Force: to compel, constrain or oblige

At the end of last year, V** gave me a gift of narcissus bulbs & a tall, narrow pot with planting material.  For the first time in years, I am forcing.

When we lived in New Joisey, I covered our dining room window & patio doors with plants- anything to obscure the parking lot & the scenic overlook of Route 46.  In winter, I scoured the garden section of the hardware stores for bulbs of any kind to add any kind of color to the truly colorless, slushy view.

Forcing bulbs is no complex art, but it does require at least some cold.  I think this is why I got out of the habit when we moved to Texas.  I could hardly remember to put the bulbs in the refrigerator & on the rare occasion I remembered that step, I could not seem to remember to take them out again.  By the time I rediscovered them, they had sprouted, dried & died.  Also, there was the reality that no matter how polluted it is, being in the tropics gives Houston the illusion of healthy greenery.  The winter months were not the same gray.

Winter is not such a gray affair here either.  Still when we got home last month, I immediately opened up the kit & was pleased to see the bulbs were already pushing bleached white stems, even in the complete dark of the packaging.  I planted them fast,  covered them during the day for the first week or so to give the roots some catch up time & now every day is a new stage.  The rest of winter is likely to be mostly-mild enough that I can get another set chilled just sitting a week or so in the garage & will not have to be without flowers for the next few months.

I forgot how much I liked them.  When we walk in&out the back door, they have just enough scent to be pleasant.  The flowers are delicate & clean & best of all, they have a natural sparkle:

Massachusetts Star in June 2011

As I have said in a previous posts, I am trying to progress through the three block swaps for this corner from beginner, a bit more advanced, & then truly advanced.  For the third, most advanced block we will be making the Massachusetts Star, which was actually requested last year, but I could not get the directions photographed etc. in time. This block will be 12" finished/12." unfinished. 

Below are the directions with photos for making the block, including the 1/2-square & 1/4-square triangles that make up much of the 9-patch.  You could also follow the directions from the link above.  They are slightly different but will give you a block of the same dimensions.

To make your block you will need two fabrics:

Fabric A can be red or red&white or red&white&blue or blue or blue&white.  In my photos it is pale blue with white polka-dots.

Fabric B should be either reads-as-solid blue or reads-as-solid white or reads as solid black.  I choose black with a black ribbon pattern.

For each block, from each fabric, please cut:

1 - 4.5" square
2 - 5" squares (these will make the 1/2-square triangles)
2 - 5.5" squares (these will make the 1/4-square triangles)

With a pen or pencil, mark a straight line from one corner to the opposite corner on two of the 5" squares (inevitably, it will be easier to see this mark on one fabric than the other; you only need mark the easier/lighter fabric).  Do the same with the 5.5" squares & then, with the 5.5" squares only, draw a second line connecting the other two corners.  Do NOT mark the 4.5" square, just set both of them aside.  

To make the 1/2-square triangles take one 5" square of each fabric, put the right side together, stitch 1/4" from the center line on either side of the line.  This is the same technique used in the April 2010 block & explained here.  Cut right along the line in the center, press open, trim to 4.5" & set aside with the other 4.5" squares.  Do the same with the second square from each of the two colors.  You will need three (3) 1/2-square triangles to make the complete block.

To make the 1/4-square triangles you will begin the same way.  Take one 5.5" square from each fabric.  Put them right sides together, sew down either side of one of the center lines you have marked connecting the opposite corners, cut them apart, press & then trim to 5" square.  A clear how-to is online here.

On the back of each of these, there will be a line from one corner to the center of the block.  Connect this line with the opposite corner.  Then take another one of the newly-made 5" 1/2-square triangle blocks & put it up against the first, right sides together.  The center seams of both should lock together, holding the part that is fabric A in one block to the part that is fabric B in the other.  Stitch down either side of the center line, cut them apart & press.  You should have four (4) 1/4-square triangle blocks that are 4.5" square.  You will need all four of them. 

Once all the smaller pieces are made, the Massachusetts Star is really just a 9-patch.  Layout the three 1/2-square triangles, 4 1/4-square triangles & 2 4.5" squares as below.  Stitch each row together, being sure to press every row in opposite directions so you can lock your seams (otherwise you will have great mounds in the seam allowance) & then assemble the rows.

Four blocks could make a center star, that can be bordered as you like OR twelve blocks will make an ornate border around a 24" medallion that could be appliqued.  The fabrics were chosen with the upcoming holiday in mind or perhaps a Quilt of Valor, if you felt so inclined.

Blocks are due Saturday June 25th, they will be swapped June 26th & will go back in the mail that Monday, June 27, 2011.  As always, we swap in sets of five, so you would make six blocks (keep one for yourself) send five & get five back in the self-addressed, stamped envelope you included with your five swap blocks.

Log cabin in the springtime for April 2011

For our second block swap this year, I choose an oldie but goodie.  This is often the first quilt block people learn, probably because it is simple enough for a beginner but has a lot of potential when it comes to laying out the quilt top itself.  I am talking of course about the log cabin block.

To make the swap block you will need five (5) fabrics, in 2.5" strips (the reason for this dimension is so you can use up any jelly roll scraps you might have lying around), the result will be the biggest block we have ever made, but it is still beginner friendly.  One side of the log cabin should be three different fabrics, at least one of which should have a "nature" theme, a leaf pattern or vine, something like that.  The other side should read-as-solid & should be either clearly a light color or clearly a dark.  In my examples the light is yellow & the dark is a dark brown.  The center square should always be red.


I would suggest you make this block Eleanor Burns style, starting with the center & bordering two sides with the second fabric choice & the next two sides with the solid.  You will keep wrapping the 2.5" strips in this way until you have a total three turns around the center square & should be 14.5" square.

1- Begin with a 2.5" square of RED fabric.  This is the traditional color of the center of a log cabin block & your first fabric.  You will not need anymore of this fabric, so an 8x8 inch square would be more than enough for all six blocks. 

2-Add a 2.5" square in the second fabric to one side & then a 2.5" x 4.5" strip of the same fabric to an adjacent side, making a larger complete square.


3-With the third fabric (which you will use for 1/2 the log of the log cabin block), add a 2.5" strip to the next side & then the next.  I find the easiest way is to decide to turn the blocks either clockwise or counter clockwise as I piece & then stick with it.

4-Using the second fabric again, you will complete the next two sides.

5-With the fourth fabric, complete the first two sides of the outer edge.

6-Using the second, solid fabric complete the round & complete the block.

Your log cabin block, just to be clear, begins with a center square that is red.  You will need three different fabrics that will comprise one half of the block, one turn each, at least one of which should have leaf or vine or woodsy type pattern, & then the other half of the block will be a fifth fabric that should read-as-solid & should be either obviously lighter than all the others OR obviously darker than all the others.  All the units begin as a 2.5" strip; the first seam connects a 2.5" red square to another 2.5" square.After that you are adding 2.5" strips to each new side, cutting them & pressing them & then adding the next strip.

These blocks are due the last Saturday in April, April 30 2011.  They will be swapped Sunday, May 1 & sent back in the envelope you provide Monday, May 2, 2011.

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.

The 12th day of Christmas & a Chinese curse

Those of you who think the winter holiday is a distant memory should know that today is, in fact, the Twelfth Day of Christmas.  I always wonder at people who complain about the commercialism of the holiday, but stop the season with the day gifts are given.  Whatever, this is not the first, last or even close to either time that people will just plain puzzle me.

& I have no business starting the new year pontificating on why other people drop the ball; starting just before Thanksgiving my world has been slipping, sliding fast.  The good news is there is fodder for many upcoming posts originating (or culminating) in these last few weeks.  The bad news is a lot happened in the last few weeks.  Bad news for me, anyhow, while I live in interesting times.

But I am trying to think about right now & what comes next.  My parents are very likely undecorating tomorrow.  They usually leave the tree etc. up through today:  Little Christmas.  Last year, I had lunch with M*******, which was accidental....  We planned to have lunch, I had just lost track of how full-circle it was to spend Women's Christmas with a woman who works in a woman's shelter.  This year I have just finished a project that I would like to deliver & today seems like the right day. 

The larger of the two is the string quilt pattern I often make.  It's quick, it's bright & it's not so fancy that someone won't use it.  There are some quilts or hand knits or whatever that are future heirlooms; mine are more for every day. 

The other, smaller quilt is more or less (more really) the Once Upon A Time quilt from The Modern Quilt Workshop.  Sidebar:  When I was in the business of selling quilt books, I used to tell people there were less than 1/2 dozen quilt books a person really needed to own.  This is one of them.  I also told people that some of the fabric was evil.  You would have to ask M****** & A***** why they did not fire me.  As for the pattern, yes, I have altered it some, added a border of international children (a gift from A**** with her October 2010 swap blocks, left over from a UNICEF fund raiser, I think), etc.  It is still the same pattern really.  & it is for these story quilts, which I make almost compulsively, that I collect all those novelty scraps, participate in I-SPY swaps, etc.

As you may have guessed from the kid-i-ness of these quilts, M******* has been working on a project of her own. 

& that's it, the first post of 2011.