Basic Math Quilt

I’ve been a big fan of Brigitte Heitland’s work since I first stumbled across it.  I was thrilled to see her first fabric line, Juggling Summer, and I just love the great colors and prints.  The sort of distressed-looking prints pair so well with the log-cabin inspired prints and the fantastic blenders.  And the colors are the perfect shades of green, purple, orange and turquoise along with black, grey and cream.  I had to have it!

This quilt is called Basic Math because I came up with the idea while I was working on another project.  I didn’t want to switch projects to try out the idea, but I couldn’t stop thinking about whether it would work or not.  I kept saying to myself “Of course it will work, it’s just basic math.”


One layer cake of Juggling Summer
1/2 yard of binding fabric  (I used 1503-30 in purple)

For the back:
1 yard each of 1501 and 1505 in avocado
3/4 yard each of 1502 and 1503 in avocado

Batting:  60″ x 66″

Cutting:

1.        Select 40 squares from the layer cake.

2.       Cut each square 6½” from the left edge and 6½” from the lower edge.  My 6½” ruler is perfect for this!
3.       From the binding fabric, cut 6 2½” strips.

Block Construction:
1.        Your cutting should have resulted in:
·         40 3½” squares
·         80 3½” x 6½” rectangles
·         40 6½” squares

2.       Set the 6½” squares aside for now.  These are the A blocks.
3.       Choosing fabrics at random, sew two of the 3½” x 6½”  rectangles together to make 40 6½”  B/C blocks.
4.       Again, choosing randomly, sew four of the 3½” squares together to make 10 6½” D blocks.
5.       I pressed my blocks to the darker fabric, re-pressing as needed when I put the quilt top together.

Putting the quilt top together:
1.        Separate your B/C blocks into a group of 19 blocks (B) and a group of 21 blocks (C).  In the quilt layout, B blocks are set with the center seam horizontally; C blocks are set with the center seam vertically.

2.       Lay the blocks out according to the diagram.

3.  Sew the blocks together into rows.
4.  Sew the rows together to complete the quilt top.
5.  Press the quilt top.

Back:
1.  From one of the one yard pieces, cut a 36″ x 30″ piece. (Piece W)
2.  From the other one yard piece, cut a 36″ square. (Piece X)
3.  From one of the 3/4 yard pieces, cut a 30″ x 24″ piece. (Piece Y)
4.  From the other 3/4 yard piece, cut a 36″ x 24″ piece. (Piece Z)
5.  Sew Pieces W and X together along the 36″ sides.
6.   Sew Pieces Y and Z together along the 24″ sides.
7.   Matching these seams, sew the two back pieces together. 

Finishing:
1. Layer the quilt top with the backing and batting.
2. Quilt as desired.  My version of Basic Math is quilted in a 3″ grid through the middle of the blocks.
3. Bind with binding strips.

One Basic Math quilt 54″ x 60″

Debbie Grifka
{www.eschhousequilts.com}

Neighborhood Charm Quilt

Hi, I’m Debbie from Esch House Quilts and I’m thrilled to be sharing my recipe for Neighborhood Charm on Moda Bake Shop!  House quilts and quilts with limited color palettes always speak to me, so when I saw the new Mama Said Sew line by Sweetwater, I knew it was a perfect fit for the little house quilt I had in mind.  I hope you enjoy making Neighborhood Charm for your neighborhood!

One charm pack of Mama Said Sew

1¼ yards background fabric
⅜ yard binding fabric
44“ x 45“ backing fabric
44“ x 45“ batting

CUTTING:
1. From the background fabric, cut:

•  2  5″ strips – subcut these to 11 5″ squares and 4 2¾” squares.
•  5  2¾” strips – subcut these to 70 2¾” squares.
•  9  2″ strips for sashing and borders – subcut 7 of these to 36½” and 2 to 38″.

2. From the binding fabric, cut 4  2½” strips.

BLOCK CONSTRUCTION:

1. Choose 37 charms from the charm pack. (I eliminated charms that blended too much with the background fabric). Set the rest aside for another project or the back.

2. Draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of the 2¾” background squares.

Figure 1

3. Align the upper left corner of a charm square and the 2¾” background square right sides together. The diagonal line should go from lower left to upper right. (Figure 1)

4. Sew on the drawn line. 

Figure 2

5.  Trim away the charm and background triangles outside the stitching line. (Figure 2)  Press the triangle open toward the outer edges of the charm square.  

Figure 3

6. Repeat this process for the upper right corner with the diagonal line running from upper left to lower right. (Figure 3)

Figure 4

7. Make 37 houses. (Figure 4) 

PUTTING THE QUILT TOP TOGETHER:

Figure 5

1. Lay out your charm houses in rows according to the diagram, adding in the 5″ background squares as “parks” or “vacant lots”. (Figure 5) [Note: When I lay out the houses I first do it randomly and then go back and adjust. If all the black houses end up in the same corner or there are three of the same prints very close together, I’ll move blocks around to fix this, but I try not to obsess over it :)]
2. Sew the rows together.
3. Sew a sashing strip to the bottom of each house row.
4. Sew a sashing strip to the top of the first house row.
5. Sew a sashing/border strip to each side of the quilt top.

FINISHING: 
1. Press the quilt top.
2. Layer with the backing and batting.
3. Quilt as desired. My version of Neighborhood Charm is quilted in the ditch and with doors and front walks.  I added some “garden inspired” quilting in the “parks”.

4. Bind with the binding strips.

One Neighborhood Charm quilt 37½” x 39″

Debbie Grifka
{Esch House Quilts}