September Bundle of the Month

  Hello All!! I am Naomi. I have the great fortune to work in a fabulous quilt shop, The Old Craft Store. I am starting this blog to tell you more about the things we are doing in the store. Please bear with me as I learn how to best use this blog to bring information to you.

Let's get started! 😊

Every month The Old Craft Store selects 18 coordinating fabrics for a Fat Quarter Bundle of the Month (FQBoM).

If you like the selection, place your order by the 20th of the month and we will have it ready for you soon after.

Since we are cutting to order, we are not limiting it to Fat Quarters. You can let us know if you want a Fat Eighth bundle or a half yard bundle! We want you to have what works for you! Of course, orders are filled as signed up, and while supplies last.

We don't always make samples from the selections. But sometimes the bundle hits a sweet spot and this time my boss encouraged me to go with the inspiration.

I've been noticing rainbow quilts on Pinterest. These two caught my eye, Tilted and Zig Zag Rail Fence.  I used the pins as inspiration only. Both quilts are made with easy blocks that have probably been used in quilts since the beginning of quiltmaking. I am creating my own piecing plan that I will be sharing with you in this blog update, but I encourage you to purchase the patterns if you like them. Please note that I have not read the instructions from the designers and am not promoting for them. However, I do believe in pointing to where inspiration comes.

I decided to make a quilt similar to the Tilted Pinterest pin. It's made up of two rectangles, a background rectangle and an accent rectangle, that are stacked together and sliced in the middle at an angle. Make the slices as varied and random as possible for more interest in the flow of the quilt.

figure 1

The angles of the slice are very random. Then the pieces, one background and one accent piece, are sewn back together to make a square.

figure 2

figure 3

Here's a quick version of exactly what I did.

I cut rectangles 5" (height) x 5.5" (width):
        (45) background rectangles
        (9) variety of blues
        (9) variety of yellows
        (8) variety of reds
        (9) variety of greens
        (6) variety of purple
        (5) variety of orange

I carefully stacked one background and one accent piece so all edges lined up. (figure 1)

With a rotary cutter I sliced apart at random angles. (figure 2) Make sure to be cutting the longer sides separate, otherwise you will end up with a skinnier rectangle instead of a square!

Then I pieced the halves back together. Taking care the right side stays on the right and the left sides on the left, piece a background half to an accent half. (figure 3) 

Also, when you piece these together, you have to offset the pieces slightly. That valley where my needle is pointing is exactly where the 1/4" seam will be. This needs to be done so that when the block is opened, there's a smooth edge and perfect square without jagged edges.

Trim the dog ears.

The wonky block is now a 5" square.

Lay it out in a design that appeals to you. I used the Pinterest pin for the diagonal color placement.  I have a grid of 9 across and 10 down. The finished quilt top should be approx 41" x 45.5".

(oops. Looking at this photo now, I see I have a yellow block turned upside down! Taking pictures while you work helps a lot!)

A couple things to take note of... If you look closely, all my yellow blocks were cut in the same direction (from top left down to bottom right.) Same for the purple and the green that's next to the purple. Cutting them all in the same direction is fine. But can you tell that the top left diagonal yellow, orange, and green streaks are more jagged looking? Those have varied cuts. Some were sliced from top left to bottom right (as in figure 1) and some were sliced bottom left to top right.

You can easily change the size of this quilt, either by adding more blocks or by increasing the size of the block.  If you increase the size, just make sure that the long side of the rectangle is 1/2" longer than the short side. That 1/2" is the seam allowance for piecing it back into a square. 

The other thing to note is that I am using only the prints in the Bundle of the Month plus a background. Using more prints will make it more scrappy looking and will add a lot more texture and interest to the quilt!

OK! I'm off to finish piecing this quilt top together. I hope you enjoyed my first blog post for The Old Craft Store. Please, feel free to leave any inquiries in the comments. 

18 piece Bundle of the Month
    Fat Quarter Bundle $58.95
    Fat Eighth Bundle $31.95
    Half Yard Bundle $113.95
Call us at The Old Craft Store to order your Bundle of the Month (972) 242-9111.

Thank you!