Putting it Together....

   Last week found me rather put out with ragweed levels high enough to disrupt my sense of accomplishment. Despite the tissues scattered about my sewing room, I managed to stack my neatly squared blocks and get some stitching done. Let's get started, shall we?
 

     With my layout in mind, the blocks are stacked and ready beside the sewing machine. The most important thing to remember with a spit rail design is to be sure the blocks alternate direction. Mine starts with a horizontal block..I will place the vertical block right sides together, lining up the corners. With my 1/4 inch foot still in place, I will stitch the blocks together four across. In the end, I have four rows of blocks four blocks across. Here is a video with some hints and tips for stitching the rows.

     My rows are pressed and set out making sure the blocks are neighbored by opposing blocks: horizontals next to verticals. As you will see, each row has consistent opposing blocks up and down as well as across. Once we are comfortable our blocks layout, it's time to sew the rows together completing the quilt top. Let's meet in this video to stitch those rows together.

      You may notice, the pictures are of an orange based quilt and the video shows a blue and pink quilt. I worked a yellow and orange sampler before starting the videos; they are two different quilts. Hopefully this hasn't been too confusing.
   

       Take a deep breath. Lay that quilt top across the machine and just admire all the hard work you have accomplished. Next week we will take a look at choosing batting and backing as we prepare to baste our quilt together for quilting. Share your pictures and posts- I would love to see your beautiful work!