Sewcializing More MegaBlocks

I continue to work through my A Walk in the Woods fat quarter bundle and Sewcialites blocks. The first post on this project, for six MegaBlocks, was published  6/1/2021. Here are the next five.

 #12 Faithful Block: Camille Roskelley, Thimble Blossoms

Four blocks are shown in the preceding photo. I picked #12 Faithful Block because it had a lot of little pieces so I could use it for my small scale prints from the Moda A Walk in the Woods collection by Anna Hooey. The block skill level for #12 Faithful was listed as experienced but, other than quantity of pieces, I did not see anything particularly challenging. I deceived myself. Several times, even though I carefully laid out my components before joining them I managed to put pieces in backwards or whole rows upside down. Most of this was because of my anal goal to align the directional pink/white fabric in a predetermined manner rather than accepting random orientation. Notice the 4-patch corners; they have a handedness. Selecting a pressing direction for each seam was not as straight forward as one would hope with only two colors. I succeeded to press to the dark side for the most part but there were still some cases where I could not avoid a lumpy seam where both seam allowances were pressed in the same direction. I still find this preferable to a twisted seam that can cause problems during quilting. Instead I steam and pound down the lump and avoid stitching through it during FMQ. I liked this block and will probably use it again in a quilt. Sashings might help the lumpy intersection problems somewhat.

The preceding photos have four blocks, two each in pink/gray version and the other two in a gray/pink complement. In retrospect, it sure is a complicated way to get a 4x4 checkerboard at the four meeting corners. It reminds me of Four Corners in the United States where four states meet.

 #1 Harmony Block: Lissa Alexander, Moda Lissa

This block is quite similar in color and style to the previous. Since it again had a directional print that I wanted to orient consistently, I laid out all the pieces before joining. Those butterflies in the four corners had to each face outward. Once I completed the four blocks I rotated each 90° before making the quartet into an 18" MegaBlock.

 #17 Peace Block: Anne Sutton, Bunny Hill Designs

For variety, I wanted a simpler block without as many tiny pieces. The challenge I set for myself was to have all the lined pieces face the same way. I cut out four blocks at once. When I sewed the half-square triangles I made half the HSTs slant one way and half slant the other. Then I could pick and choose which HSTs to put in which corner positions to preserve one direction in each of the four the blocks. The final orientation came when I joined the four blocks to form the mega block. Rotating alternate block 90° looked too cacophonous. Having the dashes align in the hooks generated at the block junctions was much more restful; or perhaps I should say peaceful.

 #10 Sincere Block Pattern: April Rosenthal, Prairie Grass Patterns

Once again, as my selection for prints narrowed, I wanted a simpler block without as many tiny pieces. Again, I wanted all the lined pieces to face the same way. I laid out all the pieces to be sure of their orientation and then carefully sewed those four diagonal striped corner blocks first. As long as half of those diagonal face one way, and half faced the other, and the two triangles were consistently oriented I was successful. When I joined the four blocks into the one MegaBlock the secondary pattern of the smaller central X appeared without the distraction of the dashes going in two orthogonal directions.

 #14 Serenity Block Pattern: Chelsi Stratton, Chelsi Stratton Designs

For the eleventh and final block set of the fat quarter bundle A Walk in the Woods by Aneela Hoey, I surveyed the previous ten mega blocks I had made. I was a bit dismayed at how busy they all seemed together. That stacked bundle of fabrics seemed so much more coordinated. I reasoned a simple block with large pieces would again be a wise choice. I was also getting a bit worn out with this project at this point and controlling the orientation of a load of itty bitty HSTs did not appeal. I chose the final pattern as the serenity block. Serenity is defined as "the state of being calm, peaceful, and untroubled" which is exactly what I needed at this stage of this quilt – the stage when the joyful optimism of a new project dims a bit and the self doubts of "Whatever was I thinking", "How is this ever going to come together," and "Can I salvage this"creeps into the quilter's brain. Again within each block I oriented the lined fabric in a uniform direction when making the HSTs. When joining the four blocks, I auditioned both options and decided against the 90° rotated option on the right in favor of the more calming uniformly oriented option on the left. The assembled MegaBlock is in the second picture.

Somehow those prints seemed much more coordinated when they were stacked neatly in that fat quarter bundle than when they were sewn into the eleven MegaBlocks. I have consumed 22 of the 30 fat quarters, with the larger scale ones having been set aside for some special, yet-to-be-determined use. 

The first six MegaBlocks (post dated 6/1/21) were made from Sewcialites Quilt Along blocks

Spirited, Cheer, Virtue, Gratitude, Steadfast, and Delight

The next five MegaBlocks (this post dated 7/29/21) were made from Sewcialites Quilt Along blocks

Faithful, Harmony, Peace, Sincere, and Serenity.

I hope I can reflect at least some of those virtues as called out in the block names when I attempt to assemble the hodgepodge of MegaBlocks into a somewhat cohesive quilt. I will need to be at least Steadfast for sure. Sashing between the blocks will be a definite necessity!