10-2-what?

My SIL was here all day yesterday for a day of sewing.  I decided to write out the steps for the 10-2-what blocks as I promised before my computer problems. This quilt design starts with twenty 10 1/2 inch and fourty 6 1/2 inch squares of scrap fabrics. By using a series of cut, mix, and resew steps; a pieced block is the result.

Start with the 10 1/2 inch squares.

Stack them up and cut one 3 ½ inch strip off one side.

Cut the deck of fabrics on the right. (wink) Mix them up.

Sew them back together like this. In my process of sew, cut, press, pin, etc; the fabrics from a previous picture are seldom on top for the next picture. Here they are pinned and ready for chain sewing.

Once you have sewn them all back together; press the seams toward the outside. Now it's time to turn the blocks around to make a 3 ½ inch cut on the other side like this.

Here I have them all pinned and ready to chain sew again.

Here they have been sewn and pressed. Remember, the seams are pressed toward the outsides. Now it is time for the next cut.

Turn the deck and make a 3 ½ inch cut again; but, this time across the previous seams.

Now cut the deck again.

This time before pinning and sewing them back together; take a little time to repress the seams of the 3 1/2 inch cut strip toward the middle. This will allow the seams to lock together when you sew.

After sewing these back together, press the seam toward the outside again. See how they locked together at the seams?

Now turn the blocks and cut another 3 ½ inch strip from the other side, like this. Cut the deck. Repress the seams toward the center. Resew them back together.

At this point you have a scrappy nine patch block. You could stop here. I’m not doing a nine patch so my design goes even farther.

Now I pull out the 6 ½ inch squares of scrap fabrics. These should have been all different; but, guess what? I only have three different fabrics in my 6 ½ inch drawer. I don’t want to cut more fabrics right now. I decided to see what will happen with only three. Half are dark and half are light.

I start by marking a diagonal line across the 6 ½ inch blocks.

Using only the dark squares; pin one fabric square to the corner of each nine patch block.

I sew on the drawn line; then, sew another line ½ inch away so I can use the cut away part as another block. Be sure you sew the second line on the right like this! With the previous sewn line to the left side of the presser foot.

 

Now cut apart right down the center of the two sewn lines and press toward the triangle.

If you have sewn the second line on the wrong side you will get this.  It won’t work.

This is the secondary block you get from sewing the second line before cutting apart.

Turn the block to the opposide corner and attach the light colored squares in the same way as you did the dark. Cut them apart and press toward the new formed triangles.

This is what I got from this cut and sew project. I keep thinking this is a Jacob’s ladder block. I don't think that it is the right name. I don't have time for researching the correct name right now.

This is NOT the block I intended for it to form. I was going for a spinning star block. Hopefully the next one will come out right. I believe I put too many cuts in it or else did the steps wrong. We shall see….