Little Bits.....: I'm swapping........

Gloria on our quilting forum offered to host a swap. The blocks are so easy to make, she told us, and you can do a load of them in a short period of time.

I don't remember where Gloria got the idea for the block but she figured out the cutting for us and on Sunday last I set to work..................well, not quite true. I started on Saturday evening by digging out fabrics, cutting them and getting ready to sit and sew on Sunday. It was raining and a good day to do it.

Gloria was right. They are easy. I did however change the cutting size to make it easier for me. I get rid of more fabric this way too.

This column if full of tips for making things easier when doing something like this. The cuts for the blocks were as follows:

1 centre strip..............1 1/2" x 6 3/4" (which I changed to 7")
2 side pieces..............3 1/2" x 6 3/4" (which I changed to 7")

When sewing these together, I strip pieced. To strip piece I laid one centre strip on top of one side piece, right sides together, and just keep feeding them through you sewing machine. I did 20 at a time. This is what it looks like when you are all done. One set after another. No, I don't pin when I do this.

I like to have my seams falling to the darkest fabric. To achieve this I place the light fabric with the dark fabric on top and stitch from that side.

I take it to the ironing board and then press the seam on the dark side. This sets the stitching, then I very carefully run the tip of my iron along the right side where the seam is

and give it a good pressing so the seam lies flat.

When you sew strips together it is wise to sew the strip in one direction on one side and the other side in the other direction. This way you avoid wavy seams. It may not happen as much with a 7" strip, but when you are sewing 20" seams it can happen. Its very difficult to get rid of.

These are my blocks. Every block I was sending I made one identical for myself.

This is what I'm giving away. There are 56 blocks here. 100 -- 6 1/2" blocks will make a twin size quilt. For every block you send, you will get one back.

That means I only have to make. 56 + 18 = 74 and take that away from 100...............so between now and when the others arrive I can sew 26 blocks. The rest is easy. Sew them together into rows. This gives you an idea of what the quilt looks like when done.