September Block

Posted by Desertskyquilts on September 1, 2018 in blocks, housekeeping | 4 comments

If you have questions about anything, please don’t hesitate to let me know. I may have over-explained in an effort to make sure everyone could follow the directions and the pictures. It’s a picture heavy post!

Making the blocks is fast – less than half an hour yields two before you add appliqués to one. You ONLY add appliqués to the blue baskets. I ask that you read through the entire pattern and study the pictures before beginning, so that there are no surprises for you. I don’t always do things the way someone else does, having learned to quilt on my own 50+ years ago. A careful (not skimming!) read will ensure that you know what I’m doing to achieve the block, before you do it a different way, and it might not work.

Cut 10-inch squares, one in white and one in blue.
Cut each square in half into 5 x 10-inch rectangles. Set one of each aside for later.

This is a picture of the three pieces. This is not the position for cutting.

Place one blue and one white rectangle, both right sides up, exactly on top of each other. Doesn’t matter which is top or bottom.

Place printed pattern for basket on top of two rectangles and place one pin at the edge of each piece, point toward the center. This will keep pins out of the way of cutting, while still holding pieces in place.

Cut exactly on basket lines. You will make two careful cuts, but if it is off a little, it will be fine. These are wonky baskets, after all.

Unpin pattern and toss. Reusing pattern will cause errors to creep in.

Swap side pieces so there is one white basket on blue and one blue basket on white.

Note: These are not true bias edges, but they WILL stretch, so handle carefully.

Sew two quarters right sides together. Pin the side you want to sew, as it gets confusing once you move them.

Note: We are used to having a point hang over 1/4″ when lining up angles. That will not happen here.

Press toward blue.

Sew two halves right sides together, matching previous seams WHERE THEY TOUCH. They are not 45 degree angles and will not match all the way down the seam. Pin above and below seam to keep edges together and avoid stretching.

Press this seam open. Trim TOP of basket straight. Do not trim bottom at this time.

Sew the second half of set aside pieces to the top of basket. The basket is a little smaller now, so line it up where you like it best along the seam.

Press seam toward top, or press open, as you choose. Carefully trim basket to 8.5″ square.

Things to watch for, shown in picture below:

• Is the ruler straight across the center seam?
• Are there at least 8.75 inches of the block under the ruler on the sides you are NOT cutting? (bottom and left in picture)
• Do you have at least 1/2 inch from the point of the basket to the edge you ARE cutting? It will probably be more than an inch, but it depends on how you sewed the pieces together. (top side in picture)

Things to watch for, shown in picture below:

• Are the block’s cut edges on the 8.5″ ruler lines?
• Is the ruler straight across the center seam?
• You should have at least a little to cut from the two remaining untrimmed sides.

The important thing is to make sure the bottom is trimmed straight. If the block is sewn correctly, it will be easy to trim all four sides and have an 8.5″ square block. It doesn’t matter where the basket is, as long as there is at least seam allowance on each side. It will most likely not be a problem, but measure three times before cutting. =)

The seams on the two baskets may not line up, and that is alright. The important thing is that both are 8.5″ square when finished.

On the BLUE basket ONLY, please add up to two of the appliqués given. It doesn’t matter which one or two.

I did not include leaves or stems, but you may also add those, if you wish. Please add appliqués IN the basket, but not ON the basket. That is, they are contents of the basket, not a decoration on the front of the basket. It is all right if they hang over the basket’s top edge or overlap the handle or another appliqué (see appliquéd basket picture further down).

Colors of appliqués should be bright, not fading pastels. Solids, tone on tone or tiny prints are okay, even a plaid or batik that is predominantly one color. If you appliqué the handle, it does not have to match the basket, but should be blue. It may be appliquéd flush with the top of the basket, or the ends may hang over the edge of the basket.

I suggest blanket (buttonhole) stitch or satin stitch for the edges rather than any straight stitching or raw edge method. You may match the background color or use a neutral thread.

Add nothing to the white baskets. One basket below is waiting for appliqué still.

These baskets are made in pairs, so you may make up to 5 pairs. Any white solid, or white on white print with any blue solid, tone on tone or blue with TINY white flowers or design, which still reads as blue, may be used. Batiks and plaids are okay for the blue as long as they are only blues, no other colors, and read as blue.

You may re-use the white background, but the blue should be different for each set of two blocks. You may use one blue handle from one of the other fabrics you used, that does not match the blue of a different set of blocks. Hmm, that’s kind of confusing. If you don’t use the blue from Block set A as a handle on that blue basket, you may use it on one of the other block set baskets. Is that better?

This post may be downloaded using Print Friendly for your personal use. Please do not share it with friends or guilds, but you may tell them where to get it, if they want it.

Click HERE to go to my pattern page and download TWO sheets- the cutting guide and the appliqué sheet. Both files begin with “Sept_Lotto_Basket” and may be easy to spot at the top of the list, or you may have to open the folder that says “9-2018_Lotto_Basket_Patterns”. You do not have to be a member of the google site or signed in to download the pages, as they are public.

Note: The cardinal and star are drawn from cookie cutters. Other patterns were freehand drawn by me.

Please use appropriate categories and tags. I used Sept 2018 baskets as the tag, and blocks as the category.