Sunday, May 18

snowball quilt & tutorial

Sherri, from Alaska, has sent me a couple of these beautiful Snowball quilts to quilt. 
She simply uses a scrappy color pallet - it works every time!
 
 
I quilted it in an uneven cross-hatch....this is the backing:

 
SO pretty...

 
I have this GIANT stash of browns & pinks I have been collecting for years.
It's time to cut them up and use them!
Here we go...
 
These are 6 1/2" finished blocks.
You will cut 7" squares for the centers
and....3" squares for the corners.
It's a good idea to use a strong contrast between the light and dark fabrics so the snowball portion stands out.
 

 
You will get 14 - 3" blocks out of a 42" width of fabric
and 6 - 7" blocks out of a width of fabric...(selvedge to selvedge).
(ity bity scraps left over for kitty beds!)

 
For a Queen size quilt measuring 91" x 104", you will need 224 blocks.
 Set them 14 across and 16 down.
 Lots of cutting - but it goes really quickly!
 

 
There are several ways to mark your sewing line. 
You can diagonally line up your 3" squares along a printed line on your cutting mat, back facing up, place a ruler along the points and draw the lines with a pencil.

 
sewing line...


Or....you can press them in half diagonally.
 

 The pressing line is your sewing line.
 
 
Another option is to place a piece of painters tape aligned with your needle position on your sewing machine.
As you sew you are guiding the bottom point of the 3" square along the edge of the tape. 
(I personally like this method - no preparation to the 3" square!)

 
After sewing all four corners (I use a different print on each corner for that scrappy flavor) you will trim 1/4" away from the stitching.

 
Press to one side. 
(I press towards the corner pieces)

 
So pretty!
 
 
I'm making a King size so I will be making 324 of these beauties!

 
And I still have left-over browns and pinks!!!
Maybe I'll piece the back, too!

 
Thank you, Sherri, for allowing us to "sigh" over your beautiful Snowball quilt.
It's so inspiring!

18 comments:

  1. Beautiful colorful quilt. I love how you quilted it too! Can't wait to see your brown and pink one as well.

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    1. Thank you, Evelyn. I think the brown & pink will be pretty, too. I'm such a scrappy happy girl!

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  2. I've never seen this pattern, but it looks easy and that's my criteria for quilting! It's really beautiful and I like the uneven crosshatch quilting! I can't wait to see your pink and brown top:>)

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    1. Super easy! It's one of those mindless quilting projects with beautiful results!

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  3. Reminds me of our Red and Yellow Snowball quilt. Anxious to see your pink and brown. I have a whole box of pinks and Browns collected that I don't know what to do with. You are a inspiration.

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    1. oh....the red & yellow quilts - I still love them!

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  4. I keep telling myself that the next block I make will be the snowball block. Thank You for showing this beautiful quilt and you always have such wonderful quilting on each one.

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    1. Thank you - I love coming up with the quilting designs....get going on those snowballs! They're speedy quick and so pretty!

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    2. Yes and I didn't do the applique but you made it look special Ronda

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  5. Is the cross-hatch ruler work? Beautiful blocks and quilting. I love scrappy happy!

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    1. Yes - I use the Gam-guide long ruler for the straight lines - couldn't live without it!

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  6. Nice,nice quilt and your quilting adds a lot more to it.
    Thanks for the tutorial, great idea.
    Have you ever quilted on minky? I have a graduation quilt to make, one side minky the other side flannel. (I have washed the flannel) any tips?
    Thanks, Terry from Dillon MT

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    1. Hi Terry - Yes, I quilt on minky all the time. Tips: I have to load the selvages going vertical and if it's really good quality minky it has a tendency to pull up to the top when quilting - so I use the same color thread as the minky. That way you don't see the minky "dots" on the top.

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  7. Of course you're making a KING size quilt, you crazy girl.

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    1. I know - I know....but I desperately need one for our bed!

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  8. Love your quilt, and quilting. Thanks for the Tute. Going to add this one to my 'bucket list'. :)

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    1. Thank you - it's a great "bucket list" quilt!

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  9. Kathy....I couldn't resist highlighing your quilt at our Tuesday Archives Linky party this week to celebrate our cross-hatch quilting theme!!I've been a follower of your blog since, before I even jumped into blogging myself. I am always inspired by your clean, simple quilting. I invite you and your readers to stop by and join us at this week's linky party. Val from myplvl@blogspot.com

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