It’s WEEK #4 of the Marcus Sew-Along!

Hi, I’m Pati Violick.  As the Director of Marketing for Marcus Fabrics, I am very excited to be participating in our Sew Along. “Sew”, a little about me – I enjoy creating, and I especially love making little girls dresses for Quilt Market as well as making quilts. Those who know me well know these 3 things:

1. My husband calls me “Miss Ivory or Miss Beige”. Yes, it’s hard to believe since I work with color & prints on a daily basis, that everything else in my life falls into the neutral category including clothes, decor, even my dog Scout is a beautiful shade of taupe (and yes “taupe” is my favorite color!), although I certainly like all shades of grey & basic black too.

2. One of my favorite pastimes is English Paper Piecing. I have “thousands”of Pieces, (well maybe many, many 100’s) in all shapes, sizes and colors. I actually use some for special gifts like purses, small quilts or embellishments but, the majority of them are beautifully arrayed in baskets, boxes & pretty containers. Truth is, some are just to pretty to do anything with.

3. Last but not least – I come from a big family; I am the oldest of 8. I have been very fortunate in my job here at Marcus to forge new relationships, working with so many wonderful people here in our NY office & designers that have all become part of my family.

 

OK  — no surprise, my giveaway this week is all of the above: A stunning assortment of 8 fat quarters in my favorite colors with some wonderful paper pieces.  Now, on to Block #4 of the Sew-Along:

Cutting Instructions:

Light print  (1038-0188)  *Cut (6) 2⅞” squares; crosscut (4) once diagonally.
Black print  (1035-0112)  *Cut (4) 1¾” squares.
Green print   (1702-0116)  *Cut (4) 1¾” x 3⅝” rectangles.
Blue print   (1109-0150)   *Cut (2) 2⅞” squares.
Cheddar print   (1033-0128)  *Cut (2) 2½” squares.
Red print   (1034-0111)  *Cut (2) 2½” squares.

Directions:

*Draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of the (2) cheddar 2½” squares.  Match each with a 2½” red print square.
*Sew ¼” on each side of the drawn line; cut apart.
Pblock1

*Press to the red triangle.  You will have (4) Half Square Triangles measuring 2⅛” unfinished.

*Trim each Half Square Triangle to 2 1/16” by simply placing two edges of the Half Square in between the 2” and the 2⅛” mark on the ruler as shown.  pblockcomp1

*Sew the Half Square Triangles into a Pinwheel; press for opposing seams. The Pinwheel should measure 3⅝” unfinished.

*Arrange the Pinwheel, (4) black print 1¾” squares, and (4) green print 1¾” x 3⅝” rectangles as shown.

*Sew into rows; press to the green rectangles.  Sew rows together; press.
Your center unit should measure 6⅛” unfinished.pblock5*Using the 2⅞” light and blue print squares, make (4) Half Square Triangles using the same method as described previously. Half Square Triangles should measure 2½” unfinished.

*Sew (2) light print triangles to each side of a blue & light print Half Square Triangle unit; press to the light print triangles.  Make (4) units.pblockcomp2

*You’ll sew the big triangle units to the center square next.  To aid in this endeavor, finger press a fold (wrong sides together, just near the raw edge) in the center square to easily find the middle of the block.
pblockcomp3
Fold the light print triangle unit in half (right sides together) and finger press.  Match the finger pressed creases in each unit and pin.

*Sew each of the triangle units to the center square block; press to the triangle units.

Your block should measure 8½” unfinished.

pblock12Download the PDF version

71 thoughts on “It’s WEEK #4 of the Marcus Sew-Along!

  1. I am enjoying the wonderful blocks. But could someone tell me how and where we are to post our version of the block to share? I am using fabrics in my stash, not the kits. Is there a “flickr” site ?

  2. I love this sew along, triangles are my least favorite part of quilting. There a surely a lot of triangles in this quilt and I love everyone of them. Thank you for your designer block Pati.

  3. I love these blocks. I tried the PDF download and I get the pictures, but no wording. I had the same thing happen last week, so I don’t know if the problem is my Mac or elsewhere.

  4. I need a friend to show me how to paper English piece! This block I like because of the pinwheel in the middle. I just love that I am now caught up! Whew!!!!!

  5. This is my first Quilt Along. I am learning so much, I feel like I have personal tutors! Thank you very much, I’m loving it! My quilt reminds me of my grandfather who worked building the railroads of this nation.

  6. Just discovered this sew-along. Yours is the first block I have seen and I am in love with it. Will be checking backs on weeks 1 thru 3. The new fabrics are really different but very pretty.

  7. I have really enjoyed these 8 inch blocks, so much fun to work with others on them. Thank you for sharing so much with the quilting world. Hope you’re finding time to work on the Lucy Boston and hexagon blocks.

  8. I am really enjoying this Sew Along. I look forward to Friday mornings. I sneak a peak on line during my morning break at work. I have made every block so far on Friday evening, or first thing Saturday morning.

  9. I love your block! I’ll be making mine today! I’m so glad I’m actually keeping up with this. Can’t wait to see how the finished quilt turns out!

  10. Another beautiful block. Thank you for sharing the information about yourself. I also love paper piecing and have some projects I’m working on. I find paper piecing very comforting and very portable when you just want to sit and hand piece.

  11. Thanks for the awesome directions. Love how you showed to crease fabric to line up the center of the point on the triangle. GREAT idea.
    Thanks again:)

  12. Love the cheddar, all blocks are great. Thank you for taking part and designing a block!
    Gloria

  13. Great block, Pati! This is such a great sew-along. And thanks for telling us more about you and your great job. I have the pleasure of working with you long-distance and love all the Marcus designers and fabrics!

  14. Oh Wow! I really have liked all the blocks so far. The colors especially with a little cheddar really work great together AND the designers are awesome!

  15. Another great block, thank you. I love the red and cheddar pinwheel. Another set of very clear instructions, thank you. I can’t wait to get my block completed. I am heading for the cutting table right now.e

  16. Really like your block and since I am a Taupe person as well, I understand you very well. Can’t wait to make the block. 🙂 Is there a PDF for the pattern? I must be missing it……

  17. What a fun and doable mystery. So far I have enjoyed making every block. Your block looks like it will also be fun to do. Thanks for designing a lovely addition to this quilt.

  18. Love, love this block! What a great sew-along this has been, so far! Thanks for sharing your talents!

  19. Off to make this new block. All the designers have done a great job and I am having fun pulling fabrics from my stash. (Many from Marcus)

  20. Love the cheddar and red pinwheel but my favorite fabric is the blue accent triangles-they all make for a gorgeous block! Thanks for your design and the chance for the giveaway.

  21. I’ve begun counting the days until Friday, when the new block is released. I’ve loved every one of them, but I especially like yours! Thanks for the time and effort you all put into this great project.

  22. I love to see cheddar in blocks. And pinwheels add such character. I am from a large family too – there was always somebody to play with.

  23. I really enjoy Fridays now to see what we will be doing next. Love all the fabrics we are using and colors. Love the Civil War blocks. Enjoy seeing the different ways everyone has been doing half-square triangles. Hope they do this again. A great way to get new patterns/ideas for quilts.

  24. I just love the block, especially all of the color! Thanks for the opportunity to win.

  25. Would love to see your baskets of pretty paper pieced pieces. I have a friend who is a neutral girl too. I think my hubby wishes I was more neutral. 🙂 Thanks for Block #4

  26. was waiting for it anxiously…what a nice block…
    the 1/16th are different…..!!!!!
    glad I made extra HST to use…..I make them larger and
    trim to size needed. Thanks for another great block!
    mish in NJ

  27. Another gem of a block in this crown of a quilt. It is like Christmas morning waking up to a brand new designed block on Fridays. This project can’t help but be stunning. Thank you for rounding up some talented designers to make this so successful.

  28. The combination of several fine designers, designing a quilt, on line, is such a great idea and sense of a quilting community (that is not available to me in my area) gives me a wonderful feeling of being part of a large group of quilters. I hope this is the 1st of many projects.

  29. I love seeing Cheddar in Civil War blocks. This is a beautiful block. Thanks for sharing with us.

  30. Having sew much fun with this sew along! Just wondering what the difference is between English paper piecing and regular paper piecing?
    Thanks for the fun!
    Camille

      • Pati’s reply:
        There is always a little confusion with this:

        In English Paper Piecing-is a hands on sewing method –no sewing machine required. Working with paper templates that are die cut from card stock in specific shapes and measurements like hexagons, diamonds, triangles etc… fabric is cut little larger than the template all around –(I usually cut a generous ¼”) then hand stitched around the shape thru the paper (or new glue pen method is being used a lot). Then the fabric shapes are whip-stitched together to create you block design like Grandmother Garden, Stars etc… The beauty in English Paper Piecing is always the accuracy of the finished design and the hand work which is I love. Watch out very addicting for some.

        Paper Piecing is sometimes confused with Foundation Piecing. In Paper Piecing a design is printed or drawn on paper. Fabric is placed on top of the paper design and stitched thru paper and fabric to create the design (usually using a sewing machine) after the blocks are sewn together the paper is torn off. With Foundation Piecing –usually a light weight fabric is used and similar to Paper Piecing a design it can be printed or drawn on to the fabric or Crazy Quilt method where you just piece as you go but in all cases the base fabric is left in place.

        Of course there are many other references for “paper piecing” –freeze paper, parchment paper etc.. This is just my spin on it.

  31. Having sew much fun with this sew along! Wondering what the difference is between English paper piecing and just paper piecing? Would love to try something new!
    Thanks for the opportunity,
    Camille

  32. Is there going to be a pdf for this block, as there were with the others?

    A pdf is so much easier to save.

    Thanks,
    bquilt

  33. This is a beautiful block and a bit of a challenge with the 1/16″ measurement! Thanks for a great sew-along and giveaways.
    k(dot)castanette(at)Hotmail(dot)com

  34. Hello,

    I am enjoying this sew a long so much, but I am not receiving the notifications with the link for each block on Fridays. I have to go to an old email and pull up a link that way. And sometimes the link does not work. So afraid I will forget to pull up one week. Too many projects going at once. LOL

    Also can you have a link for a printable version, My computer is not close to my sewing room.

    Thanks so much.

    Michaela

  35. Can’t wait to get home and make this block. This is the first time I’ve actually kept up with a Block-of-the-anything (month or week).

  36. Just wondering if this was posted in a pdf? If so I am just not seeing it. I am really enjoying getting the new block each week and I am looking forward to getting started. I have lots of Paula Barnes scraps to use. I did On Point BOM and am doing Hampton Ridge BOM as well.

  37. Can’t wait to make this block, love it. The colors are great. All the blocks have been great and always gets me ready for the next. Wonder what I will do when this is finished. Great fun.

  38. Another nice block! Thanks for the terrific instructions, including the measurements for the sub-units – that’s a big help!

  39. Thank you for taking the time to design a block for this sew along. I am so enjoying making these and am excited to see the completed quilt!! Karen

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