Westward Ho!
It's
week 25, and this week we have Block Y in the Prairie Patchwork Quilt Along!
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Prairie Patchwork Quilt Along Block(s) Y |
Have a great week!
Showing posts with label sew along. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sew along. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 15, 2021
Prairie Patchwork Quilt Along Block Y
Wednesday, September 8, 2021
Prairie Patchwork Quilt Along Block X
Westward Ho!
It's
week 24, and this week we have Block X in the Prairie Patchwork Quilt Along!
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Prairie Patchwork Quilt Along Block(s) X |
These blocks will be your border blocks for the Prairie Patchwork Quilt Along Sampler quilt, so you'll be making quite a few. It's a split flying geese block and although it looks rather complex, it's actually very simple using the instructions you'll find in Prairie Patchwork.
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Ma's Sewing Basket |
If you get behind making your blocks this week, never fear, next week I'll be posting Block Y, which will be a breeze, so you'll be able to catch up!
Wednesday, September 1, 2021
Prairie Patchwork Quilt Along Block W
Westward Ho!
It's
week 23, and this week we have Block W in the Prairie Patchwork Quilt Along!
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Prairie Patchwork Quilt Along Block(s) WYou'll be using the blocks W to make two different spacer units for the Prairie Patchwork Sampler quilt. It won't be long until you will be using the spacer units to assemble your quilt! Yippee!CLICK HERE to download the fabric requirements, and cutting/assembly instructions for Block(s) W |
Wednesday, August 18, 2021
Prairie Patchwork Quilt Along Block U
Westward Ho!
It's
week 21, and this week we have Block U in the Prairie Patchwork Quilt Along!
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Prairie Patchwork Quilt Along Block(s) U |
Wednesday, August 4, 2021
Prairie Patchwork Quilt Along Block S
Westward Ho!
It's
week 19, and this week we have Block S in the Prairie Patchwork Quilt Along! Block S is a bonus block pattern, which you won't find in Prairie Patchwork, but is very much a part of the Prairie Patchwork Quilt Along sampler quilt. Enjoy!
Prairie Patchwork Quilt Along Block S
The large appliqued Block S will finish to 15" square. You'll be printing out 10 pages, which will include 4 pages with the full scale applique diagram in sections to fit together. I appliqued my shapes by hand, but feel free to apply your shapes by machine if you prefer.
CLICK HERE to download the fabric requirements and cutting/assembly instructions for Block S.
Wednesday, July 7, 2021
Prairie Patchwork Quilt Along Block P
Westward Ho!
It's week 16, and this week we have Block P in the Prairie Patchwork Quilt Along!
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Prairie Patchwork Quilt Along Block PI designed the green fabric used in this block to imitate as best I could some of the faded greens you see in many mid-nineteenth century red and green quilts.Just the one block this week! Happy sewing! |
Wednesday, June 2, 2021
Prairie Patchwork Quilt Along Block J
Westward Ho!
It's week 10, and this week we have Block J in the Prairie Patchwork Quilt Along!
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Prairie Patchwork Quilt Along Block(s) J |
You'll be making the block units with the quarter square triangles oversized first, and then cutting them down to size. To do this accurately, you'll have the best luck by using a smaller square ruler, such as the 4 1/2" square ruler I used, by Creative Grids. The ruler is marked with a 45 degree line.
✂ Align the ruler with the 45 degree line over one of the diagonal seams on your block as shown:
The block needs to be cut down so that it measures 2" unfinished, so you'll want the vertical and horizontal
1" line intersection placed over the block center.
Cut the right and top side with a rotary cutter.
Turn the block and trim the remaining edges for a 2" unfinished block unit.
You'll be making three Blocks J this week, in two different color combinations.
CLICK HERE to download fabric requirements and cutting instructions for Block(s) J.
I hope you're enjoying the Prairie Patchwork Quilt Along so far. The best part is when all of your blocks are finished, and you put them together, assembly of the quilt is a snap! That should be the very end of September! If you're using the red and green color palette, what a nice addition to your Christmas decor it will be!
Until next time!
Martha
Wednesday, May 26, 2021
Prairie Patchwork Quilt Along - Block(s) I
Westward Ho!
It's week 9, and this week we have Block(s) I in the Prairie Patchwork Quilt Along!
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Prairie Patchwork Quilt Along Block(s) I |
You'll be making two little 4 1/2" finished blocks I with two different color combinations this week.
CLICK HERE to download the fabric requirements and cutting instructions for Block(s) I
See you back here next week for Block(s) J!
Martha
Wednesday, May 19, 2021
Prairie Patchwork Quilt Along - Block H
Westward Ho!
It's week 8, and this week we have Block H in the Prairie Patchwork Quilt Along!
Prairie Patchwork Quilt Along Block H
I've been using alphabet blocks from my childhood to identify each block, and it looks like a puppy got a hold of this one, or a very aggressive teething baby!
If you missed Monday's blog post, I explain in words and screenshots how to order fabric on Spoonflower, using the Fill-A-Yard option on the Spoonflower site. In this way, you're able to order yardage amounts outside of the default increments when ordering individual prints (the default amounts are 8" x 8" test swatch, fat quarter and yard increments). I've also posted a more explanatory video on the process, which you can access in the same post:
How to Use Spoonflower Fill-A-Yard
And here are this week's instructions to download for Block H:
CLICK HERE to download fabric requirements and cutting instructions for Block H
I'll be back next week!
Martha
Monday, May 17, 2021
How to Use the Spoonflower Fill-A-Yard option
Several years ago I started designing fabrics and using the print-on-demand textile printing company Spoonflower to print my fabrics on quilting weight fabric.
You'll see some of my fabric designs used in quilts in my book, Prairie Patchwork for Martingale Publishing. Church Picnic and Ma's Sewing Basket are quilts made using my Porch Perfect fabric collection - fabrics in teal blues, creams, reds, browns and black:
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Ma's Sewing Basket |
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Church Picnic |
It wasn't until last fall that I opened my Spoonflower shop, so that others could purchase my fabric designs. Since then, I've had customers wanting to know how to order fabrics from the site, and especially how to order quantities smaller than one yard.
When you order fabric from Spoonflower, the default yardage quantities are an 8" x 8" text swatch, a fat quarter, and then increments of yards - 1 yard, 2 yards, 3 yards, etc.
But what if you would like, or need, yardage under a yard, or even smaller than a fat quarter.
In that case, you can use the Fill-A-Yard option on the website, and I'll explain how to do just that.
The first thing you'll need to do is get to my Wagons West Designs Spoonflower shop page on the Spoonflower website, by clicking https://www.spoonflower.com/profiles/wagons_west_designs
Pictured you'll see the landing page for my Spoonflower shop. On the left side of the page, you'll see Shop Home in blue, and underneath an option titled "All Collections". Click on that.
You will then be on my Wagons West Designs Collections page, where you'll see several groupings of fabrics. For this example, we'll use the Prairie Patchwork Quilt Along Collection, which are all of the fabrics used for the Prairie Patchwork Quilt Along Sampler quilt. Click on that collection.
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Prairie Patchwork Quilt Along Sampler Quilt |
You'll be directed to the Prairie Patchwork Quilt Along collection page, where you'll see all of the prints used in the Prairie Patchwork Quilt Along sampler quilt. To order pieces of fabric less than one yard, you'll want to use the Fill-A-Yard option, which you see in the banner just below the title of the collection. Click "Start Designing".
After you click "Start Designing", you'll be taken to a page where you'll need to select a number of options.
Option 3 is set at the default Petal Cotton, which is what you want to use for quilting, so now drop down to Option 4, and select "Start Designing".
You'll now be taken to a blank grid, shaded gray, and divided into 6" squares. If you fill each square with a different fabric, you'll have 42 different fabrics printed on one yard of fabric. Pictured, you'll see that I've filled part of the grid with 2 x 3 squares of the same print, which gives you a 12" x 18" rectangle of fabric, which is very close to what a fat eighth of fabric would be (9" x 21"). The prints you see selected are those fabrics in which you only need a fat eighth of a yard for the Prairie Patchwork Quilt Along sampler quilt. The rest of the grid is filled with one square each of the different prints where the fabric requirement is either an 8" square or a 5" square - the 6" square is close!
Pictured below is another example, still using the Fill-A-Yard option, where I've selected fabrics for which a half yard is called for in the Prairie Patchwork QAL sampler quilt fabric requirements. In that case, I've filled in the grid with 3 down, and 7 across for each fabric, resulting in an 18" x 42" rectangle of fabric, or in other words, a 1/2 yard.
The following YouTube video gives you a step-by-step tutorial on how to use the Fill-A-Yard option on Spoonflower. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me!
Until next time,
Martha
Wednesday, May 12, 2021
Prairie Patchwork Quilt Along - Block G
Westward Ho!
It's week 7, and this week we have Block G in the Prairie Patchwork Quilt Along!
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| Prairie Patchwork Quilt Along Block G |
"G" is for galaxy, and this week's block G is what is commonly referred to as the friendship star block. You won't be making a galaxy of blocks G, but six of the red and beige blocks.
The Latin phrase "Ad Astra Per Astra" is the state motto of Kansas, and it means "to the stars through hardships". Perhaps the vast night sky, filled with stars from our Milky Way galaxy and beyond, on the uninhabited prairie, made a lifelong impression on the early pioneers; so much so that they included stars in the state motto.
The Kansas state seal, which is also on the state flag, is pictured below. In addition to the "Ad Astra Per Astra" motto, it features pioneer imagery, such as a farmer and plow, a wagon train, bison, and a steamboat, which was one of the forms of transportation pioneers took from the East to arrive at the starting point of one of the several trails heading West.
If you're participating in the Prairie Patchwork Quilt Along, I would love to see your progress! Just tag your photos #prairiepatchworkquiltalong on Instagram or Facebook!
CLICK HERE to download the cutting and assembly instructions to make block (s) G.
I will see you back here next week with block H!
Martha
Wednesday, May 5, 2021
Prairie Patchwork Quilt Along - Block F
Westward Ho!
It's week 6, and this week we have Block F in the Prairie Patchwork Quilt Along!
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Prairie Patchwork Quilt Along - Block F
Block F is one of the blocks from the quilt "Prairie Spring" in Prairie Patchwork. It's a quilt that celebrates springtime on the prairie, especially a pristine prairie that pioneers would have first encountered as they migrated to the plains in the 1800's. Today, of course, a great deal of what was short and long grass prairie in Kansas, is now farm or ranch land.
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Prairie SpringToday I live, not on the prairie, but in the Sonoran Desert, and I was lucky when photographing some of the blocks for the quilt along, that it was springtime here. One of the native plants that we have growing in our yard, is the Chuparosa bush, and it was in full bloom just a month ago. I included one of the bright red sprigs in the photo above of Block F, and in the Block D photo, pictured a few weeks ago.The Chuparosa bush is a favorite of hummingbirds when it's blooming. The blooms are all gone now, but we have other native plants blooming, some of which the hummingbirds also love, so we have those sweet, tiny lovelies humming all around our home pretty much all hours of the day. Here are a few of our current plants blooming:
 (Hummingbirds love this!) |
Desert Marigold
Palo Verde
All but the Palo Verde will be blooming until winter comes along!
CLICK HERE to download fabric requirements and cutting instructions for Block F.
Until next time,
Martha
Wednesday, April 28, 2021
Prairie Patchwork Quilt Along - Block E
Westward Ho!
It's week 5, and this week we have Block E, which just like last week and Block D, it's a super easy block, and you'll make just one. Still time to catch up if you're a little behind!
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Prairie Patchwork Quilt Along - Block E |
I never get tired of squares, whether it's four patches, nine patches, sixteen patches, on and on!
If you're sewing along with the Prairie Patchwork Quilt Along, I hope you're enjoying the blocks so far! The link to download Block E instructions is below:
CLICK HERE to download fabric requirements and cutting instructions for Block E.
Until next time!
Martha
Wednesday, April 21, 2021
Prairie Patchwork Quilt Along - Block D
Westward Ho!
It's already week 4, and after 3 weeks of making two blocks in each week of the quilt along, this week it's just one block, and an easy one at that!
So, if you're a little bit behind on any of the weeks' blocks, this one won't take much time at all, and perhaps you can catch up!
It's just one four patch with half square triangles to make up Block D!
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Prairie Patchwork Quilt Along - Block DCLICK HERE to Download the Fabric Requirements and Cutting Instructions for Block D. |
I'll see you back here next week for Block E!
Martha
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