Hello there!

This week I am sharing the third block in month 3 - the Crown of Thorns block. 

Just three prints in this one. I cut my squares for the HST about 1/8" larger to be able to trim them to size as this is my personal preference. 

Once you get all the HSTs made, this block comes together easily. 

I do recommend pressing in the direction the book indicates so that things will nest together nicely. :)

Happy Sewing! 

Hello again!

We're making ALL the geese this week for Block 2 in Month 3. 

I have to admit I joked with myself that this BOM should be called the "so many seams" BOM! LOL

But the end result is worth it ... and one of the great things about a BOM is getting to try out different types of blocks that I might not normally think to use/sew. 

As usual, I cut everything and then chain pieced to work on all three size blocks at once. 

I did decide to press the seams in each flying geese block open. I think it helped, but honestly, there are so many seams that it still doesn't lay completely flat when finished. But I think this reduced some of the bulk in a few spots at least. 

I did follow directions for pressing seams open once I started joining the units together. This comes together kind of like a courthouse steps block. 

Whew! That was a lot of geese! hah!

See you next week!

Hey there!  Welcome to Month 3 of the Summer Moon BOM! Month 3 Block 1 is the Bear Tracks block. And I have to say ... I love the look of this block, but it was definitely tedious to cut and sew! :) 

As with all of my other blocks, I cut all three sizes at once and then worked on them at the same time. 

This time we are cutting pieces that have 1/8th increments versus 1/4" inch increments - so be sure to pay attention! I thought about cutting this one evening, but decided to wait until I wasn't so tired - LOL!

I made my HSTs a little bigger and trimmed them down (as I usually do). 

Be sure to take the time to draw the line on the back of the background squares. With pieces so small, it is extra important to be accurate.

When I went to assemble the units, I worked in a pattern. So, while they are scrappy looking, they are very controlled as well. It was easier for me to streamline this than agonize over where each fabric ended up. But that's just me - feel free to be more organic about it. 

My goodness that small block is teeny tiny!

But they sure are cute, right? I really want to make a cute pinnie with a small one at some point. 

See yall next week! 

Happy Sewing!

Summer Moon - Month 2, Block 3 - Pinwheel Geese

We're wrapping up month 2 of this BOM already! It seems like the summer is just flying by. And speaking of flying ... this week's block is full of flying geese! 

As I have with all of my other blocks so far, I've cut all three sizes and then chain piece them all at the same time. This is the most efficient method for me as opposed to working on each size block individually. 

SO many geese in this one! :) 

I did want to share that when I joined the geese units together, I pinned them so that the bottom of the "triangle" was the side I followed with my presser foot. It's the edge that is the most straight and I found it worked a little better for me. (You may prefer to sew with this the other way so you can see that you are sewing the intersection of the seams a little better. (Hopefully that makes sense!) 

Once you get all those little geese made, it is pretty quick to add the rectangles and put the four patches together to complete the block. 

I do love the movement in this block! This would be a fun one to play with color placement on. Maybe an ombre effect and a dark background? So many ideas! This is one of the great things about working on a sampler quilt - so many different types of blocks to try out without having to make twenty or thirty of the same ones. Which one has been your favorite so far?

I will be taking off the Week of July 4th, so I will see you on the 10th with the start of month 3. :) 

Happy Sewing!

Summer Moon - Month 2, Block 2 - Hidden Star

Hey there! Hope you are having a great week so far. :)

We're working on the Hidden Star blocks this week. These blocks are basically  a 9-patch.

We've made HST blocks before, but we haven't done the diamond in a square yet. 

(Note: I do like to make my HSTs slightly bigger and trim with a Bloc Loc.)

Making these diamond in a square blocks are constructed very similarly to flying geese (and we've definitely made a lot of those ;-) 

I have to admit, I really hate to have to draw lines to do all these corner triangles / folded corners. And sometimes - especially with smaller piecing - I will just wing it. But I wanted to introduce you to a little ruler tool just for this purpose! 

The Mini Simple Folded Corner Ruler by Doug Leko is so great! You can use it to pre-trim your corners with a 1/4" seam allowance. This then gives you the edge to follow for sewing and at the perfect distance from the diagonal of the square! I really loved using this little ruler on these blocks. :) 

Once you get the HSTs and the diamond in a square blocks all done, it's easy to zip along and assemble your blocks! 

See you next week! 

Summer Moon - Month 2 Block 1 - Capital T

Welcome to Month 2! We're using a different background for these three - cute little silver dots! :) 

The Capital T block is on page 16. I continue to like cutting all the pieces for all three sizes and then working on the blocks simultaneously. If you prefer to make them one at a time, do whatever works best for you!

Note: I did cut my squares for the HST portions of the block at the nearest inch (or half inch) - basically 1/8" larger than suggested. I prefer this method, which allows me to trim them with my Bloc-Loc and feel this helps me with accuracy. 

Make the HST and the geese units per the book - being sure to press as instructed. (Normally, I press toward the darker print on an HST, but your seams will nest nicely if you follow the book directions and press to the background.)

You can see in this photo that I've got all the units ready for all three sizes to head back over to my machine. :)

One tip I wanted to share is that sometimes when making geese this tiny, it can be hard to make them absolutely perfect. When I went to join them with a plain square or a HST block, I used the plain or HST square as a quide for accurate size and sewed with these blocks on top to be sure my seam allowance was nice and straight. (Hope that makes sense!)

These blocks came together pretty easily. Be sure to pin the intersections when joining rows so nothing shifts too much while sewing.

Hope you're having fun so far! See you next Wednesday...

Happy Sewing!

Summer Moon - Month 1 Block 3 - Fool's Puzzle Block

We're wrapping up month 1's blocks!

I have to admit that this wasn't my favorite block to make - mostly because of all of the intersections involved! Be sure to pay close attention to the directions regarding pressing seams and also trimming the center units. 

I did try to take care to pin things in place to match up all the points. And while these aren't perfect blocks, once the whole quilt is together and quilted, I will probably not even notice!

Overall, my blocks came out pretty well, although if I were to make a bunch of these again, I would construct it with squares and trim the block instead of using flying geese. But it was a fun challenge no less! :) 

Hope you are having a great week! 

Happy Sewing!

Summer Moon - Month 1 Block 2 -Churn Dash Block

The Churn Dash block is a classic and works with so many different types of fabric styles and it is EASY!

One thing that I did want to share about making this one is that I prefer to make my HST blocks slightly larger and then trim them down to size. When cutting my squares for these pieces, I rounded the measurement up to the nearest half inch. (For example, if it was 2-3/8, I cut at 2.5" and if it was 2-7/8, I cut at 3".) I then used my Bloc Loc to trim my blocks to size. 

Three blocks came together really easily and the smaller they are the cuter they are, don't you think?!

See you next week! Happy Sewing!

Summer Moon - Month 1 Block 1 - Album Block 

Hello there! The first block we are sewing is the Album block. This is a traditional block that is easy to sew despite having quite a few pieces. 

Use the instructions in the book to cut the block in each of the three sizes. (Note that you will have some leftover pieces (mentioned on page 9), so don't panic as you lay out your block that you are missing something! :) 

I worked on one block at a time and pieced my diagonal strips/rows. 

And then sewed the rows together. The book directions call for pressing away from the center strip. I used a bit of Flatter spray once I finished piecing it. 

You'll trim each block to a different size (small, medium and large) so be sure to reference the book for that. I used a line on my ruler to help me keep the design centered while trimming.

Once you have trimmed your block, be sure to handle it carefully, as there are now lots of bias edges on the sides. :) 

See you next week with our next block! 

The Summer Moon Block of the Month has begun! We've shipped out the first month's kits and you'll find a new post each Wednesday with some photos and construction tips for a new block. 

A few things to note ... 

We are using the order shared on page 3 of the book for the blocks we will complete each month. This isn't necessarily the order the blocks appear in the book, but they are arranged by blocks all using the same background fabric. 

We will make the same block in three sizes each week. 

I am using a bucket I got a local big box store to keep my fabrics and scraps and book in. If you're at all like me, your cutting table can get a little crazy so it's nice to corral them all. 

See you on Wednesday with our first Block (Album block page 8). 

Happy Sewing!