Hi Everyone!!! Sorry for that pre-mature posting on Monday…As I was working on the post I slid over the publish button on the way to press the preview button and it posted!!!! YIKES…so please forgive me…for the sneak peak…
I’m so glad you stopped by to visit today…I love teaching…so hopefully you might learn a thing or two here on this post…I’m going to do my best attempt to “teach” you how I would stitch this block…it is very different from the directions given…the block directions were done to be uniform throughout the year, there is nothing wrong with them.. there are many ways to ” piece” fabric patches together and know what works best for you is part of the process…so after 20 years of doing this and I don’t know how many quilts I have made, but I want to share with you how I made my block..
Starch your fabrics!!! Read this post with pictures on STARCHING your FABRICS. This is a MUST…DO NOT skip this step if you don’t already to it…I’m also not just using a light mist on them before I iron them like you would on clothes…. Just try it this once and if you do, you will starch from here on out! So simply completely saturate your fabrics with heavy faultless starch…let them air dry…Iron them when they are completely dry…They will be nice and stiff…and they are ready to be cut into your pieces for your blocks…Today’s starch is not made from cornstarch…so no worries…
Ok…now to the good stuff…you need to cut your pieces accurately…this means being able to “SEE” what you are cutting…I have designed a few rulers with Creative Grids…they are called Itty Bitty Eights…see how I labeled the 1/8th inches and see how everything is a dashed line? No solid lines on my rulers…I want to be able to see my fabric and not just guess where it is lying under a solid line… Makes a lot of sense right? Rulers for sale here… 3″x 7″ 6″x 6″ 5″x 15” Creative Grids are the best rulers!
Here are the lights all cut…
Here are the darks…I purposely didn’t cut one of each square so you could see they were all squares first…then triangles…
Now I will be making my HSTs with my Triangle Papers…They are sold HERE They will make perfect HST’s…I promise..if you follow the directions…Triangle paper method is NOT paper piecing…Paper piecing the paper stays in until the block is completely done…this is not that…we will easily remove the paper before we stitch them to another fabric. I know a bunch of you are doing the Triangle Gatherings blocks…so this will be a piece of cake for you!!! If you want to know more about Triangle Gatherings go back on this blog and read the posts starting in January…
Now enough chatting time to get to work…
Layer A & B right sides together…
Shorten/lower your stitch length on your machine…I usually stitch at 2…move it to 1…this will make the paper come off much easier…
Stitch on all the dashed lines…
Until they are all stitched…
Trim on all solid lines…
I trim the outer lines and then start on the inside ones…
Trim until everything is cut…
Stack them in a pile…
Turn them over…now onto the ironing board…
Press them to the dark triangle…
Keep pressing them on top of each other…I call this chain-pressing…
Now this was tricky to photograph…I am trying to rip the paper off and take a pic at the same time…lol
I hold my thumb nail in the center of the skinny strip before the stitch line, while I pull the triangle paper forward and pull it away from the middle close to the stitching…
So because I could not get that picture and hold on to my phone at the same time…I am hoping you can figure it out, then remove the skinny piece left after ripping the triangle…
Clip all the dog ears…notice there is only one and the seams are 1/8″…
Clip them all…now they are ready to stitch…but first we have to make the flying geese units..
Now stack the light and dark triangles together for the Flying Geese units…I prefer this method to flip and sew (like in the directions) I do not like the waste and they are not always perfect…
Because of the stiffness of our fabric, because we starched them it is very possible to run these through the machine…now I also have a machine that the feed dogs are nice and close together…this also helps with tiny piecing… Use an leader and ender if you have wider feed dogs…
Lay the dark triangle onto the light triangle…
and repeat for the larger FG…
Press the one side and then repeat or the other side…
Press FG units toward the dark triangles…Clip dog ears…
Layout all the units…
Stitch the HST with the squares…make 4 with blue and one red…
Layout the block again and stitch the center star into rows…
Press in opposing directions…
Now we have to pin the rows together…make sure to peak to see that they are lined up perfectly…before pinning…I do not pin directly into the seam…this make it move…
Now I pin from the left pointing to the right…just shy of where my stitches will be…I do not have to remove my pins if I pin this way…see where my pins are not directly in the seam, this will make sure they don’t shift? Use fine silk pins…not those big long nail pins…the photo below is blown up…
Stitch..
Press row seams open
shown here…
Layout again….Stitch together into rows…
Pin if needed. If they match perfectly I don’t pin…If you have a baggy seam…pin the ends and put the baggy seam down against the feed dogs…it will evenly feed the “extra” in…
Press row seams open again…Oh..I almost forgot…see my pressing stick in the photo below? That bar keeps the iron from messing up the other seams when pressing the row seams open…It’s awesome, we all need one! Get yours HERE! They come in three sizes…6″ for little blocks, 18″ for any size block and 45″ for long rows..
and then one last steam press and look how awesome the block is…It measures 6 1/2″ at this point.
Here it is with it’s friends!!!
Another view…
Here is the PATTERN file for the Block5LB_Coronation-2 click to print…
Here is the modified version I just showed in this post… Cutting Instructions (These are different than what is on our printed pattern above.)
Also here is my “primitive” version…I can’t show you all my blocks…because I started adding to them…for finishing…that will be another post…soon….my friends…
This week we were supposed to talk about needles…well…I almost strictly use the 75/11 for everything when it comes to quilting…I change my needle about every 5 bobbins…I alway start with 5 bobbins…when I have to wind more…I change the needle… and clean out my machine…brush out any fuzz bunnies hiding in there…
WHEWW… this was a long post…until next week…now go forth and be not afraid of the tiny pieces….and actually they are not small until after you press then they look small!!!
Notice I got the block number right this week! Yay…small victories!!!
Please sign up for my blog posts..If you are on a computer it is on the right side bar…Under Follow Me…under the E with the orange circle…you enter your email address there…If your on a tablet or phone keep scrolling until you see Follow me and a space to put your email address…then the blog will send you an email everytime I post! Do this for all the designers in this Blockhead Stitch Along…
Thank you all for visiting and for sharing your blocks on our FaceBook group…Until next week…
See how the other designers made their blocks!!!
Lynne –
Blog – http://kansastroublesquilters-lynne.blogspot.com/
Betsy –
Blog – http://betsysbestquiltsandmore.blogspot.com/
Lisa B –
Blog – https://lisabongean.com/
Jo –
Blog – http://jomortonquilts.com/jos_journal/
Moda –
Blog – http://blog.modafabrics.com/
How do I get the pattern for Block 5. There does not appear to be a link.
It is near the bottom of the post…
The link appears in RED near the end of the post
Great post! As usual I learned several new things. Thank you Lisa!
Is there a paper copy of the block and directions to print out?? I have looked, maybe I’m missing it Thanks On Wed, Apr 5, 2017 at 7:59 AM Lisa Bongean’s Weblog wrote:
> lisabongean posted: “Hi Everyone!!! Sorry for that pre-mature posting on > Monday…As I was working on the post I slid over the publish button on the > way to press the preview button and it posted!!!! YIKES…so please forgive > me…for the sneak peak… I’m so glad you sto” >
I love this block! Can’t wait to start it. And I’m thrilled I found your Triangle Gathering blocks. So much fun!
Can you specify the size of the four-patch and the flying geese units? I like to square up before I see it all together. Thank you.
And thank you for this great block!
2″- four patches
2″x 3 1/2 large FG
1 1/4″x 2
Awesome! Thank you.
This is Marianne S. I see more than one posts with this name. 😃
good morning sunshine, WOW, job well done! 👓🐦👑 nancy
On Wed, Apr 5, 2017 at 8:58 AM, Lisa Bongean’s Weblog wrote:
> lisabongean posted: “Hi Everyone!!! Sorry for that pre-mature posting on > Monday…As I was working on the post I slid over the publish button on the > way to press the preview button and it posted!!!! YIKES…so please forgive > me…for the sneak peak… I’m so glad you sto” >
OMG! I love LOVE that I do the same thing as you do with needles and bobbins. I also use the 75/11 and wind five bobbins, etc. This makes me ridiculously happy this morning… lol.
Very precise directions! Thanks a million for your time and effort because I needed this! 😂
This is a beautiful block. Thank you for the great tutorial!
Thank you for the great instructions. I pin in the seam line so I am going to change that method. Appreciate all that you do for the quilting world!! I also use a size 12 needle so I am going to “downsize!!” I, too, like to square up as I sew so size of flying geese and 4 patch is helpful…we know if we are in trouble at that point.
Wow! Thanks for the detailed instructions I may not have attempted without these! You rock!
Fantastic post and tutorial! Your papers help eliminate so many piecing issues and are easy to use. I bought mine at the Tampa show this year and managed to shop your booth in Hampton VA as well. What a treat!
Love this and the tutorial, I am missing #4 was it posted I have a beehive for #4
Love your Patriotic blocks. Is this the line of fabric that comes out later this month? And I know I seen it somewhere, but what size of Triangle papers do I need for this? (1/2 and 1″ ???). Thanks.
Got it. Triangle Papers are 3/4″
I also could not find the link because I was viewing the email posting, which doesn’t show the entire post. Not until I hit the blue ‘view entire message’ words did it expand to show the final picture of the new block with friends, and the link. Love this patriotic version!! Thanks so much!
Sandy
Love love love all the pictures and guidance! Oh and I found the link on my iPad with no problems!
Lisa, I just wanted to thank you for all of the time you spent with the last Blockhead Post…. your attention to detail has made this complicated block an attainable thing for someone who hates to piece. Thanks for being such an amazing teacher. You are the best!!!
This is GREAT! Thank you so much for getting it up and having alternative instructions.
You posted the back of a quilt, seams pressed open, that you were going to hand quilt on your quilt frame. I can’t find that picture. Would you p,ease post it again? Thank you.
Blockhead 5 website. My question about the back of your quilt, seams pressed open, before you put it on your quilt frame. I didn’t know how to post it correctly.
How do I get Block 1? I was able to get all the others. Please help. Thank you.
Go to Kansas Trouble Quilts blog…
Our quilt bus stopped yesterday, you and your staff were wonderful! Thank you for spending time with us!
I’ve tried this block twice and the finished blocks could, both times, is 6.75 inches square. I have purchased the triangle papers. I want to try again using your tutorial method. Can you please provide the measurements of the squares to make the flying geese triangles? Thank you. I love this block too much to not try again.
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