Wednesday, March 27, 2019

Tardy Tiny Tuesday #12

I know it is Wednesday.  Its been a week!  Today it stormed.  There was driving rain and hail.  It was quite dramatic as the kids rushed from class to class getting drenched.  I was inspired to make an umbrella block in response.  I wanted to make an applique umbrella, but the only fabric I could find in my freakishly tidy sewing room was the green string bag.  I am so happy that we have an offer on the  house and can stop pretending that we live in a model home.  Perfection is exhausting!

In any case, here is a string umbrella block for you all.
 Find a scrap of paper and trim it to about 5.5 inches.  Draw a line from corner to corner along each diagonal and cut the square in half along one of those drawn lines.
 In addition to the paper you will need an assortment of green strings, a strip of black fabric from 1 to 1.5 inches wide, and two triangles of white fabric about 4 inches along the short side
 Center the black strip along the center line on one piece of paper. I had a strip that was 1.5 inches, but I wish I had used something a bit narrower.
 Place the triangle right sides together on top of the block strip.  Before you sew, check to see if the fabric will cover the paper when it is sewn in place.  Sew the white triangle to the black strip using the phone book paper as a foundation.
 Open up that side and repeat with side 2.  Press the half square triangle and trim the top edge so that it is even with the paper.  Set this aside for a moment.
 Now grab the other triangle and use it a base to make a half string block.  Press each strip before adding the next.
 Continue to add strips until you reach the tip of the triangle.  Use a slightly wider strip at the end or a triangle if you have one handy.
 Make sure that you have completely covered the paper.  Trim the bottom edge of the fabric even with the paper
 Place both triangles right sides together along the hypotenuse making sure to match up the center points.
 Press the center seam open or toward the less bulky side of the block.
 Trim the completed block to 5 inches.
This block will be set on the diagonal which will leave the umbrella upright and ready to protect you from an unexpected spring shower.  

7 comments:

grammajudyb said...

Super cute! Many thanks for the effort! Can’t wait to do this one!

grammajudyb said...

Oh, I’m hoping for rain this week here in NE Wyoming....but the weather map is predicting ❄️ snow ❄️ !

Sally Trude said...

You're amazing! I forgot that today was Wednesday as well but for no good reason. I made a tutorial for a nine-patch of microspools...but I should have realized you would pull something adorable and practical out of your magic bag of tricks.

Susie H said...

Yay! Thank you! I love strings!!! So happy for you to be able to take the house off the market. That would be a tough way to live life, for sure!

LIttle Penguin Quilts said...

We're all so happy that your house sale and new purchase are going along well! Thank you so much for posting this fun little block, in spite of everything else you have going on!

The Joyful Quilter said...

Congratulations on getting an offer on your house!! I hope thing progress without a hitch. Oh, and thanks for making sure we always know where our umbrella is! :o))

Julierose said...

Love this little string umbrella...this one and the owl too...I may have to make this...thanks hugs, Julierose