Arkansas Crossroads Quilt - A Favorite

Choose your battles means to be selective of the problems and issues you get involved in.  Instead of fighting every problem, save your time for the things that matter - letting go of the rest. This is my motto for quilting.  I quilt for fun in my garage, not for profit or competition - which means I can choose my battle of what is important to me. 

Over the years what matters to me is a consistent size of a square or block ... even if it distorts the perfection of the pattern.  While not all quilt patterns allow for this type of manipulation, those that do are my favorites.  I want the overall look to be good and ease of assembly for overall enjoyment of my hobby. 

The block for this quilt is supposed to be 8.5" x 8.5" square.  I find it frustrating to have uneven edges, to tug and maybe have wavy rows when I assemble.  I like starched flat and square units to sew together. (I don't know if this wonkiness is the result of bad sewing or if I am just neurotic!) For this Arkansas Crossroads quilt pattern I trim everything to 8" x 8".  

I trim the edge units to 8" wide and also square up some inside bits for good measure. (pix below)

Now, all this trimming will alter the final design.  As you can see from the 'dreaded' red arrows below - my little triangle cap units do NOT extend to the edges of the squares below them. 

And I have no idea what I did a few years ago when I made some of these snowballed units - but they don't line up either. 

However ... this quilt is absolutely beautiful in it's entirety. 

A fun pattern that has only 2 blocks and can be made with charm packs or scraps if desired.

A soft shade of lilac minky and matching binding from Hawthorne Supply Co.  makes it 'meditation' ready for my friend's daughter.  

For more details, diagrams and links to other sources on how to make this quilt - my post from 2016 HERE is helpful. Remember though, I trim down everything which distorts perfection, and is NOT the correct/proper way according to official patterns. 

Artwork: xunantunich

Take my blog posts not as ultimate guidance but one point of view on how to make something.  Choose which battle you will fight when you quilt.  Move on from the aspects that tweak you - and enjoy the rest. 

Materials:

Good Fortune by Kate Spain

White Kona

Warm & White batting

Lilac minky and Lilac Candy Stripe from Hawthorne Supply Co.

Aurifil 50wt. thread #2024 (white) #2560 (lilac)

Size: 54" x 69"

November 2020

Snowballing a Corner

Snowballing is a technique of adding a triangle of fabric to the corner of a square.  You don't actually use a triangle shaped piece of fabric - but that is the illusion that occurs once you are finished. A smaller square is sewn onto a corner, trimmed and voilà - a snowballed corner.

At the end of this post are 4 really good links to various blogs and the different techniques one can use to make this block - as well as a tutorial from the Missouri Star Quilt Co. 

  I have done all of these methods but tried something new this time -  the Creative Grids Folded Corner Clipper Tool. The video (HERE) from Shabby Fabrics is all about this tool and helpful to watch.

I am making another Arkansas Crossroads quilt and it has a lot of "X" squares.  Each background fabric square (white) is 4.5" x 4.5" - and all colored fabric squares for snowballing are 2.5" x 2.5".  

Put the Corner Clipper Tool on a 2.5" x 2.5" square as shown above and trim off the right corner. 

Put the Corner Clipper Tool on the 4.5" x 4.5" square as shown above and trim off the right corner.  Notice that the position of the ruler marking at the 2.5" line is flush with the right side of the square.  

Turn the fabric around and do the same thing for the opposite corner of the 4.5" square.

Select two smaller trimmed units and sew them on the background fabric (white) on each corner using a scant 1/4" seam.

Here is the first piece that makes the "X" block.  You will need 4 of these to make the complete block.

Notice the not so perfect corners - just trim those so everything is even on the sides. 

Sew the top squares together and then the bottom two squares.  Join those to make an "X" block that is 8.5" x 8.5".  

Whether you make just a quilt with "X" squares or combine them with a 16 patch to make a Crossroads quilt - this little ruler is fun for 'clipping' corners.  You don't have to make any pen/pencil lines on small pieces of fabric and there is an opportunity to make multiple sized 'snowballs' for future projects. 

As always there is a very good tutorial with Jenny from Missouri Star Quilt Co. that shows how to assemble and make this quilt - it's a fun one with pre-cuts or scraps.  Video is HERE. 

Here are a few links that explain alternative snowball techniques.  

The Cloth Parcel - drawing a diagonal line

Sharon Keightley Quilts - using tape to guide fabric

Cluck Cluck Sew - tape method

Corner Pop by Deb Tucker - oversized corners and trim 

Materials:
Creative Grids Corner Clipper Tool
Good Fortune by Kate Spain

November 2020

Trying Something New ...

8 years ago I had no idea how to make quilt.  I am a sloppy note taker but a speedy typist.  I figured a blog was the fastest and neatest way to keep track of what I was doing.   Ye Olde Sweatshop has changed over time into a more tutorial style format which is really fun.  I get emails. questions and receive pictures of quilts from readers which makes this whole shared experience the best.

To evolve with this newer direction, I will post pictures & explanations about the blocks I am working on before the finished quilt.  This will provide shorter blog posts that are not over packed with information.  I am so glad my poor memory resulted in a way to share & help ... best of all,  it's awesome to see what you guys are up to as well.  Ruth