Block 1 of the RBD Block Challenge has been released and it is by no other than Lori Holt. This block, Vintage Delight, features multiple stich-and-flip units that are joined together to form one cohesive block.
If you are not familiar with Lori Holt, she is an amazing designer that has a flair for taking vintage patterns and making them new again. Check out her newest pattern, Mercantile Sampler, where she places traditional blocks inside circles giving them a new look. She is the designer behind many of the quilt alongs hosted by the Fat Quarter Shop. In addition to being a fabric and pattern designer she also creates cross stitch patterns that coordinate with her quilts and is an avid crocheter. I am especially looking forward to her upcoming Christmas pattern that will be released this summer featuring Christmas baubles. While she does have a blog, I follow her on YouTube.
Back to the block at hand and stitch-and-flip blocks. These are not very hard to create and are often used when you want to cover only a corner of a larger block, like when creating snowballs. They can also be used to create flying geese. After the pieces are sewn together, usually on a diagonal, the excess is cut off, and the seam is flipped open to cover the part that was removed.
Like the old adage of do as I say not as I do. You can save yourself a lot of time and heartache by marking the part you will cut and discard. In addition to marking the diagonal sew line on the back of the fabric, placing a small X on the waste side makes it easier. This is something I usually do, but in a moment of over confidence, I opted not to and cut on the wrong side of the sewing line. As you can see below there is no way to fix this mistake and I had to redo one corner of the block. You can bet I marked it the second time through. So, do as I say not as I do. and mark the waste before you cut.
If you missed the beginning of this series, click here to go to the introduction and a link to get all of the patterns in this series. While I wait for next weeks block to be released, maybe I can tackle some of my overdue projects from my UFO list. Here’s to taking life one stitch at a time.
Momma B
