Chevron /Zig Zag Quilt

Meg, one of Keaton's sitters, wanted a quilt for her graduation from college. I told her I would attempt it if she found the directions. This is the result of her search and my sewing.

She found the quilt she wanted here.

(You have to scroll down to find it.)

The directions were for a quilt with finished measurements of 40in x 48in. That was a little smaller than our girl, Meg, wanted. So I had to use my head and do a little math but mostly I flew by the seat of my pants and made decisions as I went. The end result turned out well if I do say so myself. Listed below is what I ended up using to make Meg's beautiful quilt.

We started by selecting 8 different but coordinating or complimenting fabrics.

I'm not sure how much of each kind of material we bought. I'm learning that if I am asked how to make a quilt, that information could be useful. 

Next, the material was cut into 5 inch squares as listed below:

Fabric 1 (orange with white dots): 40 squares

Fabric 2 (orange): 32 squares

Fabric 3 (white with teal lines): 40 squares

Fabric 4 (teal blue solid): 16 squares

Fabric 5 (orange with blue design): 32 squares

Fabric 6 (navy): 16 squares

Fabric 7 (chevron pattern): 48 squares

Fabric 8 (green): 16 squares

Make sure to keep color/patterns separated. Next, you will pair them up in the  combinations below...

(from top of photo)

orange with white dots  and white with teal lines

white with teal lines and green

green and orange

orange and orange with blue design

orange with blue design and chevron

chevron and navy

navy and orange with dots

orange with dots and orange with blue design

orange with blue design and teal

teal and white with teal lines

white with teal lines and chevron

chevron and orange

orange and orange with dots

orange with dots and chevron

chevron and white with teal lines

Then take the first pair and place the right sides facing together. Use a pencil or fabric pen to draw a line from one corner diagonally to the opposite corner. Stitch 1/4 inch away on both sides of the line. Your pencil line should be sandwiched between two stitched lines.

Using scissors or a rotary cutter, cut along the pencil line. You should be left with two  pieces. Press the seams toward the darker of the two fabrics. You now have 2 half squares triangle blocks.  Repeat this process until all blocks are complete.

As you complete the blocks, you can start lying them out to make your zigzag pattern. (Notice one set of zigzag squares were sewn upside down in the quilt shown above creating a diamond instead of a zigzag. We decided we liked it enough to keep it that way. Feel free to make you own decision when you sew your quilt together.)

Once you have all your blocks laid out in order, begin assembling the quilt top. Using a quarter inch seam, first sew each block in a row together forming a long strip. Next sew the long strips together until your quilt top is complete.

Now you are ready to quilt your quilt using your method of choice.

To learn how to bind the quilt, I searched for directions on youtube.

Enjoy!!!!!

It's been a while...

It is hard to believe that it has been more than a year since I have written a blog post.
I have thought of checking out the blog several times but just never did. It didn't help that the lap top started having issues. I return to the blog tonight ton consider making a tutorial blog post. It would happen tonight as typing on the tablet isn't all that convenient.  Perhaps tomorrow I'll connect the keyboard and create a tutorial for making a zigzag chevron quilt. 

At Long Last

I know I haven't updated in some time. There have just been too many things going on that needed my attention I guess. I may have also lost some interest in blogging for awhile because I haven't been reading blogs much of late either.

Here I will attempt to fill you in with the quick or short version.

In August, as school started, we began to look for another place to live. We decided that a different house would be better for our family. It would be a safer environment for Keaton and less stress for the rest of us. With two sets of sliding glass doors which are very difficult to keep locked, Keaton got away from us very quickly. Basically he ran off in the neighborhood and we couldn't find him. I cannot describe the panic we felt. His safety was and is more important to use than any house. So we found a smaller place with a privacy fenced around the backyard. We moved in September. Had a new alarm system installed. The new version is much louder. It can be heard easily from just about anywhere in the house. The other house was bigger and the alarm was much more difficult to hear from all over the house.

Connor continued playing baseball into September. He practiced swimming and joined the Jr. Beta club at school. He continues to be on the academic team and loves it. He is one of the captains. He makes us so proud. Basketball season started. The holidays came and went as quickly as they do each year. We celebrated Connor's 11th birthday with a party here at home.

Keaton keeps growing! He is already as tall as I am. I know that may not be saying much but he is only 9 years old. He already weighs 130+ pounds. We've had to make adjustments to his medications. We've spent some sleepless nights up with him just because he wasn't ready to sleep. (Last night/this morning being one of them. That is part of the reason I have found the chance to blog.) After we moved, we suffered some bathroom issues but I think we have finally gotten that all back on track.

Rob experienced some very high blood pressure back in December. Scared us all with a trip or two to the ER. Thankfully, he has that all under control now.

In January, Rob and I went once again to Pigeon Forge with some friends. After eating well on the trip and feeling like I had gained five pounds, I decided to make a better effort to get the gym. I've been to a step class or two and have started going to a zumba class with a friend.

As for now, the beginning of February, basketball season is winding up. It hasn't been the most exciting of seasons. The team came close to winning only one game. I'm helping organize a 5K race as a fundraiser for my school and have started haveing montly swim board meetings for the summer swim team. Somehow I ended up being president. Oh well....it's just one more thing to do.

Until next time, (and hopefully it won't take as long as last time)

Summer Reading

I don't know if you've noticed or not, but I've done some reading this summer and discovered a new author or two to enjoy. I'm not the only one.......Connor has also discovered a new author and a new series of books this summer.

The Edge Chronicles written by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell was a recommendation from the librarian. Connor had seen a kid at school reading it and thought he'd give it a try. Well, he can hardly put the books down. They have about 350-400 pages each. He is on book 5 in the series and we have already checked out the remaining books in the series from the library so that there will be no waiting when he finishes one and is ready for the next. The last book in the series is about 2 1/2 inch think and it isn't in large print. I am so proud of him and his love of reading. Hopefully all this reading will pay off with a big prize from the summer reading program. Only time will tell.

Until next time,
Live~Laugh~and Love