Tiny Strings

April’s Block for do. Good Stitches in my group was a couple of string blocks.  Simple enough…I’ve made a whole string quilt before…this time last year in fact.  It was a gift for my MIL.

Tiny Strings

So I thought that a couple of blocks would be easy peasy.  Hmmm… Well, let’s just say it was a little more work than I bargained for.  You see, these string blocks for do. Good Stitches are actually made from a 9 patch of string blocks.  And I had to make 2 blocks.  So doing a little bit of quick arithmetic will lead you to discover that I needed to make 18 4.5″ square string blocks.

Tiny Strings

Pretty though, right?  Perseverance was key here for me and remember that this is for charity.  I shouldn’t begrudge a quilt for charity.  And they really are kind of fun to make.  Kind of. 😉  Our color scheme was very Sherbety to me…oranges, pinks, yellows, and green.  I raided through my stash and found an assortment of fabrics in these shades.  This is a great stash-busting block!  Because those squares are so little you can use some of your smaller scraps up!  And it’s always fun to add in little pieces like this one.

 

Tiny Strings

See the castle?

The blocks really do look fabulous together and I’m comforted by the fact that I’ve seen a few other blocks with some of the exact same fabrics that I chose.  So I think that they will all look like they belong together in the end.  I of course am my overachieving self and always swirl my seams with a nine-patch block…even string ones!  It definitely helps the block lay flatter. (eta: a number of people have asked how to swirl your seams.  I have a tutorial in my sidebar and you can also find it HERE)  And I like to sew the blocks together with the paper backing still attached because it helps to keep the blocks from stretching too much when working with all of those biased edges.

Tiny Strings

Oh and I thought myself quite clever when I used origami paper as the backing for these blocks.  A quick trim and they are a great size and weight for these little squares.  And then I spent a good portion of time tearing all that paper off the blocks while watching the newest Harry Potter on DVD.  Good times. 🙂

16 thoughts on “Tiny Strings”

  1. The colours really sing and your pints are immaculate, the swirled seam is worth it thought, there is a lot of bulk with all the little seams, your block lie very flat

  2. Uh oh: there's origami paper (brilliant idea) somewhere in my crafts cabinet, but finding it will involve (gulp) opening the doors and confronting the mess in there. The rest of my sewing room is newly tidy and organized, but that cabinet is a black hole of crafty doom.

  3. Love all both of them. I like doing a string quilt now and again. They are fun and easy and look so great.
    Do you have a link for doing the swirled seam??

  4. Ha, yes, they were tiny, weren't they! I made one and then it kind of took me by surprise that I had another to go – duh! But, I agree, they are looking great together already. Cute castle!

  5. Oragami paper? Never have heard of it…I've always tried string blocks with plain old cotton on the back…yes, it does make the quilt heavier, but it is perfect when the weather is beyond freezing. I'll have to check out the orgami paper…thanks for the tip!

  6. Your gold and blue string quilt is so striking, Angela! Your mom is so lucky!
    And I'm feeling the same way about string blocks right now, yours are so pretty, but gosh, so much work!!

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