The last two weeks have been
unusually calm weather wise here
for this time of year
and I have an early case
of spring fever!
The days are warm
and the nights are cool…
So I'm completely
in the mood to make
a spring quilt for snuggling
in my favorite chair.
Perfect while I'm doing handwork
or watching Downton Abbey:)
My quilt will measure 60" x 80"…
big enough to pull over my shoulders
and keep my toes covered
at the same time:)
...a perfect snuggly size!
It's always fun to sew with friends…
so I decided to have a sew along!
Do you want to play?
I announced my new
Flower Box Sew Along
and have started a
#flowerboxsewalong
hashtag so that others can
share thier progress as well.
If you are joining in on the fun…
of course you can use any fabric you want.
"you are the boss of your own quilt"
***I do recommend using
several different colors.
***For each color use
a few different prints.
Doing this will ensure that
each block doesn't
end up looking the same
because you've only used 4 colors.
I wanted to use fabric in
happy colors and a style
that represents spring...
So I chose to use my
current fabric collection
that's in quilt shops now...
There are 33 different prints
in this collection…
21 come on the bolt and …
And 12 of the prints
come in FQ's …
(it's a way I have chosen to
"GROW" each of my fabric collections)
These come in the form
of fat quarter panels.
(3 panels = 12 FQ's)
I'm using 30 of my
Flower Patch FQ's
for the block colors…
and using the 3 remaining prints
that have a lot
of white in them
for my background,
binding and back of my quilt.
I'm using my favorite
vintagey text print
from the collection
for the background in each block.
I will need 3 yards
of background fabric.
This "queen bee" print
will be the back of my quilt.
I'll use 5 yards and will
have some leftover to
trim off of the sides:)
This large floral
will be my binding:)
5/8 yard needed.
The block I am using is
an old traditional one
and I love it!
I've named it
"Flower Box"
in honor of spring!
My block finishes at 10"square.
In the past…
this has been a
very hard block to piece
because of the needed
use of templates and
cutting out all
12 pieces on the bias.
But don't worry!
I will be showing you
my easy peasy
no template method…
YaY!
Here are a few tools
I am using for this sew along.
They are of course not necessary
but make the process a lot easier!
6 1/2" square ruler
5 1/2" square ruler
1/2" x 12" ruler
Pink Circle Rotating Cutting Mat
I got all of mine at
Of course I think that
a good stack of my
mini design boards
are completely necessary!!!
for my tutorial
if you haven't made any yet.
I promise
you will LOVE using them!
So hurry into your sewing room…
turn on some music…
tie on your apron…
put a new blade in your rotary cutter
and lets get started!
From EACH of 4 different prints;
Cut 1- 6 1/2"square
and
Cut 2 - 3"squares
From your background fabric;
Cut 4 - 6 1/2" squares
***Take note that you have just cut for
2 - FLOWER BOX BLOCKS
You will need to mark TWO lines onto
the BACK of each 6 1/2" background square.
The lines need to be 1/4" on each side of the center.
Using this 1/2" wide ruler makes it easy.
If you don't have one…
you can just draw a line down the center
(from point to point)
and then mark a 1/4" line away from
that center line on each side.
I use a mechanical pencil for marking.
Place onto one of your 6 1/2"square prints
(with right sides together)
and stitch directly onto your marked lines.
Now cut them apart…
in-between the two stitched lines like this.
Leave them closed
and place your 5 1/2" square ruler
diagonal line on top of
your stitched line and square up
with your rotary cutter...
Like this.
This is where the turning mat comes in handy
because you don't have to move your ruler …
just the mat:)
Open it up and press the seams open like this.
Repeat for the other one as well.
You now have 2 - half square triangle units
that each measure 5 1/2" square.
(Repeat process for the other three 6 1/2"
colored squares and three background squares)
Now mark a center line from point to point
on the matching 3" square and place onto the corner
of the background like this.
Stitch directly on that line.
Repeat for the remaining half square triangles:)
Trim off excess 1/4" past your stitching line.
Press seams open like this:)
Next…lay four different color sections
out like this and sew together.
One cutie patootie Flower Box:)
YaY!
At this point your block should measure
10 1/2" x 10 1/2"
And because you pressed your seams open…
it will be easier to line up points
and you blocks will lie flat too!
This is what the back of my block looks like:)
Don't forget to sew the other block!
For my quilt I will be
making 48 different
Flower Box blocks.
I'll sew them together
in a 6 x 8 setting.
No sashing…no borders.
I told you
this would be fun and easy!
You can make your quilt
any size you want…
you could make 20 blocks
in a 4 x 5 setting and
it would be a
perfect baby quilt size!
***NOTE***
Here is some Flower Box
quilty math for you!
***From one 10" square;
you can cut a 6 1/2"
and two 3" squares
***From one F8th;
You can cut two 6 1/2" squares
and four - 3" squares
***From one FQ;
You can cut four 6 1/2" squares
and eight - 3" squares
***From a 6 1/2" x WOF strip
(for your background)
You can cut six - 6 1/2" squares
So choose your fabric and sew with me!
Follow me on Instagram
to see my progress on this sew along
as well as all of my others:)
Have a quilty kind of day!
xx
Lori
