Rockin' Rectangles - On Line!

Hi, all!  

Wow - it's finally here!  Today is the last tutorial in the Rockin' Rectangles series, which means that the signups for the Hands2Help Comfort Quilt Challenge 2019 start next week!  I hope you're as excited about that as I am!  But today I'll be sharing my favorite tutorial in this series - favorite because it helped me use up some of the contents of my String Hamper of Shame...

Earlier this year, I decided that this was just. too. much, and started pressing and folding the strips into a tub.  I filled up a tub...

...but still had a bunch in the hamper!  

Well, obviously just organizing them wasn't going to do any good, so I decided to utilize them, putting them into one of the Rockin' Rectangles quilts.  

I laid out the strips in stacks of 4-5, then took my 8.5" ruler, laid it on top and cut out sets of strips.  I highly recommend this method - you don't have to think about measuring, because your ruler is just the right length.  It's a great way to do it if you are working/talking with friends at the same time!

And this is the result - a tub full of pieces I can now use to create this quilt, which I'm calling "On Line"!

Quilt Size:  Mine is 58" x 64", but yours can be any size you choose, limited only by how many strings you have and how long you want to sew!

Fabric Requirements:

String scraps cut into 8.5" lengths (strings are strips of fabric, usually at least 12" long and at least 1.5" wide.  They do not have to be even widths or all the same width for this quilt. Many of mine are the strips trimmed off of quilt backs after quilting.)  A good variety of fabrics is recommended, but it doesn't take as much fabric as you will think it does.  You'll see this proven later in the tutorial!

Assembly Instructions:

Choose 4-5 of your string strips and sew them together along the long edges.  Press the seams all in one direction.  As you can see from the picture above, it doesn't matter if the strings are the same width on each end, because we're going to trim this panel in the next step.

Now lay your panel on your cutting board, choosing what the straight will be.  I chose to use the seam between the bottom two pieces as my "straight". Trim the right edge straight...

...then switch over and trim the left side.  I was able to trim mine to exactly 8" wide, which made it easy to figure out how large my quilt would be.  You will trim all your panels to the same width.  Now turn your panel so it runs horizontally and line up the top edge with a straight edge on your cutting mat.

Once again, trim the right and left sides of your panel...

...and you'll be left with a panel with nice, straight edges!  The trimmed length of your panel doesn't matter, because you'll be joining them all together in long strips.  Only the width must be consistent.

You'll need to make a bunch of these panels!  For instance, if your panels were all about 10" long, and you wanted a 60" square quilt, you would need about 48 panels.  Trim them all to the same width. You may want to start putting them up on a design wall as you go, so you can see if you are heavy on one color or fabric.  

It's also really encouraging to see that you are making progress with all that sewing!  When you are arranging your strips, you may find that some strips are wider than you would like - if that happens, just  split those wide strips and join them up with more string strips!  

Once you've laid out your strip panels and like the layout, start sewing the panels into columns.  They may not be exactly the same length, but that's not a problem - you can just trim them to the length you want, or add one or two more strings to the bottom to make them as long as their neighbors.  This is a very fluid and forgiving quilt to make!  You can also see that the pieces that are angular rather than straight add a little interest and motion to the quilt.  I almost wish I'd added more of those pieces!

Remember I told you that it doesn't use as many strings as you think it would?  This is how my tub looked after I made all the blocks for this quilt...

...and after I re-stacked all the leftover pieces, the tub was still this full!!!  So much for feeling like I had made some serious scrap-busting progress...

...BUT I did have this lovely top to show for it... and enough strips cut to make two or three more!!  So it's all good!

It's really simple to make this quilt larger or smaller - just add or subtract columns, or make your columns shorter or longer.  It all depends on how many string scraps you have on hand.  And if you've got friends with their own "hamper of shame", get together, have a cutting party, and swap strings!  It's a fun way to get a lovely scrappy variety in your quilt.

And now that your top is complete, it's time for the dreaded "quilt as desired"!  I wanted to do something on mine to add some curvy texture to it, to counter the very linear nature it has just as a top.  

I love the Baptist Fan pattern of quilting, but don't have the patience (or the tools) to do it on my own, so I chose to do a curve that bounced from one point to another, then back again.  It's very random, so it was pretty easy, although thread intensive.  It does give it a nice texture, though!

Then, thankfully, we had a beautiful day of sunshine for photographs!

So much color in this quilt, and the grandkids will have a good time finding pieces that are in their own quilts, or even some pieces of clothing I've made for them!

And doesn't the quilting make it look nice and cozy?  Thanks to the sun, you can see the crinkly texture!

And I had this beautiful (and large) piece of fabric sitting in my stash, just waiting for the right quilt to back.  I think it looks really pretty on this one, and it shows the quilting nicely too!

And in keeping with the Rockin' Rectangles theme, here's the song that was the inspiration for the name of this quilt...

Thanks for following along with the Rockin' Rectangles tutorial series - I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!  Remember to stop by next Sunday for the beginning of the Hands2Help Comfort Quilt Challenge 2019 - it's going to be AWESOME!!

Hugs!

Sarah

**If you'd like to save or print the tutorial for this quilt, here's the easiest way to do it.  Scroll to the bottom of this post and look for this little green box:

Don't see the green "Print PDF" box?  That's easy to fix. Go to the top of the post, and click on the post title (in this case, "Rockin' Rectangles Begins! Place Your Bet...").  That will open up this post with the comments, and you will see this between the body of the post and the beginning of the comments.

Click on the green button, and a printer-friendly page will open so you can print and save the tutorial!  Voila! And the best part?  It won't print out page after page of comments and sidebar stuff.  Hooray!

Don't want to print it out?  This tutorial will remain here as long as the internet is alive, so you could just bookmark the post and create a group in your bookmarks for Tutorials!  That way you can find it any time.

Rockin' Rectangles - Small Town!

Hi, all!

Today I have another junior jelly roll quilt to share with you, which used up my last junior jelly roll, I'm happy to say!  But now that I have a few easy quilt ideas that use one, I may find myself looking for them in the future.  Let's get started!

I'm calling this quilt "Small Town" because it reminds me of farm areas in the midwest where the houses are surrounded by fields of crops.  From the air, it kind of looks like this quilt - plus I just love John Mellencamp's song of the same name! (PS Who gives up a cool middle name like Cougar?)

Quilt Size:  61" square

Fabric Requirements:

From a junior jelly roll, select 16 2.5" strips OR 16 2.5" x width of fabric (WOF) strips from your stash

40" of block background fabric

40" of center, sashing and border fabric

1/2 yard of binding fabric

First Cutting Instructions:

Cut your block background fabric into 16 2.5" x WOF strips.

 Block Assembly:

Pairing a print strip with a block background strip, sew them together along the long edge.  Be careful not to stretch the strips as you sew them!  Repeat for all sixteen pairs of strips.  Press the seams toward the print strips.

Now you will cross-cut your strip set into 10.5" sections.  TIP:  If you have a 10.5" ruler, use it to do this.  All you will need to do is place one edge of the ruler against the end of the strip (trim the strip first, please) and cut against the opposite edge.  No measuring required, which is really handy if you are also talking at the same time (don't ask me how I know this...)  After cutting all 16 strips, you should have 64 2-strip sets.

Next step is to lay out the sets of 10.5" strips next to your sewing machine.  I stacked mine up with all the same prints in a stack.  

Time to chain piece!  Choose two different strip sets and sew them together along the long edge, matching a background strip to a print strip.  Repeat for all the sets.  Press seams toward the print strip. You should have 32 4-strip sets now.

At this point, you may want to take a few minutes to intentionally pair these 4-strip sets together.  The 8-strip sets will be the building blocks for the large blocks of this quilt.  Once you have them paired, sew two 4-strips sets together, matching a print strip to a background strip.  Press seams toward the print strip.  You should have sixteen 8-strip sets.

Second Cutting Instructions:

From your center, sashing and border fabric, cut a 6.5" x WOF strip.  From that strip, cut 4 6.5" squares for the center of your blocks.

Block Construction:

The first step is to lay out four of your 8-strip sets around a center 6.5" square.  Don't be fooled by my one-color strip sets - that's just EQ7 and I was being lazy!  You may want to lay out all four blocks so you can be sure you are happy with how they will all look.  Otherwise you might end up with one at the end that has too many repeats in it!  

To create these blocks, you will need to use a technique called a "partial seam".  It looks complicated, but really isn't.  Place an 8-strip set in front of you with a background strip at the top.   Lay a center square on top of it, matching the top and left edges. Flip it over and stitch a quarter-inch seam about halfway down the length of the center square.    Press the seam towards the strip set just up at the top for now.

Now lay another strip set next to the seamed side of the strip set/center unit.  Match the ends, pin if needed, and stitch the entire seam.  Press the seam towards the strip set.  Repeat for the third side, attaching the strip set to the one you just added and the center block.  For the final side, attach it to the center block and the third strip set. Be sure not to catch the un-sewn portion of the first strip set in your stitching.  Now finish the first seam, attaching the first strip set to the top of the final strip set.  Not as hard as it sounds - just give it a try!  Remember you are going around the center square counter-clockwise.  Repeat to make four of the large blocks.

Third Cutting Instructions:

Using your sashing and border material, cut 9 3.5" x WOF strips.  Sew the strips end to end, then from that strip, cut the following:

1   3.5" square for the center

4   3.5" x 26.5" for sashing (or your finished block's measurement)

2   3.5" x 55" for side borders (or whatever your quilt measures)

2   3.5" x 61.5" for top and bottom border (or whatever your quilt measures)

Quilt Top Construction:

Lay out your four blocks in a way that pleases your eye.  Don't sweat it too much - you're much more critical that anyone else will be.

Now we'll be adding the sashing strips.  Take the top two blocks and sew them on either side of a sashing strip, matching the top and bottom of each block to the same on the sashing strip and easing to fit. Pins are your friend here!  Repeat for the bottom two blocks.

At this point, you may be wondering why I cut a small center square and two more sashing strips, rather than one long strip.  I find that placing that small center square (also known as a cornerstone) in the middle, my blocks ALWAYS line up - and that makes it totally worth the extra time!  You can make it a different color if you want - I wanted the look of a solid strip, but also wanted my blocks to line up, so I put it in.

Take your two remaining sashing strips and the center square and join them together. Pin the top row of blocks to the long sashing strip, matching the ends and the sashing seams at the center, easing the fabrics.  Stitch.  Pin the bottom row of blocks to that strip and repeat.

Now it's time to add your borders.  Start with the side borders, matching the ends of the border and the quilt top and pinning to ease the fabrics together.  Stitch.  Press seams toward the borders.  Repeat with the top and bottom borders. 

And voila!  You have a finished quilt top!  But don't stop there - quilt that puppy!  Someone out there needs that quilt!  

I chose to do a random meander on mine, but you could do something more interesting in the centers and borders to make it really stand out.  But remember - finished is better than perfect, and someone in need of a quilt won't be thinking about whether your stitch length is spot-on, they'll be gratified that someone cared enough to make them a quilt!

And let's have a little rock-and-roll homage now - here's Small Town by John Mellencamp...

And I'm going to do something I don't often do, and that's give a shout-out to a store.  See that beautiful backing there?  I found that at Hobby Lobby, in their clearance bin, for $3/yard - and there were ten yards left on the bolt!  Needless to say, I bought all of it - so I have a lovely big piece to play with.  But it wasn't the only one in the clearance bin - I found several with 8-10 yards on them.  It's certainly worth checking out if you have a Hobby Lobby nearby and can use some large pieces of fabric to stash away for backs. Their fabric is good quality, and much of it is around $6-7 a yard, and 30% off that!

Speaking of giving away your finished product, this quilt is a good size for Quilty Hugs for Happy Chemo, or Mercyful Quilts.  And if you wanted to make a baby quilt for Jack's Basket (or four!) you could use one block with a 5" border to reach their preferred 36" square size.

Come back next week to see the very last quilt in the series - I think you'll like it!  And it's a serious scrap-buster.  We all need that, don't we?  You can get a head start on it by pressing your strings and cutting them into 8.5" lengths. 

Hugs!

Sarah

**If you'd like to save or print the tutorial for this quilt, here's the easiest way to do it.  Scroll to the bottom of this post and look for this little green box:

Don't see the green "Print PDF" box?  That's easy to fix. Go to the top of the post, and click on the post title (in this case, "Rockin' Rectangles Begins! Place Your Bet...").  That will open up this post with the comments, and you will see this between the body of the post and the beginning of the comments.

Click on the green button, and a printer-friendly page will open so you can print and save the tutorial!  Voila! And the best part?  It won't print out page after page of comments and sidebar stuff.  Hooray!

Don't want to print it out?  This tutorial will remain here as long as the internet is alive, so you could just bookmark the post and create a group in your bookmarks for Tutorials!  That way you can find it any time.

Rockin' Rectangles - Check Me Out!

Hi, all!

Do you have junior jelly rolls left over, even after last week's tutorial?  Or are you still looking for that "just right" bit of inspiration to use them?  Today's tutorial may be just the ticket for you - bright, sunshine-y and happy, it may spark your interest to make one for yourself!

*&*&*&*&*&*&*

About three months ago, when I was just starting to look for inspiration for this tutorial series, I saw this absolutely gorgeous scrappy quilt on Pinterest...

...which sparked a search for the original creator of the pattern.  Lynn Dykstra, who blogs over at Klein Meisje Quilts, graciously agreed to let me create my own version and tutorial of this wonderful quilt!  However, if you'd like to see her version and tutorial, you will find them here.

So now, I'd like to introduce you to my version - and in keeping with the theme of "Rockin' Rectangles", it's named for a great old rock-and-roll song - "Check Me Out"!

Quilt Size:  56" x 64"

Fabric Requirements:

1 junior jelly roll containing two strips each fabric. From the jelly roll, choose your favorite nine pairs.  NOTE:  All of the junior jelly rolls I had on hand were set up this way - ten different fabrics, two of each.  Yours may not be the same.

OR 18 2.5" x width-of-fabric (WOF) strips, in matching sets of two (9 different fabrics).

45" (approx. 1.25 yards) x WOF of background yardage (white in the picture above)

Approx. 1.5 yards of sashing/border material (black in picture above)

1/2 yard for binding

First Cutting Instructions:

Using your background yardage, cut 18 2.5" x WOF strips.

Block Construction:

  

Pairing a background WOF strip and a print WOF strip, sew them together along the long edges.  Repeat for all the strips, chain piecing to save time.  Cut apart and press the seams toward the print fabric.

Now take your strips and cross-cut them into three sections, each a minimum of 12.5" long.  (That is the length required for your final piece, but if you have extra, just cut them a little longer and you can trim off the excess after the next step.) 

Sew the three strips together, alternating print and background colors as shown above.  Press seams towards the print fabric. Trim one end straight.

Now cross-cut the piece into five 2.5" wide strips as shown above.

You should be able to create two matching sets of these five strips (remember needing strips in matching sets of two?) so create the other set now using the instructions above.

Now take two of your matching strips and lay them side by side.  Reverse the one on the right so the blocks form a checkerboard pattern.  NOTE:  BE SURE that you always put the same type of square in the upper left corner - always a print or always a background.  (Don't ask me how I know this.....)  Sew the two together along the long edge, matching the seams carefully.  Press the long seam open (it will make your top lie flatter in the end.)

Repeat until you have made all of your checkerboard blocks.  You will have 45 blocks.  Measure your checkerboard block along the long seam (not the edges) for the next step.  For the purposes of this tutorial, my measurement was 12.5".

Second Cutting Instructions:

Take your sashing material, and cut 45 2.5" x 12.5" strips.  (You should cut yours to the length of your own blocks, whatever that happens to be.  Everyone's seam allowances are a bit different!)

More Block Construction:

Sew a black sashing strip to the left side of your checkerboard blocks.  This is a good time to check and see that the upper left square on your blocks is always a print square, or always a background square.  (Don't ask me how I know....) There's really no good solution to how to press your seams at this point, as all the black seams will be above each other. You could press them open, or alternate pressing towards the sashing or towards the block.  If you choose to alternate, you may want to wait until you decide on the layout of your quilt to press those seams.  

Put them up on your design wall as you go so you can see how beautiful they are! No need to decide on a layout at this point.

Layout:

Now comes the fun part!  You get to decide what layout you want to use.  This quilt is laid out in nine columns of five blocks.  Here are a few of the ones I fiddled around with...

Plain and simple - the same color in each column.

A little wavy - shifting alternate blocks one column to the right in each row.

A sideways mountain - you can see each color appears in three different rows.

But this is the design I ultimately ended up on - the colors move diagonally across the quilt from upper left to lower right.  It had the right amount of movement for me without being "frantic".  

Once you decide on your layout, start sewing the sashed blocks together into nine columns.  Then sew your columns together.  Now you can press the long sashing seams all towards the sashing.

You're almost done!  If you look at your top so far, you will see that the left side of your quilt has a border, but the other three sides do not.  Let's take care of that!

Final Cutting Instructions:

Take your remaining sashing material, and cut five 2.5" x WOF strips.  Sew them together into one long strip.

Now, measure your top down the center from top to bottom.  (Don't measure the edge - this will help square up your quilt.)  From your long border strip, cut a piece the length of that measurement.  Pin it to the right edge, matching the ends up and easing either the quilt top or the border strip to fit.  (If there's a major difference, check your measurement!)  Sew.  Press seam toward the border strip.

Now measure your top across the center from side to side.  Cut two pieces the length of that measurement.  Again pinning it to the top and easing any extra, sew and press the seams toward the border strips.

And your top is done!  Hopefully the sun is shining - if it is, go outside and take a stained glass shot of your quilt, just because it's beautiful.  Post it on Instagram, pat yourself on the back, then get back to work and finish that quilt!

Quilt as desired - ha!  This quilt would look lovely with straight line cross-hatching on the diagonal, or even just a random meander (which is what I did for time's sake.)  Bind it, and you're good to go!

Size-wise, this quilt would be a match for some of this year's Hands2Help charities - both Quilty Hugs for Happy Chemo and Mercyful Quilts would accept quilts in this size.  And if you are one of those who like to "tweak" patterns for size, it could be adapted for Jack's Basket, using fewer blocks.

I hope you like this latest entry into the "Rockin' Rectangles" family - a simple quilt that works up quickly and has a big impact!  Be sure to stop by Lynn's blog and show her some love - she came up with a great design!  And now, in keeping with the theme of the series, here's a blast from the rock-and-roll past to get your toes tapping and put your creative juices in overdrive...

Kind of makes you want to get up and dance, right?  So dance to your stash and pull some fabric - get playing!

Hugs!

Sarah

**Remember that if you want to get a head start on one of the later tutorials, you can press your strings and cut them into 8.5" lengths. 

**If you'd like to save or print the tutorial for this quilt, here's the easiest way to do it.  Scroll to the bottom of this post and look for this little green box:

Don't see the green "Print PDF" box?  That's easy to fix. Go to the top of the post, and click on the post title (in this case, "Rockin' Rectangles Begins! Place Your Bet...").  That will open up this post with the comments, and you will see this between the body of the post and the beginning of the comments.

Click on the green button, and a printer-friendly page will open so you can print and save the tutorial!  Voila! And the best part?  It won't print out page after page of comments and sidebar stuff.  Hooray!

Don't want to print it out?  This tutorial will remain here as long as the internet is alive, so you could just bookmark the post and create a group in your bookmarks for Tutorials!  That way you can find it any time.