Daredevils Quilt Along

Well, last winter when it was so cold we were all bored and looking for something new to sew. The results, now that it's so hot:

A Daredevils Quilt Along

I was playing around in BlockBase and  EQ8 with a block I liked.

A Laura Wheeler design from the 1930-1950s.

That fictional Laura had a way with corners

Pinkish dots.

I thought: You could make a sampler with pink dots in the corners.

A gauzy representation of the EQ sketch of the final sampler

So I drew one up in EQ8 with 15" blocks.

I found the patterns (mostly from '30s newspapers)  in my BlockBase program, exported them to EQ8 and modified them to have a common corner so we’d get some dots as a secondary pattern.

These are not easy blocks. I am not going to sew this.

But I knew just who to call.

Becky, Denniele & Dorry!

So now it is July and we are planning a Quilt-Along for 13 weeks starting on August 3, 2019.

Every Saturday into October you'll find a free Daredevils pattern here for a 15" block.

Bessie Coleman, 1922

Blocks are named for daredevil aviators in the early days of flying.

In keeping with the theme of daredevil pilots and passengers, patterns will not be beginner's blocks, but if you enjoy a challenge you should join.

Blanche Stuart Scott

I'd print the patterns on paper (you'll need to print each corner design 4 times), add seams for the fabric and piece these over paper (English Paper Piecing). But many of you eschew the paper piecing because you can do one of these on the machine with one hand tied behind your back (well, maybe not literally.)

A few of the designs with central wheels could be pieced over paper foundations, (You might have to add a seam or two.)

45" x 60 with no border

With a border to finish out the dots:

52-1/2" x 67-1/2"

Fabric

For the dots: You could use various prints of one color or a single print....

If one pink fabric: You need a half yard of pink - with the border 3/4 yard. Four fat quarters if you are going to mix.

Backgrounds. Either a single print or many shades: 2-1/4 yards with no border; 2-1/2 with. 

For the blocks: Six half-yard pieces of medium light to dark.

Here's Dorry's color scheme. She uses fabric to tell a story -in this case early women pilots.

"I chose blue for the background to represent the sky - this particular Moda solid blue is called "Amelia" so once I saw that I knew I had to make it my background choice because, of course, I associated this with Amelia Earhart. The quarter circles at the corners are white to represent the puffy clouds in a blue sky day - I hope even a Daredevil does not wingwalk on a stormy day! And lastly that chartreuse color - well, only a daredevil would use that color in such great amount!

Each block will have something in it that flies (birds and butterflies so far) and will also have some dots (to recognize both Barbara's doggie and Denniele's love for dots). At least for now all the white fabrics come from stash piles."

Dottie Barker thanks you, Dorry. She enjoys being the center of attention.

Sixties quilt? All it needs is dots in the corners

The blocks are based on some complex designs of the 1930s & '40s so you might want to get out your mid-20th-century repro prints---or just adopt their daredevil color palette. The rule in the 1940s: Any color goes with any other color, as long as you throw in a lot of white.

Maybe the forties

We won't be doing this block but the color idea (an accident) is perfectly daredevilish.

Rules are few. In fact the model makers, as usual, followed their own muses, flying off in their own directions.

You'll see.

Florence Klingensmith

First Saturday in August---First block

Here's our Facebook Group

https://www.facebook.com/groups/636608750083652/

Ask to join. We'll let you in whether you are a daredevil or somebody who 

likes staying on the ground and watching.

And if you'd rather you can have the whole set of patterns now from my Etsy shop.

Color PDF, 28 pages to print yourself for $12:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/707210984/daredevils-quilt-along-12-challenging?ref

Or I will print them in black and white and mail them to you for $16

https://www.etsy.com/listing/707213776/daredevils-quilt-along-12-challenging?ref