Note: The Pine Sky quilt along has ended, but these blog posts will stay up from the 6 week quilt along will stay up. Use these to guide you through the process of making your own Pine Sky quilt!
Are you ready for a fun week of sewing? This week, we dive into our piles of strips to make the base blocks for Block 1 and Block 2. These base blocks make up the majority of sewing, so they will get stretched over this week and week 4. Because these blocks are perfect for chain piecing, they sew up quickly. Enjoy this fun-filled week of sewing!
Weekly Goal
The goal this week is to finish four base blocks. Depending on how you choose to sew your blocks, it may be just as easy to make it halfway through all 8 of the base blocks required in the pattern (more on chain piecing below). No matter how you choose to sew your blocks, make your goal to get about halfway through all the base blocks. If you get started and just can’t stop, don’t be surprised if you finish all of them this week.
Weekly Tips
Efficiency. That’s the tip this week. There are 17 pieces that make up each base block. Using the technique of chain piecing will let you sail through these blocks. If you are not familiar with chain piecing, learn more about it in THIS TUTORIAL.
Here is how I set up my space for this. First, I lay out all 17 pieces on the table right next to my sewing machine. Don’t worry if those last pieces are really far away from you; you won’t be using them at first. Next, I set up an ironing station right next to me. I have a 12″ x 18″ wool mat that can rest right next to me with my iron. After I sew a seam on every block, I don’t even have to move to press my seam. If you have a seam roller or weighted clapper, you could skip iron pressing every seam in favor of a simple press with the clapper or roller. Either way, make sure you press the seams well at the end.
Pressing & adjusting
Start with your HST. Double-check the orientation of the HST to make sure you are sewing on the correct side. The first step is to sew every piece A onto every HST. As you can see in the tutorial linked above, you do not need to cut your threads or stop, you just keep adding the next set of HST and piece A. After you have sewn all 8 of these sets, use scissors to cut the pieces apart. Press. Next, sew piece B onto the HST. Make sure to have all of your HST/A sets and B pieces ready and sitting by your sewing space. Sew every HST set and piece B together, one after another, without stopping. Continue on in this way to efficiently sew your blocks.
Of course, you don’t have to chain piece. If you prefer to sew each block, one at a time, and repeat, that works too, Find the way that works best for you.
I have two more tips for you this week. First, remember to press and not iron. What do I mean? Aren’t these the same? No, I mean press down on your seams and not back and forth. If you iron back and forth, your seams will curve and every subsequent piece on the block will be slightly out of place. Instead, press down on the seam before opening. Open the seam flat, and press down on the seam with your iron. It sounds so easy, but I know how easy it also is to forget this tip.
Last, be prepared for your blocks to have errors and adjust. Now, I’m sure none of you ever sew a seam outside of the quarter-inch seam allowance or cut a piece an eighth of an inch off, right? Well, as someone that does makes these mistakes, I know to adjust as I go. The base block builds piece after piece just like the classic log cabin block it is similar to. Because of this, it is easy for a side to become a quarter inch too long or short. If you have a piece that is too long, trim it before adding your next piece. What is most important is that this block stays square. I have found that if I trim a sixteenth inch here or there, I have a better block at the end. And don’t stress about these small errors; they will work just fine in the finished quilt.
Going Foward
Make sure you check your inbox this week to see the prizes and coupons available. Next week, we will be continuing with the base blocks. There will not be a new blog post, but I will send out an email with a weekly goal, prize announcements, and discount codes. Happy sewing, friends.
