W.i.P. Wednesday

This week I’ve been working on my blocks for the Essential Quilting class. Even with only a few blocks under my belt, I’ve learned so much and I’m really excited about how my blocks are turning out. I’m particularly pleased that I’m finally mastering my 1/4″ foot!

First, we had a class on fabric selection. I already had a FQ bundle from Sew, Mama, Sew’s Fat Quarter Idol back in April. I added in some other fabrics from my stash (some designer fabric, some from Joann, some from the Hootenany quilt) to round out my blue and green selections:

Then we started making blocks! First up was a Modern Log Cabin, which I found to be easy-yet-time-consuming — it was a lot of pieces! I went with a traditional red “hearth” block for the center. I’m hoping to pull that pop of red in a few other places in the quilt:

Next up was the Rail Fence, which went together super quickly. Deborah has us ironing our seams to one side as opposed to open (which is how I’ve done it in the past). The nice thing about ironing them to one side is that seams line up really nicely when piecing — they almost lock together. I’m really happy with my seams on this one, though I think the colors are a little subdued compared to the first block:

The third block was the Modern Herringbone, and I tried to get both some bright and some tame fabric in there. Some of the people in the class weren’t a fan of this one, but I really love how it came together. There was all sorts of math involved to figure out how long your pieces need to be, but I just started piecing with what I had (the pattern called for 2″ strips, I used 1.5″ strips because I had some scraps from the other two blocks) and it came together nicely. I am thankful that I’m a visual person — I can say, “yep, that looks about right” and it usually is! I did think this block had an unusual number of scraps left over. Hoping to use them in one of the other blocks for this class.

The fourth block is the Double Nine Patch. I think of all four, this is my least favorite so far, mostly because it’s a little traditional and I like my quilts more modern. It’s also a lot of blue. And my edges are a little shy of 12.5″. Still, I like how it turned out, and once again I’m happy with how my seams lined up:

I bought a new tool this week — a 12.5″ square ruler (thank you 40% off coupon at Hancock!). It has made squaring up these blocks a cinch!

I also got my Vintage Modern fat quarter bundle that I won from Whipstitch Fabrics (I won the fabric at the same time I won the class) on Film in the Fridge’s blog. Let’s just swoon over how amazing this enormous bundle is. It’s a full foot of fabric!

Thank you, thank you, thank you! Must exercise some self control and finish up my current WiPs before I dive into something new!