Happy Monday

It was a beautiful sky this morning.  Clear and brisk fall air is always a teat in Florida.    

Last night was a noisy one as the water company was digging up the street in front of our house to fix a water leak.   They started at 10:30 to work overnight and avoid the traffic.   

I had enough blocks done for Sister's Choice, so those got arranged and pinned into rows for the next quiet moment.  Not tonight, that is the Academic Team Championship.  Then I am still all full of tutoring on Tuesday and Thursday.  I do believe that I had a cancellation for Wednesday though, and with the spouse out of the house, it might be a sewing night.   

Next up were these Shoofly and Wonky Star blocks.   I seem to have missed orange and teal completely, so a bit of filling in might be needed.   I am sure that I won't get much done on that one this week, but I am already mentally planning for a full week over Thanksgiving.   Did I mention we got an entire week off?  I'm pretty happy still.  Two days of vacation and a few extra wear jeans to work day doesn't solve all the issues with teaching right now, but it is at least an admission that things are not all rosy.   Hopefully they will work on some better long term solutions to attract more qualified and talented people into the profession.   We are losing teachers and district staff at an alarming rate right now.  

ScrapHappy Saturday - Pink Progress

I hope that your pink scraps are seeing some action so far.   I am enjoying a fresh start despite the news and everything that is happening in real life right now.  Sydney spent the week with strep throat.  It is a sad day when you are thankful for a bacterial infection because the alternatives are all scary.  Ryan is headed back to the University of Florida today.  All of his classes are online, but he still wanted to go and be there in person.  He had to plan his move in time so that he could get his scheduled Covid-19 test which is required for everyone.  Anna is a complicated story, I'm not sure if she will be allowed to return because she has been having some more serious issues that I haven't really discussed online.  She is stable now, but being away and unmonitored is a scary thought for her right now.  So I guess you can see why fabric is such a joy right now.  Sewing is uncomplicated, brings immediate satisfaction and doesn't require any scary decisions.   I am loving my pink scraps right now and very much looking forward to making more shoofly and silly star blocks today.   Uncomplicated, easy, and pretty.  Yes, that is a great plan.  Please share your pink progress so far.  It is fun to see other people creating and to hear about their own ups and downs.  

Shoofly Block

 

I am planning a two block quilt with nine patch variations this year.   I always struggle with 2.5 inch blocks.  Using them as just squares seems too big.   I've made lots of 16 patch quilts and was just ready for something different.  

A Shoo Fly is just a nine patch with half square triangles in the corners.   Instead of making traditional HST units, I'm going wonky this year in an effort to use up those extra triangles leftover from joining binding strips.   

This block uses the same sew and flip method as the star block, but with only one triangle per unit, it goes twice as fast.  You could also just use half square triangles if you happen to have extras of those around.  

It is just a nine patch, but with extra pops of color in the corners.  It should pair nicely with the star block for a simple two block quilt.  

Star Block

I'm working on a two block quilt this year.  It is based on nine patch variations built on a 2.5 inch base unit.  It would be adorable in a smaller size of course, but I needed and idea for 2.5 inch squares right now.   Blocks 1 is a star block, and block 2 is a shoofly.  I think these pair nicely because the colors are staggered.  

The base is just 8 neutral squares surrounding one of your main color.  January is going to be pink, so I started with that.   

The star points could be a combination of traditional half and quarter square triangles, but I'm trying to use up all my odds and ends, so I grabbed a stack of random triangles.  Most of them are leftover from joining binding strips.  Each block will need 8 triangles total.  

Start by laying a triangle right side down diagonally, do a quick flip to make sure that it will cover the corner of your neutral square when it is ironed over.   I play a little game of trying to maximize the amount of pink that will show and minimize the hangover. sew along the edge of the pink triangle and then iron it open.  The pink should completely cover the neutral background square.  There will be odd angles hanging over.  When you are sure you have the base square covered, but use that neutral square and trim off the extra pink with scissors or a rotary cutter.   I like to trim away the extra background fabric to minimize bulk, but this is a personal choice.  Because is leave an exposed bias edge, so you can also leave the base in place.   

Repeat the same procedure for the other side of the squares to make nicely paired star points.   

Here is the back, you can see that the pink fabric hangs over the edge.  Trim this extra away and then remove the background if desired.   

Here is one finished star point.  

And here it is from the front.   Each one will be unique and the angles will change depending on your starting triangles and sewing placement.  

Here are the four star points back in place again.   

Now just sew these together as you would any nine patch.  I chose to iron the seams away from the star points.  That should help the seams next when the two blocks are sewn together.   

I will post another tutorial for the shoofly block next.  It uses the same technique, but it is simpler because it uses half as many pink triangles.