Forest Flora Blog Hop - Field of Leaves Block Party Tabletopper

Welcome to the Forest Flora Blog Hop! During this blog hop, several other Studio 180 Design Certified Instructors and I created a nature-themed project featuring Deb Tucker Studio 180 Design's latest Forest Flora fabric collection by Island Batik for Lumin Fabrics. 

This beautiful collection captures the essence of fall and is now available at your local quilt shops.

9 Fabrics from the Forest Flora Collection

Today, I'm excited to share a table topper design called the Field of Leaves, which is also this month’s Block Party Block #57. You can find the download link below. This topper measures 30” by 30” and features nine different fabrics from the Forest Flora collection. To create it, I used several Studio 180 Design tools: the Rapid Fire Lemoyne Star, Tucker Trimmer, Four Patch Square Up, Square Squared, and Wing Clipper. These tools make the process quick and easy.

Block Party Block #57; you can download this free Block Party now by using this link: https://bit.ly/bpb57-fieldofleaves.

Let me walk you through the units and tools I used to create the Field of Leaves.

Stacked Square

First, I used the Square Squared tool to make the centerpiece of the table topper, which is a Stacked Square unit from the Studio 180 Design Stacked Square Technique Sheet.

Most units in this topper were finished at 3 inches, so I used the Studio 180 Design Pint Size tools to trim them down.

Quarter Square Triangles

Shaded Four Patch

The Pint Size Tucker Trimmer was employed to create the two different Quarter-Square Triangle units and again to trim the two different Shaded Four Patches units.

First Choice Rulers

Speaking of the Shaded Four Patch units, the new First Choice Rulers are designed to assist with various units. By using the marked side of the ruler, you can accurately place the marking line on the back of your units, eliminating second-guessing when marking those 45-degree lines. The First Choice rulers have quickly become my preferred rulers.

Sub-cutting with the First Choice Rulers

I also used the First Choice ruler to sub-cut all Four Patch strips. I trimmed the units with the Four Patch Square Up tool, achieving perfect results every time.

Pint Size Wing Clipper

To add more color to the table topper, I made two flying geese units and trimmed them using the Pint Size Wing Clipper Tool. 

Lemoyne Star and First Choice Rulers

sub-cutting

The Rapid Fire Lemoyne Star tool and First Choice rulers are ideal for making the initial and secondary sub-cuts for the Lemoyne Star units. 

Lemoyne Star Quarter Units

The Rapid Fire Lemoyne Star tool helped me produce flawless Lemoyne Star Quarters, which I then trimmed using the Tucker Trimmer.

Center Block

With all the units completed, it was finally time to assemble the quilt topper. I began with making the center block.

Added Lemoyne Border

Next, I added Lemoyne Stars and Flying Geese units around it to form a border encompassing the center block. 

Assembly

After that, I constructed corner blocks using Lemoyne Stars, Shaded Four Patches, and Filling Four Patch Blocks made from Four Patches and Squares. I also assembled a Quarter Square Block consisting of a Quarter Square Triangle and a Square.

I placed two Filling Four Patch Blocks on each side of the Quarter Square Block and repeated this process to create four rows. To form a long row, I added two Corner Blocks to one of these rows, which allowed me to create an even longer row. These ended up being the top and bottom rows of the quilt. I stitched the shorter rows to the sides of the center block and then added the final long rows to complete the quilt top.

Border

I added a border that provided the finishing touch the quilt needed.

Quilting in the Hoop

I quilted the topper using my Bernina 700 embroidery machine. I chose a fall-themed design that really made the quilting stand out. 

Block Party Block #57-Field of Leaves

I absolutely love the design of this new topper! The Forest Flora fabric collection really makes the Field of Leaves table topper stand out and captures that cozy fall vibe. I can't wait to use it on my table this fall.

New Pattern

I'm excited to share a new pattern featuring the Forest Flora Collection that utilizes the Studio 180 Design Star 60 tool. Flora Bouquet, which measures 58” x 57 ½”, is a beautiful wall hanging that is easy to construct with the Star 60 tool. This pattern has absolutely no Y-seams. It uses a combination of Star 60 units and Capped 60 units to create those unique divided hexagon lines.

This pattern is now available on my website, Quilting Affection Designs. You can also ask your local quilt shop to purchase the pattern for their shop.

Thank you for joining me and my fellow Studio 180 Design Certified Instructors this week as we showcased our nature-themed projects. If you would like to revisit the other blog posts or view the projects again, please click the links below.

Saturday, March 29th - Studio 180 Design Kick Off

Monday, March 31st - Amy Costable of Amy's Quilt Room

Tuesday, April 1st- Becky Malarski of Sew Wise Quilter 

Wednesday, April 2nd - Carla Alexiuk of Quilting by the River

Thursday, April 3rd - Kathy Tucker of K&S Quilting 

Friday, April 4th -  Diana Mann of Murgaboo Quilts 

Saturday, April 5th - Tina Dillard of Quilting Affection Designs (Today) 

Monday, April 7th - Studio 180 Design Wrap Up

Block Party Block #56 - Birthday Cake Tutorial Part 2

In Part 2 of this tutorial for Block Party Block #56, titled "Birthday Cake," we will focus on the flying geese units and the finishing touches for the block. If you're looking for the tutorial on the Square Squared unit, please refer to last month’s blog, Part 2 of Block PartyBlock #55, where I covered it in detail.

If you missed Part 1 of the tutorial for this block, you can find it HERE. 

To download the block, click on this link: https://bit.ly/BPB56-BirthdayCake

When determining your block size, consult your pattern-cutting charts and tool instructions to establish the starting size for the squares and strips.

Flying Geese

Now, let's discuss those Flying Geese units. Without the Studio 180 Design Wing Clipper tool, I would still struggle to make perfect flying geese units. The tool's instructions demonstrate the nudge construction method, which involves nudging your small square toward the center of the large square by a few threads. In the past, I've noticed that some of my students had difficulty with this method. 

Did you know another approach doesn’t require nudging those small squares? Deb refers to this as the No-Nudge Method. For this method, you cut your small and large squares slightly larger and position the small squares along the edges of the large square. This method provides extra wiggle room for creating those oversized units for that perfect trim down.

Studio 180 Design also provided a No-Nudge Method cutting chart on its Free Downloads page. If you find the nudging method challenging, you should give this a try. 

I will guide you through the No Nudge Method process in this tutorial.

No Nudge Method

First, using the No Nudge Method cutting chart, cut four small squares and one large square to create four flying geese units. 

With your Quilter’s Magic Wand, mark two stitching lines ¼” away from the center diagonal on the wrong sides of your small squares. 

Position two small squares diagonally on opposite corners of the large square, ensuring they align with the raw edges of the large square. Stitch along the drawn lines. 

Cut down the middle.

Press the seams toward the small triangles (or wings).

Position the remaining two small squares on the units, again lining up the raw edges.

Stitch along the lines and cut down the middle, pressing toward the small triangles.

Right-Handed

Left-Handed

Place your flying geese unit on the cutting mat. Align the Wing Clipper's diagonal guidelines with the seams of the Flying Geese unit. This will automatically center the tool over your pieced unit. Trim up and across the unit.

Right-Handed

Left-Handed

Rotate your flying geese unit 180 degrees and reposition your Wing Clipper to align the previously trimmed raw edges with the correct size for your unit, ensuring the “X” at the top matches the intersection of the seams. Trim up and across the unit.

Repeat this process for all your flying geese units for your block.

Block Construction

Now that all your units are complete, it's time to assemble your block. 

Start by arranging the units to form your block. Next, stitch the units together into rows. Finally, stitch the rows together, pressing the seams open again to complete your quilt top.

Finally, stitch the rows together, pressing the seams open again to complete your quilt top.

You have now completed Block Party Block #56. I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. Please check back next month for another Block Party Block release. In the meantime, feel free to explore the other Block PartyBlocks on my website.

March It's All Up to You Challenge - Capped 60 Runner

March’s Island Batik Ambassador Challenge is called "It’s All Up to You," meaning the Ambassadors have a month to create any project of any size, theme, and technique using Island Batik fabrics. This gives us a chance to have a little fun this month.

What was I going to make this month? I knew I had the Sunlit Garden Strip Set and Coordinating fabrics, including Egg White from the Neutrals collection and Vibes from the Marvelous Multis. But what could I do with Strip sets? I wanted to make a new spring table runner for my coffee table.

While reviewing my Studio 180 Design Technique Sheets, I discovered a Star 60 technique that I enjoy working with called the Capped 60. I then opened Adobe Illustrator on my computer, where I kept all my Star 60 shapes, and located a project that needed a few adjustments for a table runner. Now that I had the design prepared, it was time to tackle this quick and easy project.

The project started with the creation of strip sets. I took half of the stack of fabric, cut the strips in half, and began sewing the strips together randomly, pressing all the seams open as I went. This strip set-making method is known as the Mirrored Image Capped 60.

With all my strip sets prepared, I began cutting my oversized Capped 60 units from the half-strip width sets.

Once they are cut out, I need to trim the sides and bottoms of the triangles to the size of the finished capped 60-unit size.

After trimming down the fabric, I divided the stack in half. I then began arranging the units and companion triangles, which I had cut from strips of the Egg White fabric. I randomly placed one stack of the units on one side, replicated that arrangement on the opposite side, and added the Egg White companion triangles down the middle to create rows.

I created half triangles from rectangles and used the Star 60 tool to complete the rows by adding them to each end. I carefully sew the triangles together to maintain my arrangement on the design board.

Pressing the seams is essential for keeping everything flat while I work with these units. Once I have sewn all the triangles into a row, I can add the half-triangles to each end of the row to square it off.

After assembling two rows, I carefully sew them together. I repeat this process for all the rows to create a long runner. To finish off the quilt top, I add a thin border.

I used Schmetz needles and Aurifil thread in my Bernina sewing machine to create the quilt top.

I quilted the runner using Hobbs batting on my Bernina Q16 sit-down machine, trying out a circle ruler for the first time. It took me a little while to learn how to use it, but once I found my rhythm, the process went quickly. Considering this was my first attempt, I am pleased with how the quilting turned out. For the back and binding, I chose Island Batik Vibes from the Marvelous Multis collection.

Thank you for joining me as I shared my March project. Be sure to check out the other Island Batik Ambassadors listed below to see what they are working on.

Brenda Alburl ~ Songbird Designs
Renee Atkinson ~ Pink Tulip Quilting
Susan Deshensky ~ Lady Blue Quilts Studio
Brittany Fisher ~ Bobbin with Brittany

Kimberly Flannagan ~ Kimberly’s Quilts

Preeti Harris ~ Sew Preeti Quilts

Mania Hatziioannidi ~ Mania for quilts

Kim Jamieson-Hirst ~ Chatterbox Quilts
Connie Kauffman ~ Kauffman Designs
Connie Kresin Campbell ~ Freemotion by the River
Emily Leachman ~ The Darling Dogwood

Denise Looney ~ A Quiltery
Leah Malasky ~ Quilted Delights
Susan Michaels ~ Dragonfly Fiberart
Lisa Pickering ~ Lisa’s Quilting Passion
Sarah Pitcher ~ Pitcher’s Boutique

Gail Sheppard ~ Quilting Gail
Carol Stanek ~ Stitch with Color
Solomae Stoycoff ~ Cuddle Cat Quiltworks
Jennifer Thomas ~ Curlicue Creations
Suzy Webster ~ Websterquilt