Monday, August 26, 2024

Let's Make a SNOWMAN Sew Along - Week One!!

 


Hat - Branches - Poinsettia
 and Letter Blocks


Welcome Quilty Friends!!

Today is Week One for the 

LET'S MAKE A SNOWMAN
 SEW ALONG

and I'm so excited for it to start!
If you are just joining us
and want to know everything 
about this sew along and
 making this quilt
for my "BEE PREPARED" blog post.


We are making the 
LET'S MAKE A SNOWMAN Quilt 
which finishes at
 75" x 87"
It consists of 22 pieced quilt blocks
for the border which surrounds
the applique blocks in the center
of the quilt.
(There are a few other blocks
 that are also pieced)



To make the applique blocks
 we are using my 
Sew Simple Shapes called of course...
Let's Make A Snowman!
 


The collection that we are using 
for the quilt is...
HOME TOWN HOLIDAY!!

Home Town Holiday was designed by me... 
and produced and distributed 
to quilt shops everywhere 
by the amazing 

If you would like to know everything about
 HOME TOWN HOLIDAY 
to view the entire storyboard...
to see all of the fabrics close up
 and to view the notions and ALL of 
the patterns that coordinate with it:)




As per usual I did a video tutorial
 on my YouTube channel for week one:)
I showed you how to make the hat
and one of the letters and 
gave you tips along the way.
I also chatted about stitching the 
appliqués by machine or hand 
and about quilting over the 
Sew Simple Shapes.
to watch the video and please 
leave me a comment and a like!

Of course all of the cutting is 
in the guide and also because 
all of the shapes 
are sewn the same way
 I don't need to detail each block
 but I would like to talk about
squaring each one up after applique
and how I do that when they 
are rectangle blocks instead of square.




After applique you will trim the 
HAT Block to 4 1/2" x 8 1/2"
and I do that by using BOTH
of those sizes of Trim-It Rulers.
I trim the height first and use the
 4 1/2" for that moving it across 
the block as needed and 
then trimming the width to 8 1/2" last.

It works like a charm and your blocks are centered because you are able to 
use the centering lines on both rulers
during each step of trimming.




I do the exact same thing for the
 POINSETTIA Block.
Trim to down to 5 1/2" wide 
using the 5 1/2" Trim-It Ruler 
and to 4 1/2" tall using
the 4 1/2" Trim-It Ruler.



All of the LETTER Blocks are 
trimmed to 7 1/2" tall...


And these five are trimmed to 4 1/2" wide


And finally these two letters
 are trimmed to 6 1/2" wide:)




Before I talk about trimming the 
BRANCHES Block
I wanted to show you that when I
 laid them out for glue basting 
onto the background I used my
 measuring tape and made them 12" wide.


I used my 4 1/2" Trim-It Ruler 
to check for height to make sure that 
I didn't make them too far apart
 between each other.
After I applique I'll use that same ruler
 and trim 4 1/2" across the top...


And because I don't have a 
13 1/2" Trim-It Ruler for the width
I'll use my 12 1/2" and add 
one of my marking rulers on each side
(they each measure 1/2" wide)
so that I can still use the center
lines on the ruler.
Hope this makes sense!


These come in handy not only for marking
 but when you just need to add a 1/2" 
onto the side of something:)


Well okay! 
We are well on our way to making 
our quilt and that makes me happy!
I'll continue working on the border
blocks until all are completed
in time to sew the quilt together.


Remember that I did a tutorial 
on how to make my Snow Star Blocks
 a few weeks ago so if you
 haven't watched it yet...


Thank you for sewing with me today!


I must say that I have been sew excited
 to start this quilt and have a
 good play with Home Town Holiday.


I'm looking forward to using this quilt
 in my winter decor and displaying it 
with my snowman collection:)


I'll meet you right back here next Monday
for the tutorial on making the
Mugs Block, Bucket Block and Heart Block.

Sew with you soon!
xx
Lori

Other Places to find me:

3 comments:

  1. I love your stuff. One day I hope to actually do something of yours. I've got at one of your scrappy books. I just need to get more of your fabric.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm so excited to be making this quilt. Thank you for teaching us so well. And thanks to Cassidy for her excellent filming. I also love hearing stories of you and your grandmother.

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  3. I am enjoying this sew along immensely!! Your processes and details are so easy to follow. I’m wondering if you will offer Sew Simple Shapes for all 26 letters of the alphabet and numbers 0-9. It would be fun to use these for many other words and dates.

    ReplyDelete