12 Days of Christmas in July - and Quilt-Along, Day 8!

Hi, all!

Welcome once again to the 12 Days of Christmas in July blog hop! It's hard to believe we're more than halfway through the hop, but there are lots more great Christmas ideas to come!  I hope you'll share anything you've been inspired to create on tomorrow's Whoop Whoop Friday post - it's always fun to see others' creations and interpretations of the hop designs!

Today's bloggers love color like I love fabric!  Our first blogger is Michele from Crayon Box Quilt Studio.  She and I share a love of Kate Spain fabrics, and I participated in her first Kate Spain charm swap a few years ago.  This year she's got a fabulous KS project to show us - I can't wait to see the final reveal!

And then we'll be hearing from Jan, who blogs as The Colorful Fabriholic.  Jan just published a book with AQS called Cut and Shuffle Quilts - definitely a must-have if you like simple and quick quilts!  She's got a great gift item to share and I can't wait to see it!

So go check out today's entries and then come back here to see today's steps for the quilt-along!  I'll be here waiting!

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Today we'll be assembling the "C" units, which will fill in the corners of the outer star.  For these units you will need:

32 red HSTs

12 red 4.5" squares

16 background 4.5" squares

16 background 4.5" x 8.5" rectangles

16 background 4.5" x 12.5" rectangles

First we'll make the 4-patch units.  Lay out the pieces for the four-patch blocks to the left of your sewing machine as shown in the photo above.  Take the top right block and lay it face down on the top left block.  Pick up and sew together.  Do not cut thread. Take the bottom right block and lay it over the bottom left block.  Pick up the pair and sew together.  Repeat the process, pulling alternately from the top piles and then from the bottom piles, until all the sets have been sewn together.

Lay them out and cut between the second and third pair.  This will separate one four-patch block, still chained together, from the rest.  Do the same with the rest of the string until you have sixteen block sets.

Press the seams toward the HSTs.

Lay the four-patch sets next to your sewing machine again.  Nesting the seams, sew each pair of block sets together to create the four-patch blocks.

Press the seam toward the red 4.5" square.

Lay out the four-patch units, the 4.5" x 8.5" background rectangles, and the 4.5" x 12.5" rectangles as shown in the photo above

Lay the 4.5" x 8.5" rectangle face down on the right side of the four-patch block.  Pick up the pair and sew the seam.  Repeat for all sixteen sets, chain piecing for speed.

Cut the sets apart.  Press the seam toward the 4.5" x 8.5" rectangle.

Re-arrange the remaining pieces as shown above.  Lay a background rectangle on the left side of the 4-patch unit and stitch the seam.  Repeat for all sixteen sets, chain piecing for speed.

Cut the piecing chains.  Press the seam toward the 4.5" x 12.5" background rectangle.

Now is a good time to add these to your design wall and see how pretty your quilt is going to be!  Are you excited yet?

Remember - you can post your progress on Instagram using the hashtag #12daysofxmasinjulyqal so we can all enjoy and cheer you on!

Hugs and see you tomorrow!

Sarah

July 14th:     Sharon Vrooman @ Vrooman’s Quilts

                    Carole Carter @ From My Caroline Home

July 15th:    Yanicka Hachez @ Finding Myself As An Artist

                   Chris Dodsley @ Made by ChrissieD

July 16th:     Marsha Hodgkins @ Quilter in Motion

                    Leanne Parsons  @ Devoted Quilter

July 17th:     Tonia Conner @ All Thingz Sewn

                    Selina @ Selina Quilts

July 18th:     Lara Buccella @ Buzzin Bumble

                    Soma Acharya @ Whims and Fancies

July 19th:     Joanne Harris@ Quilts by Joanne

                    Suzy Webster @ Adventurous Applique and Quilting

July 20th:     Vicki in MN @ Vicki’s Crafts and Quilting

                    Jennifer Fulton @ The Inquiring Quilter

July 21st:     Michele Kuhns @ Crayon Box Quilt Studio

                    Jan Ochterbeck @ The Colorful Fabriholic

July 22nd:     Alla Blanca @ Rainbows. Bunnies. Cupcakes.

                     Zenia Rene Lewis @ A Quilted Passion

July 23rd:     Joanne Hubbard @ Everyone Deserves a Quilt

                    Paige Alexander @ Quilted Blooms

July 24th:     Carolyn Jones @ …by CJ

                    Tisha Nagel @ Quilty Therapy

July 25th:     Susan Arnold @ Quilt Fabrication

                    Beth Sellers @ Cooking Up Quilts

                    Linda Pearl @ One Quilting Circle

12 Days of Christmas in July - and Quilt Along, Day 7!

Hi, all!

Welcome to the seventh day of our 12 Days of Christmas in July blog hop!  Are you having fun yet?  I sure hope so!

Today we welcome two more fabulous bloggers!  First up is Vicki in MN, who can be found over at Vicki's Crafts and Quilting.  Vicki has a fun, chatty blog and is also one of the 2016 Island Batik Ambassadors, so she's got lots of gorgeous eye candy each month using their fabrics.  She's got a great Christmas item to share with us today, one I'm sure you're going to love.

And our second blogger is Jennifer, who blogs at The Inquiring Quilter.  Her blog is full of beautiful things, great tutorials and patterns, and she's even written a book - with a great title:  Idiot's Guides: Quilting!  Jennifer has a handy-dandy gift idea to share that will be useful all year, not just at Christmas time.  

So hop over and check them out, then come back here for Day 7 of the quilt-along.  I'll have a snack while you're gone!!

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(Just so you remember what you're working for... )

Today we'll be using the flying geese units we made yesterday to create the "B" units, which are at the north, south, east and west of the star block, for all four large blocks.  Let's get started!

Take the three stacks of flying geese units you made yesterday, and lay them next to your sewing machine in the order and orientation pictured below. 

Lay a unit from the stack closest to your machine on top of the center stack, and sew the seam, matching the center seams and ends.  Chain piece all sixteen units.

Leaving the chain piecing together, pull the units into your lap so the first one you sewed is once again at the top.  Open it up, face down, and pin a green unit to the right hand side, matching the center seams and nesting the HST seams on each end.  Chain piece all sixteen units.

Cut apart your chain piecing and press the seams TOWARD the green units.

If you have a design wall, this is a fun time to set your blocks on it so you can see the beginning bones of your quilt!  The "A" blocks you made on Day 2 go in the center, and the "B" blocks go at the four points of the compass (top, right, bottom and left), with the green triangles touching the "A" block.  You should see a square of background  bordered by a red arrow pointing out on each "B" block.

Step back, gaze admiringly, and pat yourself on the back!!  See you tomorrow!

Hugs!

Sarah

And so you can catch up on the blog hop if you're behind, here's the schedule...

July 14th:     Sharon Vrooman @ Vrooman’s Quilts

                    Carole Carter @ From My Caroline Home

July 15th:    Yanicka Hachez @ Finding Myself As An Artist

                   Chris Dodsley @ Made by ChrissieD

July 16th:     Marsha Hodgkins @ Quilter in Motion

                    Leanne Parsons  @ Devoted Quilter

July 17th:     Tonia Conner @ All Thingz Sewn

                    Selina @ Selina Quilts

July 18th:     Lara Buccella @ Buzzin Bumble

                    Soma Acharya @ Whims and Fancies

July 19th:     Joanne Harris@ Quilts by Joanne

                    Suzy Webster @ Adventurous Applique and Quilting

July 20th:     Vicki in MN @ Vicki’s Crafts and Quilting

                    Jennifer Fulton @ The Inquiring Quilter

July 21st:     Michele Kuhns @ Crayon Box Quilt Studio

                    Jan Ochterbeck @ The Colorful Fabriholic

July 22nd:     Alla Blanca @ Rainbows. Bunnies. Cupcakes.

                     Zenia Rene Lewis @ A Quilted Passion

July 23rd:     Joanne Hubbard @ Everyone Deserves a Quilt

                    Paige Alexander @ Quilted Blooms

July 24th:     Carolyn Jones @ …by CJ

                    Tisha Nagel @ Quilty Therapy

July 25th:     Susan Arnold @ Quilt Fabrication

                    Beth Sellers @ Cooking Up Quilts

                    Linda Pearl @ One Quilting Circle

12 Days of Christmas in July - and Quilt-Along, Day 6!

Hi, all!

Welcome back to the 12 Days of Christmas in July blog hop!  This is our sixth day, and I can sure feel the creative juices flowing!  I hope you're being similarly inspired - if you're not, you haven't been paying attention!!

Today our hop starts with Joanne, who blogs over at Quilts by Joanne.  But she doesn't limit her creativity to quilts - she's got a neat craft to share with us today that you're going to want to try!

Suzy, over at Adventurous Appliqué and Quilting, has a fun project to share with us, too.  You won't even need to have Christmas fabric on hand to make this great craft - you're going to love it!

So hop on over and check out today's stops on the hop, then come back here for day 6 of the quilt-along!  See you soon!

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Today we'll be making the flying geese units that comprise the inner and outer stars of the block.  

First we'll work on the inner star units. Take the thirty-two inner star HSTs (green on the diagram), and make two stacks of 16, stacking them with color on top of color, background on top of background.  

Lay the two stacks face up next to your sewing machine with the two background triangles meeting in the center and the two green triangles to the bottom outside corners.  Place the HSTs with the seams pressed toward the background fabric on the right, and the ones with the seams pressed toward the color on the left.

Lay an HST from the right hand stack face down on the left stack.  Take the pair and nest the seams, then stitch the right hand side where the background triangles meet.  Chain piece all sixteen pairs.

Cut the piecing chains apart.  Press the seams open. This will help reduce bulk when the units are assembled.  Set these units aside until tomorrow.

Now we'll work on the outer star units.  Take sixteen of the outer star HSTs (red on the diagram) with the seams pressed toward the colored fabric and stack them with color on top of color, background on top of background.  Take sixteen more of the outer star HSTs (red on the diagram) with the seams pressed toward the background fabric and stack them with color on top of color, background on top of background.  

Lay the two stacks next to your sewing machine with the two background triangles meeting in the center and the two red triangles to the bottom outside corners.  Place the stack with the seams pressed toward the background fabric on the right side of the two stacks. 

Lay an HST from the right hand stack face down on the lest stack.  Take the pair and next the seams, then stitch the right hand side (where the background triangles meet).  Chain piece all sixteen pairs.  Cut the piecing chains.  Press the seams open.  Set aside in a stack.

Take sixteen of the outer star HSTs (red on the diagram) with the seams pressed toward the colored fabric and stack them with color on top of color, background on top of background.  Take sixteen more of the outer star HSTs (red on the diagram) with the seams pressed toward the background fabric and stack them with color on top of color, background on top of background.  Lay the two stacks next to your sewing machine with the two red triangles meeting in the center and the two background triangles to the bottom outside corners. Place the stack with the seams pressed toward the background fabric in the left stack.

Lay an HST from the right stack face down on the left stack.  Take the pair and nest the seams, then stitch the righthand side (where the red triangles meet). Chain piece all sixteen pairs.  Cut the piecing chains.  Press the seams open.  Set aside in a stack.

That's all for today!  Tomorrow we'll assemble the flying geese units into the "B" units of the quilt blocks.  See you then!

Hugs!

Sarah

Here's a list of all the great bloggers participating in the hop:

July 14th:     Sharon Vrooman @ Vrooman’s Quilts

                    Carole Carter @ From My Caroline Home

July 15th:    Yanicka Hachez @ Finding Myself As An Artist

                   Chris Dodsley @ made by ChrissieD

July 16th:     Marsha Hodgkins @ Quilter in Motion

                    Leanne Parsons  @ Devoted Quilter

July 17th:     Tonia Conner @ All Thingz Sewn

                    Selina @ Selina Quilts

July 18th:     Lara Buccella @ Buzzin Bumble

                    Soma Acharya @ Whims and Fancies

July 19th:     Joanne Harris@ Quilts by Joanne

                    Suzy Webster @ Adventurous Applique and Quilting

July 20th:     Vicki in MN @ Vicki’s Crafts and Quilting

                    Jennifer Fulton @ The Inquiring Quilter

July 21st:     Michele Kuhns @ Crayon Box Quilt Studio

                    Jan Ochterbeck @ The Colorful Fabriholic

July 22nd:     Alla Blanca @ Rainbows. Bunnies. Cupcakes.

                     Zenia Rene @ A Quilted Passion

July 23rd:     Joanne Hubbard @ Everyone Deserves a Quilt

                    Paige Alexander @ Quilted Blooms

July 24th:     Carolyn Jones @ …by CJ

                    Tisha Nagel @ Quilty Therapy

July 25th:     Susan Arnold @ Quilt Fabrication

                    Beth Sellers @ Cooking Up Quilts

                    Linda Pearl @ One Quilting Circle