Vintage Block Along - Week 15 - Memory and Granny Square Blocks!!

Well hello again and thanks

 sew much for tuning in to my

Vintage Block Along

Today I have another vintage block 

from my grandma's pattern basket 

to share with you:)

I'm using Farm Girl Vintage Fabric...

And today I'm going to 

show you how to make the 

MEMORY BLOCK

I made 2 different versions

 to show you of this block.

You can choose which version 

you would like to make for your quilt!

This was a very popular block 

and it was commonly known as the

 Album Block...

the Friendship Block or the

 Signature Block.

Grandma and her sisters often made 

these kind of quilts to commemorate

 an event or as a gift to someone

 who was moving or retiring etc.

Each woman would make a block

 and embroider their name on it 

and then all of the blocks 

would be sewn  together and quilted:)

You can find many different 

kinds of vintage signature quilts

 still around today and I think

 that they are so sweet!

I decided to write grandma's first

 and middle name on my quilt.

I wrote mine in pencil 

(the first photo) 

because I wanted to 

embroider her name in red.

I wrote this one with a 

micron pigma pen 

just to show you that if you 

don't want to embroider you can

just write it with this type of pen

 because it's permanent on fabric

 and will not smear or wash away.

Whichever way you decide 

to do the signature...

you will need to cut a piece of

 2 1/2" x 6 1/2" fabric

to write the name onto.

I use Riley Blake

 Confetti Cotton in CLOUD.

That is the solid that matches 

all of my Bee Background fabrics

 and of course my Farm Girl Vintage.

For the remaining background 

you will need to cut:

2 - 2 1/2" squares

12 - 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" rectangles

From the print you will need to cut:

8 - 2 1/2" squares

Simply lay your pieces out

 into rows like this and sew together.

Then sew the rows together

 and your block will look like this!

Remember when we did the 

EGG MONEY BLOCK

 and we used the 

12 1/2" Trim-It Ruler?

Well you trim this block up 

the exact same way except you 

will need to use a

 9 1/2" Trim-It Ruler

Lay the ruler on top of the

 block like this and use all of the

 lines on the ruler to make sure 

everything is centered.

Trim away the excess like this!

Your block will now measure

 9 1/2" square...

easy peasy!

Whoops!

I was going to embroider grandma's name

 first before trimming but I 

got too excited to show you

 the next step lol!

Anyhoo...

I used 3 strands of my red Aurifloss

 and a backstitch...

and of course a

french knot to dot the "i"

MEMORY BLOCK

9 1/2" x 9 1/2" BEFORE

you sew it into your quilt.

Sometimes they set their

 blocks on point and 

sewed alternate blocks with 

colorful feedsack prints in-between.

This block is very simple

 and very versatile!

Now for the other version 

without the signature.

It's sewn the exact same way...

and here is cutting:

Yellow - 1 - 2 1/2" square

Teal - 4 - 2 1/2" squares

Coral - 8 - 2 1/2" squares

Background - 12 - 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" rectangles.

Sew it and trim it up 

the exact same way with the

 9 1/2" Trim-It Ruler

Cute!

This block is just a smaller version 

of my Great Granny Square Block ...

from my book called 

Great Granny Squared

I guess we can just call 

this one a Granny Square Block!

An entire quilt made from my 

Granny Square Block would be 

sew super cute and 

scrappy happy vintage:)

Now that I'm back from retreat 

I'll be here next week with

 another popular vintage block 

tutorial that I want to

 add to my quilt.

If you are just joining us 

here is the list and links to the

 blocks that we have made so far:

1. Grandma's Star

2. Pattern Basket

3. Around the Corner

4. Little Farmhouse

5. Rhinestone 

6. Vintage Lily

7. Star Shine

8. Humble

9. Egg Money

10. Quilting Bee

11. Sunday Star

12. Sweet as Honey

13. Bear Hug Block

14. Front Yard Flower