Monday 28 July 2014

Variations on A Theme

Remember all those Half Square Triangles I made when exploring different ways to make them?  I thought I would open a challenge today to show that we modern quilters love traditional blocks just as much as modern blocks.  How many of these 16 blocks can you name?


Anybody used any of these in a quilt design?  We would love to see them on our Flickr Group or Facebook!


 Some more with variations on a theme!


Of course I made my practice HST from scraps and arranged and re-arranged them to get these variations.  Now I'm wishing I made them from a bunch of yardage or Fat Quarter Bundle as I love these fabrics in HST blocks.  Wouldn't they make a great sampler quilt?


Or number 15 in this last set as a whole quilt?  I think this is my favourite in the whole bunch!  What's your favourite HST block?

- Ruth

Friday 4 July 2014

June's Show and Tell

Well now that we are into July and the summer holidays have officially started how about some show and tell?  Our Flickr group have been busy with our Modern Irish Bee and Road to Tennesse blocks for Erin, smaller projects like oven gloves, coasters, placemats, cushions and mini quilts were where we were at this month.  Check out these lovely makes on our Flickr group.


If you have anything to share please post to our group on Flickr.  We'd love to see your images!  Photos shared on Flickr, post to our Facebook page automatically and if you prefer Instagram photos please tag with #modernirishquilters so we can all share what we are making!

- Ruth

Tuesday 1 July 2014

Modern Irish {Scrappy} Bee: July's Blocks

I can’t believe it’s July already and my turn to be Queen Bee. This is the first time I have taken part in a Bee so I thought by picking July I would have plenty of time to be organised. Then the universe laughed and laughed, and here I am the night before holidays knee deep in packing writing my first ever blog post. I have really enjoyed making all the different blocks and trying new patterns for the ladies so far this year. There are going to be some spectacular quilts! My pile of scraps doesn’t appear to be getting very much smaller though the list of quilts I want to make is getting longer….. I have changed my mind so many times about which block I would like but finally chose this one. It’s pretty simple as blocks go but I love the effect. I would like you each to make eight 6.5 inch square (unfinished) string blocks. This tutorial by Sherri McConnell is very easy to follow (though note she works off a larger block size). Once you have your strings prepared they only take minutes to put together. In keeping with our scrappy theme these can be as colourful and scrappy as you like. The only stipulation I have is that the centre strip is a happy colourful selvedge. I hope you have some lying around. I’m not a huge fan of batiks and civil war type colours but other than that anything goes. Linen mixes etc are fine. If you want to add other selvedge strips into the block too that’s cool as well.

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Your foundation fabric can be any scrap cotton fabric you have as it won't be seen. I used part of a sheet I had cut up for another project.

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 I found it helpful to start by drawing a line down the centre diagonal of the foundation block, then another ¼ inch from the centre line. It's quite faint but it's there in the photo. Or you can live on the wild side and wing it- it's that kind of block.

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I lined the edge of my selvedge strip along this line as my starting point.

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 Then just keep adding strings as shown in the tutorial. Press and trim.

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 And there you have it- a nice summer evening project.

-Fiona