Time for my Patriotic Door Quilt to retire! The colors in the fabric were starting to fade. The block I chose for August and September is called Grandmother’s Pride (sometimes called Courthouse Square).
Here are the four previous door quilts lined up, beginning with the Christmas stocking made from recycled neckties. (See earlier postings for each of these blocks.)
Given the parameters I’ve set for myself…a single quilt block with borders about 12″ to 14″ square, with the outer color being lighter so it will show up on our dark red door…I usually start with Marsha McCloskey’s BLOCK PARTY book…a mix and match book of 9″ blocks.
I love the way the pages of instructions are laid out and I have many of the templates already cut. Each page has a color picture of a finished block, a diagram showing the straight of the grain for each piece, step-by-step how to assemble the pieces, alternate color choices and how many of each template to cut.
All the templates are diagrammed in the back of the book. All I have to do is lay clear template plastic over the template I want, trace the lines and cut out the template.
Since I usually plan to hand stitch the pieces, I need the stitching line marked not the cutting line. Then I draw around the template onto the back of the fabric and cut each one out, leaving about 1/4″ to 3/8″ seam allowance. It doesn’t matter if I’m exacting in cutting…the stitching line is what matters. So, I trace the inner line of the template.
I have made many of the blocks in this book, so I have many of the templates already cut out. All I have to do is dump them out on the table and sort through to find the ones I need.
The block I’m making needed only three templates, as indicated on the box of instructions at the bottom of the page. The shapes in the diagram refer to the diagram at the top of the page, which shows the straight grain of the fabric with arrows. You can see on the chart below, Template T5 will be used to make 4 of Shape A. They also give instructions if you are using a Rotary Cutter.
Now that I know I will need 4 different colors, and I know I’m aiming for colors of the season…late summer greens and a splash of color, I head to my bins of fabric. I have found I tend to look for fabric by color, not size of the piece. Most of the fabric I have is cotton and is washed right after I buy it.
In the “Green” bin I found these choices:
This is how I arranged the pieces:
Next, I tried out some strips to see what I liked for the border:
I’m pleased with how the finished block shows up on the door!
So, my door is decorated for the next two months. Around the beginning of October, I’ll find orange fabric to make something for Fall/Halloween/Thanksgiving. Such fun! Enjoy!
If you have comments or questions, email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net.