Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Stop, Drop and Roll Quilt Along, part 1

*** This giveaway is now closed***

Welcome to the Stop, Drop and Roll Quilt Along! I am hosting this for the Old Red Barn Co. Flickr group. Come and join us!

The first step for the quilt along is to gather your materials. To make a 42-inch square quilt, you will need:

for the block centers:
25 charm squares or 2/3 yards fabric cut into 25 charm squares (five-inch squares)

for the block borders:
75 charm squares or ten ¼ yard cuts cut into 75 charm squares (five-inch squares)

for the backing:
2 2/3 yards

for the batting:
throw sized batting

for the binding:
½ yard

The block finishes at 8 ½ inches. If you would like to make your quilt larger or smaller, note that each block requires one center charm square and three border charm squares (or six half charm squares).

Before I show photos, I need to mention that like a great deal of the United States, New York is, has been, and will apparently continue to be cloudy and rainy. My photos are quite dark and dreary. Sorry! We are under a flood watch, but nothing like the devastation in other parts of this country. I will take new photos should the sun ever decide to grace us with its presence again.

I gathered a few charm squares into groups:



Instructions:

Keep each center charm square whole, but cut each border charm square into two pieces, 2 ½” x 5”.



Select a center square and six rectangles for each block.



Once you have arranged your block, you are ready to sew.

I recently (last week) discovered my new favorite piecing thread:



It is DecoBob. by WonderFil. I have used this thread for quilting before, but the man from WonderFil told me to use it for piecing. Well, I came straight home and did just that! It is a beautiful 80-weight polyester thread that is thin and strong. I pieced for several hours with it and am absolutely tickled!

I think you will be tickled with this thread, too, and that is why I am giving away those two spools of thread to one lucky commenter. Leave a comment below between now and Sunday and I will pick a name on Monday morning.

Once you have picked your sewing thread, sew a rectangle to the left and right side of the center square. Press seams toward the rectangles. Sew two rectangles together (2 ½” x 9 ½”) for the top and bottom borders. Press seam to one side.



Center that seam over the center of the middle square. There will be approximately ¼ inch of extra fabric on each side. Stitch top and bottom border to the block. Press seams toward the borders. Trim the block to 9 inches square.


I think this is a simple little block that will work great with those charm squares you have been collecting.

Next week I will post instructions for joining the blocks into the rows and joining the rows to make the quilt top. After that, we will dig into the free-motion quilting!

For a sneak peek, I made this quilt top from a variety of bright charm squares that I had on hand:


Is this darling? When you are choosing your fabrics, try to make blocks of different colors or different color values so they stand out when placed next to each other. I know that you will blow me away with your creativity. I cannot wait to see your photos!

Come on over to the Old Red Barn Co. Flickr page and post photos of your fabrics.

Don't forget to leave a comment for a chance to win two spools of DecoBob thread.


*** This giveaway is now closed***

57 comments:

QuilterMary said...

I'm first? Does first ever win? Doesn't matter - I'm totally in on this because the quilting will challenge me. I'm thinking blue and yellow - someting we haven't seen either in a while - no blue sky, no sun.

The Calico Cat said...

Love that block! It is a good jelly roll block too.

Fiona @ Poppy Makes said...

I'm really excited about this because I have been wanting to learn FMQ for a while. I'm off to grab some charm squares!

Cindy said...

I'm in! I've been trying to figure out what to do with some of my charm squares and this sounds like just the ticket. And getting past my FMQ fear is a good thing.

Janet said...

I guess I have to lift the veil of anonyminity. Or whatever.

Janet

free indeed said...

I just finished a quilt along...I've got the top done and need to sandwich it now...need it for Christmas. I may make this one as well...I'll see what I have for charms...

Diane said...

ok so I started reading this and thought (no I will just watch the progress, I can not make another top at this point)
Then I was intrigued by the new piecing thread...whether I win or not I think I have some wonderfil, going to have to check what type it is.
Next, yes we are under the same rainy cloud here in the 'burgh (Hines Wards isn't able to dance it away, apparently *wink*)
and then you show this fun, adorable top-- all my leftover charms are screaming at me from their organizer. I hate it when they do that.
I am weak or I need meds...

Teri said...

Charm squares are my favorite! And this pattern seems very easy for me. Thanks!!

Tiffaney said...

I can't wait to get some FMQ tips from you. I am in serious need of moving away from stippling.

Molly said...

You and I are in the same weather area. I live in Western NY between Rochester and Buffalo and it has NOT.STOPPED.RAINING.ONCE since Saturday. I feel like I'm going crazy!!

OK ... venting done.

This quilt looks like fun and I'm determined to conquer my FMQ ineptitude.

Ann said...

Super! Can't wait for the FMQ part.

Videa said...

This looks divine to use up all those charms I cant leave alone. MMMM thread looks good to!

Always Sewing said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Always Sewing said...

I am looking forward to this quilt along. I know I am going to learn so much. ^_^

Unknown said...

Can't wait to start...just need a day off so I can pull my fabrics

Robin (RsIslandCrafts) said...

Great way to use up some charm packs or leftover charm squares.

I love the bright top. Great job!

Carolyn said...

A great pattern for charms which I love. This calls for a shopping trip. Love to win the thread and give it a try.
Thanks

Brittany said...

This looks like it is going to be too much fun! Looking at your bright example quilt at the bottom it seems to me that I am going to need to dig into my scraps and go scrappy. Thanks for leading this round and for the great give away. :-)

Janet said...

Looks like fun. Great give-away too!

Caroline ~ TrilliumDesign said...

Excellent ~ i'm really looking forward to this quilt-along and i'm loving the quilt design so far - woohoo ~ here we go!

Toni said...

I'm jumping on board! I have my charms together and this should be fun and quick. I'm really wanting something that helps me focus on FMQ and finish a quilt top!

Trudi said...

:) What a great fun block, and creates wonderful opportunities for fmq'ing! Best I gohave a good search for my charms and get busy! Now I'm excited!

Can't Believe I'm Sewing said...

Yay! Can't wait!!

Mama Said Sew said...

I'm on the other coast and it's cloudy and rainy here too. Maybe some new thread will brighten my day! :)

webmailaddress2 said...

How wonderful! Thanks for the giveaway!

ladmquilter said...

This sounds great I can't wait to see the free motion quilting thanks for the chance to win.

jeri said...

Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou. I am ready to give my new machine a workout!

karen said...

I'm in!!! Looking forward to this so very much

Wendy said...

What a cute and easy block......I am excited about this quilt along.....I hope to improve my fm quilting through this quilt along.....Now to go and cut some more charms......

Kristin said...

I'm so excited for this quilt a long!

Diana said...

Yeah! I'm excited that I'll be able to use more of my charm squares in this quilt along. I love the way you piece each block. Thanks for the giveaway!

Heather said...

Perfect timing! I have three baby quilts that need sewing, the first due in July. This will be the first. I'm intrigued by your thread!

grendelskin said...

I have way too much on the burners but you can bet I'm doing this one too! Off to shop my stash!

epban said...

Looking forward to getting over my fear of FMQ with your quilt a long!

Molly said...

Very excited! I'm looking forward to improving my machine quilting! :)

Dana - Old Red Barn Co. said...

This quilt design is great! I'm looking to get started on it this weekend. And I'm super excited about the quilting lessons we'll get. Yeah!

Coisas da Laura said...

Love the pattern!Perfect to use the charms I have from a porkchop swap!Thank you!!

bellaandmolly said...

I am anxious to look this over and get started this weekend. Thanks for the chance to win!

Marj said...

I haven't tried polyester thread for piecing, but would love to try out the thread you posted about.The block you are making looks good.

Tacey Burnham said...

This is going to be great fun! I would love to experiment with the new thread. I've never used polyester thread for piecing before and would love to give it a try.

yorkie mom said...

Great quilt! I would really love to try the thread! gougeonathome@charter.net (Allison)

Melissa said...

I have a ton of left over 5" strips from a jelly roll. This looks like a great way to use them up.
I love how you did your blocks with matching colors. I love rainbows!

yarnivorous said...

Oh gosh, how can I resist? I have charm squares on hand and have to go to the fabric shop this afternoon anyway (for the central material).

Mandalin said...

I'm so bad! I've just started piecing these blocks and yet I have other ORBC QAL's to finish!! I've been wanting to play with my Plume charm pack for a few days now, you just gave me the perfect excuse!

Karen P. said...

Who doesn't need more thread? Thanks!

Leila said...

I have a charm pack that would be perfect for this!

Robin C said...

never tried it, for that matter, heard of it. Would love to win some and see what it does.

Gail said...

Looks like a perfect pattern for a fast baby quilt. Thanks, Debbie.

Jacque. said...

oh, I am so excited to expand my fmq skills! This is a great giveaway...thanks so much for the opportunity.

Ms MoomMist said...

Wow what a super blog, Debbie. Thankyou for sharing

Celeste said...

This looks like tons of fun. I love your brights for your sample.

jeri said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
jeri said...

would love to try a new thread.

Frieda said...

Be thankful for your rain. We have not had any significant rain here in southeast Texas in about 10 weeks. We usually get around 8-10 inches per month. I can't wait to start this. I hope I can learn FMQ finally. Thanks

craftytammie said...

i can't wait to get started!

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