Patience Corner Block

This post is a tutorial on Anita Soloman's quick method of constructing the Patience Corner block. This block finishes at 9”. It is suggested that you starch your fabrics to reduce any distortion that might occur in the construction process.

Materials: For each block you will need a 7” square of a focus fabric and 1 framing strip, 2” x 34". Subcut the strip into 2 pieces, 2” x 7”, and 2 pieces, 2” x 10” (Photo #1 below. You can click on the photos to enlarge them.). There should be good contrast between the square and the strip. If you are making multiple blocks you could use a second framing fabric for alternate blocks so the pattern "pops" better. If you are using directional fabric for the focus square, be sure you keep the fabric oriented in the same direction for all the blocks.

Instructions: Sew two 7” strips to two opposite sides of a 7” square (P. #2). Use an accurate ¼” seam allowance. Press the seam allowances toward the strips. It should now measure 7” x 10”. Sew two 10” strips to the 10” sides of the unit. Press seam allowances toward the strips. It should now measure 10” square. (P. #3)

Cut the block in half vertically and again horizontally (1st photo below). You now have four pieces that are 5” square. Switch the piece in the upper right quadrant with the piece in the lower left quadrant, WITHOUT ROTATING THEM (see photos below). It should now look like the last photo in the group below.

Sew the 2 adjacent pieces together for each half of the block. (See photos below). Press the seam allowance toward the focus fabric. Sew the resulting 2 halves of the block together, matching and nesting the center seams. Press the final seam allowance open.

The block should be 9 1/2" at this point. When it is sewn into a quilt it will finish at 9". If your blocks are slightly different sizes, square them up on all four sides to the size of your smallest block. When you sew the blocks together be careful you do not rotate the blocks (unless you want to) so the "figure 8" tilts in the same direction. Hope you have fun with this block.

Hiatus Over

It's not like I didn't have anything to write about for the last seven months. Like my trip to Alaska with my grandson this summer, or the San Diego Quilt Show in September or our great guild show in October. Not sure if it was being too busy to blog or just laziness or somewhere in between. I do know that I need to make it a habit to write here. Then it will automatically be in the front of my mind.

So I am back and plan to blog at least once a week. You can help keep me to that commitment by following and commenting!

We are at the beginning of a new year, so goals are in the forefront of many people's minds. Notice I didn't use the word, "resolutions." "Goals" just sounds better. Everyone should have goals. To find a job, save for college or a better place to live, or just to finish that quilt you started five years ago.

Here are my goals for 2012:

1. To finish one UFO a month.

2. To sew every day.

3. To tackle organizing my surroundings in small steps.

4. To blog here once a week!

To those ends I have sewn on three of the past five days, reorganized my kitchen and buffet drawers, and here I am blogging. Now I need to pick out a UFO to work on.

I am also taking a picture a day to archive small memories from the year. Here are some from the first five days. The first was a bread-making lesson from my friend Patty, an expert in the field, on New Year's Day. The second is 6 of the 14 log cabin blocks I sewed at our sew-in on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.

Below is beautiful Spring Valley on New Year's Day. My phone said it was 79 degrees.

On the 2nd I went to Weight Watchers at their nice new location in the Von's Shopping Center in Rancho San Diego. That's another goal--to lose some weight and get fit, or at least fitter. On the3rd I made a sample Patience Corner block for class, using Anita Soloman's shortcut method (coming in another post).

On the 4th our quilting mini-group, Stitch 'N Bitch Quilters, met for dinner. Here is our group, l-r Barbara, Donna, Anna, Agnes, Nancy & Patty.

On the 5th I did some organizing. This is the new tea basket with all my teas in one place.

That's it for today. Hope you all are having a fabulous 2012 so far.

A Few Flora & Fauna Photos

This is not quilting related, but thought you might enjoy a few flora and fauna photos--how's that for a little alliteration. Thought you were back in high school English class, didn't ya?

My friend, Patty, and I took a trip up to the Wild Animal Park--sorry, the San Diego Zoo's Safari Park--a few weeks ago and got some good exercise walking all over the park. Why did they change the name? I thought the Wild Animal Park was just fine and that's what it will always be to me. Anyway, we visited the butterfly enclosure where the butterflies light on your head, hands, shoulders, just everywhere. They are really beautiful. One landed on Patty's camera and one landed on her head.

We saw all kinds of birds. I can't remember their names, but you all probably know them anyway.

This one was sitting on a nest.

And like the Zoo, there are so many beautiful plants at the park. Here are some of the blooming varieties we saw.



These are my favorite little critters, the meerkats. They were napping, one atop the other. Pretty cute. If you go to the Park in the summer, go in the morning. It's cooler and the parking is better. By the way, you pay for parking ($8 I think) unless it is included on your membership. It's a great place to walk and enjoy the animals and vistas.

Blocks Under Construction!

I have been participating in Cozy Quilt Shop's Building Blocks designed by Sharyn Craig. It is a Block of the Month series on the theme of building or construction. Each month you can buy a kit for $5, which includes the block pattern with template patterns/rotary cutting directions and 3 fat eighths in one of 5 colorways (black & white, red & green, brights, pastels & red, white & blue.

Here are some photos of my red & green blocks. I had a lot of fun coloring in the block diagrams and couldn't stop at just one block for each design. So I made three of each and a fourth for the January block. And I still have lots of fabric left over if I want to make a fourth of the other months' blocks. The January block is titled "Hammer & Nails." I mixed up fabrics from the other blocks so it gave a lot of variety to the designs. I also added a couple of Moda Marbles in a couple of blocks.

February's block is called "Skylights."

March is titled "Picture Window."

April's block is called "Newel Post."

May is "Plumb Line." Doesn't the third block look totally different?

This is the kit for June, "T Square."

The blocks are not terribly difficult, but they challenge your sewing skills and use of fabrics. The red and green colorway has had a lot of directional fabrics, which, while somewhat challenging, has been fun. It's always more fun and interesting when you try something a little out of your comfort zone.

New & Older Product Recommendations

These are some new and older quilting products I have tried and can recommend.

The first is a fusible web that has actually been out for a while and I have been using for the past year or so. It is Shades Soft Fuse and is a lightweight fusible that leaves your applique with a really wonderful, light "hand" (almost feels like there is no fusible there), does not gum up your needle, and provides a secure bond. It is available in 10-sheet packages for $10 or in 3 yd., 6 yd. and larger packages (37" wide) for $28.50 and up at

http://www.shadessoftfuse.com/index.html. I have even used it to fuse silk and lame by lowering the iron temperature and using a pressing sheet. I have not seen the product in our local quilt shops, but if enough of us ask for it, I'm sure one or more of them will start carrying it. Let me know if you have seen it locally.

The I-Sight Mini Task Light is a small, battery-operated light that fits over the ear and directs an LED beam of light at your work. I bought one for about $15 from Quilter's Paradise, but I also saw them online for about $12-$13 at Amazon and other sites. The beam of light is quite bright and the light part is flexible so it can be directed where you want it. It is comfortable once you get the right position on your own ear. It uses small flat quarter size batteries like you find in those battery-operated votive candles.

Heat Press Batting Together is a great product to fuse pieces of batting together. It comes in a 10 yd. package and is 1 1/2" wide for about $9. It doesn't leave a ridge or bump and fuses really nicely. You just lay the tape over the two straight edges of the abutted batting pieces and fuse. You have to adjust your iron temperature according to the type of batting. If using poly batting, you need to reduce the temperature to the setting for synthetics. No more basting the batting together or zigzaging over the edges. I love it.

Sewline makes a number of marking products. This one is the Sewline TRIO. It has three marking options in one tool that change with a twist of the barrel. There is a fine-line black pencil type marker, a white lead marker for dark fabrics, and a ballpoint embosser/tracer. There is an eraser on the end, which sort of erases, but don't expect your line to completely disappear. I really like the fine line the TRIO produces. It also comes with a few refill leads. It was $13.95 at Cozy Quilt Shop in El Cajon.

The last product is a new pair of scissors by Karen Kay Buckley, a nationally-known quilt author and teacher. I won a pair of the large 7 1/2" (purple handle) size at Cozy's last weekend. The blades are actually only about 3" long, but they call it "large." There is also a smaller size with green handles. The blades are micro-serrated so they actually grab the fabric and they cut well, all the way to the tips. They come with a plastic blade cover, too. I really like the over-sized, cushioned handles that either right or left-handed quilters can use. All four fingers fit in one handle opening and your thumb in the other. The large size is $25.95. I saw the smaller size for $20 online.

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