Reader questions about 3" nine patch blocks and variations thereof

Thank you for all the lovely comments about my Cherry Blossom quilt! There were a some questions in the comments so I thought I would take a few minutes to respond. Before doing so I just want to clarify that my quilt and pattern will be in the Quilter's Connection  newsletter, not the magazine! You can subscribe to the free monthly newsletter; you will see a box on the sidebar where you can enter your email address. You can also subscribe to the magazine which features Canadian quilters and their quilts!

The first question came from Angie and she asked why I use a 6" flannel square to lay out my 1 1/2" scraps that I turn into nine patches; wouldn't a 4 1/2" square be better?

Good question and it made me smile and realize that what goes on in my brain is not immediately obvious to others! I had a pile of 6" squares of flannel that were left over from a foundation pieced pineapple log cabin quilt and I had a box that was about 6" square so the flannels fit in it nicely! There was no other reason. I can cut scraps, arrange them on the flannel and then put it in the box. When my pile of flannels beside the machine gets low I top it up with some flannels from the box!

Kath asked me how press seams when I make these small blocks. If I am making a traditional nine patch I generally press the seams to one side. I stitch each row and press toward the dark fabric. When I sew the top and bottom rows to the middle row I press toward the row with the most dark patches. In this example those seams would be pressed outward.

If I am making a nine patch variation I press a little differently. In this block I sewed two 1" strips together to make the pink and white squares.

To reduce bulk I pressed the seams open before I cut the 1 1/2" squares from the strip set.

Nothing goes to waste! When I mitered the corners on Cherry Blossom I had some scraps which I turned into another nine patch block. In the top of the picture you can see some squares with a pin through them. If I have four lights I'll pin them together because I can alternate them with five darks to make a nine patch!

If I am making a shoo-fly block with half square triangles in the corners I press the seam allowances open because it reduces the bulk at the corners.

I love the tiny churn dash blocks. They look great straight set but.....

I think they look even better set on point! I think it looks like a lantern!

If you would like to make your own 3" churn dash block I published a tutorial which you will find here. There's a secret weapon to making them perfect.....spray starch!

That's it for me today. We've got company coming so I had better get cracking! Until I post again, happy sewing.
Karen H

REWIND: Milkweed and Churndash Variation

Welcome to my first edition of REWIND where I bring you posts from the past! Today we are revisiting a post from August 2013. I chose this post because it is something that I've had in my scrap book for many years and I've often thought about giving it a try! Maybe this summer I'll finally harvest some milkweed pods and dry it out!

Milkweed and Churndash Variation

The milkweed plants are forming their seed pods now. Once they ripen we will pick the pods so that they don't spread their seed.

A lot of people remove the milkweed from their gardens but we let them grow because they have lovely sweet smelling flowers that attracts insects but more importantly they are the primary food source for the monarch butterfly caterpillar. The milkweed plant can be eaten by people too! And the milky sap has medicinal properties. Supposedly it is good for getting rid of warts!

All this is very interesting stuff so you are probably asking yourself what does milkweed have to do with quilting? Plenty!

When milkweed pods ripen the burst open and inside are small dark seeds attached to a bit of silky fluff which acts like a parachute to carry the seed away from the parent seed and hopefully it will find purchase in new soil. The silky fluff has long been used for a variety of purposes. It is naturally buoyant so it can be used for flotation devices. First nations peoples used it to line diapers and the pioneers used it to stuff mattresses, comforters and pillows. It can also be spun and used for knitting. And for us quilters, the silky fluff can be used for batting.

I have a binder where I store interesting articles related to quilting. Back in November 1993 there was an article by Frances Eckhardt  in Quilters Newsletter Magazine (page 32) and it was titled Nature's Quilt Batt.  

Frances wrote that she collects the pods in a large bag. She processes the fluff in a draft free area. She splits the pods to release the fluff. She removes any twigs or unwanted bits and then puts the fluff in a pillowcase or a paper bag to dry for several days to several weeks. A plastic bag should not be used because the fluff is damp and will mildew. The final step is to separate the fluff from the seeds. To do this she takes small batches of fluff and puts it in a plastic bag. She blows air into the bag before closing it like a balloon. She bounces the bag and the seeds will release from the fluff and fall into the corner. Now the fluff is ready to be used. She wrote that she lays the fluff out on the quilt back to the desired thickness and then covers it with the quilt top. It is closely basted with a needle and thread. Frances recommends close quilting because the fibres are not bonded as with commercial batts.

She writes that she has used milkweed batt successfully in many sizes of quilts and that they have withstood multiple machine washings in cold water with a gentle detergent. The fluff didn't bunch, shift or ball all!

So there you have it - if in September you find yourself in need of a quilt batt and it isn't in the budget, take a walk in a meadow and harvest some milkweed pods!

Yesterday I showed you how I make my 3" churn dash blocks. A variation on that block is to swap out the corner half square triangles for 1 1/2" squares (includes the seam allowance). The finished block will look like these blocks! 

Well I've got hundreds of tiny hourglass blocks to make so just like this little fellow in the picture below, I had better hop to it!

UPDATE: There have been several comments about milkweed and I believe it is a North American plant. It is a dietary staple for monarch butterflies in the larval stage. In addition to using the fibres from the seed pods for quilt batts they also have another important application. They are an absorbent that can be used to clean up oil spills! Milkweed fibres absorb oil but repel water and that makes them unique! The fibres are four times more absorbent than polypropylene which is the artificial product currently used in oil spills. Because they are more absorbent this means less material is required making them more cost effective than the alternative. A co-operative of 20 farms has been set-up in the province of Quebec and they will grow 325 hectares of milkweed. Maybe commercially made milkweed quilt batts will be in our future!

I hope you've enjoyed this issue of REWIND!  Until I post again, happy sewing!

Karen H

A busy day of sewing

My friend Babs is making a quilt for a family friend who is a teenager and I offered to help her out. Yesterday we spent the day putting the blocks together. Our mantra is "less talking, more sewing"! We decided to make elongated churn dash blocks to showcase some attractive prints. The large rectangle in the centre is the perfect spot for them and it is a great negative space that will be available for quilting!

The blocks are primarily variations of turquoise but there are a few pops of orange to make the quilt sparkle. We managed to make all of the blocks (I think there are 25 of them) and they are now on the ironing board waiting for a good press with a little starch. I can't wait to see how they look when they are all sewn together! I think the plan is for a quilt top of just blocks with no border. I'll be sure to take pictures and share them with you!

Babs allowed me to take some pictures of the coil baskets she has made. I think they are fabulous. She has been using her scraps of batiks and I love the earthy look. The basket on the upper right has a small band of orange. She had just a little strip so she threw it in with the greens and works! If I didn't have so much to do I would be making one of these for myself!

I continue to put together my Gardens of a King blocks from Missie's pattern that I'm testing. I'm not sure which block I like better, the red or the blue! I like the subtle change of the different blues that I used.

The paprika coloured fabric in the outer ring is a leftover scrap from the backing of my quilt Good Golly Miss Mollie. I hate throwing out scraps because there's always a place that they can be used!

Right, time for one more cup of tea and then I've got some running around to do. I'm hoping that my book store has the current issue of QuiltMania in so I can pick it up. Until I post again, happy sewing!
Karen H

Milkweed and Churn Dash Variation

The milkweed plants are forming their seed pods now. Once they ripen we will pick the pods so that they don't spread their seed.

A lot of people remove the milkweed from their gardens but we let them grow because they have lovely sweet smelling flowers that attracts insects but more importantly they are the primary food source for the monarch butterfly caterpillar. The milkweed plant can be eaten by people too! And the milky sap has medicinal properties. Supposedly it is good for getting rid of warts!

All this is very interesting stuff so you are probably asking yourself what does milkweed have to do with quilting? Plenty!

When milkweed pods ripen the burst open and inside are small dark seeds attached to a bit of silky fluff which acts like a parachute to carry the seed away from the parent seed and hopefully it will find purchase in new soil. The silky fluff has long been used for a variety of purposes. It is naturally buoyant so it can be used for flotation devices. First nations peoples used it to line diapers and the pioneers used it to stuff mattresses, comforters and pillows. It can also be spun and used for knitting. And for us quilters, the silky fluff can be used for batting.

I have a binder where I store interesting articles related to quilting. Back in November 1993 there was an article by Frances Eckhardt  in Quilters Newsletter Magazine (page 32) and it was titled Nature's Quilt Batt. 

Frances wrote that she collects the pods in a large bag. She processes the fluff in a draft free area. She splits the pods to release the fluff. She removes any twigs or unwanted bits and then puts the fluff in a pillowcase or a paper bag to dry for several days to several weeks. A plastic bag should not be used because the fluff is damp and will mildew. The final step is to separate the fluff from the seeds. To do this she takes small batches of fluff and puts it in a plastic bag. She blows air into the bag before closing it like a balloon. She bounces the bag and the seeds will release from the fluff and fall into the corner. Now the fluff is ready to be used. She wrote that she lays the fluff out on the quilt back to the desired thickness and then covers it with the quilt top. It is closely basted with a needle and thread. Frances recommends close quilting because the fibres are not bonded as with commercial batts.

She writes that she has used milkweed batt successfully in many sizes of quilts and that they have withstood multiple machine washings in cold water with a gentle detergent. The fluff didn't bunch, shift or ball all!

So there you have it - if in September you find yourself in need of a quilt batt and it isn't in the budget, take a walk in a meadow and harvest some milkweed pods!

UPDATE: There have been several comments about milkweed and I believe it is a North American plant. It is a dietary staple for monarch butterflies in the larval stage. In addition to using the fibres from the seed pods for quilt batts they also have another important application. They are an absorbent that can be used to clean up oil spills! Milkweed fibres absorb oil but repel water and that makes them unique! The fibres are four times more absorbent than polypropylene which is the artificial product currently used in oil spills. Because they are more absorbent this means less material is required making them more cost effective than the alternative. A co-operative of 20 farms has been set-up in the province of Quebec and they will grow 325 hectares of milkweed. Maybe commercially made milkweed quilt batts will be in our future!

Yesterday I showed you how I make my 3" churn dash blocks. A variation on that block is to swap out the corner half square triangles for 1 1/2" squares (includes the seam allowance). The finished block will look like these blocks!

Well I've got hundreds of tiny hourglass blocks to make so just like this little fellow in the picture below, I had better hop to it!

Until I post again, happy sewing!

Tiny Churn Dash Blocks

Churn Dash is a variation of the simple nine patch block. I love this one because you can make use of the smaller scraps! It makes for some very charming blocks and when they are put together the block looks more complex due to colour selection.

3" finished Churn Dash block

Yesterday I showed you several 3" (finished) Churn Dash and I promised to show you how I make them. There are quite a few of these blocks in my quilt (49 of them). In all 49 there are two constants: a striped fabric from Northcott and my Picadilly fabric by Free Spirit. The rest of the fabrics are scraps. I cut a strip of striped fabric that is 6 1/2" by the width of the fabric from my Northcott stripes. From that I cut 1" strips. 

Northcott striped fabric

The stripes are used to frame the tiny patch in the centre and it is cut from the Picadilly fabric. You don't need to use striped fabric but I can tell you that it does add interest to your block. If you are only making one block to try it out then use the scraps you have on hand!

Picadilly fabric by Free Spirit

 When making small blocks there are several things I highly recommend for stress-free precision sewing:

1. Sew with a scant 1/4" seam allowance which means your sewing line should be one or two threads less than a 1/4". If you sew a precise 1/4" the block will finish too small
2. Use spray starch when pressing. This will keep the block flat and precise
3. PRESS - don't iron. I always press my sewn piece to embed the stiches before pressing the seam allowances open or to one side.
4. Pin your fabric pieces - they are small and it will keep them together right to the end of the seam.

You will need the following fabrics to make a block that finishes at 3":

• 1 1/2" square (my Picadilly fabric)
• 1" x 6 1/2" strip of light colour fabric
• 1" x 6 1/2" strip of striped fabric
• 2 - 2" squares of print
• 2- 2" squares of light fabric

Pin the 1 1/2" x 6 1/2" strips of fabric with right sides together and stich with a scant 1/4" seam allowance. Be sure to shorten your stitch length because this  strip will be cut down. Press to embed the seam and then press the seam allowance open with a little spray starch.

Draw a pencil line from corner to corner on each of the 2" squares of light fabric. Pin them to the 2" print squares with right sides together and stitch a scant 1/4" away from either side of the pencil line. You are making half square triangles.

Cut the 2" squares in half on the pencil line. Press to embed the seam then press the seam allowances open. A little spray starch will help with this.

Trim these blocks so that they are 1 1/2"square. To do this line up the 45 degree mark on your ruler on the diagonal line on your block and trim.

Take the 6 1/2" strip of light and striped fabric and trim one end so that it is straight and then sub-cut four 1 1/2" squares. In the photo below the top row is the centre patch, the second row is the green stripe that will frame the centre patch and the bottom row is the half square triangles that will be placed in the corners (the two on the left are pressed but not trimmed to size whereas the two on the right are pressed and trimmed to size).

Now it's time to lay out the block in preparation for sewing.

The pieces will be sewn into rows. The seam allowances in the top and bottom row are pressed toward the centre patch as indicated by the red arrows. The seam allowances in the centre row are pressed away from the centre patch  as indicated by the red arrows. When pressing use a little spray starch.

Finally the rows are stitched together and the seam allowances are pressed open.

And this is the block from the back.

And there you have it - a tiny Churn Dash block that finishes at 3"!

I've decided that the outer border of this quilt will be made of 2" finished hourglass blocks in assorted greens. I am going to need quite a few of them so I had better get sewing!

Until I post again, happy sewing!