The Quilter's Planner.....block 6....

....what a fun and easy block this was!!! Only 2 shapes needed...sqaure and half sqaure triangle.

The 12" GO! Mix & Match Qube will have the right dies for block #6.

Die #2 is the square--will use 6 background
Die #5 is the HST--will use 2 HST of 5 colors and 10 HST of background

If I don't use the seam guide that came with the 97D Bernina foot--I will washi tape an angle guide to the sewing table and then can just chain piece those HST in no time!!

Oh so pretty....those fabrics from the City Culture 2 line of Island Batik!!!

Have you heard all the hype about the wool pressing mats?? Well, I caved in to buying one....and guess what--they do really work nice. The wool retains heat from the iron so I will arrange the pressed pieces and leave them on the mat until it is full. The residual heat does it's job in giving a nice crisp press!!

The great slatey blue colors in this block have a galvanized steel look to me...

...so off to the farm I went. These are the big gray grain bins that are seen all around the Midwest farming country. Grain is stored in the bins until it is sold by the farmer.

Wow!! How different it looks set on point!! Still in the thinking stage for how to set all these blocks--but on point is really starting to look like a winner here!!

My dear farmer husband is taking a well deserved couple of days off. Fishing in northern South Dakota with our son. That walleye should make for some good eating!!

While he is gone...that leaves me in charge of the chores. Here are the building on the farm. Isn't that sky just gorgeous?!? Actual color--no photoshopping here!!

And the other set buildings were we raise hogs.

Thanks for stopping in and can't wait for the next Quilter's Planner block in this sew along!!

Block 5..The Quilter's Planner 2018 sew along...

Welocme to block number 5....where Spring did finally show up here in NW Iowa. My farmer guy has been having a hard time getting in the fields because of yet more rain--but there is a season and time for everything under the sun. Late crops in the ground are better than no crops in the ground.

The tulips in front of the studio are almost finished blooming and have faded to this glorious salmon color!!
Hidden from your eyes in this photo is the rock I needed to place on the corner of the block to keep it from blowing away!!

Doesn't that salmon color look pretty with these soft shades of blue. I am trying to stretch my color thoughts with this SAL. Trying to not go with the obvious and try something different.

The 12" Block #5 can be made with the AccuQuilt GO! Mix & Match 8" Qube.

Die #3--4" HST will use 2--5 3/8" sqaures of a light and a dark

Die #5--2" HST will use a 3 3/4" x 13" light rectangle

Die #6--Square on Point will use 1--3 3/4" sqaure of a meduim
                                                      1--3 3/4" x 11 1/2" rectangle of another medium

If making a pattern that requires many 2" finished half square triangles, I will use this die board--#55063. When cutting 6 layers of fabric it will yeild 60 HST!! That makes the cutting even faster--plus I love the accuracy!!

Now for my thoughts on the Square on Point unit. Do you dislike it as much as I do--or I should say as much as I used to dislike it.
I could never get it to come out right. Enter the die cutting system--not trying to sell it--just telling how much it has helped my accuracy!!

The points of the the already trimmed dog ear corners show right where to start and end sewing.

Then the next set of HST just line up with ease!!
So easy in fact that I am no longer afraid to use the Sqaure on Point unit....

...that I designed a new quilt---Peace Seeker---using multiple Sqaure on Point units.  Watch for this pattern to be available in late June.

The other thing I learned making this block--is to USE the notions I have purchased!!

Pressing was a bit tricky in this block--I didn't want the seam intersections to be bulky, so I pressed them open. But even with that some of the Sqaure on Point intersections still wouldn't lay flat.

Enter the pressing fleece--not afflilated--just again--great product. It does exactly what it says it will do. The heat from the iron stays in the wool and presses the block from the front and back at the same time.

I should have taken a before photo just to show the difference. It was amazing!!

Thank you again to The Quilter's Planner for hosting this great sew along!!

I am already looking forward to the next one....LOL!!!

Block 3....and 4...The Quilter's Planner SAL....

Back at it here in April!! Besides the fact that Block 3 was probably just as easy to cut with rotary than the AccuQuilt system...my husband and I went through a quite a few health issues in March...so there was no Block 3 SAL post.

But we are both on the mend and getting back into life as normal. That can not be said about the weather here in NW Iowa though. This morning was clean up after a major spring blizzard dropping at least 14" of snow in our area!! More is predicted this week again!! Oh will spring ever show up??

Let's start with Block 3--just because the colors make me happy!!
The fabrics are all from Island Batik. Some were supplied to me in the Ambassador program and some I purchased myself from Hancock's of Paducah.
Look and ask for them in your local quilt shop!!

I chose to rotary cut the pieces for this block. Not affiliated with Quilter's Select--but do really love the mat and rotary cutter. The rotary is said to be completely usable by both right and left hand people. I can say this is true. Yesterday in the blizzard I had my ever so helpful left handed husband do some cutting for me and he really liked it. This was only his second time using a rotary cutter and there was no learning curve or frustration. It worked great for him!!

This block went together fast and easy following the instruction in the magazine. I followed everything except for the final pressing--I spun all the intersections instead of pressing the long seams open.

My little spot of spring until it decides to appear here!!

I really liked the dark background I used in Block 2...so I am thinking I might do 6 blocks with dark background and 6 with a light background and see what happens with that!!

Block 4 will use the GO! Mix & Match 8" Qube.

Die #1-- will need a 5" dark square
Die #3--will need 2 @ 5 3/8" dark squares and 2 @ 5 3/8" light squares
Die #8--will need a 5 1/2" dark square and a 5 1/2" light square

Eleanor Burns talks about "Smart Stacking" the fabrics on the die board before cutting. I have never tried it so this was the perfect opportunity.

The idea is to place the pieces for the HST right sides together before placing them on the the die board. Then when the cut pieces come out they are already stacked together ready to be sewn together.

It was a slick trick and one I will be using again in the future!!

The other thing to pay attention to when die cutting this block--is the orientation of the fabrics when placing them on the die board. I wanted the stripes in the light blue to go around the center square. So pay attention to the fabric choice and how it can be placed on the die board.

Can't wait to have the finished quilt to use in my house!!

I am so enjoying sharing my journey of The Quilter's Planner sew along with you. It has given me just the right boost to keep at it and press on!! Thank you for following along!!

Starting tomorrow--April 16--I will be part of the 2018 New Quilt Bloggers blog hop. This will run for 4 weeks with several different participants, great sponsors and amazing prizes. 

Click on the button in the side bar to find the homepage with all the participants!! 

Hope to see you there!!

Block 2...The Quilter's Planner Sew Along...

Oh man was this block fun and quick to put together...

 Block 2 in The Quilter's Planner magazine looked like a snowflake to me--and we have been getting lots of overnight snow lately--so I went with a dark background. The Island Batik fabrics have such deep saturation of color that it is hard to choose. Check post on Block 1 for the range of colors.

To make this block I used the GO! Mix & Match 12" Qube. You can find the Qube at the affiliate link in the side bar.

The light pieces will use a 7 3/4" square of each color and the #3 Quarter Square Triangle die that finishes at 6".

The dark pieces will use a 4 1/4" x 34" strip of fabric and the #5 Half Square Triangle die that finishes at 3".

 Such perfectly cut shapes!!

Sometimes little strings can build up in the corners of the dies--just carefully use the die pick to remove them.

Since switching from a 5.5 mm to a 9 mm feed dog sewing machine, I have been having a few issues finding that sweet 1/4" spot!! I finally got rid of my pride and attached the seam guide that comes with the Bernina 97D presser foot, and WOW what a difference that has made in my accuracy!!

Trying to decide on color placement...A?

..or B?

Lately I have become quite obsessed with "spinning" the seams on the block back. The time I save by using the AccuQuilt and not having to trim all the dog ears--I put into use by removing those couple stitches in the seam allowance....

.....and spin the seam allowances all in the same direction!! Makes for such a flat center. Try it sometime--your quilter will thank you for it!! Plus the adorable little pinwheel is just too cute for words!!

I went with option B!! It still looks like a snowflake to me.

Thank you to The Quilter's Planner and looking forward to next month!!