Home for the Holidays Sew Along Week 1

Let’s start another sew along! Sherri McConnell and Chelsi Stratton are hosting a sew along using their new book called Home for the Holidays.

The book turned out so pretty and has a lot of great patterns in it.

The first block they released for week 1 is actually on the cover! Plus, they added a thick border that fits perfectly with the block. I actually didn’t realize that it wasn’t part of the original pattern until I read Sherri’s blog. What a great idea! I loved making the block so much that I completely forgot to take pictures of it until the very end. Oops!

Do you see why I love this block? It makes me really excited to get the rest of the quilt done. I did use a lot of different directional fabrics, even my background fabric was directional, but it was so worth it in order to get the look I wanted.

If you are curious as to which fabric collection I used, it’s called Peppermint Bark by BasicGrey. I did write a blog post earlier this week about this collection, so check it out if you’re interested!

Click here to read Prettiest Fabrics: Peppermint Bark

Oh, Happy Day Sew Along Week 4

This week we are working on the Best Loved block from Corey’s book. In her example she used a light grey fabric, but I decided to change it up and use greens and yellows in my block.

When working with triangle pieces, you have to be mindful of the bias. It’s the stretchiest part of fabric and can easily add waves into a quilt block if accidentally stretched while sewing. Pinning at this point becomes essential.

The final step to this block includes trimming it down. I always take my time at this step because once it’s cut, you can’t go back! Make sure there is at least 1/4″ of fabric left past your points so you have enough seam allowance to make them perfect. I also used a rotating mat in order to cut all four sides without having to move my ruler. This also helps with keeping myself safe while cutting fabric. You never want to push your rotary cutter towards you, always push it away from you, and this mat helps ensure I keep myself safe!

What a beautiful, bright block we have! This will look stunning in a quilt.

What do you think of these blocks? Let me know in the comments below if you like using directional backgrounds or working with the bias on fabric. See you next week!

– Leslee