June Quilt Block

Welcome to summer down on the farm where chickens strut through the yard and hay explodes from the silo window. We're glad you're back! Let's get busy with this month's block.

Look through your fabric stash or take this opportunity to do a little fabric shopping. And if you're short on time...no problem...it's possible to assemble one of these blocks in a weekend. Still in a time crunch? Opt for a sewing machine applique technique versus the hand blanket-stitching.

Materials (12" x 12" finished block):

fabric selection - Use any desired fabrics. We selected 100-percent cottons in these prints:
- white star print on light blue for sky
- brown limb, white flower print (resembles a cotton plant) on khaki green for middle background
- yellow daisy-type print for the foreground
- tan burlap print for house (not actual burlap--but it resembles burlap)
- red plaid with yellow and black stripes for door and chimney
- gray crackle print for dormer and steps
- white patterned print on yellow for house windows
- reddish-brown crackle print for the silo
- brown fabric for silo window
- tiny, gold vine print on cream for silo top
- yellow and white plaid for chicken by silo; daisy print on gold speckled background for chicken by steps
- red and white plaid for silo-chicken comb; black print on red for step - chicken comb
translucent template plastic
Steam-A-Seam 2 double-sided fusible web
embroidery floss - gold, black
rotary cutter and mat
craft scissors

Steps:

Creating templates
You can make templates from various materials, including pieces of heavy card stock, cardboard, freezer paper or template plastic. Some of the patterns in this block will be reused in future blocks; so it's recommended that you use a translucent template plastic due to the durability factor. Keep in mind the finished fabric shape will be the mirror image of the template pattern.

1. Print out the patterns (figures A and B). The house, windows, dormer and door are the same templates used in all the blocks up until now, so there's no need to print or re-cut figure A if you've kept those. The new templates are in figure B. Also in figure B, the silo top is a re-used template--the bottom tree piece (Tree - H) from January. It's clearly marked in figure B, so there's no need to re-cut it if you still have it from the January block.

2. Place a piece of template plastic over the printed patterns and trace the outline of each using a permanent, marking pen (ultra fine Sharpie works great).

3. Cut out and label each template piece. Some templates will be re-used in other blocks so plan to store them flat for future use.

Background
The finished background consists of three colors of fabric and will measure 12-1/2 inches square when finished. You can assemble it using a fusible webbing technique or a machine-piecing technique. Decide on your method then follow the directions below. One helpful extra step is to make a template square measuring 12-1/2 inches then mark or cut it into three sections as shown in figure C to provide a cutting guide and indicate the look of the finished background piece.

Fusing Method
1. If you wish to use fusible webbing to create the background piece, cut fabric pieces as indicated in figure D.

2: With right sides up, place a 12-1/2" x 1/4" strip of fusible webbing (or any desired fusible product) along the bottom portion of the sky section. Next, overlap the middle (grass) fabric a 1/4 inch, making sure the fabric covers the fusible webbing. Fuse the fabrics together, using a pressing cloth to protect your iron from any exposed webbing. Follow the same process to fuse the final (ground) section to the background piece.

3. Trim the finished background piece to a 12-1/2-inch square (figure E).

Machine-Piecing Method
1. If you wish to use a sewing machine to create the background piece, cut the fabrics as illustrated in figure F.

2. Begin by placing the sky and grass fabrics right sides together, matching the raw edges across the bottom. Due to the diagonal cut, the sides will be out of alignment but that's how it should look. With the sky fabric on the bottom, use a 1/4-inch seam to stitch the sky and grass pieces together. Press and trim away the excess fabric.

3. Add the ground fabric by placing it right sides together with the piece sewn in step 2, matching raw edges across the bottom sky/grass section and ground fabric. Use a 1/4-inch seam allowance, stitch the grass fabric to the middle fabric. Again, press and trim away the excess fabric. The background piece will still be lopsided at this point (figure G).

4. Trim the finished background piece to a 12-1/2-inch block (figure H).

Applique
A quick word about fusible web--follow the manufacturer instructions for whichever type you decide to use. For this project, we use a double-sided type because it allows us to reposition the pieces if desired. Double-sided fusible comes sandwiched between two pieces of paper. Here's how to use it with this pattern:

1. Cut the fusible into smaller, manageable pieces that will accommodate each template size, keeping the protective paper of the fusible intact.

2. Using a pencil, trace around each template onto one of the paper-covered sides of the fusible. Note that you'll need to trace two chicken bodies and two combs.

3. Peel away the opposite paper side of the fusible (the one without the tracing) and adhere it to the wrong side of the desired fabric.

4. Cutting along the traced lines, cut out both the fusible web and fabric for each pattern piece.

5. Next, position the pieces onto the background square. There's a lot of room to customize the block with this step. Plus, you don't have to fuse anything until you're sure you like the design. Here's how we did it:

• Position the house fabric on the background square. Tuck the chimney fabric (small side down) so it stands out behind the house.
• Our objective is to place everything slightly off kilter in order to give the block a bit of a folk art feel. To accomplish this, position the windows, door and dormer at a slight tilt. Refer to the first picture for placement.
• Tuck the silo cutout behind the right-hand side of the house, angled end up. Place the triangular roof on top of the silo. Position the window as shown (figure I).
• Center the height of the large step at the left-hand bottom portion of the house. Center the smaller step on top of that. Refer to the first picture for placement.
• Chickens - Position one chicken to the right of the house steps and the other at the base of the house under the silo. Tuck a chicken comb behind each chicken head (figure J).

Once you're pleased with the design, follow the manufacturer directions to press the pieces into place. Avoid fusing any pieces in the 1/4-inch perimeter edge of the block to allow for the addition of sashing.

Finishing
Cover the raw edges of the applique pieces with blanket-stitching (figure K). To do this, use two-strands of black embroidery floss outlining the house, steps, windows, silo, chickens and door (figure L).

2. Add a black, ball-top button as a door handle to the house (figure M).

3. Add buttons as the chicken eyes. Embroider the beaks using two strands of gold floss and a needle. Use a chain stitch to outline and a satin stitch to fill in. Use two strands of black floss to create simple chain-stitched legs for the chickens (figure N).

4. To add hay to the silo window, cut three to four, 26-inch lengths of gold embroidery floss, leaving all six strands intact. Working with one length at a time, double the length (figure O). Double it again (figure P) and again (figure Q) and again until the bundled length is about an inch long (figure R).

Tie the bundle in the center using one of the cut ends of the floss. Knot to secure (figure S).

Tack the tied bundle of floss securely on the bottom portion of the silo window (figure T) using a needle threaded with two strands of floss. Clip the looped ends of the bundle to resemble hay (figure U). Repeat for all the lengths of floss, tacking them down at different angles to create a chaotic, tossed hay effect.

Optional Challenges
Depending on your skill level, here are additional ideas for finishing the block:

• Want a real challenge? Add a 1/4-inch to the template patterns and use a needle-turn method of applique.
• Instead of using black floss for the blanket-stitching, consider color coordinating the floss to the fabric color.
• This block portrays a farm, so why not try adding other barnyard animals? Just practice on a scrap piece of fabric beforehand.
• If time is not on your side for this project, don't despair. This blocks can easily be finished on a sewing machine. Depending on your machine's capabilities, employ a zigzag, satin, buttonhole or blanket stitch to finish the raw edges of the applique.
  

Editor's Note__________________________________________

We're halfway through the blocks! Can you believe it? In celebration, we've got a few surprises for you. Don't miss next month when Simply Quilts host Alex Anderson steps in as a guest designer for the July block. You'll also want to join us live in the hgtv.com chat area June 12 from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. ET when Strolling the Block quilt designer Jan Schmidt will be answering your questions. And as if that news wasn't exciting enough, here's a really special tidbit . . . in preparation of piecing and finishing the quilt top, Jan has provided these sashing, backing and border measurements and insights:

• Shop for five yards of backing fabric and one yard of sashing fabric--45-inch width bolts.
• Double the length of sashing fabric, then double it again and cut it into 11, 2-1/2" x 45" long strips. Cut each strip at 12-1/2 inch intervals until you have 45, 2-1/2" x 12-1/2" strips.
• Cut 20, 2-1/2-inch square cornerstone pieces from scraps of leftover fabrics used in the blocks, cutting just one from each fabric.
• The quilt will feature a scrappy border that doesn't repeat. To make it, cut 76, 3-1/2" x 6-1/2" blocks from all the fabrics used in the quilt, cutting just one block from each piece of fabric. Piece the 6-1/2-inch sides of the blocks together into four separate sections using a 1/4-inch seam allowance. Make two sections by sewing together 23 of the scrappy blocks and two sections by sewing together 15 scrappy blocks. Two of these sections will be slightly larger than needed but you 'll cut them down when attaching the border.