Cutting corners for kids for February 2011

I was tempted to call this one Kutting Korners for Kids but I could not face the people in my life who would - without a doubt- write "Kute" as a comment (Komment?), so I resisted.  But I still told you about it.

In October 2010 we had our first liberated block & I was really truly not sure how that would go.  It was popular enough that we are doing another liberated block, but this time I am hoping to attract people new to liberated quilting or even just plain new to quilting; this block is without a doubt the easiest block we have ever made.  I swear.  There are no corners to match, not within the block or as the blocks get put together, & there are only two seams per block.  The fabric requirements are also just about as easy as it gets.

Each block begins with one 6.5" inch square.  You will also need two scraps of about 3" square, or not even square (smaller can work, it just depends on how your piece is shaped & how you angle it).  In the photos, the large square is a bright print; a large scale novelty or anything bright & busy would work.  The other two pieces "read as solid" although they are not solid & for the best effect, they should be clearly visible against the block fabric.  The two smaller pieces do not have to be the same size/shape, in fact it is likely they will not be, although they do need to be the same fabric.  If it suits your scrap bag better,  you could cut the large 6.5" square something solid-ish & plain & the two scrap pieces from the same novelty/bright & busy material. 

Take your larger square, right side up & put one of the other pieces, wrong side up (right sides facing)  with the side you will stitch diagonal across the corner so that when stitched & pressed it will turn right-side-up & cover the corner.  This easier to picture than read.

Do the same to the opposite corner.  You're already almost done.  All that is left it to iron the piece flat & re-square the edges back to 6.5".  That's it, that's the whole block.  The only real trick is to make sure there is enough of the corner fabrics for it not to get swallowed up in the seam allowance & believe me, 3" is more than enough.  It is more a guideline really.

That's it, the whole megillah.  Foundation piecers will recognize the flip&cover thing, but even if you have never foundation pieced, you can handle this.  In fact, if you enjoy yourself, you might want to give a foundation pieced block a try.   Please do your best to stay between 1.5" & 2.5" up each edge when make your diagonal seam (otherwise you run the risk of your colorful corner being lost in the seam allowance or your large block becoming more like a center stripe).

Because the corner scraps are almost certainly going to expose some bias edges, please handle your blocks carefully.  If you avoid cutting the original square away until you are actually putting the blocks together into a quilt, they edges will remain much more stable as well.

We are making kids blocks (hence the bright, brighter, brightest look to the fabrics), but Gwen Marston famously made this very block, many times over in red&white (an image I could not locate) which inspired this white squares with colored corners, which I copied outright for myself, cutting up A LOT of plain white muslin into squares & then blowing thru my scrap bag at top speed.

Some of you will notice that the busy-ness of the large-square fabric or the corner fabric might make it hard to butt these up against each other as in the Marston original & the inspiration results.  & yes, I can see that too.  Keep in mind we swap in sets of five, so one swapper would sit there with six different blocks (five swapped & one of her own).  Staggering these with plain old muslin 6.5" squares, with or without the corner treatment would calm the whole thing down & give you a 3square by 4square top.  With a nice wide border or two, you could eke out enough for a small baby quilt.  Also, these blocks really are so simple & so fast (& use up scrap fabric that might otherwise be tossed for being a stoopid shape), you could swap more than one set & start growing that into a nap size or even a twin.

Blocks are due the last Saturday of February, 2/28/2011 to be swapped that Sunday & mailed back (in the self-addressed stamped envelope you provide) the following Monday.