Scrappy Cross Quilt and Tutorial

Work in Progress

My first machine pieced quilt for the year! It's been so long since I switched on the trusty Juki but having plenty of home time and a significant fabric stash meant there was no excuse for lounging around. Although I did plenty of that too. 

Scrap quilts are my favorite, especially simple designs pieced from small patches of fabric. I have a shoe box full of 2 inch squares that I add to regularly. Whenever I cut fabric for a quilt and have a small scrap of fabric leftover, I cut that piece into 2 inch squares and add it to the shoe box. And if I am using a fabric that lends itself to fussy cutting, I fussy cut a few additional 2 inch squares and add those as well. I think you'll see quite a few fabrics here that I have used before, and fabrics that you too may have in your stash.

BASIC SCRAPPY CROSS QUILT TUTORIAL

This quilt is inspired by a vintage quilt that was more than likely hand pieced. To machine piece this quilt top I broke down the design into simple repeats and a block based layout. This quilt is made from just two blocks that are alternated throughout: Block A on the left and Block B on the right. It doesn't get any easier than that. The blocks are sewn together in horizontal rows of four squares each.

I like to press seams together to one side, rather than open. If you consistently follow the arrows as indicated below all of your seams will nest when you sew the individual blocks AND when you sew the blocks together into a quilt top. So, for row 1 of Block A press seams to the right, for row 2 of block A press seams to the left etc.

Click on any image for a larger view.

TOTAL BLOCKS REQUIRED

Block A - 50*

Block B - 49 

FABRIC REQUIREMENTS
Solid Fabric: 3/4 yards 

Printed Fabric: 1415 two inch squares

*For block A: rather than cut 3 individual squares of solid fabric,
 I have cut a rectangle piece measuring 5 inches x 2 inches.

Once you've made the required number of blocks lay out your blocks starting with Block A and alternating Block A and Block B throughout (eleven horizontal rows of 9 blocks each). Sew blocks together into rows and then sew long rows together into a quilt top. 

The final step to complete the quilt top is to add an additional row of squares along the top edge of the quilt top and the left hand side of the quilt top so that the design is symmetrical - see the rows below as indicated by the arrows (pictured above).

Quilt top measures 54 inches x 67.5 inches.
Solid fabric: Robert Kaufman Kona Cotton in Grellow.

Started: May 2020

Finished: June 2020

I have loved piecing this quilt top together. It's been a long time since I have enjoyed sitting at the machine and I was very pleased to feel so comfortable and back in the zone. I have missed it.

This is a great "leaders and enders" project if you normally used this technique to start and end your seams. I don't use a scrap of fabric to start and end my sewing, but I can see how that would be of benefit if you're having bird's nest issues, or fabric getting jammed into the bobbin area. I do also like the idea of working on a second project at the same time.

I have made good progress on this quilt. It has been basted and quilted. I have even added the binding, but the hand slip stitching of the binding is yet to be done.

Thank you for stopping and browsing through the photos. If you have any questions please regarding the tutorial please let me know in the comments and I will reply there.

Rita

RELEVANT LINKS
More Red Pepper Quilts Tutorials
More RPQ Scrappy Quilts:

Scrappy Irish Chain Quilt - July 2015
Scrappy Irish Chain Quilt - November 2017
Japanese Stash Buster Quilt - November 2019
Economy Block Quilt - August 2013

COPYRIGHT: Do not copy or use any content or photos from my blog without my written permission. This is original content from www.redpepperquilts.com.

A Hexagon Stash Buster Quilt in Blues - English Paper Piecing

A Finished Quilt

Click on any image for a larger view.

English Paper Piecing (EPP) was what kept me busy not only for the month of March, but also the month of April. I haven't kept a stitching diary and the days, weeks, and quilts have blurred, but my Instagram account tells me that the last seam for this quilt top was completed during the first week of May 2020.

I started cutting the hexagons for this quilt in January 2020 but I lost momentum and diverted my energies into hand-piecing my Trip Around the World Quilt. In April I resumed cutting fabrics and worked on the color palette. Initially it was all blues, then I added splashes of grey/black and green, and eventually I introduced hint of pink. All of the hexagons fabric pieces were cut and basted to paper pieces before I started sewing, and fabric selection includes many quilting cottons, Liberty of London Tana Lawn, and several pieces of linen/cotton blend fabric.

I have again kept the quilting really simple by stitching edge to edge, vertical straight lines across the quilt, spaced 1¼" apart. This worked perfectly for this quilt with lots of stitching guide points to avoid having to mark lines on the quilt top. It is also an easy way to straight-line quilt a hexagon quilt that has been English Paper Pieced without ditch-stitching any of the hand sewn seams; these seam lines may not fare well when the heavier needle of the sewing machine stitches into seam (particularly as seam allowances have been pressed open).

For the back of the quilt I have used a single floral fabric from the Menagerie Collection by Rifle Paper Co. for Cotton + Steel (RJR Fabrics). The pretty floral design is printed on a soft blue background. This collection was released in 2017 and the yardage, bought for quilt backing fabric, has patiently been waiting in my stash for the right quilt to come along. Using what I have on hand is so satisfying.

For the binding I have used a narrow (1/8" inch) blue/white stripe fabric by Riley Blake Designs - again from stash. And ... I think I may be a hand slip-stitch binding convert. I have avidly machine stitched the binding on my quilts for the last 10 years, but I can now say that I actually enjoy working these final stitches of the quilt by hand.

QUILT DETAILS

Hexagon Stash Buster Quilt in Blues 

Finished quilt measures 50.5 inches x 60 inches.
English Paper Pieced.

Hexagon size: 1¼ inch sides.

A total of 769 Hexagons.

(I re-used my papers from my Liberty Hexagon Quilt)

Started: January 2020.

Quilt Top Finished: April 2020.

Finished: May 2020

Machine Quilted - domestic sewing machine.

Cotton fabrics, linen/cotton blend, and Liberty Tana Lawn.

QuiltLite Batting
(more details on QuiltLite batting here).

TOOLS AND NOTIONS

 1¼ Inch Hexagon Papers

1¼ Inch Acrylic Hexagon Template with 3/8" seam allowance.

Water Soluble Basting Glue - Sewline.

Straw Needles - Size 11.

The Bottom Line 60wt thread by Superior Threads

(a neutral color thread - I used color #655 throughout).

I am not selling my quilts at the moment but will make them available again when domestic and international shipping settles into a reliable new normal. Hopefully soon!

As always, thank you for your time and for browsing my website.
Rita

RELEVANT LINKS:
More RPQ Hexagon Quilts:
Scrappy Hexagon Quilt - August 2019
Liberty of London Hexagon Quilt - October 2018
Scrappy Grandmother's Flower Garden Quilt - September 2018
Floral Hexagon Quilt - September 2017
How I stitch my scrappy hexagon quilts in blocks to keep my project portable:
https://www.redpepperquilts.com/2019/07/a-scrappy-hexagon-quilt-part-1.html

COPYRIGHT: Do not copy or use any content or photos from my blog without my written permission. This is original content from www.redpepperquilts.com.

A Warm Hearted Quilt - English Paper Piecing

A Finished Quilt

English Paper Piecing (EPP) has kept my hands busy and my mind at ease during the long and frightful pandemic days that were the month of March 2020. We will surely never forget these days. I really do enjoy EPP and can happily spend hours basting papers and whip stitching. The quilt top - pictured above - was started and completed during the month of March, then quilted and bound in April.

The Warm Hearted Quilt is a pattern by Jodi Godfrey from Tales of Cloth. The pattern is available from Jodi's store as well as the papers and acrylic template. I love this clever design from a single jewel shape and have had this particular pattern on my must-do list for a while.

I spent several days cutting all the fabric pieces, working from my fabric stash with a limited color palette; red, orange, yellow, pink, and later adding a few beige/brown fabrics as well as low volume fabrics (with white/light background) for contrast and interest. Once I had cut all the fabric pieces for my quilt I sat and glue basted the fabrics/papers over several evenings, then got started on whip stitching the pieces together. Three weeks later the quilt top was ready for basting, quilting and binding.

I have quilted the quilt with edge to edge vertical lines. The quilting lines are spaced 5/8" inch apart which creates a texture that I love, even though it can become rather laborious to straight stitch the many lines for several hours on end. But it is always worth it for the texture and lovely drape of the quilt. For the back of the quilt I have used my favorite and often used newsprint fabric (Newsprint from the Story collection by Carrie Bloomston for Windham Fabrics). And yes, I am getting very near to the end of this stashed yardage!

For the binding I have again used my signature black/white stripe binding - this one by Ella Blue Fabrics. I have hand slip-stitched the binding rather than machine stitching it, for it felt necessary to spend that extra time with a quilt that has given me countless hours of peaceful slow sewing in the making.

QUILT DETAILS

Warm Hearted Quilt
Finished quilt measures 55 inches x 70 inches.

Pattern by Jodi Godfrey from Tales of Cloth

Started: March 2020.

Quilt Top Finished: March 2020.

Finished Quilt: April 2020.

English Paper Pieced.

Machine Quilted - domestic sewing machine.

All quilting cotton fabrics.

Low loft cotton batting.

TOOLS AND NOTIONS
 1 ½" Jewel Paper Pieces.
 Acrylic Jewel Template Template with 3/8" seam allowance.
Water Soluble Basting Glue - Sewline.
Straw Needles - Size 11.
The Bottom Line 60wt thread by Superior Threads for EPP
(a neutral color thread - I used color #651 throughout).

I am not selling my quilts at the moment but will make them available again when domestic and international shipping settles into a reliable new normal. 

As always, thank you so much for stopping by and scrolling through the photos.

Rita

RELEVANT LINKS:

Warm Hearted Quilt Pattern (PDF) + Papers + Acrylic Template available from Tales of Cloth.

More RPQ English Paper Pieced Quilts:

Scrappy Hexagon Quilt (August 2019)

Stretched Hexies Quilt (April 2019)

Scrappy Grandmother's Flower Garden Quilt (September 2018)

Mandolin Quilt (May 2018) - also by Tales of Cloth! See kits here.

Liberty Stars Quilt (January 2018)

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COPYRIGHT: Do not copy or use any content or photos from my blog without my written permission. This is original content from www.redpepperquilts.com.

Hand Pieced Kansas Dugout Quilt

A Finished Quilt

Finally an update! March 2020 came along and everything changed and this new "normal" is difficult to come to terms with for everyone. I know that here in Australia we are in a very fortunate position with relatively few Corona Virus cases, a health care system that has had a chance to prepare, and now a gradual easing out of restrictions. We are so very aware of how lucky we are and I am practising daily to be that glass half full kind of person.

I have been home. My family have been at home! I have worked at home for the last 10 years, so staying home has not been difficult for me. Having to share my "work" space with my family however has proven to be refreshing! It may even be that my sew-jo has returned. I have stitched, especially in the evenings, and have several finished quilts to share with you. Taking photos is still a huge stumbling block in updating my blog, but yesterday was a good photo day.

This is my finished Kansas Dugout Quilt predominantly made with fabrics from my Japanese fabric stash. The fabric pieces for this quilt were cut at the same time as the fabric pieces for my Japanese Stash Buster Quilt - way back in November 2019. It's not often that I plan ahead and cut fabric for multiple quilts at the same time. The quilt top was hand pieced (running stitch). The last stitch was completed on Christmas Eve 2019. (The next day I started hand piecing my Trip Around the World Quilt).

This quilt is pieced in blocks as pictured above, then blocks are joined into rows by adding additional joining squares. I pieced 120 such individual blocks, then pieced blocks together into rows, and then joined rows. I have previously machine pieced several Kansas Dugout Quilts and have made available a step by step tutorial: here. I hand pieced this quilt rather than machine pieced it for no other reason than the joy of stitching with needle in hand. 

The quilt has been machine quilted with straight edge to edge lines of stitching. Nothing fancy. And for the back of the quilt I have used a hoarded piece of fabric from the Lighhearted collection by Ayumi Mills for Kokka Fabrics (2014) - super fancy - and very satisfying to sew from stash.

Batting. I have again used QuiltLite batting to layer this quilt. Quiltlite is a woven cotton fabric similar to a loosely woven flannel fabric as pictured above; it offers the presence of batting without adding bulk or loft. I have had lots of questions about this batting, especially from overseas quilters, and unfortunately I too cannot find it available online other than here in Australia. Most of my local fabric/patchwork stores carry it where it is known as QuiltLite.

QUILT DETAILS

Hand Pieced Kansas Dugout Quilt.

Finished quilt measures 50 inches x 61 inches.

120 Kansas Dugout Quilt Blocks

Started: November 2019.

Quilt Top Finished: 25 December 2019.

Finished Quilt: March 2020.

Hand Pieced.

Fabrics:

Fabrics from my Japanese fabric stash collated for over more

than a decade, including many

designs by Suzuko Koseki for Yuwa Fabrics.
Fabric for joining squares: Add It Up (Basics) by Cotton + Steel.

Notions:

Acrylic template for cutting fabrics:

1 ½ inch Honeycomb with ¼ inch seam allowance.

 2" fabric squares were cut using a rotary cutter and ruler.

Once cut, all fabric pieces were marked with a ¼ inch seam allowance.

I use a mechanical pencil with a 2B 0.7mm lead

for ease of marking a line on the fabric.

Jeana Kimball's Foxglove Cottage -Sharps Needle - size 10.

Aurfil 50wt thread (the orange spool) for hand piecing.

I am not selling my quilts at the moment but will make them available again when domestic and international shipping settles into a reliable new normal.

As always, thank you so much for stopping by! Another quilty update next week - the photos are ready!

Rita

RELEVANT LINKS:

Kansas Dugout Block Machine Piecing Tutorial and Templates

Kansas Dugout - Gardenvale Quilt 2015

Kansas Dugout Quilt 2014

Kansas Dugout Quilt 2011 - this one is still a quilt top! Oops.

Lila's Quilt 2007 - one of my very early quilts.

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COPYRIGHT: Do not copy or use any content or photos from my blog without my written permission. This is original content from www.redpepperquilts.com.