Greeetings, Splendid Sampler™ Sewist!
I’m so thrilled you’re here! Did you get your bonus block pattern for the month of November? Click here to download the pattern.
I’m Joan Ford, and my ‘splendid’ block will be released on December 1, 2016 – less than a month away, now. And I can’t wait for you to make it! Here’s a bonus block for November to whet your appetite!
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. . . and receive a free pattern, too!
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Now, for the November Bonus Block, A Taste for Giving . . .
As soon as the weather starts to turn colder, and the end of October nears, everyone seems to shift into ‘holiday mode.’ Here in the US, we celebrate Thanksgiving on the last Thursday of November, and despite all the commercial ‘hy-jinks’ associated with ‘Black Friday’ and the start of the crazy Christmas shopping season, it’s a great time to look back on the year’s blessings.
This block celebrates home made preserves from the summer season just ended, wrapped up with a festive fabric lid for holiday sharing at the family table.
Since we haven’t seen a ruffle built into any of the ‘Splendid’ blocks so far, I thought I’d show you exactly how I assembled this block so you can make one, too.
First some basic cutting following the pattern instructions . . .
The block parts laid out and ready to sew.
. . . and piecing to add the stitch-and-flip corners.
Stitched-and-flipped!
To make the ruffle, start with the jar lid strips, and pink one long side. Then fold and crease each end about 1/4″
Pink one long end and fold under each side 1/4″
With a ruler handy, and with needle and thread, knot the end of a 12″ length of quilting thread. Then sew a running stitch (about 5 stitches to the inch) about 1/8″ away from the un-pinked long edge of the ruffle fabric. In the photo below, I’m sewing the small jar lid from my sample.
Running stitch 1/8″ away from edge
Hey, I switched colors on you! That’s okay, both ruffles are made the same way. The blue ruffle is for my large lid. Place the ruffle on a ruler and pull the running stitch thread until the ruffle measures 2″ (1-1/2″ for the small jar lid), then double back stitch at the end (circled in red) to maintain the ruffle length.
Pull stitches until ruffle measures 2″ (or 1-1/2″) long.
Pin the ruffle to the top of its jar assembly before sewing the lid assembly. Use lots of pins, and flare the ruffle ends out so the ruffle fabric covers the diagonal stitch-and-flip seams beneath it. Then align the jar lid assembly right sides together with the jar assembly and with the pinned ruffle sandwiched in between. . . .
Pin ruffle to the top of the jar assembly
. . . And sew the 1/4″ seam, removing the pins as you go.
Sew the Lid Assembly to the Jar Assembly.
Your ruffled units are ready to assemble into the block!
Ruffles in place, the units are ready to be sewn into the block
Now, what will you make with your block?
To finish it up, I added a quick border, and turned it into a small wall-hanging. We are planning to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with family. Maybe I’ll turn this into a hostess gift for the kitchen. In the meantime, it looks pretty cool in MY kitchen (Well . . . why not enjoy it for the next week or so before I give it away, right?)
Happy Stitching!
Head back out to the Hummingbird Highway website here.
