Category Archives: Electric Quilt

Blocks from EQ Rose of Sharon Challenge and Accuquilt ROS Die

I recently received the Rose of Sharon Block Book by Sharon Pederson featuring the designs from the EQ6 Challenge. I’ve always felt fairly neutral about Rose of Sharon quilts; having a great appreciation for the applique skills that go into them but feeling that the designs were very predictable.  That has not kept me from exploring what’s new out there for ROS. And the bocks from the EQ6 really deliver on new and exciting designs. In addition, The Quilt Show has a great Block of the Month for 2010 for a Rose of Sharon Quilt done in blues. And Electric Quilt has a free EQ6 library download for all of the blocks from the ROS challenge.

After perusing the ROS Block Book, I decided to print out some of the blocks from EQ7 and see how they work with my Accuquilt ROS die. Of course, it’s perfect. The ROS die has so many different size roses that it is very easy to find the perfect ones to fit each design. The ROS die has three circles sized to match the designs. A couple of different sizes of leaves were the only thing I didn’t have, but they are very easy to cut with scissors. Being able to have all those roses cut accurately and quickly was wonderful. I fused this last night and have machine apliqued the leaves.

 
 

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed your visit. Come again soon.

Marjorie

 

Block #7 – Road to Oklahoma

The last few days have been a whirlwind. I worked at the Womancraft cooperative all day Saturday and babysat and dogsat my grandchildren and their dogs Sunday and Monday. Toddlers can certainly keep one busy, but they are soooo much fun. It’s been years since I got little ones ready for pre-school, but we got there fully dressed and with everything we needed.  Of course, I didn’t do any quilting; but will be back in full swing starting this afternoon.

Today’s block is a fun one. Updated this post (10/22/2010) with link to instructions-see caption below.  This block should be done in two different color patterns to create the nice star pattern shown below. It also uses the chisel die as well as the 3-1/2 inch half square triangle and 3-1/2 inch square. It is easy to put together and the chisel die makes it even easier to cut.

Notes about constructing this block. Be careful when sewing triangles to the chisel shape. The chisels should all be cut in the same direction, i.e., right side up when placing fabric on the die. If you use something like a Kona cotton or light colored batik, both sides will work, so you can easily fanfold the fabric and cut without concern for right side vs wrong side direction. You should also be careful when sewing that you stitch the triangles onto the chisels in the same direction.

Cutting Instructions for Road to Oklahoma (12 inch finished block)

Road to Oklahoma Block 1

Road to Oklahoma Block 2

Road to Oklahoma Quilt

 
 

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed your visit. Come again soon.

Marjorie

 

Block #6 – Ohio Star

This is a simple block and one of my favorites; however at first glance, the instructions look intimidating. Because Accuquilt does not yet have a 3 inch finished quarter square triangle, this block involves a little more rotary cutting than others for the 9 inch finished block. I prefer smaller blocks, so am looking forward to the day that they have a quarter square triangle 3″ patch die.

I have changed the format a bit because this seems to work better. The instructions will be included as as a link to an adobe file when you click on the block image. I am still debating as to whether it is worthwhile to have an EQ7 download, as the blocks are in the EQ7 library and the names I use are identical, so the only thing you need is the instruction sheet for cutting and that is in the adobe file. You can tell me what format works best for you for these files.

Based on the dies that you have, I would suggest that you use a highlighter pen before you start cutting to highlight the instruction sheet showing each cut you will make.

Ohio Star

 
 

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed your visit. Come again soon.

Marjorie

 

Updated Files for Blocks 1-4

Based on feedback from readers, I updated the Adobe file for Blocks 1-4 to show exactly which die with the item # from Accuquilt is to be used. I also added some more information about the blocks that I hope will be helpful. Please go back to the download post from earlier this week and redownload the file if it will be helpful to you.  The EQ7 file has been updated too. Instead of the text tool, I used set images of the pdf instructions as photos on the quilt worktable. There is one quilt per block. Let me know if you have questions.

Original blog post for Blocks 1-4 download 
 

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed your visit. Come again soon.

Marjorie

 

Block #5 – Turnstile Pinwheel

Today’s block is called Turnstile Pinwheel and the instructions include both a 12 inch finished block and an 8 inch finished block. I think you’re going to love sewing together these triangles because the shapes are cut so that you can match the pieces end to end and not have to worry about those pointy little dog ends getting hung in the feed dogs of your machine.

Quilting terminology is important, particularly around that quarter inch seam allowance and the finished size verses the cut size. Note that the cut size is 1/2 inch larger than the finished size. The first dies that Accuquilt released were named based on their cut size. The more recent dies have been named based on the finished block size. This has made writing instructions difficult because the names of the dies causes confusion as to whether it is a finished size or a cut size. For that reason, I have added the Item # from the Accuquilt website. This item # is also written on the label on the side of the die. It is in small print, so you may want to take a black Sharpie and write it larger on the side of the die so you can easily see it sitting in the rack.

I will use the standard quilting terminology for squares and triangles  and to include the square, half square triangle and quarter square triangle. Examples of the triangles are shown below. As you can see from the images, the half square triangle is a square cut once diagonally from corner to corner and the quarter square triangle is a square cut twice diagonally from corner to corner.

Half Square Triangle

Quarter Square Triangle Block

5.Turnstile Block

 
 

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed your visit. Come again soon.

Marjorie

 

Accuquilt EQ7 Blocks 1-4 Download

I have two downloads today. One is a pdf file with the first four blocks and the other is the EQ7 file with the first four blocks. I will create a section on the side that will take you to all the downloads over time.

Accuquilt EQ7 Blocks 1-4 Adobe pdf file download

Accuquilt EQ7 Blocks 1-4 EQ7 file download

Please note that I updated the files AGAIN! It seems on these first four blocks that every time I look at them I see terminology or die names or something that isn’t consistent from one block or page to another. In some ways I am just too detail oriented, although in general, I’m a big picture person–or maybe that’s the problem :) Anyway, I hope these are correct.

One of the big issues that I have is that Accuquilt names most of their half square triangles exactly that, but the 6 inch finished half square triangle is named 6 1/2 inch triangle; and the 6 inch finished quarter square triangle is named 4 7/8 inch triangle. I have tried to put terminology in the instructions that will help you translate that. Maybe I should just write a page about that and include it in the block files, just for the record.

And  this is not the only thing I’ve been doing, but will tell you more about my quilting exploits tomorrow. 
 

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed your visit. Come again soon.

Marjorie

 

Block #4 – Dutchman’s Puzzle

This is a classic. I wish I knew the history of all these blocks, but you’ll have to get that information somewhere else. This block is made up of the flying geese block that we talked about. There are lots of ways to make geese using squares and stitching them together, cutting that apart, and re-stitching. However, now that the Accuquilt products are available, it’s easy to very accurately cut the triangles and match the corners because the dog ears are removed. Thus,when the triangle is cut, one gets a perfect fit matching the triangle corners; and the result is a perfect rectangle. Be careful when pressing not to distort the rectangle.

4. Dutchman's Puzzle

 
 

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed your visit. Come again soon.

Marjorie

 

Block #3 – School Girl’s Puzzle (also called Old Maid’s Puzzle)

3.School Girl's Puzzle

Today’s block is School Girl’s Puzzle. This is such a pretty block and looks a lot like butterflies in a meadow. This is made of  half square triangles. What is really neat is that the large 6 1/2 inch triangle is matched with a pieced triangle. Make the block into four units: two units with the large triangles and two units of half square triangles and squares. Then sew the four units together.

I decided to show you what the block would look like set in a quilt, so you’ll see the quilt example below the block.

Triangle Tips: Getting all those points nice and sharp should be easy if you’re careful to have consistent 1/4 inch seam allowances. One of the things that I find is that when I’m sewing over a “point” that will have several thicknesses of fabric from the seam, my sewing machine sometimes wants to do a curvy little zag over that lump. I stitch with the seam on the underside and the smooth fabric on the top so the presser foot won’t catch and turn the fabrics. If the machine zags, I put that area of the seam back under the presser foot and go very slowly over it again. If the point has been cut off when I finish the seam and open it to look, I will quickly take my seam ripper and snip a few stitches in that area and restitch it with a shallower seam allowance so that the point is sharp.

School Girl's Puzzle Quilt

 
 

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed your visit. Come again soon.

Marjorie

 

Series of Accuquilt GO Blocks and EQ7

I wanted to make a series of instructions in EQ7 using my Accuquilt GO die system. These are blocks that are made with some of the basic dies using blocks from the EQ7 block library. The first set of 24 I’m going to do will be based on the finished 3″ and 6″ squares and triangles. The information will be available to you as pdf or EQ7 files that have four blocks per file.

The first block is a simpler version of Birds in the Air, one of my favorite blocks. Here’s a photo of the EQ7 file showing the dies used for this. Click the first block to bring up the pdf instructions.

 
 

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed your visit. Come again soon.

Marjorie

 

Quilt in Progress – Naming It

I have so much trouble naming my quilts. Perhaps they should just be numbered–but that wouldn’t be fair. I absolutely love this one in progress. Names I’m thinking of: Dueling Triangles and Triangle Float. I thought of a couple of others yesterday, but didn’t write them down and couldn’t remember them last night.

So, here’s what I’m working on. I really do like making blocks and then layering them with a solid block or another block, stitching from corner to corner and seeing what the surprise turns out to be. Not long ago, I ordered a pattern that looked like this:

However, when I read the instructions and started to make this block, I was not happy. It required that I cut half square triangles, add strips to either side, then trim the strips and stitch one triangle to the other matching those seams. That seemed like a lot of work. Thus, I had to rethink whether I wanted to make this really pretty pattern.

I started thinking about one of my favorite patterns which is a “Half Fast Log Cabin” (yes, that’s a pattern–and a great one–and don’t say it too fast or you’ll be in trouble with the other quilters in the room!). With that pattern, a log cabin block is made in rounds of color, a solid block is layered on top, marked corner to corner and stitched on either side of the line to make two new blocks. It has become one of my most favorite patterns for showcasing large prints.

So, I decided to try making something simpler than the half fast log cabin and simpler than the new pattern for which I paid real money. I made a square, added 2 1/2″ strips and then added a solid block and marked it corner to corner and stitched quarter inch seams on either side. This is what I got:

I worked on it in Electric quilt and you can see the drawing in the previous post below. However, when I started making it up in fabric, and put it on the design wall, the design I wanted to see didn’t show up very well. I decided it was because I used 2 1/2″ strips all around and that if the strips were narrower, the triangle would show up more.

So, back to the drawing board. I was able to cut the blocks down so that the strips were narrower as if they had been 2 inch strips originally. Once this went on the drawing board, I was much happier. Now, I have stitched some of these together into rows and I am liking it better. Color choice has something to do with this too. I am using two very vibrant fabrics and that makes the actual design disappear a bit – if one fabric were stronger than the other, the design would definitely be more evident. And now that the blocks are smaller, I’ve got to make more blocks.

Here’s what it looks like so far. I’m still not thrilled with the way it looks in fabric, but have a feeling that it’s going to get better when I finish the rest of the blocks and stitch the rows together. I will use quilting to make the rows more apparent – perhaps some straight lines through one color of diagonal lines.

I’m also working on the instructions. That always takes longer than I expect–I was certain they’d be done yesterday, but hopefully, I’ll finish them today. This is a lot of fun–and it goes so fast when each block turns into two–maybe I should call this Double or Nothing! Or maybe I could name it Double Fun! 
 

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed your visit. Come again soon.

Marjorie