Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Block of the Month: March

This month's quilting blocks from Amy Gibson's Craftsy course were even more fun to make than last month's blocks! I had never done this kind of foundation piecework and was really eager to try them out using scraps from my stash.  These are the perfect blocks to get rid of lots of thin scraps.  So, I pulled out my many zip-lock bags and out came the colorways...

The principle behind foundation piecing is that you have a shape that you cover with scraps.  The string block is named so for the strips of fabric used.  In the past, strips of fabric were referred to as string according to the course.  Interesting!

Here is my string block using warm tones:

March's String Block: warm colors
I thoroughly enjoyed going through my scraps and using them in a way that I know I'll enjoy for a long time.  Yay for OCD!  It makes it worth the ridiculousness of cutting scraps into strips and organizing them by color in little plastic baggies. (tee hee)

The second block is named broken spiderweb because when you make four of them and put them together the center of the four blocks resembles a spider's web.   But, at first I didn't know why and all I saw was a four pointed star... like a compass.  I really loved the way this one turned out, too.

March's Broken Spider Web Block: cool colors
The way this one was made used the foundation triangle to keep track of the shape, then after the strip ends are cut away, the triangle itself is cut away to the seam allowance.  This one is definitely less bulky than the traditional foundation pieced string block, but I liked both methods.   Each has their advantage.  Here they are together...

Block of the Month: March
Do you have a favorite quilting method?  Are you participating in Craftsy's free Block of the Month course?  If so, how are you liking it?

5 comments:

Lynn said...

these are beautiful!

Joana said...

Hi Adri! Your blocks are lovely :-)
I bought my African wax prints in Tanzania and in London, but I think that Amesterdam is a great place to buy them as well.

adriprints said...

Thanks! I'll be on the lookout for the wax prints. I knew where to get them when I lived in Munich, but for a high price!

Bezencilla said...

Congratulations Adri! They are awesome!

adriprints said...

Thank you Nuria, have you started on your quilting blocks yet?