Mixed Lollies Quilt Sew Along
Week 3
Welcome to Week 3 of the Mixed Lollies Quilt Sew Along.
This week we are making the two Background Blocks, Block A and Block B.
If you have just joined the SAL, welcome! Make sure to grab the pattern, read up on all the details and choose your fabrics, so you can catch up and join in the fun!
SHARE ON INSTAGRAM
Don’t forget to post a pic of your Half Square Triangles and Background Blocks to Instagram and be sure to the use the #mixedlolliessal and #mixedlolliesquilt hashtags to make it easier for others to find your photos.
I have been enjoying all the fabulous pics of finished (some partially too) Mixed Lollies quilts. It makes my heart smile. Check out all these gorgeous quilts and it definitely confirms how quickly this quilt comes together don't you think!
HALF SQUARE TRIANGLES
Block A
Next up we need to make Half Square Triangles or HSTs. If you have your own way of making HSTs, go for it, just make sure you trim your blocks to 4.5".
If you have participated in any of my sew alongs you will notice I have used the same step by step photos. I hope you don't mind, because it sure is a time saver and the information is the same.
PREPARATION
The first job is to mark the back of half of your squares with a diagonal line. I find it easier to do this on the lighter of the two background fabrics but it's totally up to you.
One of the best ways to get a straight line on the back of your fabric is to use a sandpaper board underneath. The sandpaper stops the fabric moving, which makes it so much easier to draw the line. How cool is that! I have a fancy sandpaper board but you can just use a sheet of sandpaper from your local hardware store.
I like to use a mechanical pencil with a chaco lead to mark my fabrics. The chaco lead marks the fabric easily and is erasable later on.
Take one of the fabric squares and mark a diagonal line on the wrong side of the fabric. Repeat for half of all your fabric squares.
SEWING TIME
Take one pair of background squares with the marked square on top.
Sew either side of the marked line with a ¼” seam.
Repeat for all the pairs.
CUTTING TIME
Now take your rotary cutter, ruler and mat.
Cut down the centre of all the blocks on the drawn line from before.
Press the blocks. I like to press to the dark fabric, AKA the dark side!
The blocks you have just made will be a little big, they also might be a little wonky.
Don't worry, that's where the trimming comes in.
Using a square ruler, line up the 45 degree line on your ruler with the seam through the middle of the block. Trim the block down to 4.5" square.
Check out the pics below for a visual on how to trim your HSTs.
• Please note these blocks were trimmed to 4" for another quilt, just remember yours need to be 4.5" trimmed.
DIAGONAL SEAM TAPE
I have recently been using this Diagonal Seam Tape by Cluck Cluck Sew to make my Half Square Triangles. It makes the process much quicker because there is no need to mark the fabric.
The tape is stuck onto your sewing machine and you use the printed lines to make sure you sew in the right position.
You can read all about the product here - Cluck Cluck Sew Diagonal Seam Tape.
Bloc Loc Ruler
Another tool I am very late in getting on board with is a Bloc Loc Ruler. These fancy little gadgets make trimming up your Half Square Triangles so much easier. They have a little ridge that grips on the centre seam so as you cut, it dosen't slip.
You can read all about them here - Bloc Loc Half Square Triangle Ruler
STRIP PIECING
Block B
Sew the background strips together as described in the pattern. You can then just cross cut these strips one at a time to make the background rectangles.
The tip I wanted to share with you involves layering the pieced strips on top of each to cut them all at once.
As you can see from the photo below, the strips are not layered directly on top of each other.
Using the lines on your cutting mat, place the first strip down starting from the top of the mat.
Using the next line from the bottom (one 1") place the next strip down.
Continue layering until you fill your board.
Then using your long ruler and rotary cutter, cross cut the layered strips to the correct size.
I am lucky enough to own a counter sized cutting mat, but you can just just move the strips along after your cut your first couple of rectangle sets.
This method spreads the thickness of the fabric across the cutting board, so as you slice through you are only cutting through 4 fabric layers at a time.
I find this a great way to speed up the cutting and it's also really accurate.
Give it a go, I'm sure you will love it.
I will be sharing a video on instagram after this newsletter goes out, so keep an eye out for that.
I honestly think I have saved the best Mixed Lollies Quilt for last.
The fabric range is Meadow Star by Alexia Marcelle Abegg for Ruby Star Society.
This version was purchased as a kit from The Next Stitch and the citrus yellow Plus Fabric (by Ruby Star Society) makes me so incredibly happy. It's going to be a keeper for sure!
Next week is the final week and we will be sewing our quilt top together. Can you believe it!
This quilt is going to become my go to for quilt gifting because it is not only super fun to make, it is also crazy quick to piece.
I'll also be sharing all my tips for straight line machine quilting on a domestic sewing machine.
This is my favourite way to quilt and I have lots of things I can share with you to get a great result with your quilt.
Once again thank you so much for joining me on this sew along. I hope you are enjoying the process and meeting some other sewers from around the world.
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