Hoop Quilt Along Week 3: Curves

Hoop Quilts Pattern now available. (PDF Download or the Printed Pattern)

Hello hello.  It's Week #3 of the Hoop Quilt Along.  We're letting this project marinade nicely over the course of five weeks.  How's the pace so far?  Doing ok?  Last week, we kicked off sewing by making half-square triangles (HSTs).  I bet most of you were chomping at the bit to figure out how you will arrange those HSTs. This week we will choose our HST center arrangement and sew those Drunkard's Path curves together.

To join the HoopQAL, go here (to get the Free Coloring Sheet) and get the Pattern here. (PDF Download or the Printed Pattern)
(It's never too late to join in btw.)

HOOP QUILT ALONG RECAP

Intro Post

Week 1 Gathering Supplies and Choosing Fabric

Week 2 Half-Square Triangles

Week 3. DRUNKARD'S PATH BLOCKS

HST ARRANGEMENTS

I find there are 2 different types of quilt personalities: those who cut all their pieces up front and those who cut as little as possible to get sewing.  I am the latter quilt personality... so if you are like me, this week I needed to cut out Templates A, B, and C before I could get going.  The templates vary based on the hoop size you intend to make, so be sure to pay attention to your correct template size.

With my templates cut out, I began to play with the center arrangement of the HSTs.  My favorite part!!  I absolutely love sitting down on my floor to turn these HSTs every which way I can think of.  Here are some of the combos I came up with for my hoop. Check the HALF-SQUARE TRIANGLE PLAY section at the end of the pattern for more ideas.  The possibilities are endless!
 After choosing your favorite arrangement (I chose the lower right pic since I have not made that particular combo before), it's time to sew the B and C Templates to make the pie shape part of the Drunkard's Path block.

It's so fun to watch the circle take shape with patchwork inside it.  Once you have the QUARTER CIRCLE UNITS together, it's time to sew those curves.  See it before you sew it:  There are many methods for sewing curves.  If you are not familiar with curves, you can watch the video tutorial below to see the details.  I love this skill.  Practice and patience go a long way.  If you can master curves, it adds a lot of possibility to your quilty projects.  I would suggest practicing on scraps prior to using your real fabrics if you have never sewn curves before.  It will help you visualize how it comes together.

SQUARE UP
Be sure to trim your Drunkard's Path blocks and square them up after sewing.  The units sew together so much better when they are squared up prior to piecing and it will help your circle from looking wonky.

Here are my blocks all sewn up.  That's all for this week!  Let's stop and take breather.

Let me know if you have any questions or if I left any details out.  Remember to share! #hoopquilt  #hoopquiltalong 

Book

Create beautiful and unique modern samplers with Sister Sampler Quilts.  Traditional piecing methods combine with fun modern layouts in these 3 samplers with a twist.  What's the twist?

Instead of creating just one of each block, all blocks in this book are made as "Sister" pairs.  Create them to your liking as identical twins, color inverted pairs, to completely scrappy sets.

Inside the book are 25 interchangeable sister blocks and 3 sampler quilt designs that challenge traditional grid layouts with fun, innovative settings.

The quilts beautifully bridge the gap between traditional and modern.  Whether you're a beginner or a more advanced quilter, you'll enjoy practicing and perfecting quilting basics, like half-square triangles, flying geese and hourglass blocks, to beautiful effect.

Modern traditional quilting is the perfect way to blend old and new techniques to create a quilt that's uniquely yours!

• 25 interchangeable blocks in 2 sizes (9" and 12" finished blocks)
• 3 modern sampler quilt layout designs
• Create quilt blocks as "Sister" pairs to learn about color placement, practice piecing techniques and create balance in your sampler

Sister Sampler Quilts: 3 Modern Sampler Quilts with Paired Sister Blocks 128 pages; 8 1/2" x 10 1/2" ISBN: 978-1440245039 By AnneMarie Chany

#1 SISTERS' TEN SAMPLER

#2 VICE VERSA SAMPLER

#3 BONFIRE SAMPLER

SISTER BLOCKS:  For the samplers in Sister Sampler Quilts, all sampler blocks are made in pairs.  You make 2 of each block instead of just one.  Each time we make a block, we learn about color and fabric placement, value, tone, scale, etc.  By making two of each block, we can play, improve upon our selections, or try out something different.

25 INTERCHANGABLE BLOCKS: All 25 traditional quilt blocks in Sister Sampler Quilts are interchangeable.  The blocks are placed into chapters for each sampler, but you may substitute any block throughout the book to make your own unique sampler.  The cutting instructions are given in 2 finished sizes.  You may choose to make smaller 9" finished blocks or bigger 12" finished blocks.  This results in allowing you to choose to make the smaller or larger version of the sampler quilts.  This helps if you are on a budget.

SKILL BUILDING BLOCKS:  The blocks in Sister Sampler Quilts are intended to help you practice skill building techniques that will leave you with a solid foundation in quilt block basics.  Chapter 4 of the book provides detailed step-by-step tutorials with photos on six different quilting basics: Half-Square Triangles, Quarter-Square Triangles, Flying Geese, No Waste Flying Geese, Curves and Strings.  Additionally, there are two more tutorials to help you find the scant 1/4" on your sewing machine and instruction on binding a quilt, both by hand and by machine.  If you prefer to study up on these techniques by watching a video, I have created a new YouTube channel that contains video tutorial versions of all the skills included in the book.

FUN TO SWAP:  One of the coolest things about Sister Blocks is swapping.  Since all the blocks are made in pairs, it's easy to trade with a partner or a "sister".  Whether you swap just one block or decide to trade for an entire sampler, it's double the fun!

Want to try a sampler, but keep it small?  Here is a 4-block sampler I made with blocks from Sister Sampler Quilts.  Check out this easy setting pattern here.

WORKSHOP:  Patchwork Auditions Workshop from the book (7 hours with lunch break) A fun and colorful workshop to make a small 4 block modern sampler based on the popular Patchwork Auditions series and her new book, Sister Sampler Quilts. Explore different coloring options for traditional quilt blocks to think outside the box and rejuvenate quilt blocks we know and love. Whether you choose to make your sampler from just one block or make yours with 2 Sister Block Pairs, you’ll enjoy reimagining time-honored blocks with new possibilities.  Details here.

Quilt Block Library

I am a visual person.  I want to see the block, and click right on the "how-to".  Lately, I've spent a lot of time "aimlessly" searching flickr, etc for ideas and the right tutorials.  If I'd had a list like this, I could cut down my surf time and get out my rotary cutter!  Now I can start brainstorming for my next quilt.....

This is my Quilt Block Library!  It's a list of some of my favorite blocks, linked right to the tutorials.  Hopefully, this is an ever-growing list....

QUILT BLOCK LIBRARY