Monday, March 2, 2009

Tennessee Waltz Quilt How-To!

Well here it is ladies....finally.....the instructions on how to make the Tennessee Waltz Quilt. If you have any problems just email me and I will help you out in any way that I can!

Once again here are the requirements:
1/4 yard for Star Point Background
1/3 yard for Star Points
1/8 yard for Star Center
1/3 yard for Four-Patch (two prints)
1/4 yard for Snowball Corners
1/2 yard for Snowball Background

Get the material that you have picked for your Star Points. You will need to cut it into 3 1/2 inch strips. Take the strips and cut again into 2 inch squares. You will then cut the squares in half on an angle like the pic below.




This next step is a little bit tricky but if you have a cutting mat and follow my directions I hope you will understand it. Take the material that you are using for your Star Points Background and cut it into 4 inch strips. Then cut it every 3 1/2 inches. Put the blocks on your cutting mat with one side on the 3 and the other on the 7. Now you will need to cut at an angle up to the 3 and up to the 7. Look at the pic below to help you.



Sew the Star Points to the Star Points Background.

Next take the material that you are using for the Four Patch Blocks and you will also need 2 strips of the Snowball Background fabric, you will then cut them into 2 inch strips.

Alternating colors sew the strips together. Lay all your strips together with the sew seems matching on your cutting board and cut into 2 inch blocks.

Sew the 2 inch blocks together to form your Four Patch Block

You will also need to cut a 3 1/2 inch block from your Star Center fabric for your Star Center.(I didn't take a pic of this)
Lay all your pieces out to form your block. Make sure you lay your Four-Patch blocks out so that the Snowball Background square is in to the center. If you look at my block below you can see that the upper right block was sewn on wrong ( don't you just hate that!!!!)

Now take a minute and admire your block....they are sew pretty.....lol!

Now measure your block and trim it up square. Mine were 9x9. Take your material for the Snowball Background block and cut a 9x9 square ( or whatever your block measures )

Now use your fabric for the Snowball Corners and cut 3 1/2 inch squares. Turn your material over and using a pen draw a diagonal line down the center of each square. Just be very careful with what you use. If you have a light fabric Do Not use a pen or a pencil as these may show through. Use a Quilting Pen that will wash away. If your fabric is dark just use any ole' pen. Just make sure its not a marker or anything to dark.

Take your block and line them up to the corners of the Snowball Background block. Sew on your drawn lines diagonally. Cut the excess off.

Now you simply sew your blocks together and "voila" a masterpiece.



You continue sewing your blocks together until you have the size you want. The fabric requirements that I gave are for a 9 block square wall hanging. I want mine to hang behind my sofa in my front living room so I wanted mine longer than taller. Comprende? I love this pattern because you can adjust it to what you want...its all up to you. When you are done you will need two coordinating prints for the sashes. I do not like to piece my sashes so I measure the length by width to get enough material to make a continuous one. On the pic below I still have one more sash to put on then I can get the batting and backing on.


I hope all this was easy to understand. This quilt goes super fast. The longest part is cutting everything out (well not really, for me it was picking the fabric) but once you start sewing it zips along. If anyone is interested I have a SUPER easy way to put on the binding. From the front it will look like its hand sewn but its actually done using the sewing machine. Let me know and I will put up a tutorial on it.
~Christina

9 comments:

Sue said...

Boy, you have an eye for fabric selection. Looks beautiful. And yes, I'd love a tutorial on the binding.

Pamela said...

Great fabric choices.
And I'd love the binding tutorial...I've been mending beloved blankets for my two oldest kiddos, and I'd rather use fabric than that blanket binding nonsense.

Terri said...

Really good!!A different level of patience to do Quilting.

I have a surprise for you on my blog.

Lila Rostenberg said...

Great how-to post! I teach quilting at a local sewing center.
YOur Tennessee Waltz is lovely!

viagra online said...

incredible! you definitely have an enviable talent when you see such things here, is surprised to see the quality that an human could have when using the imagination.

Unknown said...

Your instructions were very easy to follow. You made a complicated process seem so simple. I'm new to quilting. Now, by reading your instructions I feel like I can do it. Thanks

Peggy Ann Wilson Dobbs said...

Thank you for posting this pattern. It is beautiful! Sweet of you to do this.

Unknown said...

Thank you so much for the easy directions! I have a nephew in Tennessee who's having his first child. His wife is from there. I am doing a "Wylde Rose" (his last name is Wylde - it's actually the Wild Rose applique pattern) in the alternating blocks. I can't wait to see the results!

Anonymous said...

It is nice to find Tennessee Waltz instructions that do no require purchasing Half Rectangle and Half Square Triangle rulers!!