The Wearin' o' the Green

Happy St. Paddy's Day! I'm not Irish, but they say everyone has a little Irish in them on St. Patrick's Day, so, on the eve of the big day I've got a little green parade for you - my little 6.25" Crown of Thorns blocks made from the God's Green Earth trimmings.

The pile isn't huge - I've got 12 made now - but the blocks are so stinkin' sweet and fun to look at.

Much of God's Green Earth is still on the design wall and all of the blocks are now together, so it's time for the final layout. I've enjoyed having it on the wall because it's beautiful to look at as I sew but I have others that need to be laid out on the wall too so it's time to put all the pieces together and see where I land.

There'll be no green beer for me tomorrow, but I think I will enjoy a snack of my favourite Irish cheese/crackers with a glass of wine to celebrate the arrival of the weekend.

I'll leave you with a wee Irish blessing as you ponder your celebrations:
  May the road rise up to meet you,
  may the wind be ever at your back.
  May the sun shine warm upon your face
  and the rain fall softly on your fields.

What a lovely thought with Spring just around the corner....M

The Back of the House - A How To

A lot of you seem to be as taken with my little 6" Crown of Thorns blocks as I am. Not hard when they are that small and that cute! I've had a question about how to get accurate joins, so I thought I'd share a few pics with my method, if you are interested in trying it out.

Start with accurately trimmed HSTs - all diagonal seams to the dark side - four light squares and four green squares, and lay out your block.

Sew the blocks in rows using a scant 1/4" seam allowance.

Starting with the light centre block of the centre row, press both seams out to the dark side, alternating the press directions as you go. The next two outer seams will be pressed inward. Some people use spray starch to help things stay in place but I just use a little steam in my iron.

Sew the remaining rows together, alternating the direction of pressed seams so that the seams nest nicely into each other. It's a good idea to sew all the rows before you sew the rows together so that you can confirm that all the seams are going in the right direction before the block is assembled.

It's also a good idea to pay attention to what you are doing so that you don't end up with something like this and having to spend some quality time with your ripper... :D

Nesting the seams makes a huge difference in your ability to get accurate piecing, especially with such tiny pieces. And believe it or not, me, who usually pins everything, doesn't pin a thing, even with pieces this small!

I press the two top seams towards the top of the block (away from the centre square) and the two bottom seams to the bottom of the block (again, away from the centre). If I were going to sew the blocks to each other I would have to think about whether there is a better way to do this so that you can nest those seams as well, but I'm thinking that they will be assembled next to a plain piece of fabric, so no nesting will be necessary. This is what it looks like from the back.

Give it one last press...

and then send it to join the others.

I thought these blocks would take forever to assemble but the biggest time commitment is trimming the blocks; it's key if you want consistently good joins.

Hope that helps; let me know if you have any questions and I'd love to see any blocks that you might try.

And speaking of tiny, Anne and I put together a few blueberry pies the other day and the last one was this little cutie. It was headed for the freezer....M

The Smaller They Are, The Harder I Fall

Tiny scraps have taken me hostage again.

As I've been trimming the Bowties for God's Green Earth I've been setting the small pairs of triangles aside. When the pile got too big I sewed them together with a scant seam allowance to create a pile of lovely little HSTs that finish off at 1.25".

Rather than wait for that pile to continue to grow and be shoved into a 'some day' corner, I went on the hunt for a new HST block to try. Enter Crown of Thorns.

At first I wasn't sure that I was going to be accurate enough to have blocks that looked any good, but by the second try I figured out the right pressing formula and it made all the difference.

The blocks are just a little over 6" and just adorable. These photos are a little on the dark side but rest assured that in the right light they almost sparkle.

I've got a feeling that the Crazy Lady might ride again because I'm imagining an entire quilt of these little cuties alternated with neutral blocks, but I don't know if I'll have the stamina for that. There might be enough for a border though, or to incorporate into a medallion quilt.

Time will tell, but in the meantime I'm enjoying seeing them up on the wall and imagining the possibilities, something I wouldn't have had if I had just pitched all of those little beauties into the waste basket. Now back to God's Green Earth so that I can get more scraps!...M