Friday, February 9, 2024

Mercantile Sampler Sew Along - Week Two - Grandma's Quilt Block!!




"GRANDMA'S QUILT BLOCK"


Welcome back to week two of the 
"MERCANTILE SAMPLER"
Sew Along!

Are you ready to sew with me?

I hope that you will join me here each week 
when I will be doing two tutorials
 weekly...every Monday and Friday.



We are making the 
Mercantile Sampler Quilt
88" x 88"






The quilt is made with my fabric
 collection called Mercantile:)




We are piecing all 25 blocks 
and then turning them into a 
12" circle to applique onto a
 4-Patch Block background!

I detail all of the supplies 
that you need to make the quilt in my
 Bee Prepared post right here on my blog.


I have already posted the
 post which not only details
 all of the supplies needed but
 explains how this sew along works.
I have also given the links there 
for the free PDF Download 
of the Sew Along Guides

to download the sew along guide
if you have not downloaded yet.
to download the sampler block
 sew along guide.


As per usual for the first block in my 
new fabric collection Sew Alongs
 that FIRST tutorial is a video.

Because I now have my own  
 I have posted the 
 Birthday Cake Block
Tutorial there.
to visit my channel and watch the 
tutorial and I hope that you love it!
Pretty please leave me a comment
over there and let me know:)

If you like what you see 
and my other videos there...
click on subscribe and click on the bell
 to be notified whenever
 I post another tutorial:)

 
ANGEL STAR BLOCK
for the tutorial and blog post



MAPLE LEAF BLOCK
For the tutorial and blog post


Today we are making  
GRANDMA'S QUILT BLOCK



Here's mine all cut and ready to sew!




Cutting each block will be super 
simple because of the sew along guide
that is provided for you.


We are using the
 2 1/2" Trim-It Ruler 
for the Grandma's Quilt Block:)


So let's start by making these twelve
 2 1/2" half square triangles first.
Draw a double line on the six "A" squares.

Match them up with the 
"B" and "C" squares and sew directly 
on your marked double lines.


Cut them apart...


And trim them before pressing.
*Remember that we are using the 
2 1/2" Trim-It Ruler for these...
NOT the 2 1/4"


All twelve trimmed up!!

Press the seams open and
 let them rest
 under the clappers for a bit:)


Now that all of our 
half square triangles are completed...
and they all should 
measure 2 1/2" square.


Stack them four deep like this
along with the four "D" squares
and sew them into four patches:)

Of course
 this goes without saying but...
I'm just sayin' lol
BEE SURE to use an accurate
 1/4" seam allowance
when sewing ALL of your 
blocks together for this quilt:)


Four - 4-Patch's made
 and all seams pressed open:)
They should each
 measure 4 1/2" square.


I use my 4 1/2" Trim-It Ruler 
to check for accuracy:)


Now that all of our
 HST's are completed
  we can lay our block out 
on the design board for sewing!

Simply sew the block into
 3 rows like this and then 
sew the 3 rows together.


Press all seams open:)


Add the borders and 
press towards them
 so that we can turn our cute 
and happy block into a circle...


Like this!!




And we have another circle!
It's cooling under the clappers
 after shaping and pressing:)


Sew your 4 - Patch block 
for the background of the circle:)
Seams are open and now
 let's go to the work table.


Line the 4-Patch seams up with 
the center of the block both ways...


And then pin.
  Sue Glue your cute circle into place:)


Grandma's Quilt Block 
is ready for applique!


Afterwards I'll press from the back and
 then trim it down to 14 1/2" square
so that it can be sewn into the quilt:) 

Now that we are four blocks in...
some of you may be ready to applique.

Be ready for a looong explanation lol

***TAKE NOTE***
I do not trim away any 
of my fabric after applique.
This goes for ALL of my applique quilts.
I enjoy the texture and 
stability of the layers of fabric.
Here is why!

The following is what my grandma 
and her sisters taught me:
The reason that they used to 
trim after applique back when 
everything was hand quilted...
 it was very difficult to get the 
tiny quilting needle to get tiny 
stitches through layers of fabric so 
they trimmed out the back of 
the appliqués to make it easier.

Now today for us quilters...
for the majority of us 
our quilts are quilted by sewing machine
 or with long arm machines and the 
layers are not a problem anymore to
 needle through and are actually 
better for the quilt.
 This is what she taught me:
When trimming...
especially a circle or large pieces
 it will distort and weaken your block.
Your quilt is strong and will last well 
through time and washings etc. 
because of the layers.
I have found this to be very true
coming from someone who has done both
in my lifetime of making quilts...
and may I also add that
the appliques also look amazing
 when quilted because they really pop
because they are ON TOP of the fabric!!
Okay...there you have it.

Of course with all of that being said...
you can chose what YOU would like to do.
YOU ARE THE BOSS OF YOUR OWN QUILT
and
YOU DO YOU!!





Just look at these 
four cute quilty circles...
to me they still just look like round 
quilty sugar cookies on top of a
 4-Patch and I love that!!


I hope that you will love 
sewing YOUR fourth sampler block
for our sampler quilt...
and then turning it into a circle!

READY-SET-SEW!!



I'll meet you right back here
on my blog next Monday for the 
Puzzle Block tutorial...
xx
Lori

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