Minglewood - Month #2

Hello Everyone,

Those of you enrolled in the Minglewood Monday BOM offered by In Between Stitches, have probably received the bundle of fabric.....selected, cut and packed by yours truly.  As always you will be making four blocks per month.  The .pdf files will soon be posted on the In Between Stitches blog site so you will know what fabric goes where and how many pieces to cut of each fabric.

You will make two Flaming Star blocks.....

You will be making two Star and Pinwheels blocks.

Some general tips about this months blocks.

1)  Start with good rulers.  When I say a good ruler, make sure it isn't warped or has a corner that isn't square.  Also, make sure you are using a ruler with clear 7/8" markings.  You will become ONE with 7/8" markings by the time you finish making all of the blocks for this quilt.  The whole quilt begins with good, accurate cutting. 

2)  Prepare all of your components for each block from the half-square triangles to the flying geese.  I have a little board with a sandpaper-like finish that I use for marking and take the whole board to my machine with my prepared components.

3)  Working with triangles can be a bear if you let it.  The center cut will always be on the bias and tends to stretch.  Place the bias piece closest to the feed dogs on your machine and let it do the work. 

4)  Trim off all the little tails or dog ears.  These are all the little triangles that extend beyond the pieces after the units have been sewn together.

5)  Don't forget when working with stripes to mark your blocks correctly for the half-square triangles.  Draw one line \ and the other line / across the diagonal.  Refer to last month's directions if you are confused.

The main rulers I used for this month are:

-Creative Grids 6-1/2" square ruler
-Omnigrid 6" x 12" ruler
-Bloc Loc 2" x 4"  and 3" x 6" finished flying geese rulers
-Bloc Loc 2-1/2" square and 3-1/2" square rulers
-Omnigrid 1/4" ruler used for marking

You certainly do not need to have all of the above listed rulers.  You will be able to make the blocks perfectly well without them.  I find they improve my accuracy.....and I'm all for that!

So now I've been thinking.......(Mr. Joe hates it when I say that because he knows it will involve more work for him).  But, I have been thinking about making a Minglewood Christmas quilt!  You could make one along with me each month.  Make your Christmas block first from fabric out of your stash.  It will be a good 'practice' block before you get to the real blocks from the BOM.  So what do you think?  Are you ALL IN as in Texas Holdem?  I plan on making just one of each block design. I haven't thought about the final layout just yet.

I rummaged through my Christmas fabric cupboard and came up with these combinations today.  One Flaming Star......

....and one Star and Pinwheel.  They each have my required elements of strips, polka dots, plaids, checks, and florals for good measure.  One of these days, my magic Christmas cupboard is going to run out of fabric.....but not in the near future!

Remember, I'm just an email away if you every have any questions.

As always,

Lynn