I got a little sidetracked this weekend, quilting friends. I had fully intended to organize the scrap baskets and shelves in my fabric closet. Unfortunately, I was easily distracted by a bin of festive Sweetwater Christmas prints I had saved from past projects. So instead of organizing, I found myself cutting and sewing. Before I knew it, I had made four holiday Economy Blocks to share with you.
Just in case you missed my most recent posts, I’ve provided a detailed tutorial on making these 4 1/2” Economy Blocks from your stash. Let me warn you though, you won’t be able to stop at just one, or even two!
Sweetwater’s fabric collections nearly always include text prints, which are fun to fussy cut and feature in a small block. I also appreciate that new Sweetwater lines, like this year’s Christmas Card collection, typically coordinate with their past fabric releases. I’m pretty sure these Economy Blocks include prints from three Sweetwater collections. The lovely red and green prints with the soft white snowflakes are from Janet Clare\’s Wintertide collection.
I also wanted to share a tip with you regarding directional or text prints. Naturally, text prints are delightful to use in the center square.
But they can also add visual interest in the “inside” square. The magic is this . . . if you cut your 3 1/2” square twice on the diagonal and rearrange the pieces, they will still be directional (i.e. read horizontally).
That’s it for today. Now head on over to your own scrap bins and start cranking out some Economy Blocks!
~Taunja
I have a little bit of that Wintertide collection left. The colors are so soft and sweet, and the penguins!! Fun. Your economies look lovely.
Your blocks are absolutely gorgeous, love the fussy-cutting in each! Thank you for the great tip too – now I need to try this.
Those are great prints for these blocks – so cute! And thanks for the tip on cutting to get the pieces to all stay horizontal.
Love these blocks!I just got my order of Belle & Boo and I'm thrilled!!! Can't wait to use it.
I wish I had more of that Wintertide . . . you are right about the colors being soft. They are just awesome!
Thanks Sigi! It's pretty fun how the triangles magically rearrange into spots so nicely!
You are welcome! It feels like a tiny bit of adult magic when they move to their proper places! 🙂
Thanks Sue! Good for you! I ordered a bit of Belle & Boo Christmas print now too! Will save that for something special. Have fun!
OHH I have this print too left over from a pillow I made now this comes in handy to make a few more pillows 🙂 you have the best ideas
Well I am so glad that it gave you an idea! We quilters have to stick together! 🙂