Thursday, November 14, 2013

Block 2 - Dutchman's Puzzle



The Dutchman's Puzzle has always had a certain appeal for me, but I haven't had the opportunity to make one up until now.  I was fooled by its simple, clean lines.  It actually takes a bit of focus and precision.  It's all flying geese and triangle points that have to be lined up just so.

Anyhow, I love this block.  It's the second block in my 16" block sampler series.  If you would like to read more about the sampler, my first first post about the sampler is here. If you would like to sew along with me, you can download instructions for the first block (X-Quartet) and this block by clicking on the following links:

Block 1 - X-Quartet
Block 2 - Dutchman's Puzzle


Sunday, November 10, 2013

Over-Sized Four/Eight Grid Sampler Blocks

X-Quartet
Fabric: Shelburne Falls by Denyse Schmidt
X-Quartet
I started working on a new sampler quilt. The blocks are based on blocks from Judy Hopkin's 501 Rotary-Cut Quilt Blocks. My plan is to make between 12 to 16 blocks and end up with a queen-sized sampler quilt.  In order to make a quilt this large with a relatively modest number of blocks, I'm super-sizing the blocks I'm using to 16 inches. Anything beyond simple math befuddles me, so I stuck to 4 and 8-grid blocks, because they translate easily into 16-inch blocks.

So this is the first block, X-Quartet. I'm using Denyse Schmidt's Shelburne Falls, and I've roughly calculated needing 10-12 fat quarters, plus about 2.5-3 yards of a background solid, for all the blocks. I haven't decided about the sashing and border(s) yet, but I have a rough idea of what I want to do. But I still need to do the math (ugh) to figure out yardages. 

If you are interested in directions for the block, I've created a PDF with fabric requirements and cutting and piecing instructions.  You can download the PDF here.