Tulips and Ivy and Paducah, Oh My!

Remember when I told you that Block Five in At Piece with Time was the calm before the storm?

Welcome to the storm, folks.  Hello Block Six:  Tulips and Ivy.

Before you get too antsy, let me offer some support.  I will be there for you every step of the way. Honestly, the block isn't that hard, it's just different.  And you'll learn something you may not know -- how to cut mirror-image parallelograms.

And before any of that terminology brings up nightmares of geometry class and proofs (Do they even do proofs in geometry anymore?), a parallelogram is just a fancy word for a rectangle...

That is slightly slanted....

About 45 degrees.

This blog will deal with cutting the block out and marking it.  I will have more on construction hopefully next week.  This the perfect block to let your colors and creativity shine.  My primary problem is that I'm running out of fabric!  I should have purchased more fat quarters!  The ivy is appliqued on this block and traditionally ivy is dark (I'm using brown for the stems and my dark greens for the leaves), so keep that in mind as you're picking out your colors for the piecing process.

Cutting instructions for pieces B through G are very much like what we've encountered in the past.  A and AR are a bit different.  Cut your strips out for A, AR, A1 and A1R  (1.25 inches x WOF).  Fold each strip in half, right sides together. (NOTE:  Cut one strip at a time, don't stack on top of each other.  You will have more accurate cuts and that is important in this step.

You will need a ruler that has a 45 degree mark on it.  Most rulers used in rotary cutting have one on them.  Look for something on your ruler like this:

I know the glare is kind of bad on this picture, but you can see the 45 degree diagonal.  Turn your ruler until that 45 degree mark lines up parallel with  the bottom edge of your folded fabric strip.

Use your rotary cutter to cut the tip of the fabric strip off to form the first 45 degree angle.

Now measure 2 7/8-inches and mark it with a fabric-safe pencil/pen.

Line your ruler up with the 45 degree angle  meeting the mark you made on the fabric strip.

Cut with your rotary cutter.

Repeat until you have 4 each of A, AR, A1 and A1R.

When you're through, you should be able to fit them together like this to form your tulip.

Whew!  

The construction of this block involves a series of Y-seams.  Most quilters I know prefer not to do Y-seams, including myself.  I would much rather re-configure a block to use a series of half-square triangles rather than Y-seams; however, I couldn't do that with this block.  So we must tackle the Y-seam.

Most of the issues that deal with the dreaded Y-seam have to do with not accurately prepping the block pieces.  It's imperative, important, necessary, vital (continue to add modifiers of your choosing at this point), that the time is taken to accurately mark 1/4-inch points.  With this part of the block, you need to take the triangles formed from square B and mark 1/4-inch from the point and sides of the point of the triangle, like this:

Take the block this far and we will discuss construction  -- which is also a little different when Y-seams are involved -- next week.

Now back to Paducah.

If you can, at some point on your Quilters Bucket List of Life, put down a trip to the National AQS Show in Paducah.  Paducah is a tiny town, with a population not much over 15,000.  But during a typical AQS week, between 30,000 and 40,000 quilters descend on the small city.  And that city goes overboard in making quilters feel welcome.  Churches open their fellowship halls and serve dinners because there are not enough restaurants.  The grounds in front of the Convention Center are covered with food trucks and the proceeds of these goes to local civic groups, boy scout troops, and charities (Which, if you do get to Paducah, buy the Strawberry Shortcake from the Boy Scouts.  The kind with the vanilla ice cream and the whipped cream.  You will thank me.  Trust me on this one.)

People sit everywhere to eat and fellowship and rest.  It's Quiltfest, Quiltstock, Quiltfellowship...

There are three levels in the convention center.  The grand prize winners are on the main level, along with the vendors.  There are more vendors on the upper level and lower levels, along with more quilts.

And then there's the "Bubble."

Think of it as a blow-up bouncy house for quilters...I've also called it the Stay-Puff Marshmallow house.  It  houses more vendors and the author quilts.  I was told this was the last year for the Bubble -- that it's going to be replaced by a 10-story hotel.  

That makes me kind of sad.  The Bubble was a main-stay.  It was so pressurized that your ears popped when you entered and exited.  

But if you think that all the quilting action only revolves around the Convention Center, you're wrong.  Paducah is Quilt City USA.  There are quilting stores all over the place and out-of-town quilt suppliers rent vacant store fronts and warehouses to set up shop.  So getting around Paducah to catch the best sales is imperative.  There are courtesy vans and buses.  But sometimes a girl needs to get there NOW and can't wait for standard transportation.  

Yep.  That would be me.  And Amy and Kelly.  In the back of a pick-up truck.  Desperate times calls for desperate measures.

Darrell was great about it.  And I had a blast!  I haven't ridden in the back of a pick up since...well, it's been a while.

The quilts will come next week.  I promise.

Until then, love and stitches...

Sherri