Comfort and Blessings

I’ve done it again after I said that I wouldn’t do this until I finished some of my ufos.  I’ve found the most wonderful blog with a blocks (three) of the week quilt.  The quilt is called Comfort and Blessings.  There are 32 pieced blocks.  They finish to 9″.  The quilt size is 87″ x 103″. The quilt instructions are on http://www.piecingthepastquilts.com.

There are several downloads before you start this quilt.  First, there is a picture of the finished quilt.  No guessing on what it will look like.  There is a diagram of the block placement.

In this quilt there are 6 different reds, 4 different oranges, 3 different golds, 5 different greens, 7 different blues, 5 different browns and 10 different neutrals.  The first chart tells how much of each fabric is needed.

There is a fabric key chart.  When the fabric is cut, a small piece of each color is pasted on the chart.  That way, you have a record of the fabrics that you used and their number.

Before you cut the fabric, you number quart baggies from 1 to 32.  A second cutting chart tells you what sizes to sub cut your pieces and what baggie to use for each sub cut.   This take a little bit of time, but it is well worth the effort.  At this point, all the decisions are done.

   Block #1   Nelson’s Victory

Last summer, there was a sale of Free Spirit fabric at Mardens. I bought several fat quarters.  The colors and patterns of the fabric was not what I usually buy, but it was a great sale.  That fabric is perfect for this quilt.  I just had to wait until the right pattern came along.  A few months ago I washed, starched, and ironed all my leftover white muslin.  I would use that for the neutral.

    Block #2   Whirlpool

I cut all of the colored fabric, cut and pasted a small square on the chart, and placed the fabric in the numbered baggies.  I didn’t sub cut the neutral. The pieces were small, so I decided to cut what I needed for each block as I pieced it.

    Block #3  Constellation

The instructions are awesome and complete.  With block #1, you take baggie #1 and use the fabric that is inside the baggie.   There is enough fabric to cut what you need, with a little left over.  So far, the blocks use squares, half square triangles, and flying geese.  The parts are a little oversized and are trimmed down to the correct size.  Pressing instructions are accurate so that seams can be nested.

     Block #4   Country Road

One of my red fabrics didn’t go with the other fabrics in the baggie.  It was too bright and too modern.  It was easy to replace it with another red.  When I come across it again in another baggie, I’ll do the same.

     Block #5  Dutchman’s Puzzle

When I was at Mardens, I also bought a large package of fat quarters of East Spirit fabric.  There are enough fat quarters to use as backing.   I can machine quilt each block, leaving enough fabric to flip and sew the sashing.  Then, when the blocks are all sewn, the quilt will be finished and I don’t have to put a large quilt under the arm of my machine.   Mardens has the best sales.

     Block #6  Double Sawtooth Star

Now that all the preliminary work is done, it doesn’t take much time to sew three blocks in a week.  Sewing a new quilt gives me a burst of energy.  It leaves enough time for the ufos.

Have a great day and happy quilting.