The Man in the Wilderness Quilt Pt. 1

In the spring of 2012 I had this crazy idea. Driving through the country on my way home from work, through a misty rain I saw the brown and ochre landscape slowly giving way to the new bright green buds of the season. It was breathtaking. I knew I wanted to capture this color impression in a quilt.

 And then, on top of that idea, I had been listening to the Natalie Merchant album, Leave Your Sleep. On one of the tracks, Natalie puts music to the Mother Goose poem, The Man in the Wilderness. I loved that poem as a child and Natalie does it more than justice with her musical arrangement. Those colors and that poem were a match made in heaven for me. So I began my design.

Putting my graphic design skills to work, I laid out an arrangement of different sized blocks to fit within the constraints of the queen sized quilt I wanted to make (76" x 90"). I had no idea what was going to go inside those different blocks so I had to research beginner type quilt blocks that would fit in each space. I also specified six big patches to use for embroidery/applique of the poem.

This is the quilt's baby picture.

Now this quilt idea was crazy mostly because I had never really made a quilt and this quilt was going to be so big and include so many different kinds of blocks. As I learned, I thought I would share my knowledge with you as my scrappy log cabin, pinwheel, staggered strips, applique, and propeller quilt block tutorials. I'm so happy about the popularity of these tutorials because my intention was to help beginners like myself tackle some basic quilt blocks with as few tears as possible.

I took my time (obviously by the finish date on this project) and really tried to do things right as I went along. There were some frustrations and self-doubt but surprisingly few regrets. I loved the process and have already started my next project.

I did make the choice to have my quilt professionally quilted by our good friend Stitchlilly. Best. Decision. Ever. I chose an overall stipple pattern except for the applique areas. Those I did by hand with 6 strands of embroidery floss and no set-in-stone pattern. I wanted it to be a little more free-form and playful.

My next post will highlight some of the small details of this quilt an hopefully some better photos. New discovery of mine: photographing something so large is not easy!

–Cassandra

PS-I will admit, for a moment, as I was sewing up the colorful scrappy blocks...there was some small panic. Was this going to be too colorful? Obnoxious even? But I pressed on with fingers crossed. Did it turn out to be too much? Hells yes. But I love it anyway!

Propeller Quilt Block

Hi folks!

Today we have another tutorial for a classic quilt block design called the Propeller Quilt Block. This one uses techniques learned from the super-simple Pinwheel Quilt Block and adds a few more elements to make a very versatile 10" block.

What I love about this block is that the fabric color choices you make can alter the visual effect of this block radically. Check out these color options and see how these blocks make completely different patterns when repeated in groups of 4:

 And now, if you want to try this for yourself....

These are the pieces that come together to make this 10" block:

Let's begin by making 4 of these: 

Cut two 4-7/8" squares of each fabric color. Laying those two fabrics right sides together draw a diagonal line with a water soluable marker across one point to another. Then stitch a 1/4" seam on either side of the line as illustrated here:

Sometimes sewing on the bias (across the grain of the fabric) can be tricky on pieces like this. I have some tips on my Pinwheel Block tutorial that can help keep those seams neat. After stitching, cut apart along the marker line and press seam allowance toward darker fabric. Make sure your block is 4.5" square, nipping off the little "dog ears" where the fabrics come together.

Next, we will make 4 of these:

Begin by making strips of 2 fabrics 2-1/2" wide and at least 10-1/2" long. Sew those strips along the long edge with a 1/4" seam allowance. Press the seam open toward the darker fabric and place on your cutting mat. You will now have a big piece that measures 4-1/2" x 10-1/2".

Using your rotary cutter and straight edge, cut four, 2-1/2" wide strips off of the 2-color piece you just made.

Now, cut one 2-1/2" square out of the fabric from one of the diagonal pieces you made above for the center of the block.

All the pieces are now ready to be put together to create your block! So now what you need to do is lay your block out in just the way you want it to appear.

You are now ready to start sewing the sections together. Using a 1/4" seam allowance, stitch together each row on the top 3, middle 3, and bottom 3 sections of the block together like this:

Press all seams to the side. You have 3 pieces left. These all are now stitched together with a 1/4" seam allowance to finish the block.

Helpful tip: As I was sewing this block together, I found that pinning the blocks on the seams exactly where I wanted them to line up was critical for my seams to meet where they should.

This block is just one of many designs in a quilt I have in progress. But the more I look at the versatility of this design I get inspired to make a quilt entirely of these blocks. It could be scrappy and fun or super modern-chic!

–Cassandra

PS - See some of our other tutorials for more quilty fun: Staggered Strips Block, Scrappy Log Cabin Block, and Pinwheel Quilt Block.