August do.Good Stitches Block Tutorial

I cannot believe it is my turn to be queen bee again! This summer is flying right by. July was crazy! Vacation, visitors, more visitors and a couple of custom quilt orders! It's no wonder August snuck right up! Here's a quick block tutorial that we'll be using for Promise Circle do.Good Stitches this month.

I recently came across a similar design done with paper piecing by Amy Ellis.... I haven't quite mastered paper piecing yet so I figured out another way to make it.

Materials for one 6 1/2 inch unfinished star block:
White background fabric
4 - 1.5in x 3in rectangles
Plus white scraps to complete the points

Fabric for stars
4 - 3 inch squares
1 - 1.5 inch square

Take one of your 3-inch squares and measure 1 1/4 inches on both sides of a single corner. On the wrong side place a small mark at each of the 1 1/4 inch lines. Do this for each of the four 3-inch squares.

Grab your ruler and, starting at the opposite corner of the corner with the two marks, draw a straight line to each of the marks. These will be your sew lines.

Grab a white scrap and place it right sides together with your marked square. Follow one of the sew lines. Before sewing you might want to take a quick peek and make sure you have enough white fabric to re-trim the square, this part can be a little tricky the first few you make.

Next trim the excess off 1/4 inch from your sew line

Open and press

Trim off excess white scrap so that you have a 3 inch square again

Do the same with your second marked sew line so that you end up with a 3 inch square with your color fabric in the center surrounded by your white background fabric. Complete this for each of the four 3-inch squares.

Next assemble the star blocks.

Trim block to 6 1/2 inches

Hopefully I captured all the important steps - if you have questions let me know and I'll be sure to answer them! I've added a link to this starburst quilt block tutorial to my Tutorials page.

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July do.Good Stitches

The colors for our July do.Good Stitches block were so pretty that I couldn't put the fabrics away until I cut up bunches and bunches of it! My groupmate MsMinnesota (link to her blog) selected a palette rich in blues with pops of grey, green-mustard and burnt orange. Almost everyone in our group has an abundance of blue... not me, I'm all about teal but I have made an effort to select different blues to add to my stash since joining the group.

I would not have thought to put these all together but they worked beautifully! She selected the big multicolored plus block below - another block I haven't made before. It was very easy to do and I can't wait to see what she does with it!

While considering whether or not to put the fabric away after finishing my blocks or just letting it sit in the middle of my sewing room I couldn't help but note that these colors would make a great boy quilt... And boy colors are tough to pick! So I selected cluck cluck sews Scrappy Summer pattern which I've admired since Alison blogged about it and whipped up a bunch of these blocks in no time! I'm developing a bit of a habit with these do.Good Stitches blocks and color palettes. I did the same thing for May's do.Good Stitches blocks which were done in red, blue and navy also great masculine colors. Trying new things is one of the fun things about being a part of do.Good Stitches.

 

The Scrappy Summer patter is such a wonderful pattern! It goes together very quickly and works great for scraps. I used Kona White to make the four-patch blocks which are all strip pieced. 

I assembled 30 blocks and arranged them in a crib size quilt measuring about 40x48 over the weekend. Next up is backing and binding additions. I've been hanging onto these little jellyfish guys for just the right boy quilt...  not sure if this is the one or not! 

And these too - running low on blues again I see! Not sure when when I'll be back to finish this quilt as my son in finishing up his Marines training and we'll be off to see him before he heads off to California to his next duty station.

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Sew What?! Grainline Tiny Pocket Tank

When I saw this pretty rose fabric by Gertie I knew that I had to make something ultra summery. The tiny pocket tank by Grainline Patterns seemed like a great fit!

The 100% cotton swiss dot fabric was very easy to work with. Gerties pretty fabrics are carried at JoAnns. After my first attempt sewing a garment with polyester I think the cotton was a wise choice. It was very familiar and 'acted' in ways that I expected it to. I opted for french seams on this top which really made it feel 'put together.'

The pattern has two parts (front and back) plus a tiny pocket, which I did not make as I think it would have gotten lost in the busy fabric pattern. Great for beginners! I sewed up a size 4 which aligned well with my measurements. The bust dart and shaped hemline add a little sophistication to the simply top. As you can probably already see the tank is just a smidge tight in the armpit which attributed to some pulling and creasing across the chest area.

Don't mind the tiny tomato I'm holding - it was the very first out of our patio garden! I saw it when my hubby and I headed out for photos and I was drawn to pick it immediately... Nope, I couldn't wait five minutes to take the photos first.

Sooo, the wonky chest, armpit thing...  I read a number of suggestions to address this issue (it appears to be a common issue for this pattern) and many said just to size up. That's the easiest thing to do for sure. Thing is I like where the neckline and hemline fall and it is perfectly wide enough. If I simply size up all of those things will change. I believe this means I'll be needing to do an alteration or two. I don't think I'll be able to salvage this top as the seam allowances were fairly small. I will probably still wear it because it isn't awful, the busy print of the fabric saved me there. This garment sewing business is tricky, tricky, tricky!

If you experienced this issue, what did you do to fix it?

Link Parti's 

Take a look at the linki parti's I get down with here or by clicking on the Linki Parti's link above. Linking up to Sew Can She and Made by you Monday