Drafting CQ Blocks

Sweet Valentine Birds
I've had these sweet vintage Valentine images with birds on them for a while and have long wanted to do something with them.  When I saw a Vintage Valentine Round Robin on CQI, I signed up right away.  But the round robins usually consist of 6 blocks and I only had 5 images, so I decided to do this one on my own in my favorite muted soft colors.  I found a fun assortment of other images for the round robin, which I'll put together soon.

As is the case for many people, I struggle with piecing.  Usually, I just do a sew and flip method, building from the center out, but it seems that I waste a lot of fabric sometimes. And it takes seemingly forever.  Then I'm not always happy with the result, though I've often realized that this is a good excuse to let one's creativity have free reign in order to overcome!  But for this project, my silk stash consists of mostly small pieces, and I wanted to make the best use of them in order to have enough for all 5 blocks.  So, after rereading Allie's book, perusing Gerry's blog as well as those of Vintage VogueKitty Stevens, Sharon Boggen and others, I decided to design a couple of block patterns to use.  I wanted one where the image tilted left and one to the right.

Drafting the CQ Blocks 1
I started off using my Omnigrip square ruler to draw the 6 inch blocks, making sure to allow an extra 1/4" all the way around for seam allowance.  I also played with some thumbnail sketches to come up with ideas for piecing.

Drafting the CQ Blocks 2
Then with a ruler and the centers marked, I drew the pieces and made some notes for seam allowance. I also numbered the pieces in the order in which they'll be attached to help keep me organized.  You'll notice that they are basically the same block mirrored, with just a couple of minor differences in the angle of some seams.

Blocks with image
Here I was trying out the images on the squares.

Valentine Blocks in progress
Because these are square images, I can rotate the blocks and still get the tilt I need.  The blocks look wonderfully varied using this technique!

Next I 2 copies each of the drafted blocks and cut patterns from them.  I laid each block out as I cut it out so I could check for color placement.  I was thrilled at how little waste I had with the silk!  Tomorrow, I hope to get the blocks stitched up!

Comments

Arlene White said…
What a great idea, thanks for the inspiration Lisa.

Arlene
http://arlenes-crafts.blogspot.com/
I'm not sure I have the patience for the drafting process, but I can sure see the value in it! Thanks for sharing your ideas!
Nicola said…
Lisa you are so talented and creative. Can't wait to see your quilt develop.
Laurie said…
Well this is going in my memory bank! Great work Lisa.
Cathy said…
Very pretty, Lisa. I hate piecing too but I also hate following a pattern for piecing.

I look forward to stitching on one of your blocks. They are so pretty and I love the color scheme.

Cathy L
Devon said…
Looks like you have it under control,,and I cant wait till you start putting your beautiful stitches on it..

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