Wentworth County Quiltworks

The tutorial for the True Lover's Knot block is now up!  It's a fairly easy block and is block #16 of thirty planned blocks!

The tutorial for the Children of Israel block is up!  This is another one that is easier to make than it first appears!  This is block #15;  half the blocks of my 30-block sampler are now done!

The Gentleman's Fancy tutorial is up!  It can be a  tricky block;  it's more for intermediate quilters than for beginners. You'll want to take your time with it and be as precise as  you can with your cutting and piecing. 

The Love In A Mist tutorial is now up!  This block is a little more complex than some we've done, but it's a super attractive block once it's done.  The trick is to take your time cutting the templates, starch your pieces and be careful with your placement and positioning when you're sewing it together.

The tutorial for the Greek Cross quilt block is up!  This is a fairly easy block but can be simply stunning with the right colour combination. 

This quilt block is a great beginner’s block because it’s a traditional nine patch made up of half square triangles (HSTs), squares and rectangles.

It's time for another wedding block this month.  The tutorial for the Old English Wedding Ring block is now up!  It's a fairly easy one if you use the quick method for making HSTs.

The tutorial for the Cross and Star block has been posted.  I've also seen this block entitled "Job's Tears," but I prefer "Cross and Star" because that's what it looks like to me!  This is the tenth completed block for my Bible block-of-the-month wedding sampler.  Only twenty to go!

Cross and Crown is this month's block; it's also known as Golgotha.  Here is the tutorial. It's similar to the Walls of Jericho block from last October.   It's a block that looks more difficult to make than it actually is.

Another month means another block!  The tutorial for the Contrary Husband block, another of the wedding blocks, is now posted!

The tutorial and templates for the Whirlwind block are up. This block is a little trickier than it looks because you want to make sure you are sewing the correct edges of the smaller (orange and white) triangles together.   Be sure to pay attention to what you're doing.

The templates and tutorial for the Road to Damascus block have been posted!  This block looks harder than it actually is, but I found it easiest to make with templates and by being as accurate as I could.  You'll want the Key Block diagram on the template printout in front of you as you make this block so you can keep track of your pieces.

The cutting instructions and tutorial for the Contrary Wife block are finally up!  That completes the fifth block to the Bible sampler.

The tutorial and cutting instructions for the Bright Hopes block have been posted! 

The King's Crown tutorial has been posted!  This block was originally published in the Kansas City Star in 1931.  It was also published as “Thrift Block” in the Chicago Tribune on September 6, 1937, by Nancy Cabot.  I’ve seen it made with three fabrics, where the centre fabric is the same as the outer triangles of the Flying Geese, and I’ve seen it made with four fabrics, where the centre fabric is unique and sometimes fussy cut.  In this block, I’ve used three fabrics: fabric one is my white fabric, fabric two is orange and fabric three is blue.  It's a good beginner's block.  The next wedding block will be up in two weeks!

How to make Flying Geese units is something that is helpful to know when piecing certain blocks because it minimizes the number of bias-edge triangles you have to work with. 

The King's Crown block is a fairly easy block to piece and once you've made your four Flying Geese, the block is about half done.  You just add the squares to your four Flying Geese, join the three rows and that's it!

The cutting instructions and tutorial for the King's Crown block will be posted on the 15th of the month.

It's October 15; that means the Walls of Jericho tutorial is up!  This is block #2 of the Bible sampler.

Yesterday was Thanksgiving in beautiful, sunny Canada, and it was the warmest Thanksgiving I recall at 80 degrees F.  

Between that and on-going concerns about Dad (and hospital visits) after his latest heart attack, I haven't been online or sewing as much as I usually am.  I did, however, finish block #2 for the Bible sampler.  The tutorial will be up on Saturday.

Since it's a Bible block wedding sampler, I'm going to start posting cutting instructions to wedding and marriage-related blocks as well; they'll be up at the end of each month.

This week, I'm linking up to

BOMs Away Monday - What A Hoot!

Manic Monday Linky Party - Sew Happy Geek

Fabric Tuesday - QuiltStory

and for the first time,

Design Wall Monday - Patchwork Times

As my W.i.P. Wednesday #14 for October 12 I'm linking to

Freshly Pieced's WIP Wednesday #47 as well as today's WOW at

Esther's Blog.

Block #1, the Jacob's Ladder block has been posted!  Check back on the 15th of every month for the next one and to see what's new!

At the end of last month’s post, I was just starting to crunch the numbers for the Bible block wedding sampler’s fabric requirements.  This month, we’ll finish number-crunching our layout plans.

 First of all, basic quilt sizes are generally as follows:

•        A comfortably-sized baby quilt is roughly 42”x52”.
•        A crib-sized quilt measures up to 45”x60”.
•        A cozy lap quilt is around 54”x72”.

Consult the following for quilts for typical bed sizes:

Mattress sizes:

• Crib Quilt     27" x 50"
• Twin Quilt     39" x 75"
• Double Quilt     54" x 75"
• Queen Quilt     60" x 80"
• King Quilt     72" x 84"

 Quilt sizes for beds:

• Baby Quilt     36" x 54"
  
• Twin Quilt     54" x 90"
• Double Quilt     72" x 90"
• Queen Quilt     90" x 108"
• King Quilt     108" x 108"

Standard Batting Sizes:

• Crib Quilt     45" x 60"
• Twin Quilt     72" x 90"
• Double Quilt     81" x 96"
• Queen Quilt     90" x 108"
• King Quilt     120" x 120"

If you are making a quilt for a particular bed in your house, your best bet is to measure the top of your mattress and add the amount of overhang you want on each side as well as the amount you want for your pillow tuck (usually around 18 inches).

I decided that I’m going to make my Bible block wedding sampler a queen-sized quilt.   It’ll be my most ambitious project to date, consisting of thirty 12” blocks.  My basic layout has a 6” border and 2.5” sashing strips and I ordered my fabric last week.  If you decide to do a quilt this big, here are your numbers

30-Block Bible Sampler    Finished size 87”x101”

Border – 1 7/8 yards fabric

Sashing – 2 1/8 yards

Cornerstones – 3/8 yard

For your blocks estimate using roughly a quarter yard of fabric per 12” block (12.5” unfinished).

Batting – 90”x108”

Backing – 9 yards

If you’d like your quilt to be lap-sized, the finished size of a 12-block sampler is 58”x72.5”. 

Border – 1 7/8 yards fabric

Sashing – 1 yard

Cornerstones – 1/4 yard

For your blocks estimate using roughly a quarter yard of fabric per 12” block (12.5” unfinished).

Batting – 72”x90”

Backing – 4 1/2 yards

A good beginner’s quilt is a basic 6-block sampler with a finished size of 58”x43.5”.

 Border – 1.5 yards fabric

Sashing – 5/8 yard

Cornerstones – 1/8 yard

For your blocks estimate using roughly a quarter yard of fabric per 12”block (12.5” unfinished.)

Batting – 45”x60”

Backing – 3 yards

Now what if you’d rather make 18” blocks or 6” blocks?  Well, you’ll have to either enlarge or reduce your block patterns.  There are charts online that can help you do that, or you can use the following formula:

 [block size wanted] divided by [current block size] multiplied by 100 equals [percentage to enlarge or reduce original block].  For example:

To enlarge:

Current size = 12" and you want a 18" block -

18/12=1.5 -> 1.5*100= 150%

To reduce:

Current size =12" and you want a 6" block -

6/12=.50 ->.50*100=50%

Now that you’ve got the numbers, round up your fabric because next month I’ll post the tutorial for our first block!  As always, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me!