks for each block design. The pattern calls for the blocks to be in the same fabrics, but I decided to do each of the three blocks for each design from different fabric combo. Just adding to the scrappy look.
I also had to do some maths for some of the blocks as I like to make my half-square triangles two at a time from a square block rather than piecing two right angles together as the pattern calls for.
I always like to be able to trim the units for the blocks to avoid wonky sides and to improve accuracy. It does take more effort but it’s totally worth it.
Trimming is also so much easier these days with my small cute rotating mat.
Useful Sewing Notions
These notions have been helping me get more done without having to get up and away from my sewing machine:
- Wool Pressing Mat
- Portable Design Board
- Mini Steam Iron
- Small Rotating Mat
- Small Squaring Up Ruler
- Small Rotary Cutter
The Clover stiletto helps me guide the fabrics as it feeds along in the sewing machine. It is very important to get straight seams all the way to improve accuracy in these tiny blocks.
Even so, my points were not perfect, but at least I tried.
Maybe next time I can try the starching method to improve accuracy while piecing tiny pieces.
Tiny Four Patches
The little square patches are made from strips. I figured this was a better way of doing the small patches rather than cutting small squares of 1 7/8″ and piecing them one by one as the pattern calls for.
The tiny four patches turned out 2″ unfinished! And the square in a square unit with these four patches is 2.5″ unfinished. So cute.
Of course, these adjustments mean I have to spend a little more time studying the pattern just before making cuts. And sometimes, I did the math wrong and had to redo a couple of cuts.
A learning process indeed. But I do enjoy making the different blocks. They are so much fun to piece and seeing the blocks all together makes me so happy.
A Mix of Blue Hues
When I started this, I wasn’t sure about the bright electric blues added to the pile. It did feel a bit off. But as the quilt progress, I think I really like the touch of those bright blues. It makes my blue quilt more like my style.
The fabrics were all from what I have in stash and I did not buy any specifically for this quilt, hence it is scrappy and represents me and makes the quilt uniquely mine. Blue but my style of blue.
Have you made a blue and white quilt before?
I think a blue & white quilt and a red & white quilt is must-have in a quilter’s life long portfolio. Would you agree?
5 Comments
I’m so delighted to see a new blog post from you Amira! I hope you and your family are all well.
I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like blue and white together, it’s such a clean and cheerful combination. Your quilt is going to be lovely and that spark of bright blue will make it very striking.
I need to get one of those Clover stilletos. I’ve been using fine point tweezers and they’re OK, but just too sharp sometimes. They can poke right through fabric if I’m not careful.
Do you know about Best Press starch? Have I mentioned it before? It would make cutting and piecing those little pieces SO much easier! I like it because unlike regular starch, it never leaves any residue on my iron – ever. If you can get it where you live, it’s worth it. It’s expensive in the small bottles but when on sale by the gallon it’s a much better buy. If you’d have to ship it in from another country however, it wouldn’t be worth it for you. There’s a recipe somewhere on Pinterest for homemade starch made with vodka, cornstarch (I think) and fragrant oil. I don’t remember the proportions. It’s supposed to be as good or better than Best Press but I understand that alcohol is unacceptable in your religious culture, even if not for drinking. Still I wanted to tell you about it just in case.
Can’t wait to see your finished quilt!
Beautiful, Amira. Blue is my favorite color and have made 2-3 blue/white quilts.
Red is a close second. Best to you. I enjoy reading your blog – so upbeat. Thank you for sharing all your tips.
So pretty I love the scrappy look. I would definitely not want to put the little squares together one by one. So much better to make strips and cut. Good job!
I love blue and white quilts! Yours will be lovely when it’s finished. I started a blue and white bear paw quilt with triangles on a roll ages ago – this inspired me to get it back out and finish it!
I love your passion and your blog! Keep it up!
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