Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Handy Andy quilt block and more

Handy Andy

My Handy Andy quilt block is finally finished and I am ready to resume my daily posts of blocks by Nancy Cabot.

I appreciate the comments and emails from readers concerned about me not blogging for so long.  I was not having any health issues.  My life just suddenly changed and there were things to deal with that really left no time for quilting or blogging. But, I am excited to be back at it now.

It will take some time to catch up but I want to, so at some point there will be more than one post in a day.

I plan to make only the blocks that I feel will really work as 6" blocks in a sampler quilt.  I am not going to do any applique blocks for my sampler at this point.  I will still post the block each day, tell what Nancy Cabot had to say about it and give general instructions on how to make the block.

I hope to add another page to this blog giving readers ideas for using this blog to make their own sampler quilt from the blocks that are being presented as well as ideas for setting the blocks into a quilt.  I still have way more ideas than time though!

The short version is-
Make only the blocks you really love!  These daily blocks were in the Chicago Tribune newspaper every day for at least 4 years! That's a lot of blocks to choose from.

If you love applique, maybe you could do a whole sampler of appliqued blocks.  If you love a certain pattern, say Sunbonnet Sue, make a whole quilt of them.

If you don't want to make 6" blocks as I am, make them a different size.  You can enlarge the designs on a copier or if you have BlockBase or EQ software, I always let you know how to find the pattern in those programs and you can print them at any size from there.

Use whatever fabrics you want, don't feel you have to use '30's fabrics.  I'm doing vintage, not strictly 1930's, and these blocks can look wonderful in very modern fabrics also.  Here's a great example over at The Enchanted Bobbin.

Tomorrow-Original Tiger Lily

Happy quilting!