Finale for the Simply Sensational Summer Scrap Quilt

It's here Quiltin' Peeps!

It's taken 3 months, but, it's finally here!

It went by faster than you thought.....right?  It did for me!

Here is the 3rd and last clue,

as well as the final reveal of our.........

This mystery will stay on the blog for a while.

If you, your guild or group would like to use

this pattern, please give appropriate credit.

That is one thing I take for granted, because

I try to give credit where it is due

all of the time....but, I was

reminded by a few friends that I needed to share this here.

PDF LINKS

INTRO

Clue #1

Clue #2

Clue #3 and Finale

Reminders:

Keeping things simple.......

When cutting.......cut accurately and consistently.

When sewing......sew accurately, using a consistent 1/4" seam.

When pressing......press seams the same way for all units made.

Please do NOT stress over seams not matching, or nesting.  When it comes to scrap quilting, perfection is highly over rated in my opinion.  Some of my seams are definitely not perfect!

Also, I do have to admit something to you all here.  I am human, and make mistakes on a regular basis.  Not just with quilting! LOL  If there are any mistakes within the directions of this quilt, please accept my apology right here and now! LOL  And, remember, if you don't care for the looks of this quilt, you can ALWAYS donate it to the many charitable and philanthropic organizations that take quilt donations. 

Here is Clue #3

This is what we need to sew to complete the units

needed to finish our #SSSSQ

From squares cut previously...... make:

Make 32 units just like the one at the top

of the photo below.

Sew a Color 2, 2.5" square to

a Color 1, 2.5" square.

Press seam to Color 1. 

(Like the 4 units in the bottom of photo above.)

Add another 2.5" square of Color 2

being careful to

match the side of the Color 1 square

when sewing.

I did sew the length of the entire 2 patch.

Press to Color 2 square just sewn.

(Hopefully you understand the construction of this?)

We will call this Unit V, because it looks like a "V."

Let's take a look at our 

inspiration quilt, shall we?

I found this quilt at an antique mall in South St. Louis County.

I LOVED it the minute I laid eyes on it.
It is similar to a Mosaic Quilt.

Since I am not an expert in dating quilts, all I can go off of

are clues from the fabrics.  There are definitely some 30s, 40s, and 50s fabrics

in this quilt.  It is an humble hodgepodge of 4 patches with no real
cohesion at the ends of some rows.

 And, those prairie points.......WOW!
The hand quilting is very nice with a lot of cables running
through the pink sections.

Rounded corners add to it's charm.
Do you see what I see?  Ran out of pink!

I built this quilt as I assume the original quilter made it.....or at least tried to.  It may seem like weird construction at times, but, I had to compose the pattern as I went.  It was REALLY interesting to see the "make-do" nature the original quilter had.

So, what is our version going to look like?

Ta-DAH!
The Simply Sensational Summer Scrap Quilt!

Using 2 contrasting colors really helped this design in my opinion.

The neutral sections are not as flat by scrapping it up a bit.

We will be building the quilt as pictured above so no one gets confused.

You can also look at the quilt like this.

Please remember, we will be building it from

the previous photo.

The brown batik sections look delicious to me!

Lights, mediums, and dark values of

the same color really sing to me!

I completely enjoy the contrast of this quilt.

It measures approximately

72" x 89"

A few inches were added in the correct

construction of this quilt top, as opposed

to the original inspiration quilts humble piecing.

I will do my best to provide photos for each step.

If you find the pdf has too much information for you, or too many photos

for you to print please edit them for yourself to where they make sense for you.

I may do things differently than you would do for yourself, and hey....that is just fine!

You complete this top the way it makes sense to you.  We all work differently.  If you

have chosen to make half of the units throughout the clues in the directions, add to or

eliminate what you need for this simple design.

Here we go!

Make 9(qty) 16 patches from

some of your Color 1

4 patch units.

Remember, I spun my seams

on the back, but, you press the 

way it suits you.

From your Color 1, 2 patch units made in Clue 1,

you will be able to construct the extra units

needed to assemble the center square for this quilt.

Simply put, we need a center square assembled from

169 Color 1 squares.

13 squares by 13 squares.

Please refer to the photo above for easy construction. 

Things are coming together now.

And this is our center square for our quilt.

By spinning the seams, my quilt is uber flat!

To border the center square, we will need to sew together

6(qty) Color 2, 4 patch units along with

1 Color 2, 2 patch unit.

Please see photo above.

Make 4

Attach 2 of these to the sides of

the Color 1 center square.

Attach a Color 1, 4 patch unit

to both sides of the remaining

Color 2 borders for the center square.

Attach these to the opposing sides of

the center square.

Our center square is now complete!

Onto our next step...........

We will need to make 4(qty)

each of the next 4 units.

Referring to the photos will be

most helpful for you.

Use 1 Color 1, 2 patch for the center.

Sew a Unit V to both sides.

Add a previously cut Color 2, 2.5" square

to the top paying close attention to

the placement.

Make 4

Sew 2(qty) Color 1, 4 patch units to

1(qty) Color 1, 2 patch unit.

Attach a Unit V to both sides.

Make 4

Sew 4(qty) Color 1, 4 patch units to

1(qty) Color 1, 2 patch unit.

Attach a Unit V to both sides.

Make 4

Sew 6(qty) Color 1, 4 patch units to

1(qty) Color 1, 2 patch unit.

Attach a Unit V to both sides.

Make 4

You should now have 4 each of the

rows as pictured above.

Sew them together

and make 4 of these units.

This is where seams may not nest.

Simply press the way you like best.

I did press toward the single Color 2 square

on these.

Isn't this a neat way to make your center an

on point setting?

We could have used specialty rulers to make

triangles for Unit V, but, I think it is important to be able

to share an approach to something without

having to use a specialty ruler.

Attaching the corner, on point sections.

Make sure to pay attention to where you

attach your corner pieces.

We want those points to go all the way

around the center before we square it up.

Notice where my stiletto is pointing.

We don't want to start sewing at the top

next to that other Color 2 square,

otherwise we will be way off.

You can attach these in any order you wish.

I did opposing corners first.

Again, pay careful attention to the placement

so you don't have to use your seam ripper!

And here is our center square set on point!

Time to trim it!

You can choose how to square your center up.

I trimmed mine using a large square ruler with good

1/4" markings. For the corners,

 I lined up the diagonal, trimmed the corners,

then used a longer ruler to trim up the sides.

Again, make sure to include your

1/4" past those Color 1 points.  You will need that

1/4" when you add on the next

sections.  If you loose some points, don't stress.

I lost some myself!

Here is the trimmed center square on point.

You know those trimmings went into my

neutral crumbs! LOL

Next, you have to make a design decision.....

And, I hate to admit, it, but, the way

I describe this may be a bit confusing for some.

The squares will not match up with the seams

of the set in triangle squares we just trimmed up.

 So, I opted to use up some strips.

You do what works best for you.

The squares you will need if you go that route

are NOT factored into or included in any 

of the previous clues and instructions.

I used 2.5" strips of Color 2

in varying lengths.  This worked for me.

If you do not like this look, you can either use 24(qty)

2.5" squares sewn together, or the equivalent of

one fabric strip.  We are adding to the sides first.

(The photo above is intended to show the 2.5"

strip along with a pieced strip of 24(qty) 2.5"

squares in Color 2 on the left side.)

Attach to opposing sides.

For the top and bottom, either use 

24(qty) 2.5" squares sewn together of Color 2

or the equivalent of one fabric strip.

Sew a Color 1, 2 Patch to either side.

You can see this in the photo above

where I have attached it to the top and bottom.

To continue this round of border,

sew together 24(qty) 2.5" squares of color 2

and add a Color 1, 2 patch to both sides.

Attach to top and bottom.

(Sorry, no photo, but, you can see

part of it in the previous photo and more

down below.)

Sew 14 Color 1, 4 patches together.

Make 2

Attach to top and bottom of quilt.

You can see this in the next photo.

Sew 16 Color 1, 4 patches together

Make 2

Attach them to the sides to make

a continuous border of Color 1 with

what looks to be 16 patches in all corners.

At this point, this would be a great lap quilt

if that is what you so desire?

We are almost there now!

Sew 16(qty) Color 2, 4 patches together.

Make 4

Sew 16(qty) Color 1, 4 patches together.

Make 2

Sew these rows together like this from

the previous 2 16 (qty) instructions.

Make 2 of these units to add to the top and bottom

of your quilt.  I did mine this way, because, it

truly isn't going to matter whether you add the sides on

before the top and bottom due to everything

being pieced.  Plus, this made it easier construction

for me personally.

And finally....

Sew 22(qty) Color 2, 4 patches together.

Make 2

Attach to both sides of quilt top.

(I was so excited to complete this quilt top

I didn't get a photo of the individual

side units! Sorry!)

And now.......

Voila!

Your completed #SSSSQ top!!!!

Whew!

Isn't that a great feeling to make

a striking pattern from simple squares.....

a LOT of squares that are no longer

languishing in your scraps and stash????

I know it is for me!

One VERY IMPORTANT

last item we need to take care of

before quilting.......

You will DEFINITELY want to stay stitch

around the entire quilt top so

seams will not pop in the handling of it.

You or your quilter will thank you

for doing this!

My version is off to my friend Kim

for quilting!

I can't wait to show you how I

am getting it quilted!

I want to thank you all for playing along with me in your

scraps and stash this summer.

I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I have!

I would also like to thank my friend Alycia

of  Alycia Quilts and her son Little Bit

for helping me with the badge for this

mystery quilt.  Check out her blog now

for the mystery she is starting!

I would also like to thank my friend Joyce

for helping me with the PDFs for this

mystery!

Thanks for all of the encouragement!

Enjoy what is left of your summer!

Keep on Quilting!

Kevin the Quilter