DEAR DIARY
Frame a fussy cut square with a ripple of Flying Geese and hourglass blocks, to make a quilt that’s bursting with energy
ROTATE A RANDOM SELECTION OF HOURGLASS BLOCKS TO ADD A LITTLE MOVEMENT
NOTES
■ Seam allowances are ¼in throughout, unless otherwise noted.
■ Adjust stitch length to 1.5mm for FPP.
■ Templates include outer seam allowances only.
■ For templates, see p87.
■ WOF = width of fabric.
■ RST = right sides together.
■ WST = wong sides together.
■ HST = Half-square Triangles.
■ FPP = Foundation Paper Piecing.
FABRICS USED
■ Print fabrics are from the Dear Diary collection by Minki Kim for Riley Blake Designs.
CUTTING OUT
1 From the background fabric cut:
■ Sixty four (64) 6½in squares.
2 From the white print cut:
■ Thirty two (32) 5in squares.
■ Four (4) 8½in squares.
3 Choose four print fabrics and from each one cut:
■ Four (4) 2½in x 4½in rectangles.
■ From one of these, also cut one (1)
4½in square.
4 From the remaining assorted prints, cut:
■ Sixty four (64) 6½in squares.
5 From the binding fabric cut:
■ Seven (7) 2½in x WOF strips.
HOURGLASS BLOCKS
6 Mark a diagonal line on the wrong side of each background 6½in square.
7 Pair one 6½in background square with a 6½in print square, RST. Sew ¼in from either side of the drawn line. Cut along the line and press open to make two HST units.
8 Pair up the HSTs with opposite fabrics right sides together (Fig 1). Mark a drawn line perpendicular to the seam and sew ¼in from either side of the drawn line. Cut apart, press open and trim to 5½in square (Fig 2).
9 Repeat steps 8–9 with the remaining 6½in squares to make a total of one hundred and twenty seven (127) Hourglass Blocks.
ASSEMBLING THE CENTRE UNIT
10 Foundation piece each of the Flying Geese FPP templates as follows. Use the print 2½in x 4½in rectangles for the large triangles and the white print 5in squares for the small triangles.
11 Place the fabric for Section 1 on the unprinted side of the template, so it covers all of Section 1, plus ¼in all the way around.
12 Place the fabric for Section 2 RST with the section 1 fabric, with raw edges aligned along the line between Section 1 and 2. Check that when sewn, the fabric will cover all of Section 2 plus ¼in all the way around. Pin in place.
13 With the template printed side up, sew along the line between Section 1 and 2. Check the fabric will cover each section, then fold back the template along the seam and trim the seam to ¼in. Unfold the template and press the fabric open.
14 Repeat the last two steps, working in numerical order until the template is completely pieced. Piece all four templates in the same way, matching the print fabrics for the large triangles to make four identical Flying Geese units. 15 Trim the templates along the outer dashed edge and remove the papers, tearing along the seam lines.
16 Arrange the flying geese units, print 4½in square and four white print 8½in squares as shown (Fig 3). Sew together in rows, then sew the rows together to complete the centre unit.
ASSEMBLING THE QUILT TOP
17 Arrange four rows of four hourglass blocks, and four rows of three hourglass blocks. Sew each set together in rows, then sew the rows together. Attach these units to either side of the centre unit (Fig 4).
18 Arrange your remaining hourglass blocks in nine rows of eleven. Sew the rows together.
19 Sew three of the hourglass rows together in one section. Sew the
remaining six rows together in one section. Then sew each section to the top and bottom of the centre unit to complete the quilt top (Fig 5).
FINISHING THE QUILT
20 Cut your backing in half along the width. Sew together along the long edges using a in seam. Press open.
21 Press the quilt top and backing well. Make a quilt sandwich by placing the backing fabric right side down, the batting on top, then the quilt top centrally and right side up. The backing and batting are slightly larger than the quilt top. Baste the layers together using your preferred method.
22 Quilt as desired. Minki quilted straight lines either side of the seams.
23 Trim the excess batting and backing level with the quilt top edges and square up the quilt.
24 Sew the binding strips together end-to-end using diagonal seams. Press the seams open and trim away the dog ears. Fold in half lengthwise, WST, and press.
25 Sew the binding to the right side of the quilt, folding a mitre at each corner. Fold the binding over to the back of the quilt and hand stitch in place to finish.