With summer in full swing, it seems a little unfair to bemoan the rising sun, however, 4.30 am in my bedroom window, beautiful as it is, I'd rather the dawn chorus would wait just a little longer.
So this month, in my homage to the rising sun, I give you the Rising Sun Block.
I found this beauty in the Quilters Album of Patchwork Patterns By Jinny Beyer
and really, if you are into traditional patchwork blocks, then this is for you!
I am loving finding all the blocks that I can use my Sizzix Big Shot Plus and Bigz dies for. So I was pretty thrilled to be able to do all the cutting for this block completely by Sizzix.
I wasn't feeling so great, my daughter, having finish college and waiting for the summer to pass blissfully in idleness before Uni in September declared boredom. So I enlisted her to choose any fabrics from my stash, yes, really, ANY fabrics, showed her the picture of what we were going to make, and set her to work cutting away. She was quite surprised at just how easy it was to wind the dies through the Sizzix Big Shot Plus, how well each Bigz die cut the fabrics the same shape every time and how fast we had everything cut ready for piecing.
The advantage of having help, that can sew, but chooses not to, is you realize just how important that 1/4" seam is. Despite the accurate cutting, if the piecing isn't accurate, then the results are not going to be as pleasing. Good job I know how to sew the seam accurately!
A happy compromise of me sewing, and the teenager pressing was agreed. In no time at all, we were deciding on borders to make the block slightly bigger for a cushion. Quilted the block, and soon had a cushion.
We used the following equipment:
657611 Half Square Triangle 2 1/2" finished (watch the video, it has great tips for cutting!)
The block comes out at 16" finished, we added 1/2" finished accent to border the block, and 2 1/2" outer border. Once quilted the cushion top was trimmed down to 20".
Things to remember with shapes like the trapezoid is to layer fabrics with either right or wrong sides together, so you get a left and a right shape. If all your fabrics are layered on the die all facing the same direction, you will only get one shape, not its reverse as well.
I hope you'll have a go at this block, it was really quick to make, and for me is filled with happy memories of a pleasant afternoon of stitching harmony with my daughter.
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