Quilt created by Patty Bruvry 2017

HI Quilters, I have decided  to keep track of the progress with the 2021 College of Marin “Holiday” theme sampler quilt class. The blocks will be a tree block, two star blocks, crazy quilt block and Redwork embroidery.

In preparation for the class, I send the students the materials list and the list of fabric resources so that they can get fabric, a cutting mat, rotary cutter, a ruler and a few more basics before the first class. Students will choose their own fabrics.

I cut out all the blocks way ahead of class and then sew some of the block to be worked on together so students can see the block in the beginning stages. By the way, a block measures 12″ x 12″ finished. That means sewn into a quilt. Our pieces will measure 12 1/2″ x 12 1/2″ unfinished., allowing for 1/4″ seam allowances. The first block is the tree. I chose four different greens for the tree branches, a dotted background and a brown stripe for the trunk.  I hope that when it is sewn together it will look a bit more interesting. Maybe some embroidery decorations or stars in the background. It is also possible to change some of the original fabrics and/or colors before sewing. I laid the pieces out on a board made with foam core and batting glued onto it. This serves as a good staging unit and the small pieces will stick to it and not fly off on the way to the sewing machine. I will be demonstrating the making of a double half-square triangle for this one. We will be using this technique in the future. This is an easy block to start out with. I am including a picture of the unsewn block. I will be talking about this later, in order to follow the progress of the block and quilt from beginning to end.