around and around and around we go

I've told you before about the round robins we make with some dutch quilting friends. A round robin is a quilt top you make by making a centerpiece and after that adding rounds. We let the quilts circulate and add a round for all our friends. This is a lovely process since every time someone adds a round, the quilt transforms before your eyes. We have no rules about the rounds, you can really add what you like, keeping in mind of course the owner. As my friend Muriel said: sometimes the new round is about the colors, sometimes it is about the shapes. Sometimes you try to add to what is made, sometimes you break the tradition. Thinking about it and visualizing is a big part of the fun.

Last time my center block became this quilt top. The last round, putting the quilt "en point' I added myself. I am thinking of adding maybe one more round of smaller pieces. Purple is really not my color at all, but I love it in this quilt.

I added two rounds for Nicolette's round robin. I love doing them! I added some blue to the color pallet that matches the blue in one of the fabrics used in the center.

You can find all our round robins and updates in the double dutch flickr group, click here to explore. 

See you soon

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One more Random Sampler filler - a flying geese variation

I love flying geese, they should be in any sampler and in mine for sure. I made a variation to make it measure 3 x 6 inch finished (3 1/2 x 6 1/2 inch unfinished)

Cutting instructions:
For some reason I cannot sew very precise when sewing triangles. I think you should be able to make the block using 4 inch squares, but I prefer them a little bigger and then cutting the block back afterwards.
For making two blocks, cut:

• Color 1 (redish checker): one 4 1/4 inch square (or 4 inch if you think you can do it with no waste). Cut in half diagonally.
• Color 2 (red cross): one 4 1/4 inch square (or 4 inch if you think you can do it with no waste). Cut in half diagonally.
• Color 3 (greenish stars): one 4 1/4 inch square (or 4 inch if you think you can do it with no waste). Cut on both the diagonals to get four triangles.
• Color 4 (blue loops): one 4 1/4 inch square (or 4 inch if you think you can do it with no waste). Cut on both the diagonals to get four triangles.

So no you have 4 bigger triangles and eight smaller ones. Lay them out into your block:

First sew the four triangles together to form a bigger triangle. Use the blue triangle as a center piece and sew on the right and left triangle, add the upper one last.

Cut of the dog ears and sew on the bigger triangles. Iron them and trim back if necessary.

You can scatter them over the random sampler to fill gaps, or make a partial border with them. Hope you like them, see you soon!

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another random sampler tutorial - some small blocks to fill the gaps

I told you about the random sampler here. I now have mostly 6 inch blocks and a few 9 inch ones. So I thought we'd need some 3 inch fillers!

A lazy girl tiny nine patch

Two make two tiny 3 inch (finished, 3 1/2 unfinished) blocks you wil need:
- color 1: three 4 1/2 x 1 1/2 inch rectangles
- color 2: three 4 1/2 x 1 1/2 inch rectangles

Sew these strips together as laid out in the picture. Iron the seams to one side.

Cut them in 1 1/2 inch strips lengthwise:

Lay them out into nine patches:

And sew them together:

Make a few pairs to help your puzzle later-on.

A lovely variation on this theme will be the + block.

A lazy girl tiny + block

Two make a tiny 3 inch (finished, 3 1/2 unfinished) block you wil need:
- color 1: two 3 x 1 1/2 inch rectangles
- color 2: two 3 x 1 1/2 inch rectangles and on 3 1/2 x 1 1/2 inch rectangle (for the center)

This time you will sew together the three 3 x 1 1/2 inch rectangles, Iron and cut in half lengthwise. Put the two halves next to the center rectangle like this:

And you sew them together!

Hope you like them! See you soon!

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And the girls are playing double dutch - a churn dash block tutorial

My dutch quilting "group" Double Dutch have started a "random sampler quilt along" some time ago and we have decided to bring it to life again, because random samplers are so much fun and even more fun when doing them together.

A sampler is a classic quilt design in which you use several quilt blocks of different designs or patterns, but in the same size. Usually in some kind of grid. Like the farmers wife quilt for example. The grid or lay-out can vary but the blocks are the same size in a classic sampler. In a random sampler there is no grid, you improvise all kinds of blocks together in to a quilt. For this random sampler there is a rule: The blocks should be 3, 6, 9 or 12 inch (finished), that makes the puzzling a little less challenging when you want to put it together.

We all enter designs or tutorials for this quilt. I you like the design you make one, or a few of these blocks. I have entered a tutorial before, you can find it here. You can find all the tutorials for the double dutch random sampler here. You can join us at any time and even contribute block tutorials if you want. Feel very welcome.

I've decided to add a tutorial to the list for a churn dash. It is no original design, but a very nice addition to any random sampler I think.

For those of you who can't read my handwriting:

6 inch finished (6 1/2 inch unfinished) churndash block

Cutting instructions:

Color 1:

- two 3 inch squares

- one 2 1/2 inch squares

- four 2 1/2 inch x 1 1/2 inch rectangles

Color 2:

- two 3 inch squares

- four 2 1/2 inch x 1 1/2 inch rectangles

Sewing instructions:

- make 4 half square triangles (HST's) using the 3 inch squares, trim to 2 1/2 inch

- pair the rectangles

- lay-out the block and sew it together

For the second one I used 3 different fabrics as a variation

If you would like to make a smaller churn dash, you could use some really small scraps! And they would make nice fillers when you are ready to puzzle the top together. These are the measurements I used:

3 inch finished (3 1/2 inch unfinished) churndash block

Cutting instructions:

Color 1:

- two 2 inch squares

- one 1 1/2 inch squares

- four 1 1/2 inch x 1 1 inch rectangles

Color 2:

- two 2 inch squares

- four 1 1/2 inch x 1 inch rectangles

Sewing instructions:

- make 4 half square triangles (HST's) using the 2 inch squares, trim to 1 1/2 inch

- pair the rectangles

- lay-out the block and sew it together

Hope you like it, see you soon!

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black and white dancing together, side by side through stormy weather

I was singing this song (2brothersonthe4thfloor) while hanging this round robin on my exhibition line. I was immediately inspired to grab fabrics and make some drawings of options for borders that came to mind. As you may know I love round robins, me and my double dutch friends have some circulating and I have added to a few before. You can read more here, here, here, here and here

This time I made stacked bricks by sewing 19 1 1/2 inch strips together, only after that cutting them in four portions of 3 1/2 inch. This saved a lot of time. I thought the round robin could use some smaller piecing after somewhat bigger strips. I echoed the "arrows" in the corners of the second border. I love the result!

Hope you like it Francis!

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Double Dutch Random Sampler - a dutch windmill block tutorial

Hi everyone, It is my turn to show you a block you could add to your double dutch random sampler! This is the third block we are doing.

If this is new to you we will start with some introductions:
- you can find the announcement of the Double Dutch Random Sampler QAL here at Lotjes blog.
- you can find the tutorial for the first block here on her blog.
- you can find the tutorial for the second block on Muriel's blog here
- you can find our dutch modern quilting group "double dutch" on Flickr here
- and you can join the QAL on Flickr here

Pfff, that was a lot of information I'm sure, but it's nice to have it summed up in one place.

Now for my journey on choosing a block. I am not good at making blocks up, I almost never do it and if I do, explaining how to make it to someone else who is not sitting next to me is even more difficult. So I decided to keep it simple. Like Nigella Lawson says in everyone of her cooking books: Please don't make a new and complex recipe when you are getting company. Instead make something simple that you did before, so you can still enjoy the evening.

We agreed on varying the sizes of the blocks within the boundaries of 3-6-9-12 inch. The first 2 blocks measure six inch. So I made the blocks in a nine inch size, but I have added the measurements for making it 6 inch (finished) or 12 inch (finished). So you can make it a size you like, or multiple sizes, which will have a nice effect in the sampler I think.

My inspiration was a block I made in the Farmer's Wife Quilt Along called Box. Like a lot of blocks in this quilt I really don't get this name. What has this block got to do with a box? It reminds me of a dutch windmill, so I thought it appropriate for this quilt-along.

You will need two contrasting fabrics. And cut them up:

• For a nine inch finished block cut (this is the one I made): 
• color 1: 4 squares of 3 7/8 (you can cut them 4 inch too and trim later if you prefer) and 1 of  3 1/2 inch.
• color 2 (background): 4 squares of 3 7/8 (you can cut them 4 inch too and trim later if you prefer)
• For a six inch finished block cut: 
• color 1: 4 squares of 3 3/8 (you can cut them 3,5 inch too and trim later if you prefer) and 1 of  2 1/2 inch.
• color 2 (background): 4 squares of 3 3/8 (you can cut them 3,5 inch too and trim later if you prefer)
• For a twelve inch finished block cut: 
• color 1: 4 squares of 5 3/8 (you can cut them 5,5 inch too and trim later if you prefer) and 1 of  4 1/2 inch.
• color 2 (background): 4 squares of 5 3/8 (you can cut them 5,5 inch too and trim later if you prefer)

Step 1:

Match the 4 squares of both fabrics in sets of two (right sides together) and make HST's (half square triangles) of them. For less experienced sewers; there are lots of lovely tutorials out there. I will try to give a comprehensible explanation and show some pictures: 

You draw a diagonal line on the squares and sew a scant 1/4 inch of each side of the line. When  finished, cut along the line to seperate two triangles. Fold them open, press open and cut it to size (when you are making the nine inch block: 3 1/2 inch). A lovely "cutting to size" tutorial for HST's, you can find here. 

Some pictures to show what I mean:

Step 2:

Lay out your squares to form the block:

Sew the squares into rows and the rows into a block!

But just to inspire you can choose other layouts as well:

I hope you like it! If you have any questions please let me know!

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sunny days

We are having some lovely, though unpredictable weather in the Netherlands. We spent yesterday at the beach and enjoyed ourselves so much, swimming, lying around, just being. who doesn't want to be here.

For the comfort circle I'm queen bee in July but already posted my idea to make a boat/beach themed random sampler-ish quilt for a little boy. I've asked for blues, beiges, yellows with some pops of color, adding no furthers rules. Everyone makes what they want, how big they want it, etc. This leads to so much creativity in my bee-mates, it is truly incredible. Take a peek here for previews. And I haven't even a plan for my own blocks! So I was looking for some inspiration at the beach too, and I'm thinking of a lighthouse. I do need to figure out how to make one though...

I did make the june block for the sugar block club, called "Teach" this month. Which is in a way appropriate, since I am almost up for my turn in the Double Dutch Random Sampler and am thinking up a little tutorial for a simple block. I love the block:

I have also made two blocks for the random sampler, using Muriels tutorial you can find here. It is a lovely block called Diamond in a cross. You can join us in making a sampler in your own time, you can find us here on flickr. I think I will post my block with a small tutorial next weekend.

See you soon!

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Double Dutch Quilt Along - strawberry fields forever

Being in the double dutch group has inspired me a lot. To be able to talk to people in real life about quilting and working on projects together is very fun and exciting. The round robins we have worked on together are becoming lovely quilts, both harmonious but still you can detect styles and personalities in them. And now we are off on a new adventure. We are doing a Quilt along for a random sampler. A random sampler is a collection of blocks you put randomly in a quilt, no neat rows, or planning ahead to much.

We worked an a charity random sampler together on our last meet. And puzzling all diferent blocks and pieces together randomly was enormously inspiring too. We have decided than and there that we would jump in and make one for ourselves. Will you join us?

It's really a commitment as big as you like. We will all post block instructions each month in our turn and we will use a flickr group you can join to communicate and show each other our blocks. You can make one block, five, none for that month, whatever you like to do.

Lotje has kicked of the quilt along in this post. And has posted the first block, you can find it here.
I've chosen a color scheme a little off my normal pallet. I love my red fabrics and I never seem to use them. And I am very much in love with a table cloth I used for inspiration. It will be red, all blues and turquoises, white and minty green.

I have made two tangram houses:

One with a tree in front of it and one in strawberry fields forever. That will be the name of this quilt!
Pleas join us! If you have questions, you know where to find me!

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the basket round robin

My own round robin started with a basket. In aqua and grey, which is a color combination I love.  Lots of lovely rounds were added by my Double dutch quilty friends. Slowly more limish green and purple were added. I'm not a purple person, but I couldn't help my self, I love it!

I received it back at our last meet and I decided tot put it "en point", which is a very professional quilting term for adding triangles to the sides. I had no idea how to do this with such a big thing. So I started sketching and browsing and measuring and pulling fabrics.

For anyone who is a little rusty in calculating how big a triangle should be when you only know the diagonal this is a useful link. I'm very proud of myself to calculate, cut and sew in a flow without making mistakes!

I chose a glittery white from michael miller, one of my favorite amy butlers (it reminds me of martini's with olives for some reason), a small flowery fabric (I bought in France) and an oakshot purple.

Did some sketshing and calculating, and this is the result, on my new showline of course!

See you soon!

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Merry go round

I love the round robins we do for double dutch! The XS group (those who live near) came to see my new home, chat, drink tea and sew a little. We exchanged some round robins too.

I got my own back, on which I can't wait to add another round. And I got the one from nicolette. I had made the second round a while a go and I love what the others added. To me a round robin adds an extra challenge above a bee. You have something hanging on your wall, you add to the design choices others made and it isn't just a block but a border you add. I choose to add stacks of bricks in soft and hot pinks, petrolish colors, greys and whites. In the corners I repeated the square in squares in black. I love the result! I'm learning to love black in the designs too! It took me some time, but I'm starting to take to it!

 

See you soon!

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Double Dutch - another sewing meet!

We had another double dutch sewing meet in Leiden. Double Dutch is a little organisation of Dutch modern quilters who meet every once in a while, you can find us on Flickr here.

We did a double dutch themed block challenge and we had
lovely muffins made by Mari

My input was dutch "windmills" in the colors of the dutch flag

Lotje and Muriel showing Muriel's lovely Marcelle Medallion

"my" round robin with the basket on top of all the other ones

One of our new members holding up her New York beauty!

Linda en Nicole (followthewhitebunny) holding up Nicole's scrap
vommit quilt! It's lovely. We all got some scraps to start our own.

I love these meetings spent with very different people who all share a love of modern quilts!

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Merry go round

I love making the round robins. I can't explain, but to make a block fore someone is nice. But to have something someone made in front of you and adding to it, gives it just a bit extra for me. This one is for my virtual friend Dutchcomfort. She has added something beautiful to almost all the round robins in the double dutch club. She makes things meticulously and added borders with lots of work in them. And for those who know me a little, ahum, I try, but.... neatness or to much fuss is not my middle name. So, I  did really made an effort this time! Hope you like it Nicolette. The before picture is here.

I think (haven't checked yet) she used the left over triangles from the x&+ blocks we made for here in the Comfort circle. I had saved those scraps too. She made little windmills (pinwheels is the real name I think) out of them. And this I think, shows the versatility of the HST (Half Square Triangle). I used the same triangles in a whole different way in my border. I'm beginning to get more used to using dark greys and blacks in quilts. I especially love the dark border she added here! I fussy cut the little butterflies in the corners and I really love the result. But I have to say goodbye to it, someone else will make another border.. That's the merry go round life of a round robin. Off you go...

See you soon!

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Still playing doubles dutch (part two)

again just in english, sorry dutchies!

I told you a little about our quiltmeet in the last post, especially about the swap. So I told you we did lots of talking, this involved lots of discussing where to buy, what to do when, plans, but some of us also brought some "designer blocks" with us, to get new perspectives on what will be the plan for a project. 

Lotje, Mari and Muriel

so cosy under the attick beams

The designer blocks I brought where the set of blue, green grey 4x5 blocks and my plain blocks. I can't decide how to put together in a quilt, I'm not to excited on a standard sampler lay out, I need it to be a little more lively. I got some new ideas and I will keep you posted on the progress when I get to it! I'm showing the plains since I don't think you saw them all together already.

But we did more than just chatting and admiring the swaps... (not much, but some :-))
I basted my scrappy trip quilt which I started to handquilt that same night at home! With different colors of thread on one diagonal. Not done yet of course, but getting there!

I'm off sewing!

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