Summer Scrap Elimination 2019 Week 2!

Good morning Summer Scrappers!

I hope you enjoyed last week's project.

This week we're going to do another

block that is easily adapted and makes

a great small quilt, lap quilt, or go big

and make a bed quilt.

In going through my scrap drawers this year, I discovered that I had a ton of black scraps that really needed to be used, but a lot of them were skinny strips that were less than

2 1/2" inches which made them no good for anything finishing at 2". Now I'm going to confess that I haven't really made a log cabin project and I've always really wanted to make something that was in the log cabin family. So, away we go!

This week we are making an 8" finished block. The cut list is as follows:

Cutting for one block starting from the top left.

2 squares 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" - medium

2 squares 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" - dark

1 rectangle 1 1/2" x 4 1/2" - dark

1 rectangle 1 1/2" x 5 1/2" - medium

1 rectangle 1 1/2" x 5 1/2" - dark

1 rectangle 1 1/2" x 6 1/2" - medium

1 rectangle 1 1/2" x 6 1/2" - dark

1 rectangle 1 1/2" x 7 1/2" - medium

1 rectangle 1 1/2" x 7 1/2" - dark

1 rectangle 1 1/2" x 8 1/2" - medium

Last week you saw me mention that I have a ton of left over red, but not a whole lot that was that bright (more true) red that I used last week. This week I went ahead and used a lot of strong red and said that anything that was in a similar value was good for this project. Again I cut enough to make 20 blocks, which, with the smaller sizer of the block, I plan to use for a baby quilt.

Step 1:

Begin by making a four patch with the four

2 1/2" squares.

If you have ever felt like the center of your four patch is a knot of fabric after you press the connecting seam, here's the trick.

Before you press the final seam, flip your four patch over and break the seam in the allowance as shown in the photo.

The press the four patch so that the all the seams are pressed in the same direction, rotating around the block like a pinwheel. This four patch is shown from the back so you can see what it should look like from the wrong side.

The result is a much flatter and more easily quilted surface. No big fabric knot in the center!

If you like this method and you want to see it done visually, you can check my Youtube channel and find the video for pressing a four patch.

Step 2:

Stay organized. I asked a friend who loves to make log cabin blocks what her best advice would be and she said her process goes faster if she stays organized and puts on one part of each block before putting on the next part of each block.

She keeps her pieces staged as you see mine here, so she never loses track of what comes next.

Step 3:

Begin adding the 1 1/2" strips, starting with the 1 1/2" x 4 1/2" rectangle of dark to the right side of the four patch as shown.

Press toward the new strip of dark.

Step 4:

Next add the first rectangle of color

1 1/2" x 5 1/2". to the bottom of the block.

Press toward the new strip of color.

Step 5:

Complete the block by alternating the addition of the next dark strip to the right side of the block and the next color strip to the bottom of the block.

Press toward the new strip each time.

Your completed blocks will measure

8 1/2" x 8 1/2".

Once my blocks were done, I looked at some different ways to layout the blocks to provide you with a few ideas of how different your quilt can look depending on how you rotate or organize your blocks.

I liked both of these designs. If I was going to make this quilt larger I would absolutely choose the one layout on the right.

Since I only had 20 blocks and the red was so very strong, I decided that I was happier with the layout on the left if I sashed it black. I had a left over 1/2 yard of black from another project and I used it to sash the blocks with a 1" finished sashing.

Now I've been playing around with some of my students on making what I call Wild Feathers. They are so fun to make and don't require being perfect all the time, just filling the space with beautiful curls and attaching them to an elegant spine. I tested the idea with a gorgeous black and red King Tut thread.

I thought the test quilting looked great on the quilt. I stabilized the quilt by ditching each block and then quilted the feathers, finishing the sashing and the borders last. To show you how the feathers are fun and easy to play with I made video and put it up on my Youtube channel, so you can see them in action. The final result was so fun!

It's that super hot season here in the Sonoran Desert right before the monsoons arrive and I feel like this quilt was such a fun little spot of fire to make in the heat. As I look out into the desert and enjoy the bright spots of red at the top of our saguaros as the fruit burst open, I'm in love with red all over again.

Next week we're going to be doing a simpler and faster scrap buster project, so rev up your machines and stay tuned to the Summer Scrap Elimination Project, where we make scraps into beautiful projects your friends will never believe you didn't plan them in advance!

Don't forget to check out the post about the blog on Facebook and share your work.