Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Moda BlockHeads Block 8 Basket of Triangles

Hello everyone! Another week, another block! and this week is MY week.  
I'm so happy to bring you... 

Basket of Triangles

Pattern link is below.

For this block, I chose a background from Lizzie's Legacy, a red print from Hope's Journey and the brown and gold prints are from Rachel Remembered which is shipping to shops this week! Yay!!!

 Be sure to starch your fabrics before cutting...it makes all the difference with these small blocks.

I could have used 1" triangle paper, but cut 2" squares for HSTs instead. I then trimmed each triangle unit to 1 1/2".  I like that method for small amounts of triangles most of the time. You will notice in the pattern, cutting instructions are given for 1 7/8" squares, so I've only added 1/8".  Note the brown triangles at the top of the basket?  Those must be cut from 1 7/8" squares.
I always layout my pieces, sew in groups and replace in the layout before proceeding. Makes it easier to catch a mistake. 

I love baskets!  Take your time, cutting and sewing accurately. Pressing of the triangles can be tricky as you sew units together for the brown and gold triangles.  You might try pressing seams open, or pressing to the side with the least resistance. I press to the side.  That's me, my preference.  Do what works for you. I like my seams to stagger. I pin next to the side of the seam and I do stitch over my pins.  Bad girl, but I do.  I showed you last week how I press seams...I un-sew the stitching, twisting (flipping) the connecting seam so the seams go in the opposite direction. This gives me a very flat intersection. Then after I join rows, I may need to clip 1/4" away from the seam to continue 
staggered seams and flat intersections.

Here's the back of my basket.  Note the intersections, the flipping of seams makes cute 4 patches. 


What a coincidence...the question of the week concerns pins!  Didn't I just confess that I sew over pins? It's not a great habit, and I do hit some occasionally. 
 I do a lot of finger pinning as well as straight pinning. 
When I pin long sashes or borders, I like the long Clover pins, but for pinning block parts, I prefer  2507 Clover Patchwork pins, super thin and sharp. For the traveling sewing kit, I like the Little House pins in the cute little tin. And, talk about sharp!!! No wonder they are contained in that tin!


I pinned a lot on these blocks! And please press carefully.  Tiny 3" blocks are so easily distorted. 

Last week Lynne gave us a Penny Basket, and you saw the Mini Penny Basket that I made. If you missed, go to last week's blog. But, since I know not all of you like applique, I posted, while at Jury Duty, to Facebook and Instagram, the little basket block I made to show this week.  Yes, I made the block with the intention of showing it for my mini this week, but scheduled the blog post without it.  
I blame nerves over Jury Duty. 

 Monday night I decided to try making Basket of Triangles in  a 3" block and ....
oh my, it is so cute...they both are! The other little basket is actually known as Cake Stand.

The block on the right is what I made last week, for this week.  The HST units are 3/4" finished.
  I made the one on the left, this week, for today, and it has 1/2" finished HSTs.


I strongly recommend 1/2" triangle paper or cutting squares 1 1/2" for HSTs and trimming to 1" after stitching and pressing. I used Lisa's 1/2" papers for the brown and green triangles and then cut squares for the rest. Rectangles are cut 1" x 2 1/2", squares 1" and for large cream triangle, cut a 
2 7/8" square in half diagonally.
 If you like making these 3" cuties, please sign up to receive my blog post delivered to your email.

 I'm loving these 3" blocks.

to download the pattern for Basket of Triangles,



Happy Sewing!

Tuesday, I made Lisa's bonus block...I actually found leftover geese units just the right size for the star points and whipped up some triangles using 1" triangle papers. Fabrics are Eliza's Indigo and Rachel Remembered.
 Another awesome alternate block! Thanks Lisa!!!

Hope you are all enjoying making our blocks!  The creativity of those shown on social media is wonderful to see.  This is just month 8!  40 blocks to go.
Be sure to visit my friends' blogs to see their blocks. Their links are below.

Last thing on today's list... the long awaited Rachel Remembered is shipping to your local quilt shop this week. To those who missed the starter bundles, here's your chance to pick up some of my pretty fabric...I'm a little biased, I love this line!  This photo was from last October when it was shown at Quilt Market. My big Ohio star quilt I call Rachel's Garden is hanging now, in Hancock's of Paducah for Quilt Week...anyone going to Paducah?  I've never been.

and this was posted by Moda....

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time ~
Betsy



Lynne - 
Blog - http://kansastroublesquilters-lynne.blogspot.com/ 
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/KansasTroublesQuilters/ 
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/lynnektq/ 

Betsy - 
Blog - http://betsysbestquiltsandmore.blogspot.com/ 
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/betsy.chutchian 
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/betsy_chutchian/ 

Lisa B - 
Blog - https://lisabongean.com/ 
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/primitivegatherings.quiltshop/ or https://www.facebook.com/lisa.bongean 
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/lisabongean/  or https://www.instagram.com/primitive_gatherings_quiltshop/  or  https://www.instagram.com/primitive_gatherings_ca/ 

Jan - 
Blog - http://janpatek.blogspot.com/ 
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/jan.patek.79?fref=nf 
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jan_patek_quilts/ 

Jo - 
Blog - http://jomortonquilts.com/jos_journal/ 
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/jomortonquilts/?hc_ref=PAGES_TIMELINE&fref=nf 
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/joquilts/ 

Moda - 
Blog - http://blog.modafabrics.com/ 
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/modafabrics/ 
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/modafabrics/ 

15 comments:

  1. I love basket blocks, and yours is lovely!
    Oh, those mini baskets speak to my mini-making heart! Wonderful!
    Funny, those are the same two types of pins I prefer--and I sew over them, too.

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  2. Oh Betsy! You’re so Fine! You’re so fine you blow our minds!

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  3. thankyou for this latest block, I am trying to make mine 12" as find working small is so fiddly for me so will see if I can make this one bigger too

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  4. I love this latest block - thank you! I haven't tried the 3" blocks yet, but hope to do that soon. And I too sew over pins!

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  5. I'm a first time visitor to your blog and I was happy to read that you sew over your pins. I do this also. As long as you go slow, there's time for the machine needle to slide to one side or the other if you're close. I think I can count on one hand the number of times I've actually broken my needle. For me, it's the only way to get the sharp, crisp intersection that I want. Thank you for revealing your "bad" habit. It's really nice to know I'm not the only one. Take care!!

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  6. Love this one! Can't wait to get started.

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  7. Thank you For such wonderful directions. I am using your collection Hope's Journey for my Blockheads. Love the rich colors you used. Looking forward to Rachel Remembered. It just might sneak into my Blockheads!

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  8. Beautiful block and the mini is so sew cute!

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  9. Love your mini! I haven't tried them but hope to soon😏. Is there a link to Lisa's bonus block?

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    1. Diana, have you found the link for Lisa's bonus block? It is on her blog. see her links here on this post.

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  10. I loved your block so much I copied the fabrics you selected pretty closely. Your block is beautiful. I had trouble with the pressing, as usual so it's a little chunky in a couple spots but it measures right and there is only on place it is a smig off so overall it's a good day! Thanks for contributing so much to this wonderful group.

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  11. Love the minis. Every quilt I make had leftover bits that are now used for minis. What would we do without the paper to keep accuracy constant. Love Blockheads and the info on your blogs.

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  12. Dear Betsy I love your Block! Sew much! Please help me out. My hst for the basket should be trimmed to 1 1/2 inches. But the ones for the handles? To what siZe? Tia

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    1. Hi Tia, the HSTs for th handle are trimmed to the same size, 1 1/2".

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    2. Thanks so much for the quick reply <3 you are a dear!

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