Lessons

Lesson Info

Building Housetop Blocks - Part 1

Let me set all this aside and talk about this house top variation it's a lot more strip oriented, but it's still kind of keeps up this block idea, so it starts it too. So this is your block right here. Um, and rather than have a block that comes from the center and worked out, it works out and works out concentric lee, it starts from a corner and works along that the two edges of that corner. Okay, what I've done to kind of give this version some cohesion is that I've started with a cool color, or you could start with any kind of solid color, and then the spans in between the warm and cool colors are some kind of neutral to give it a little more interest. Sometimes they I used blue sometimes I used white, but they were always some kind of semi neutral, uh, cotton fabric. So I'm gonna start working on that version as well. Um um, thiss but this obviously could calls for maybe a closer palette of colors. Um, so I see stuck with, you know, green blue, mostly, and a few kind of red orange ...

is, but to the nice thing about it is you can imagine multiple blocks together and you've got this kind of because you've got this I wanted to call it sort like there's this they fit inside almost a woven pattern you know, you got these that could form these concentric blocks, but over here, if you imagine belle forme concentric blocks e I think it's a as ah, like a bedside school does a big quote, I think that this could work like, really, really well, like I could see making, you know, sometimes I make something and I'm like, I don't know that I would want that on my I like the quilt, but I know that it would want it on my bed, but I could definitely see making this pattern is something that I would use on my bed. Um, and I just might eso you're going to definitely need some white fabric for that, um, and I'm going to go ahead and cut a few strip apps and maybe even kind of few strips of these or the grey s o I'm gonna have some strips and reserve and then I'll build out one of these blocks. We'll just leave that right there for right now, um, and these air pretty large pieces of light because we're going to be using a lot of white and black pretty soon I cut myself off a little piece so that I can work from that makesem strips on make one of these blocks malcolm we were talking earlier about the different threats except megan's actually asking online do you ever use them those beautiful metallic thread that are available is that something you've ever experimented e have used them for ah machine quilting and like variegated threats for machine quilting and I love them they're great they're not really appropriate for sewing like stitching together patchwork because well, first of all they're so pretty why would you want to hide them on the inside of the scene and second of all they're not a strong you know? But they're great for machine quilting where you're gonna have a lot of stitches really close together and I love that they have all these great like variegated threats to go from, you know, yellow all the way across the spectrum and so it's it's good stuff yeah, but I really think that there are more appropriate for for machine quilting versus versus piecing you want strength in a thread that you're going to use for piecing yeah, you definitely want strength maybe I'll get some white scripts and I feel like I want some blue strips I think this block might go together even faster than the in the other version maybe I'm gonna keep this brave trip I love them like little things like this show up it's just meant to be in there let's look around see if there's any more there's this and these guys so that's going to be my my I guess intermediate strips and then I'm going to need um I'm going to need I'm going to start with a warm color so just along two sides here and then I'm going to come in and add um a cool color go ahead and get rid of this other little bit I'm just gonna press it open with my fingers and so that would be my corner piece right there only trim it let me press it and trim it and I think you'll be able to better see that it's my corner piece I'm kind of inspired by polly's little tiny kind of bit like did I like the way that looks so when you have a pattern next to it oh a pattern yeah it's like at the chevron chevron with the little bit of kind of like a border yeah all right well I'll build on that too so mess are in this flat and stripes tell you the truth you know what in doing this there's none of contrast in this particular blue so I'm gonna choose something else something that stands out gray a little bit more that's why you need lots of fabric so you can make you can make a spur of the moment decisions oh green would be good I'll add green and then I know that in my next row we're gonna add some white so I'm building my house top block from the corner versus center all right? You're not using the steam when you're pressing the fabric are, you know, a fairly low setting it's actually on the hottest setting that being the cotton setting but um you know what? I'll miss the steam so I didn't I didn't add water to this particular iron it though it could take aren't at home this game setting into everything I you know, it's sort of like a joke about some tradition that starts in a church when everyone anyone interns, they don't know do something, you know, whatever it is, they wiped their brow and they say, how did that tradition start? And then they say, oh, you know, the first time that the minister came in, he walked in the church and it was a really hot day and he wiped his brow, and from that moment on it became the tradition so it's it's sort like might the reason I don't use steam is not because I think it's I don't think I needed it because the steam function of broke on my iron so good enough reason yeah, when I take the class here she introduced needed that best press have you tried no it's, a it's, a great little spray it's a really light starch and it comes in different smells but it really did help the ironing process that went pretty well you know what for these k facet um uh kind of woven fabrics I've heard and I do I think that it helps to use a little bit of starch um I didn't know about that other stuff it seems nice to have a little fragrance but because they are so a little of a slippery side so yes it's good to use a little bit of starch there um let me add this yeah, I like that little little tiny sliver next to the wider peace and when I as I build it out from the corner I don't have to stick to uh one fabric on both uh both corner pieces I can I can mix and match probably not match that much put orange on I can't even bury the wis here too I think I'd prefer to use this you can plan it out the thing I don't tend to teo plan these blocks out as much as I um it's muchas I plan out the the ones that start from the center and I don't exactly know why because they they could work just that way to they could be completely planned out and then taken over the machine and put together um so there's no reason not to plan them out but I can go ahead and add the white and then add the two warm colors and more cool colors and here are your atm or kind of intermediate strips and here too they don't have to be the same. The same fabric is just have to read the same and build them out basically as large as I want them and then the fund will be putting them together. So let's, let's see what our students have done for this segment now, jenny, you you've got have slightly different party you're actually putting together table matt rather than a a quilt. But it's looking beautiful, you got some great images going in there? Many great can see that we hold it up for him. And holly, how you doing, holly? Actually, megan was saying online she loves the camera image that you incorporated into their that's that kind of made it go more rectangle then, because I was in love with the camera over your thing, and then thiss was from the earlier one, but it happened to be warm, so like, ok for time's sake, what's to come together. Now, listen, how are you doing? I want my second row, so I have to finish this block in that block good morning colors and textures going on here you really cool, sir, how are you doing? I've got my really warm and I really cold and I'm not really sure how to peace and all together but I'll get there I'll say that you've always got your nine ready looks oh that's great so you could if I were you I would I would you know, take some space maybe me and lay him out so you could decide and then you can decide what kind of fabric need to go in between. Yeah, great. That sounds great it's beautiful justin of this with the approaching that she has done here getting on trump really one right? We're not going to actually do any quilting quilting we're gonna talk about holding there's a variety of different ways you can get the stitches on the surface like that but yeah, it adds a lot of its dimension so we are going to work on our house top variation and up on the screen we see it and I've got the very beginnings of that that block and unlike the uh, the log cabin that we had been working on, this one comes out from the corner so I'm going to go ahead and make finish this corner block. I've got it started to where I've got a few strips coming out I've got a center or a corner I should say a corner square with kind of a neutral around it and then ah, cool colored fabric and then I'm going to go back to my neutral or white and and build it out I think in the original if I'm not mistaken there's a three or four layers to go out to the corner I can I can make it his biggers are small is I want to I think for this one I'm going toe probably stop stop after this this uh um this addition so I'll just take I'm going take it one at a time over the machine and scooped up to the mission and go ahead and add those umm those pieces to the house top variation um and it's kind of nice I mean you still have a lot of color but you have the opportunity to teo kind of limited talent as well which you know both both directions khun b can be fun to work with and it's nice to have a break from from one versus the other um and these air still considered ah, there are a lot of log cabin variations there log cabin variations that makes stars or luck having variations that make kind of zig zag so there's a lot of there's just in that one block that one traditional block there's a lot of kind of variety so if you in making this along with me you're going to need some strips in in warm and cool colors and some of these neutral fabrics as well um I should grab my scissors and you can see just like I was talking about earlier these two strips this green bit underneath and the white stuff they didn't match up, but all I'm concerned about is is making the sure that the top piece has a quarter in c malone's so ready to add on the orange and I opted tio rather than continue that orange down the perpendicular side, I opted to change over to this kind of burgundy color. All right, I think I'm actually going to press it at this point I'm not gonna trim it just depress it to make it easier to work with and then add some more neutral locks and then I can proceed to make the other four that's going to go into each one each one of these blocks is made out of very you know, I seem to notice open that up, and I think I opted to add this kind of large piece of this pale blue, a swell all right, and there's there's basically the first the first quarter segment. So, um, I guess I'm encouraging all toe go ahead and try this version on dh then we have one one other very similar version and one that's kind of an original design of my own but that I feel like was inspired by the log cabin and I'll be talking about about that in just a bit um but I'm going to make for more of these and then we're going to put them together and because we don't put them together to make a concentric square we put them together so that they I don't have that image the log cabin variation house top image we see a viking they're going to go umm opposite corners from each other's like this in this but I'm gonna make some or for just here and then this in another one okay and then the key is going to be how do we fit all this together? But I'm going to go ahead and make some more before we start getting anything together when you move this aside so again I'm going to pick I decided to go ahead and use use a warm color in my kind of corner ah square so I'm going to stick with that and again I'm going to need some, um some neutrals to surround that but this time I guess I could still work on it this way like this and then a cool color of some sort of did want to uses these great k facets color so I think I'm gonna do bad and and if these air long enough so again kind of a pale neutral type um kalma segway to the next strip and then what next but some orange always use a orange merry go so when that's pieced up um, they will go opposite each other like this, and then there'll be others that go opposite each other in the in the other direction. So I'm going to go ahead and peace this up. I mean, I think think this blocos together really quickly, actually. So, allison, any finding this process pretty quick? Pretty fast. Yeah, dude, what? It's fast. Because it's better when you go fast, you don't overthink it. Yeah, I mean, that's. More fun. So I've got the neutrals on on perpendicular corners here. Do you ever use a serving table, malka? Oh, you mean where the machine is? Sunk into a table? Yeah, at home. I have my machine something stomach ailment. Yeah. You know, it's it's, a really nice feature when your machine quilting because it's all like one big surface like that it's not as important if you're just piecing or sewing. And I can also see and actually sometimes it's a detriment for, like, garment selling you want to do? I mean, the kind of there's, an open space it's filled in with a piece of clear plastic. And I could take that piece out. But when you're like, wants to put a sleeve in there, it takes a little bit of maneuvering, make amazon doing that online. She was say that she's never, ever used it. So maybe it was time for the garage sale, but no, maybe it's best hang on to it. Oh, she's never used her selling table. No, she just always. So is it a regular typically? Well, I mean, yeah, I guess one of your recommended for quilting is a good thing to have on this guy. I think so. I mean, I went and purchased because it yeah, it's a really nice feature. And I used to have a machine that had it was called an extension, so it was like this big piece of acrylic that if it actually around, but still and it but still the machines sat on the table. I didn't like it as much as I mean, I liked it, ok, but I didn't. I don't like it as much as I like myself, plus my selling tables, like in a great green color and it's very festive, unhappy and yeah, um it has drawers who couldn't use more drawers. They are making how hold on fitz and now they don't put it in the yard, so you know, not yet another question that came in I think we have offered this, we just want to verify for the viewers, how do you best a line? Two pieces of fabric that a hand cart? I mean, the whole idea of the improvisation is that you don't, so we need to know you don't. So I mentioned this earlier, so you have, you know, one piece and you have another piece, and he want tio so these two guys together, so that, you know, they make their sewn together. Well, it's, just a matter of all you're going to worry about is is sowing one quarter inch from that top strip. You're not going to worry about sewing, you're not going to worry about aligning them. You're only worried about what's happening with that top piece, right? So I'm gonna free you of having to worry about aligning that, all right? Yeah, and I'm only gonna probably trim this once I get it all made. Then I'll make a couple more and we'll put the block together. So I ask you, ladies, you'll have a dedicated sewing space or you have to, like, set it up whenever you want to work, I claim and into the dining room table, okay, we'll let this dedicated space you have to have ever have to clear it open. Company comes over it's a really it's an eight foot long table of only two of us in a cat so like sometimes I can so the last year gets used for is dying it's not unusual and you need to have your own space to have a sewing room choice I've got a multi rule previously what I had and when sewing room in the attic unfortunately another part of the world with more land space living in san francisco stories like living in a little it is pretty grounded but there are far worse crowded let's keep moving all right so I'm almost done with this one and then two more and we put the block together all right ok halfway there that find bon jovi song alright this's all scraps to small two years I like how how differently side these are that's going toe that's going to make for an interesting final block all right so now um I need to make another patch and actually you know what I'm going to try alison's technique I'm goingto I'm goingto piece the two patches together at the same time I'll just lay them out step lay them out um and then just go ahead and kind of power peace and that was called and the reason I don't is I just get impatient I just want to see what it looks like already I mean do I have the one to bring in another one actually you know what I just realized this guy is got mohr ah layers going out from the corner than this one does this is a color color color that's a color color and a color only has one less actually all right, well then this guy still needs one more in my excitement to power piece I neglected to finish something all right? Okay, I righted that wrong that's a good thing do you ever use any of your leftover quoting scraps for other projects my make him into pillows or coasters or placemats? I'm trying to think if I've ever made it into anything kind of kind of unusual or you'd say I can't believe she turned that into that um yeah there was going to some kind of other fiber oriented thing um I know that there are some people who collect like these teeny tiny little bits and will use in this stuffing for pillows um or little eye masks or whatever I've never done that, but I have heard of that now when you're so market you don't seem to lock this fred in by sewing backwards, right? And actually holly asked about that earlier hold back stitching no, I don't back stitch because we're going to go over these scenes several times in the course of sowing the block together but there's something wrong with back stitching? The reason I don't do it is is because I think I'm in a perpetual hurry and also because when I do have to rip a scene and you know you also earlier that I had to, um it's just makes it a little harder, not impossible by any change of imagination but a little harder and I have to tell you the truth all these years, I've never really had a problem where stuff started to unravel because I didn't back stiff, so I guess if I've seen a lot of problems, then I would need to respond to that by, you know, changing my ways, but that hasn't been my experience now. We talked about earlier with attention that you set your machine, I think you said you said it before, do you ever pull on the threads slightly too? When just when you're starting to create more always, you always do that always, but so my machine at home and I don't know that this machine needs it, but my machine at home, if you don't do it, the top thread will come out. Um and so now it's becoming like have it, I don't even want to, you know, take the chance that it'll happen, so I'd always pull on the top threats before I just for the first couple stitches or so I know that there's another way to kind of have to deal with that issue. And that is to just kind of send a little scrap piece of fabric through first. And that'll kind of hold the top thread in. But I just two stitches. The two threats. First couple that seemed to work.