Jodi's Chevron Block Tutorial

Chevron Block tutorial

Start with four 5 inch blocks – two white (or light colored) blocks and two that are red or blue.

Place one white block and one red or blue block (I am using the red block in this example) right sides together.  Then draw a diagonal line on each block.

Next stitch a scant ¼ inch seam on both sides of the line.  Do this for both sets.

 Then cut the block in half on the line between the two seams. 

 

Now press each block open and trim to 4 ½ inches. (Please excuse the switch in fabrics in the next pictures.)

Now layout your blocks like the photo below and sew the horizontal pairs together using a scant ¼ inch seam allowance.

Press seams to the side with one seam going to the left and one seam to the right.  Pressing your seams in opposite directions makes for less bulk in the next step.

 Sew the two rectangles together, matching up the center seams. Press seams to one side.   Your block is now finished and should measure 8 ½ square inches. 

 

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April 2012 Block of the Month

When making this month's block you get two for the price of one!  Monica aka Happy Zombie put a new twist on the churn dash block and gives instructions for what she calls her Funky Wrench Nuts and Bolts.

Nuts block

The block Monica makes in her tutorial is for a 6" block, but if you scroll to the bottom of the tutorial, you will find information to make the block in other sizes.   For our BOM (which is for a 12.5" unfinished block), use the 12" block measurements shown in blue.

Bolts block

Leave a comment here or send an email if you have any questions on making this block.  Certain steps in the tutorial are presumed, such as making half square triangles with your 4 7/8" squares and piecing the 2 1/2" squares before sewing to the rectangles, so I am happy to help answer any questions.

Remember our block finishes at 12" so make sure you follow those directions!  Bring your block(s) to the April meeting for the OMQG block lotto!

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Many Thanks!

The Orlando chapter of the Modern Quilt Guild would not exist without the perseverance and hard work of the founding member, Rene Martinez. She has served as our guild president for two years and as she transfers her leadership role to the next president we want to take this moment to acknowledge Rene.

You know that Rene is ready to share the responsibilities when you see that her OMQG cubby is nearly empty.  Many many thanks to you, Rene!

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February 2012, Sew Day Sew fun

As usual we were busy quilting, eating and talking. And we talked about everything under the sun. What a great time.  I am sew glad I was there! (Sorry for being sew corny.)

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QuiltCon

The Modern Quilt Guild was founded in Los Angeles in October 2009. Through blogs and the Internet, word spread quickly and in less than three years, modern quilt guilds can be found all over the world. There are over 1,000 members and 100 guilds worldwide.

Our guild, the Orlando Modern Quilt Guild (OMQG) was founded in March of 2010 by Rene' and has over 25 members. We enjoy monthly meetings, member demonstrations, show-and-tell, BOMs, challenges, monthly Sew Days, field trips, workshops, trunk shows, fabric shop discounts, and also participate in community charity projects. All levels of quilters are welcome and we enjoy the camaraderie and talent our members are so willing to share.

The Modern Quilt Guild, which Rene' affectionately calls "the mother ship" has announced its inaugural conference and show, QuiltCon, being held February 21-25, 2013 in Austin, Texas. QuiltCon will be the first modern quilt show and conference of its kind. There will be a juried quilt show (with cash prizes), vendors, lectures and workshops from top modern quilters, including Denyse Schmidt, Anna Maria Horner, Elizabeth Hartman, Malka Dubrowsky, Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr.

Conference registration opens August 30, 2012. For more information and updates, sign up for the Modern Quilt Guild's newsletter.

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February Sew Day

Saturday, February 25th is our next Sew Day.  We will meet at the Dr. Phillips/Southwest Branch of the Orlando Public Library from 10am to 4:45pm.  Beth will give a paper-piecing demonstration; bring coordinating fabric scraps if you are interested in participating.   

If you've never been to an OMQG event, Sew Day is a great way to start.  Bring your sewing machine and sewing projects and join us in a great big room for an afternoon of sewing. It is a great time to make some headway into that long list of projects that you have and get to know the members of the OMQG. As always, your first meeting is free.

It is helpful to leave a comment if you plan to attend and what shared item (extension cord, cutting mat, food, iron, ironing board, etc.) you will bring.  

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February 1, 2012 Meeting Minutes

Orlando Modern Quilt Guild Meeting

February 1, 2012

10 AM to 12 Noon

Sewing Studio in Maitland, Florida

I.       Sign in, Meet and Greet

22 members and guests were in attendance.

II.     Build Basket Raffle

The winner was Alejandrina.

III.    Blocks of the Month

Terry won the spool blocks.

Rene presented the March string Block of the Month for which directions are posted on the OMQG website. The color scheme is spring colors on a white background.

IV.     Parade of Priority: Alzheimer's Quilts Made for Crayon Challenge

Members made 15 quilts to donate to AAQI. The colors used were based on two crayon colors selected by each quilter in a blind drawing at an earlier meeting.

V.      Other Guild Business

New Officers effective March 2012

President: Beth

Vice President: LInda

Secretary: Kathryn

Treasurer: Michele

Program Coordinator: Alejandrina

Charity Chair:  Jodi

Information to Share:  "Faces of Color",  portraits by 19 national artists, will be held at Mary Mcleod Bethune Performing Arts Center from February 3 - March 30, 2012.  6 or 7 of the artists work in fabric. The curator is quilter, Juanita Yeager. Opening reception is Feb. 3 from 6 to 8 pm.

Beth has initiated after meeting lunches.  8 attended the Feb. 1st lunch.

VI.     Show and Tell

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March 2012 Block of the Month

March's block is a 12.5" string block to finish at 12" square.  Use white for the background fabric and bright, cheery fabrics for the strings.  Following is a brief rundown on how I made the sample block.  More detailed instructions can be found on Leigh's blog for making the string X block.

This is basically a four patch block.  For each section, you will need a bunch of strips and a 4" square of white fabric.  My strips varied in width between 1.5 and 2.5 inches wide and were 5 to 6 inches long.  Sew the strips together into one long strip until it is about 11 inches long.

Press and trim the long strip to 4.5" wide and 9.25" long.

For one 12.5" block, you will need four 4" squares of white fabric.

For each section, cut your 4" square in half diagonally.

Find the center of the long strip by folding it in half and either marking with a pin or by creasing.  Center a triangle on either side of the long strip and sew right sides together.  It should look like this.

Press open the white triangles to the side.  Your block should now look like this.

Trim your block to a 6.5" square.

Repeat three more times until you have four 6.5" square blocks.

Sew your blocks together carefully matching the corners where the strip meets the background fabric.

You can sew your blocks using the X block layout shown above or the O block layout shown below.

Have fun!  Be sure to bring your block(s) to the March guild meeting.

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February 2012 Meeting

Our next guild meeting is Wednesday, February 1st at The Sewing Studio in Maitland from 10am-12pm. Bring your February blocks for the BOM drawing.  Rene' will be collecting the Priority: Alzheimer's quilts made for our AAQI Crayon Challenge.  If you haven't made one yet, it's not too late to get started! See this post or go here for more information.  Also, don't forget to bring money for the quilt basket raffle and items for Show and Tell.  See you Wednesday!

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