To Do On Tuesday: Piece 3 Blocks for Beware the Ishmaelites Sampler Quilt

Hello, friends!  Since I used up so much sewing time blubbering all over old photos in my last post, THIS one is going to be short and sweet.  I promise.  

Anders' Beware the Ishmaelites Sampler Quilt, Queen Size

It's time to return my attention to Beware the Ishmaelites, my adaptation of the Moda Modern Building Blocks sampler quilt from a few years back.  I swapped out some of the blocks for different ones, and changed all of the Moda colors to Kona Solids that coordinate with a mod graphic wallpaper in my son's bathroom.  Then I resized all of the blocks to make the Queen size Moda pattern fit a Twin bed, which necessitated some REALLY wonky block sizes that are not one bit ruler friendly...  (Moda Modern Building Blocks design uses block sizes that are all multiples of 6", but mine are slightly shrunken to multiples of 5") 

 And so I set it aside for a few years after struggling to make the first giant block without the modern advantages of rotary cutting tools.  I paper pieced it, which required taping together multiple pages of newsprint, and if I had it to do over again I would have cut those giant green triangles so they had straight grain instead of bias along the outside edges of the block.  Live and learn.

First and Only Block Completed, MMBB Block 2 at 30 x 30

Ironically, while I was ignoring this project, my son hit a growth spurt that necessitated replacing his Twin bed with a Queen.  The original Moda Modern Building Blocks pattern would fit his new bed perfectly, all with ruler-friendly block sizes.  But then I would not be able to use the 30" block pictured above which I worked SO HARD on...  So I slapped borders onto my Twin adaptation to make it a Queen size again, and I like my borders.  Seriously -- and this is me envisioning how the quilt will look on the bed, in the room.  

I will be piecing the remaining blocks for this quilt using a combination of traditional template methods and foundation paper piecing, in order to deal with the weird measurements.

These are the blocks that are up next:

MMBB Block 1 at 30" 

I'm going to foundation paper piece the red and white center of that star for sure, and will probably cut the larger triangles out with tagboard templates.  The rotary cutting instructions I printed out from EQ8 want me to cut a 16 3/16" square and cross cut it into QSTs, for instance.  No, thank you.

Not In MMBB: Replacement for Block 3 at 25"

The block pictured above is not in the Moda Modern Building Blocks pattern.  It's from my EQ8 software block library, and I swapped it out for MMBB Block 3.  (It is SUPER convenient to have access to thousands of blocks in whatever size I want them, and to be able to print out templates/rotary cutting charts/foundation patterns for any of them with a few clicks.  Seriously, even if you never use the software to design a quilt from scratch, it's totally worth the price just to be able to print out any of a gazillion quilt block patterns in any size your heart desires!)  I think I'm going to try to paper piece this block, too, although I have a nagging recollection that I didn't love paper piecing for the first giant block.  The large fabric pieces want to scoot around too much on the paper, but I guess I'll have to deal with it, because no way am I rotary cutting 7 7/16" squares to cross cut into QSTs.  I mean, I COULD, but I already printed my foundation patterns on newsprint, and I do love how nice and precise my points come out when I paper piece...

 

Last but not least:

Also Not in MMBB: Replacement for Block 4 at 20"

This one isn't in the original MMBB pattern, either -- it's another block from EQ8 that I plopped into position where their Block 4 was supposed to go.  The two blocks that I replaced from MMBB were boring and too similar to other blocks already in the quilt; I thought these ones tied in nicely but were a lot more interesting.

The biggest blocks make me more nervous than the smallest blocks do.  I feel like, once I get these three done for a total of 4 blocks finished and on the design wall, the smaller blocks will come along more smoothly and they should be fun to make.

So, here's my To-Do List for Tuesday!

1. Piece the three large blocks for Beware the Ishmaelites quilt as pictured above
2. Squeeze myself into the dress I'm planning to wear to a wedding this weekend to ensure that it still fits (I've been stress-eating in anticipation of abandoning moving my son into college, so there will probably be Spanx involved).
3. Get a pedicure and pack for said wedding.
4. Shop for school supplies with Anders, my high school Junior who will be sleeping under this quilt once it's finished.  He goes back to school on Monday, as soon as we get back from my niece's wedding.

I'm linking up today's post with:

• ·      Colour and Inspiration Tuesday at http://www.cleverchameleon.com.au
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• ·       To-Do Tuesday at Stitch ALL the Things: http://stitchallthethings.com