at b-quilts.com
I hope your Qube is in position and your needle is sharp. Today we will launch the first block in this QAL. It is the Center Block and I have posted instructions for making a Variable Star block. You have the option of choosing another block for the center of your quilt. The only requirement is that the block you choose and make is the same finished size as the Qube you are using for the quilt.
This is the star block and instructions can be found here.
The Fall 2022 Quilt Along (QAL) is here with a guide to the fabric selection. With thi.s QAL, I have added coloring pages as well as yardage amounts that will assure you have more than enough fabric to complete the quilt and enough fabric to make up for anything that goes awry with a block.
This is a fun quilt to stitch. I ask you to please read the instructions and ask questions on the Facebook Page “AccuQuilt Qube Quilts”. This is not sponsored by AccuQuilt but is a User Group of supportive quilters.
The menu at the top of this page always has the links. Please bookmark the blog and go to that menu for printouts of the instructions.
For the Fall 2022 QAL we’re going to be making a quilt with a layout similar to this but this quilt is NOT what we will be doing for the QAL. This layout will be a template for you to make quilts with many different blocks and it is an easy way to make a larger quilt quickly.
I made this quilt in 2016 for my sister. The blocks finish at 12″ but that is with the added background fabric coping strips around each block to give more negative space for quilting. The outer border uses log cabin blocks.
Look in the side bar free patterns section for more information on how this quilt was made. I used several different Qubes to make this. The Sister’s Choice block is not a 4×4 patch like the Qube blocks so it finished at 7-1/2″ and the coping strips I added made it a 12″ block. This quilt used the 6″ Mix & Match Qube, the 8″ Mix & Match Qube, and the log cabin die as well as some coping strips cut with a rotary cutter.
You will find the original blog post here.
As I sat this morning, my eyes rested on the beautiful butterfly wall hanging that I created 30 years ago and wondered whether it could be made with an AccuQuilt Qube. This wall hanging was created in the days of plastic templates and rotary cutting and before longarm quilting machines were readily available. The original does not bear close inspection as the piecing is fine, but the quilting leaves a lot to be desired and the entire background is unquilted. However, it hangs above my mantle and the colors and butterflies give me great pleasure.
The block is drawn in EQ8 and my original block was made as a finished 6″ block. Using the AccuQuilt Qube system, I have drawn it as 6″, 8″, 10″ and 12″ finished blocks. The 6″ block requires some rotary cutting but the others can all be made using the 4″/8″ combination, the 5″/10″ combination, and the 6″/12″ combination Mix & Match Qubes. The antennae are embroidered and in the original blocks I used a stem stitch on my sewing machine and pulled the ends of the threads to the back and tied them so they would not come undone. You can find the cutting diagrams from EQ here.
This is one of the blocks from the original wall hanging.
And this is the block from EQ8.
Sometimes we can build the most fun quilt blocks from a simple four-patch. Mixing squares and half square triangles can result in some really beautiful blocks. This is one I saw recently on a Facebook post in our AccuQuilt Qube group. It is three half square triangles and a square and is the cutest little fish ever.
When I need thinking time I make 2-1/2″ half square triangles. It’s very soothing to me to be able to sit and stitch while I enjoy the tree-tops and greenery of the yard while sewing triangle after triangle. It results in stacks of triangles. These are some of the fish that I have made.
What will I do with them? I think a baby quilt would be perfect or some borders or even make a nine-patch from the four-patch squares. Here are some possibilities I played around with in EQ. This was so much fun in EQ – seems like infinite possibilities.
On the Facebook AccuQuilt Qube Group the question came up of how to make the Disappearing Hourglass QuiltBlock with the Qube system. Barbara Biddlecomb Harper posted the question from a quilter and drafted a block. And who doesn’t love a good challenge like this? I would never have thought to use the chisel and the Bowtie shapes, but Barbara did and that made all the difference. There is more than one way to build this block, but I approached it from the traditional block with a star in the center. In order to get all of the shapes to work together, I ended up using 6″ and 12″ Qube shapes, but it could be done with 4″ and 8″ Qubes or with 5″ and 10″ Qubes.
It took three tries to cut the block from a 10″ Layer Cake Square. And there were only strings left. For a Layer Cake square it would be better to cut it with the smaller Qubes or use Fat Quarters for the larger Qubes.
The 6″ and 12″ Qubes make a 9″ finished block. The 4″ and 8″ Qubes make a 6″ finished block and the 5″ and 10″ Qubes make a 7-1/2″ finished block.
This is the cutting diagram for the 6″ and 12″ Qubes. It really makes a pretty block. The cutting is the same for both diagrams, the layout is different with the rotation of the four patch in the center.
And this was my trial with a Layer Cake Square. You can see the tiny bit of scraps left over.
Monday and seems strange not to be posting a new block today. So I went to FB and downloaded some pictures of quilts that are in progress or just finished from the Photo Album on the Qube FB Page. These are wonderful quilts. Some are still in progress and final pics haven’t been posted but they are turning out so beautifully that I had to go ahead and post them.
This row uses Flying Geese and Squares on Point and you can arrange them any way you like. You can point those geese flying up, down or to either side. And add as many Squares on Point or as few as you like. And the only thing left after this are the final outer borders. The yardage and cutting instructions from Week 1 give some suggestions for borders, but you may have other ideas. Make this quilt your own. I can’t wait to see your creations.
Today is the first of July and it’s a good time to update the free flag pattern on this blog and retire the old one. This new quilt block pattern uses the Qube system and uses Qubes in coordinating sizes. The inner block uses the Angles Companion Qube. And the block can be made as an 8″ finished block, a 10″ finished block, or a 12″ finished block.
Click on the block for complete instructions.
I am reprising this quilt from a 2016 blog post that I wrote for AccuQuilt. I have searched the AccuQuilt blog site and cannot find the post for a link, so will rewrite it here as I think it’s a wonderful quilt and fun to make. The May-June-July months of Memorial Day, Flag Day, and July 4 are wonderful times to make this quilt. With the Patriotic Stars embroidery set, you can stitch the same star for every block or use a variety of stars from the set. There are three sizes of stars, so you can make blocks that fit any of the stars from the AccuQuilt GO! Star die.
Apply fusible as per manufacturer instructions and leave paper backing attached until stars are cut. Cut fabric and fusible to fit the star size for the quilt you are making. When cutting fabric with fusible and paper attached, the recommendation is to cut no more than 4 shapes at a time.
Embroider the stars onto a block that is approximately 3 ” larger than the finished block. When the embroidery is complete, center the star and trim the block to a finished 6-1/2”. Using a larger background square makes it easier to center the star perfectly in the block by trimming it to a smaller size rather than trying to center it perfectly in the embroidery hoop.
The Frayed 4-Patch Block is cut with Shape 2 and Shape 8 of the GO! 6” QUBE. This is the cutting diagram for the block.
Cut fabric for red borders using the 2-1/2” AccuQuilt Strip Die (Die # 55014 or 55017). Cut 2 strips 2-1/2” x 30-1/2″ Cut 2 strips 2-1/2″ x 34-1/2″.
Cut fabric for blue borders using the 3-1/2: AccuQuilt Strip Die (Die # 55032). Cut 2 strips 3-1/2″ x 34-1/2″. Cut 2 strips 3-1/2″ x 40-1/2″.
Add red border:Pin and stitch the red vertical borders to the right and left sides of the quilt top, easing as necessary. Press seams toward the border.
Pin and stitch the red horizontal borders to the top and bottom of the quilt top, easing as necessary. Press seams toward the border.
Add blue border:Pin and stitch the blue vertical borders to the right and left sides of the quilt top, easing as necessary. Press seams toward the border.
Pin and stitch the blue horizontal borders to the top and bottom of the quilt top, easing as necessary. Press seams toward the border.
