The Corner Four Patch Quilt

The Corner 4-Patch block finishes at 8" and is easy and fun to make. There is a 4-patch unit in the corner. The rest of the block consists of a 4″ square and a 4″ x 8″ rectangle. Use scraps, fat quarters, yardage or a combination of all three. Use strip piecing, patchwork piecing or both to construct this unit. 

Scrap Garden Quilt Tutorial

 Here is the Scrap Garden quilt made entirely from scraps.

It looks complicated but it's really not. Only two blocks are used:

54-40 Or Fight - Make 32

Shoo Fly - Make 31

Chain Piecing

Chain piecing is a method of speed piecing where segments of fabric are fed into the sewing machine one after the other without stopping to cut the threads. This produces a chain of sewn segments that are then cut apart and pressed.

Chain Piecing Steps

Here are the steps to accomplish the chain piecing technique:

Using Scraps From Pre-Cut Strips

NOTE: In October 2017 I posted this one minute video on using scraps from pre-cut strips. Since that time I have probably made 5 or 6 more of these. That's a lot of scraps.

Here is the finished quilt!

String Quilts

Traditionally string quilts are pieced using a foundation of lightweight muslin or newspapers. In old quilts you often see the newspapers still inside. A string quilt uses long scraps of fabric. You can use scraps of any color or use coordinating colors for your quilt.

For my Quilts of Valor I use scraps of blue and red with a single white or tan fabric on the diagonal. I place the blue fabrics on one side of the diagonal and the red fabrics on the other side. This creates a look that is similar to the log cabin block. Where log cabin blocks have a light and a dark side, this block has a red and a blue side.

Download Free Quilt Pattern - Shaded Nine Patch Scrap Quilt

The Shaded Nine Patch block consists of three light squares, three dark squares and three half square triangles made from both light and dark fabrics. When you look at the completed block it resembles a half square triangle. This means you can set these blocks in a multitude of ways. All the log cabin settings will work, all the pinwheel settings work and any setting that uses half square triangles works. In this download there are seven example layouts. What I like most about this block is that you can piece lots of them and decide later how to set them.

The finished block in this quilt is 9" so each of the squares and half square triangles finish at 3".

• The squares are cut at 3-1/2".
• For the half square triangles normally the squares are cut at 3-7/8" but we will cut them 4" and square up the half square triangle later.

Here are a few setting for the Shaded Nine Patch block.

All facing the same way.

Streak of Lightning

Zig Zag

Pinwheels

Barn Raising

Download Free Quilt Pattern - Shaded Nine Patch Scrap Quilt

Happy quilting!

Carol

Progress On Scrap Garden

Revised February 17, 2021

Changed number of units needed to complete quilt.

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Last weekend I cut the fabrics for this quilt block. This is the sample I made before cutting all the fabric pieces with my AccuQuilt.

I started with the half square triangles. I stitched all 124 HSTs. Then pressed them all to the dark fabric.

This Week At Five Oaks

This weekend I started cutting my next scrap quilt I'm calling Scrap Garden. I've never been good at coming up with clever names for quilts but it's a scrap quilt and I'm making plans for a garden so Scrap Garden works for me.

The quilt is made from two classic blocks: 

Shoo FlyConsists of half square triangles and squares.

Fifty Four Forty Or Fight

Consists of a square, 4-patches and tri-rec units.

Mini Trunk Show - Four Scrap Quilts

These four scrap quilts were all made using the same process of cutting scraps as I finish projects. Sometimes I just cut scraps for the fun of it. Most of the quilts I make are about 60" x 80".

This 60 second video shows the process I used for all these quilts.

Tuffets and Things

This past Saturday we had a tuffet class at Five Oaks. Four ladies started piecing the tuffet cover. The picture below was taken from a very large class I taught in 2019. I love all the colors.

Here is my own tuffet. This cover is actually cover #2 for this tuffet.

 I used the first one almost daily and it was faded and dingy.

Two Simple Scrap Quilts

 I'm working on two scrap quilts using the same block... a 2" x 4" finished rectangle. I ran out of enough variety so I'm cutting more from the mountain of scraps I have.

I used my AccuQuilt 8" Qube rectangle die to cut the 2-1/2" x 4-1/2" rectangles. I have been cutting these from scraps off and on for about a year. After cutting, I put them in a little container from the dollar store.

Finished -- The Good "F" Word!

I haven't posted for a while.....life happens! I have had quilt visitors in town and we all went to a four day retreat. I got a lot done at the retreat and we had a great time. One thing we discussed is finishing our projects. One retreater brought a red and white top that just needed borders. The blocks have been pieced together for over a year, and the border fabric has been stored with the top for all this time but for some reason the borders have not been attached.

I, myself, brought a backing that needed finishing. I pieced a complete a t-shirt quilt top for my daughter over a year ago and sewed two pieces of fabric together for the backing. I had 12 t-shirts prepared to applique to the backing and that is where I stopped. I brought this backing and t-shirts to this retreat because I am tired of looking at it sitting on the table in my sewing room. I vowed to finish this backing at the retreat before I started on the project I brought. Wanna know what happened?? I finished it in just under 30 minutes. Why the heck did I wait for over a year to do this and how did I get it done so fast? I think the anticipation and dread of sewing on those appliques did not appeal to me so I put it off.

I was able to finally finish this little project because my reward for finishing was that I could begin a new, fun project with a clear conscience and no unfinished project hanging over my head. One of my goals this year was to complete each project before moving on to the next one. I have always admired quilters who work on one project at a time and complete it before starting on the next one.

This year I have been able to start and finish 10 quilts: 2 service projects and 8 niece & nephew quilts. I have been able to do this because of two things:

1. I set a goal for this year to make a quilt for each nephew, niece and all their children who have not received quilts from me. These family members are on my husband's side of the family and live out of state (four different states). I didn't see them much when they were growing up but over the last few years we have been able to attend their weddings and meet them as adults. Giving them quilts is something I want to do. At the beginning of this year there were 28. When two nieces have their babies later this year, there will be 30. It is the end of April and I'm not halfway there yet!
2. I decided to start and finish each quilt before starting another one.

I really love this working-on-one-project-at-a-time thing:

• Using up scraps, kits and fabric I already have = saving money.
• Organizing patterns and fabrics into kits = a cleaner, more organized sewing room.
• Getting projects done = a really happy quiltmaker!

Here is what I've done so far:

I did two service projects but didn't take a picture of the second one. I had picked up these blocks at a guild meeting and pieced them together. this quilt is nice and bright. Love the yellow binding.

Service Project Quilt #1

Read my online journal for this quilt on QuiltNotes - Service Project #1.

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I made two of these quilts from kits I purchased. The pattern is Swirly Girls Design Perfect Ten.

Perfect Ten Quilt for Amelia and Kristy

Read my online journal for these quils on QuiltNotes - Perfect Ten For Amelia.

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This is my Jelly Roll Race quilt. It was so much fun to do. It is for my niece Claire.

Jelly Roll Race

Read my online journal for this quilt on QuiltNotes - Jelly Roll Race #1.

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This is for a niece, Kim. It is made from scraps from Bali Pop projects. I only had to purchase fabric for borders.

Scrap Quilt from 3 Dudes

Read my online journal for this quilt on QuiltNotes - Scrap Quilt from 3 Dudes.

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I made two of these quilts from kits. Both are this lime green. One is quilted and one is not so far. I made one like this two years ago that was red instead of lime green. That one went to my cousin in Colleferro Italy. We visited them in June 2010. I want to go back!!

Turning Twenty

Read my online journal for this quilt on QuiltNotes - Turning Twenty Green.

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This is made from left over strips from several Bali Pop projects. The pattern is Gemini from Blue Underground. Very easy, quick pattern to stitch up.

Scrappy Batik

Read my online journal for this quilt on QuiltNotes - Gemini.

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This Log Cabin was made from a kit I purchased many years ago. It is for my nephew, James.

Log Cabin

Happy Quilting!
Carol Thelen