I didn’t come up with this marvellous technique, but thankfully someone did. I saw it demonstrated on Missouri Star Quilt company tutorials. Jenny Doan did a fabulous job of explaining how to do it and my mind started reeling.
Last year at a quilt show up in Georgetown I purchased two layer cakes.
Now you may think these two don’t go together when you see them like this, but I knew deep down in my soul that they would. The first step for making this block is to cut 3 1/2” off one side of each 10 1/2” square.
As I cut them I took the pieces and laid them wrong side down on the table, restacking them the same way they came from the packaging.
After each set was cut, I took the 3 1/2” strips from one set and put it with the 6 1/2” pieces from the other set.
I sewed them together using a 1/4” seam allowance. When all of this was done……
(and each strip took about 25 minutes by just strip piecing), I pressed them all and took them back to the cutting table. I kept my stacks separate.
Now you cut them in half. 5” strips for each and every one. It took awhile. I took a break in between to give myself a bit of a rest.Then you sew them back together again.
I took one stack and laid it beside the other stack and then starting putting them together. Yes, I pinned. I always pin or I don’t get it right. You place one stack with the short piece at the top and one stack with the short piece at the bottom. This forms your block. Time at the sewing machine for this…………………….forever! Well, it seemed like it. At this point I’m on bobbin #2, so I recommend you wind 2 of them to start with.
Here’s the result of a day’s work, all trimmed at 9 1/2” x 9 1/2”. 81 blocks ready to set into a quilt top.
I’ll be moving furniture to set these blocks. My flannel wall won’t be much help as this will be a queen size quilt for our bed.
Here’s the link to watch Jenny make the quilt. She used only one layer cake.