March 2024 – Row by Row Sampler
This month, we are creating a flower block for the Row by Row Sampler. There are so many options for this block of the month! I chose to present it this month because I need that hint of spring. Winter in the North East seems to go on forever, although this year, it has been mild for us. However, I usually enjoy more time in the sewing room when the weather is bad.
Tulip Block of the Month
Grab your leftover strips and use them before cutting more strips from your fabrics. I could use leftover strips, keeping my larger pieces of fabric intact. The pattern is available on the Row by Row Sampler Page. Scroll down until you see the download button for March.
Put one block together first; there are smaller pieces that can stretch easily. Once you have created one block, you should be able to chain sew most of the steps. The smaller pieces make for a more complex block, but the results are wonderful.
I had decided to only use my greens as the leaves and stem. Each flower is a single color in my Row by Row Sampler, but going completely scrappy will look good, too. Digging through my pile of fabrics, I found twelve different colors for this row.
Share a picture of how you decided to do this row. I would love to see your color combinations.
Pressing is Important
When you are working with smaller pieces, it is important to press the units carefully. These little pieces tend to skew easily. That isn’t something you want in your row. Even though the lines on a pressing mat aren’t accurate, they will help you when pressing the parts of the tulip block. It will give you a general idea of the squareness of your block.
Row by Row Sampler: Half Square Triangles
There are Half Square Triangles (HSTs) in this Block of the Month. The instructions start with oversized HSTs so they can be trimmed down to the correct size. Feel free to use your favorite way to make HSTs. Trimming blocks isn’t as tedious when you don’t have that many. I would probably use a different method if this quilt were based on many HSTs.
I love the way the HSTs look when they are trimmed and ready to use. Now, onto the layout and actual sewing of the Tulip Block. I like how my colors are looking together!
Tulip Block
There are some wonky steps when putting the block together, but I love the results. I am glad that I only used the greens for the leaves and stems. Digging through my leftover fabrics allowed me to use 12 different fabrics for this row. I cannot wait to see your results! Everything is coming together.
Creating the Row
There are a couple of ways you could put your row together. I chose the one above both times that I made this quilt. But do your quilt your way! Later this month, I will do a quick post about sewing your rows together with sashing strips.
I would love to see what you are working on this month. Feel free to comment below or share on my Facebook page.
Until next time….
You may be interested in these posts on Scrappy Quilts and Quilting UFOs.
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