Piece & Quilt Sampler Tips for June

It’s time for my Piece & Quilt Sampler Tips for June! If you’re just tuning into this one, it’s a quilt along hosted by Fat Quarter Shop that uses the book, Celebrate with Quilts, by Susan Ache and Lissa Alexander. Each month they assign several blocks to make and by the end of February, you’ll have a beautiful quilt. Plus, if you share your progress on social media, you’ll be eligible for monthly prizes!

Remember, you can join the quilt along at any time. You’ll need the book which has all of the instructions and you can download the schedule here. Even if you’re not participating, you’ll find some useful tips in today’s blog post.

Piece & Quilt Sampler Tips for the month of June at The Crafty Quilter.

Piecing Tips for June

NOTE: I won’t be giving specific measurements or cutting instructions. You need to purchase the book to get the full instructions if you want to follow along.

Always start by pressing and starching your fabrics. This makes the whole piecing process easier and more accurate.

Eight Point Star Blocks

You’ll be making nine of these blocks this month! They’re basically sawtooth stars and they’re made with flying geese units. I like to make flying geese 4-at-a-time because it’s a really efficient method. I also oversize them so I can trim them perfectly. You can download my cutting instructions for that method here and you can find out how I reduce bulk in flying geese here.

Trimming flying geese for the eight point star in the Piece & Quilt Sampler QAL.

These star blocks work as “fillers” in the final quilt assembly, meaning they are scattered throughout the quilt and are great for filling up space in sections that need it.

I also think they’re a great tool to balance color when you start sewing blocks and sections together. In other words, if a section needs more red, you can make a star block that’s red. If you make them scrappy enough, you’ll be able use them anywhere. I made mine in two-color combos and this way they’ll be versatile enough to go anywhere.

Flying geese 4-at-a-time is perfect for the 8 point star blocks.

The eight point star is part of the Piece & Quilt Sampler quilt along. Also known as the Sawtooth Star block.

One last thing about this block is that the centers worked out well for fussy cutting. The gingham fabric I’m using from the Starberry collection fits perfectly inside a 3″ finished square. I love the Fussy Cut Ruler by Quilt in a Day for this!

Fussy cutting using the Fussy Cut Ruler by Quilt in a Day.

Wagon Tracks Block

There are a total of six Wagon Tracks blocks in this quilt. These are made up of 4-patches and HST’s. The HST’s can be made 8-at-a-time since we’re making six blocks. This means you’ll work with larger squares to start and divide them up into 8 units. We did this with the Hovering Hawks block for May.

Making HST's 8-at-a-time works really well for the Wagon Tracks Block.

The 4-patches can be strip-pieced and then cut into segments after layering the strips right sides together. This is a great technique for speed and accuracy.

Strip piecing technique for the 4-patch unit.

When you join four blocks together, it creates an entirely new block! This layout will be used in the quilt with four of the blocks.

Tulip Lady Finger Block

You only have to make one of this block! You’ll notice I used that gingham print in the center again. Since there are so many HST’s, it’s another great opportunity to make them 8-at-a-time.

The Tulip Lady Fingers Block is so elegant and part of the Piece & Quilt Sampler QAL.

The only other tip I have for this block is in the pressing. I “twirled” that center seam so that it lays flatter.

I hope those tips were helpful. You can find more information about the quilt along at Fat Quarter Shop’s blog here. Remember to post a photo of your blocks on Instagram and use the hashtag #piecequiltsamplerqal so we can all see. Plus, this will enter you in the giveaway each month!