Block Two - Adventure Quilt....A Road Trip Quilt Along

And we are off on our Road Trip adventure!  Woohoo!  I LOVE a good road trip.  A great playlist, a few awesome audio books,  some yummy snacks, good friends, and amazing scenery along the way....what could be better?

Mile by mile, the road stretches on and brings exciting new sites.  That is the inspiration for the Milemarker block - a tribute to those miles, marked by landmarks big and small.  Can you really resist stopping for a quick selfie with the world's largest peanut?  Of course not!

In case you missed earlier posts, I'm doing my version in (naturally!) irresistible Island Batiks Foundations (their basics line), and my background is a crisp light blue called Icicle (it even looks a bit icy here!).  It really lets all of the other colors shine, which a great feature to consider when choosing a background that has to work with 24 other colors....and you want something other than the standard white or black.

Head over to Kate's blog to check out her blocks this week!

The Milemarker block gives you an opportunity to perfect that 1/4" seam that Kate helped you with last week. And we can talk about opening up seams (what??!!!) and trimming those versatile HST blocks.

So let's talk opening seams.  You have a choice when making a four patch style block.  You can press to one side, which is fine.  Really.  It is.  And LOTS of folks do it. OR.....you can open the seam up and really let that center lay super duper nice and flat (can you tell which way I'm leaning......???).

If you've never opened a seam before, relax.  It's easy - I promise!  You simply open up the seam ABOVE the seam allowance, on both sides.  Yes, you'll want to use your seam ripper.  Besides, your seam ripper is probably in a drawer, gathering dust, right? So show it some love and use it to get some impressively FLAT seams.

Now, if you're thinking...."WHAT???"....look at the picture above.  See where the seam ripper is pointing?  That is the tiny little seam you are taking out.  Usually about three stitches or so.  Turn the block over and do the same thing on the other side.  Then press the center open.  See how it looks like a little four patch? Cool!

And if it doesn't make sense, visit me on Facebook on Saturday, February 9th at 4:30pm.  I'll be doing a Facebook live and demoing how to open seams up.  

Now let's talk HSTs (Half Square Triangles).  We've given you a bit of wiggle room when making these, so you'll have space to trim up your blocks to the perfect size.

Personally, I am more than obsessed with my Quilter's Magic Wand.  It makes marking any HSTs a breeze - one placement for marking both sides.  Not required - so if you don't have one, don't sweat it.  You can do the usual - mark your center line and sew 1/4" seam on each side of the line.  But if you have the Magic Wand - now is the PERFECT time to use it!

Once you've stitched, cut and pressed, it's time to trim.  What size?  Well - check your instructions.  You have two different size Milemarker blocks - 6" and 9", so the size will depend up the finished size of the block.  But use your favorite square ruler (mine is - surprise, surprise - the Tucker Trimmer) to cut your HSTs to the perfect size.

One last tip for you as you begin working on your Milemarker blocks - press well!  Well pressed blocks are more accurate and look soooooo much better.

Oh- so I guess you are wondering where you can find your Milemarker blocks?  Use the link below (which will take you to my website) to find the Adventure Quilt Block Two - Milemarker Block. 

Miss last week's block?  You can find it here, and on Kate's site as well.  Previous weeks' blocks will be available for download for $3.00 each.

Come back next week when Kate and I will share Block Three with you!  Thanks for joining us, and until next time, Happy Stitching!

 

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