Perfectly Pinwheels

I have been sick for the past week and a bit. I got the flu for the first time ever. Not recommended. Still feel rotten and haven't been up to sewing. But have been doing plenty of thinking about sewing. Nothing new there. OSD. Obsessive Sewing Disorder. (nicer than flu).

My brother in law and his wife had a baby girl on Wednesday, so she shares a birthday with my daughter Beth. She turned 17!

Happy Birthday Beth.

So I have been thinking about a cot quilt as a baby gift/ Christmas pressie.

I have all these gorgeous fabrics that I bought over the summer, and they are perfect for a baby quilt, especially for a girl. 

So I have been thinking about what kind of pattern to do.

This is a lap size quilt I hand pieced about 5 years ago, before I knew how to machine piece. It was made by english paper piecing! And it took ages, but it was enjoyable to make as it was mobile, and I could sit and hand stitch wherever I wanted. I actually finished it when I was on holiday in Brittany.

So I was looking at it this morning and it occurred to me that the pin wheels would make a great cot quilt.

But machine pieced this time around.

I cut 6 inch squares from each fabric.

Placed two contrasting squares right sides together.

Sewed a quarter inch seam around the four sides.

Then cut diagonally like so.

This makes 4 half triangles.

Which make a pinwheel.

I added a one and three quarter inch strip around two sides of the pinwheel block, so that the sashing is made as you go along rather than sewing long strips of it later when all the blocks are made.

Each pinwheel block finishes at 7 inch square and 8.5 inch square with the sashing.

And thats as far as I've got today. Plan: A little bit every day.

Perfect.

Below is a You tube link from Missouri Star Quilt Company demonstrating this technique.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekYpJzHoW6E