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 1--The Quilter's Planner 2018 Sew Along...

I decided to take the plunge and try a planner this year. Then why not just go all the way to the top and get The Quilter's Planner. A beautiful book with inspiring quotes, coloring pages, multiple quilt planning pages--and of course weekly and monthly page spreads.

The weekly spread pages are being used to write out daily scriptures with my morning cup of tea.

Along with The Quilters Planner came a companion magazine that contains 14 amazing patterns plus a monthly sampler!! Way cool!!!

I am going to use these fabrics from Island Batik. The backgrounds and blacks are from the Solstice line--available now. The luscious teals to lime greens are from the City Culture line available soon!!
Check out the Island Batik blog hop going on right now here.

Last summer I started using the AccuQuilt Qubes to do my piecing. I really thought I was pretty good at piecing before--but this die cutting system has just blew me out of the water!! My accuracy has been greatly improved. Time saved has been overwhelming. Not to mention that the dog ears are already trimmed!! Well that is a long arm quilters dream!! I love the products so much--I have an affiliate link on the side bar of my blog if you are interested in purchasing.

The GO! 8" Mix & Match Qube will be used to make Block 1 which will finish at 12".

Die #1--rough cut a 5" square for block center
Die #3--rough cut a 5 1/2" x 11" colored rectangle and 5 1/2" x 22" background rectangle for HST
Die #4--rough cut a 5 3/4" square from background and dark accent for QST

Fabric can be folded on die up to six layers--so if the die will cut 2 HST--you can cut 12 HST at one time.  Watch how quickly that can happen!!!

Then it was just a matter of using the cut shapes and following the diagrams in the companion magazine to make Block 1!! I am still deciding on how to set the blocks--watch for that this summer.

The pre-trimmed dog ear corners make for super easy sewing!!

Using Quarter Square triangles for the smaller shapes and Half Square triangles for the larger shape, keeps the straight of grain along the outside edges of the block unit. I have not used this combination of shapes and colors in a block unit before--and I really like it. Many times in a block unit this will be pieced with a flying geese unit and a rectangle sewn to the flying geese unit. I am so going to keep this in mind when drawing up blocks!!

See--dog ears already trimmed!! And I didn't even have to do it!! I really dislike that job--all those little snippets of fabric flying anywhere they please!!

I am so looking forward to finishing this quilt--as they are the colors I decorate my home with. And don't judge me too much for still having my Christmas decorations still up!! I was a little late putting them out in the first place--plus the weather is bitter cold with snow here in Iowa yet!!

Looking from my long arm studio into the sewing room and then the house entryway.

Just thought I would show you the trimmings from cutting out this block. Many times I hear it said that die cutting produces too much waste!! Well I am finding that the waste is minimal compared to the accuracy and ease of cutting the shapes.

That is all for today. Make sure and check back around the 15th of every month this year and watch the 2018 sampler progress.