Friday, April 9, 2010

Liberated Cross Blocks


 Blame it on my friend, Joan.  I'm starting another quilt!  I just couldn't resist when she put out the broad invite to join her at Wishes, True and Kind in a quilt along with Heather from A La Mode Fabrics. Her fabrics and blocks got me from "virtual hello".   Once I was hooked, I realized however, that I didn't even know how to make the  cross blocks for the mini quilt along. She and Heather are going by a pattern that I don't have. But, hey!  In my effort to be more "liberated", I have decided to just wing it!  What follows is my rendition of the cross block and how I am making them.  And Joan is right..............They are ADDICTIVE.  Good thing they don't contain calories!!

I've been collecting some solids from Kona and Moda and decided this project would be perfect for the yummy greens, aqaus, yellows and white that keep showing up in my solid container.
First, I had to decide what size to make my blocks. For fun, my blocks will all be the same height but vary in width. I cut my fabrics 12 inches high and "whatever" width, layering two fabrics when I cut.



Next step was to make two cuts across the "middleish" of the block, making the cross bar. No measuring allowed.  Just eyeball where you want the cross on the block.





Seperate the top and bottom from the middle section and eyeball two cuts on each to create the vertical cross bar.
Note: I did not cut through the middle cross section. So, there are now 7 patches to this block. Because there are two layers of fabric, I have cut two blocks at once.  Now, for the magic:



Carefully remove the top fabric from the "cross" sections and place the 3 parts next to the original block forming a cross. In this case, the parts are aqua, leaving the white underneath cross behind.  Now, move the white underneath fabric from each of the four remaing sections and place them on the second block, being careful to keep each in the same positon.


PIn and sew the upper sections of both blocks together.  I placed a pin in the upper cross section next to the middle to mark it's postion on the block.( I think you can see the pins in the picture if you look carefully.)






Now, sew the bottom sections together in the same way, being careful to keep the parts in the correct postitions. The pin  markers help to do that.






Pin the upper and lower sections to the cross bar, centering them and sewing together. I pressed all the seams open when making this block, by the way. Note: The upper and lower secions will be shorter than the middle cross bar.  Doesn't matter. Just sew them together.  No matching needed, really, for this liberated look we are going for.







You are almost done...............now just trim the blocks to the desired size. I decided to trim my blocks all to 10.5 inches high and various widths. This will make it easier to assemble the quilt in the end.





Here are my finished blocks!  I am pleased with the way they turned out. Each cross will be a little bit wonky for an interesting quilt.  I had to force myself to quit sewing. These were so much fun to make.  I don't know how many I need really.  Surely I'll get tired of making them sometime!
Thanks, Joan, for inviting me to join in your quilt along....I'm lovin' it!

And now, for the news you've all been waiting for:  The winner of the Boxer Give Away! 
The winner is Jennifer from That Girl......That Quilt. I'll send you an email and get your address so I can get the dog.........er, I mean undies and charm pack in the mail. Congratulations! Jennifer, who'se loving grey, yellow and purple color combo right now, is wanting some boxers to replace the ones her husband took over after her own trip to Target for some Liberty of London love! Thanks, everyone for the nice comments and messages.  A special thanks to those of you who became a follower.  You're awesome! 
Piecefully,
Carla

11 comments:

  1. Oh, Carla -- I love, love, LOVE what you are doing here! You have truly liberated your cross blocks. The solids are perfect (I have started cutting some solids and am hoping they will go well with my prints), and I love how you are varying the width of the blocks and have changed them from none-patch to seven-patch! You have truly made these your own! I am so pleased to have been even a tiny part of this!

    And congratulations to Jennifer! Woo Hoo!

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  2. Love it, Carla! Love your colors, love your method! I'm using a different approach because I'm trying to conserve these fat quarters I'm crying over. Maybe I'll do a little process documentation in the next couple of days. Isn't it FUN!?!?! Yes, the answer is yes!

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  3. Your blocks are just wonderful! I can't wait to get started on mine...

    Thank you, thank you, thank you for the boxers! I'm so excited to have won and I'm happy to have found your blog too.

    Jennifer :)

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  4. how come i lOVE this soooo much... oh that's right... cause it's fabulous!!! the solids together... f a n t a s t i c !! ;)

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  5. Eeeep! Just what I've been looking for. I just could not wrap my head around this. Thank you!

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  6. I love this idea! Do you think it'd be too busy to try prints instead of solids??
    Linda in OK
    http://quiltcookies.blogspot.com

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  7. Thank you for the tutorial.
    And I'm your new follower.
    Best regards
    Jo&cats

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  8. i made a quilt using your technique!

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/57599878@N08/5299620862/

    Thanks so much!

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  9. I love this quilt block and plan to whip up a quick wall hanging for my father-in-law for his seminary graduation gift. Hopefully, I can put one together in a week...Will link to this tutorial when I post it! Thanks!!

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  10. I finished it, in time even! You can check it out on my blog:

    http://sidestitches.blogspot.com/2011/05/modern-cross-quilt.html

    Thanks so much for this wonderful tutorial!

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  11. Thanks again for this awesome tutorial. I finished my quilt!
    http://r0ssie.blogspot.com/2011/05/bound.html

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