Patchwork Puzzle (Layout)

Okay before we get too much further into this thing, I want to recommend that you visit the original quilt over here and print off the layout grid.  I found this to be very helpful as I was constructing my block in chunks.  I used highlighters to color in each section as I finished it.  I was also able to draw in additional blocks (those I duplicated or extra blocks I added) so that I had a feel at all times as to how much more I needed to do.  One of the first things you will notice in looking at this layout is all of the open space.  When I first started working on this quilt that was one of the things that caused me the most anxiety because I wasn't sure how to fill in all of the space around the blocks.  In the end I decided to use 2 1/2 inch and 4 1/2 inch blocks.  I also made duplicates of some blocks to take up extra space.  Another great thing about this quilt is that it really allows you the opportunity to make it your own.  You can be as creative as you want when it comes to the making of this quilt.

This is where I am going to break away from the original instructions a bit as well.  Since her quilt along was already finished when I started my quilt and I had access to all of the blocks I didn't go in the same order.  I wanted to be able to put large chunks of this quilt together as I went-patience is not something I am very good at.  Because of this I worked my way across the top of the quilt first.

The first section I put together

Here you can see the first section I assembled for the quilt.  Since I was working this way-I skipped around and made a bunch of different blocks.  I also didn't include all of the original blocks.  I had trouble with one or two and couldn't get them to turn out right-instead of getting frustrated I just took them out of my quilt.  Remember you have control and can be as creative as you want with this one.

This is the width of the entire quilt.

I believe there are a total of 6 nine patches in the original instructions there are 18 in my quilt.  I found those blocks to be super easy filler and I liked the way that it allowed me to use blocks to fill more space instead of just using the squares I talked about earlier.  So go ahead start working on some nine patches and I'll be back soon with more instructions.

Patchwork Puzzle-Day Trip (Block 2)

I made this block around the same time that the scrappy trip around the world quilt was making a big splash on the interwebs.  This block reminded me a lot of what a baby quilt made like that would look like and so I started calling it day trip.  This block is based on 2 1/2 inch squares and it does take a little work to put together but it's not too bad.  In fact you could even use them as starters and enders on chain piecing.

So what do you need?  This block utilized 9 different fabrics and you will need 2 1/2 inch squares in varying amounts.

A-1          B-4          C-8          D-12

E-16        F-20         G-20        H-16

I-10

A couple of things to note about this block-if you want to avoid sewing partial seams I recommend not attaching the first two rows or the bottom two rows.  This will help later, especially if you use the chunk method that I used to assemble my quilt. 

You can see the original instructions in German and the quilt that inspired mine here. 

WIP Wednesday

 Today is another one of those days where I think I can't believe it is already Wednesday again.  I've been doing a lot of sewing this week but I'm not sure I am making any real progress.  I've been super distracted in my sewing space which means I tend to start a lot of things all at once.

In my quest to make all things Bonnie & Camille I started working on Dilly Dally.  There are over 80 HST's in this quilt.  I made this big stack but have yet to trim them up.  The bug I had last week is still clouding my brain and making it somewhat difficult to focus so after sewing up these units I decided precision piecing probably wasn't in the cards and moved on to something else.

I picked up some Chicopee and Florance scraps over on the great fabric destash.  I knew after seeing this quilt by my friend Leanne that I really wanted to make a scrappy trip along using Chicopee but I thought for sure I had missed out on the collection.  I was lucky enough to find scraps in the perfect size on the destash and by adding in my hope valley I should have just enough.  After I made my second block I thought about calling it quits because I wasn't sure I really loved it but after some Instagram encouragement I kept going and I have four blocks done.

Feeling guilty for starting something new I figured I should finish up one of the active projects in my space. So I finished piecing together my Turning Twenty Again blocks.  I don't have floor space large enough to lay this one all out so it's going to have to wait just a little bit to get put together.  I'm thinking next time I go to my mom and dad's I will take this along to finish.

Finally this week I put up a post about my Complications Quilt since so many of you had asked for help making one similar.  You can find the information here and here.  If you make one of these I'd love to see it.  Leave a comment or tag it with #patchworkpuzzle over on Instagram so I can check it out.

That's it for me, head over to Lee's to see what everyone else is up to this week.

Patchwork Puzzle (Block 1)

The first block for the patchwork puzzle is a very simple plus sign block and I'm sure you don't need me to tell you how to put that together.  But I figured I would share some tips and tricks that I used while making this block.

This is only the first 1/2 of the block.
Notice the way the pieces make
the plus signs.

Based on the 2 1/2 inch block size that we have established you will need to cut these pieces at 3 different sizes.  You will need 2 1/2 inch squares, 2 1/2 by 4 1/2, and 2 1/2 by 6 1/2 pieces for this block in a variety of colors.  You will have several 2 1/2 inch squares that act as filler pieces and do not make up a plus sign. Notice the green square in the first row of my block below.

You will notice that as I made this block I left it in two pieces.  This will help us to avoid those partcial seams and make it a little easier to put together this section of the quilt.

I also made a duplicate of this block which I used to fill in space in the lower left hand corner of my quilt. You may choose to make a duplicate of this block for that space as well.

You can see the quilt that inspired mine here.  As well as read her instructions for this block.  Please note that the sizes I am using may be slightly different as I chose to base all of my measurements around a 2 1/2 inch square early on.

If you end up making this quilt I would love to see it.  If you are over on Instagram please use the tag #patchworkpuzzle or leave a link to your blog post here in the comments.  Happy Sewing!  

Patchwork Puzzle Part 1 (The Inspiration)

I decided if I was going to write about how I made my Complications Quilt it deserved a better name so Patchwork Puzzle is it.  I really debated if & how I wanted to share about this since I based my quilt off of someone else's design but since so many of you have asked for it and asked for instructions in English I decided I would share how I went about making my quilt.

I was originally inspired by this beauty over on flickr.  I was taken by how the blocks just seemed to flow together and then when you really started looking you saw the detail of each of the blocks.  After doing some digging through different photos in her stream and reading the comments I found that Christiane had based her quilt on a Block of the Month.  Please follow the link to the original as it is incredible.  There you will find all of the post if you want to make the quilt as it was intended.

There were a lot of things I found really difficult about following along.  First the instructions were all in German and even with Google Translate I had a hard time.  I would also consider myself to be a intermediate level quilter so I wanted to avoid y-seams and other complicated techniques that I didn't think I could complete successfully.  I also had a hard time calculating some of the measurements since they included eighth of an inch and so forth.  In the end I decided to just base all of my measurements on a unfinished 2 1/2 inch square (and there are a ton of them in this quilt).  The other thing that threw me a little was the amount of open space in the quilt once all of the blocks were done.  I filled most of mine with an combination of 2 1/2 and 4 1/2 inch squares.  But I also made duplicates of several blocks.

How I put together slabs of the quilt

 As I mentioned before I also wanted to avoid partial seams and y-seams so for a lot of my blocks I cut all of the pieces but I didn't always sew them all together until I started making the top.  This allowed me to build the quilt top in sectors and avoid any complicated seams.

Notice not all of the seems are sewn together

So what do you need?  I used parts of two fat quarter bundles to make my quilt and had a relatively large amount of scraps left over.  Since the scrappy factor is what makes this quilt extra cool this would be a great project to dig into your scrap bags for.  The first several blocks can be cut from jelly roll strips so really this is a grab bag of fun.  My quilt finished at 63 by 72 inches.

Ready to get started making your own patchwork puzzle?  I'll be posting my tips for the first block soon so please check back.

WIP Wednesday (Lots of Bonnie & Camille)

I've been doing a good amount of sewing this week so I am excited to have several projects to share with you guys.  First up though I should tell you about this crazy challenge I accepted.  As I was starting yet another project in Bonnie & Camille fabrics using one of Camille's patterns from her second Craftsy class one of my friends commented that I was going to run out of things of their to make.  Of course in my wackadoodle mind all I heard was "CHALLENGE" to which I replied Challenge Accepted.  I thought I already had a pretty good start anyway.  I mean I've made things out of all but one line of theirs to date.  But then I started looking up Camille's patterns and man there are a lot of them.  I made a handy dandy spreadsheet to help me keep track.

The good news is I have a couple of friends over on Instagram who have made this an unofficial personal goal as well.  This means I have some good company and motivators to keep me going.  So the Juggle Quilt is the one that got this started.  Since I was so thrilled with the way my Snow Blossoms Quilt turned out using something other than White or Snow I decided to mix it up again and use the orange solid from the Scrumptious line with these hexagons from Happy Go Lucky.  Let me tell you, in theory this quilt is pretty easy.  But those pieced hexagons are stretchy and they seem to be giving me a hard time when it comes to matching up the seams for the rows.  Everything looks good and then one of those completely throws me off.

So to avoid total frustration on Sunday because sewing with a headache is never fun I picked back up my Turning Twenty Again blocks and made a little more progress on those.  I finished up all of the individual units that make up the blocks but I am still working on sewing the blocks together.

I posted this photo on Instagram on Sunday.  The plastic pieces in the picture are part of one of my plastic storage bins that got broken.  Between that, the headache, and the two broken needles it was probably good that I put away the Juggle Quilt.  I'm at the half way point on it so I don't think it will take me too long to finish it up but its one of those projects I'll have to work on when I have a little extra patience.

And last but not least, Abby started an impromptu Jelly Filled Quilt Along over on Instagram.  Well since that is one of the patterns on my challenge list and it does have the promise of being a pretty quick finish I decided to take that one on with the quilt along.  Something about sewing in a group is always so motivational.  Tuesday night I broke out the Sherbet Pips Jelly Roll I'd been hoarding (since before yardage was available) and matched up my pairs.  I made a test block to start with because everyone seems to measure precuts a little different and I wanted to make sure I was accurate before cutting all the pieces.  That one test block quickly grew to three.  I'm excited to get to work sewing up the rest of these blocks.  I'm thinking it might be the perfect winter quilt for my niece who will be joining the family in September.  That is if I can actually part with it.

Okay head on over to Lee's and see what everyone else is up to this week.