BAM BOM Revisited

Linda's BAM-BOM front

Your blog team was recently contacted by a member of the Central Florida MQG, Linda, who lives in Florida. She found our BOM and decided, with other members of her guild, to follow along. She recently completed her BAM-BOM and wanted to share it with us.

Linda's BAM-BOM back

Linda writes that her Bay Area Modern quilt is 47-1/2” X 58-1/2". She domestic machine quilted it with Aurifil 50-weight thread over double batting: Quilter’s Dream Request Poly and Quilter’s Dream Wool. The layout was planned during an “Alternate Grid” workshop with Lee Heinrich of Freshly Pieced. The quilt back includes several orphan blocks from the BOM, and a few others in my stash. My favorite BAM BOM block was the first one - the filmstrip block - which just couldn’t be worked into the quilt front. :-( She thanks us all for this fun opportunity! 

 If you would like your quilt showcased, please contact the editor. It should be related to a challenge, swap or other BAM project, but your blog team is always looking for content, so contact us!

BAM-BOM December: Pine Tree

This post is part of the Block of the Month series, sponsored by Bay Area Modern Quilt Guild.  See all the blocks right here.

I can't believe we are on the last block already!  Our final block is a paper pieced tree.  There are several different variations for you to chose from, so pick the one you like!

The pattern for this little guy (he's a 6" block) is available as a free download right here.  You do have to put in an email address to download it, but the pattern includes detailed paper piecing instructions.  With the easy block and lots of instructions, this is a great starting point if you haven't paper pieced before.  There's even a video tutorial if you want a little extra help. 

 If you have some paper piecing experience and don't need much for instructions, you can also pick from the options below, which are template only.  Just click on the picture to open up the template.

Thanks for a wonderful year, and I hope I see all your blocks and quilts in the Flickr pool!

BAM-BOM November: String Star

This post is part of the Block of the Month series, sponsored by Bay Area Modern Quilt Guild.  See all the blocks right here.

For November, we are doing Little Miss Shabby's String Star.  You can find the tutorial here. 

BAM-BOM October: Pixel Strips

This post is part of the Block of the Month series, sponsored by Bay Area Modern Quilt Guild.  See all the blocks right here.

October's block is called Pixel Strips, and Diane from the Jersey Shore MQG was kind enough to create a tutorial for us this month.  Check it out on her blog, my studioQ.

Thank you, Diane!

BAM BOM September - Woven

Block: Woven by Ruth Beeby
Size: 12"x12" finished

You will need

(1) 3.5" x 3.5" square from background fabric

(1) 3.5" x 37" strip from background fabric

(4) 12" assorted strips measuring 2"-3" wide

Cut your assorted strips all different widths, or all the same, it's up to you. In this example I used 2.5" strips from my scrap bag.

From the left-hand side of your assorted strips, cut off a 3"-4" piece. 

Again, each strip can be different. The strips above were cut at 3", 3.25", 3.5" and 3.75".

The orientation of these cut pieces is important. It is helpful to mark the top with a pin or a dot with a disappearing marker.

Sew a strip of background fabric to the top and bottom of each small cut piece.

Strip piece for speed.

You should now have (4) pieced units and (4) strips. Choose a layout for your block by pairing the pieced units with the leftover strips. Pay careful attention to line it up like the above picture for the woven effect.

Sew each pieced unit to a printed strip. Keep the inside edges of each pieced segment even as you sew. Refer to the photo above. Press open.

Starting at the bottom right, sew the background square to the pieced segment. This first seam is a partial seam. Notice that the inside corners of the background square and the pieced segment are even. 

The outside edges can be uneven and that is ok because we will be trimming down the block at the very end.

Here is a closer look at that partial seam. It should be about half the length of your background square. Press open.

Continuing clockwise, sew on the bottom left pieced segment. Notice again that the inside edges are even. Sew together. Press open.

Sew the top left pieced segment on. Press open.

Now sew on the top right pieced segment. One corner of your background square should still be unsewn making it easy to attach now.

From the back of your block, find the partial seam. Line up the last two unsewn edges and start sewing from just before the partial seam, slightly overlapping your stitching. Back tack to lock your beginning stitches.

Trim your block to 12.5"x12.5"

If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments below. We will answer as soon as we can.

BAM-BOM August Block - Chevron Echoes

This post is part of the Block of the Month series, sponsored by Bay Area Modern Quilt Guild.  See all the blocks right here.

For August, we are doing chevrons!

Thank you to the Northeast Louisiana (NELA) MQG for hosting us this month.

July BOM (sorry that it's late!)

This post is part of the Block of the Month series, sponsored by Bay Area Modern Quilt Guild.  See all the blocks right here.

July's block is called "More Birds in the Air":

Ruth @ pippinsequim is hosting the tutorial this month, so head over and check it out!

BAM BOM June Block Tutorial - Cropped Pinwheel

This post is part of the Block of the Month series, sponsored by Bay Area Modern Quilt Guild.  See all the blocks right here.

June's block is the cropped pinwheel:

Ruth @ pippinsequim is hosting the tutorial this month, so head over and check it out!

May BOM: Geese Gone Wild

This post is part of the Block of the Month series, sponsored by Bay Area Modern Quilt Guild.  See all the blocks right here.

May's block is called Geese Gone Wild: 

NELA MQG is hosting the tutorial this month, so pop on over and take a look!

BAM-BOM Block #4 Spring Mod Block

This post is part of the Block of the Month series, sponsored by Bay Area Modern Quilt Guild.  See all the blocks right here.

We did not post the March block separately (it was in the meeting report) so if you missed that, the March block was the Snails Trail.  

For April, we are teaming up with the Portland Modern Quilt Guild.  They are doing their own BOM, but this month we planned to do the same one at the same time for a bit of extra fun.  Remember this QuiltCon Challenge Block by Heather at joyofallcrafts? (Heather used to live in the Bay Area and was in our guild before moving to Portland a few years ago.) 
 .

Awesome, right?  Heather offered (ok, so we kind of volunteered her) to make at tutorial for a 12" version of her block.  Head over to her blog and check out the gorgeous Spring Mod version that she design for us. 

BAM-BOM Block #2 - Feather

This post is part of the Block of the Month series, sponsored by Bay Area Modern Quilt Guild.  See all the blocks right here and catch up on the January block here.

This month's block is from Anna Maria Horner's gorgeous Feather Bed Quilt.  Anna Maria's pattern provides a template for the block in 18" by 9" size.  That's a bit large to fit in the sampler, but you can easily resize to a 12" by 6" block. To make a 12" tall feather, print the template with the scale set to 70%, and then add 1/4" to the side of F1/F2 on the edge that says "join to next F."

12" feather block by Ruth

 If you are making a size smaller than 12", you need to do a bit more work to resize the block.  The templates have the seam allowance included, so just printing it smaller will reduce the seam allowance (that's why you have to add a bit to the 12" block).  I recommend printing the pattern, cutting off the seam allowances, then using a copier to resize the templates.  After that you can tape the pattern pieces to a new piece of paper and then draw the seam allowances back.  Make a master copy of your finished templates so that you can make additional blocks without having to do this again!  If that sounds like it's not worth it... weeell look at these little 6" feathers:

Tiny Feathers by Cheryl and Ruth

 The feather is twice as tall as it is wide, but you can put two feathers side-by-side for a square block, or leave it skinny and make another block in your quilt wider. Yet another option is to put the feather on the diagonal:

tote feather by Sadie @ stitching up a storm via Flickr

You can make your feather by strip piecing - that's the method explained in the quilt pattern.  You can also print extra copies of the feather template and use that as a foundation paper to string piece the feather sides.  That's a great way to use up itty-bitty scraps, and an awesome place to use selveges:

AMH Feather by Charm About You via Flickr

If you're playing along, be sure to put your block photos in the BAM-BOM Flickr group so that we can check them out!

Links:
Feather template
January block tutorial - Film Strip
All 12 quilt blocks
Flickr group

BAM-BOM Block #1 - Film Strip

This post is part of the Block of the Month series, sponsored by Bay Area Modern Quilt Guild.  See all the blocks right here.

It's Block of the Month time, guys!  We're going to start off with a bang with the film strip block.

Film Strip block by ircabbit via Flickr

This block is fun and funky with "film strips" of fussy cut squares arranged at a jaunty angle.  If you are making a medallion quilt, you can use the strip part of the block as a border instead of putting it onto a background square.  So let's get going!


First, cut your materials to make a 12" (finished) block:

• Background square: (1) 13" x 13"
• Sashing strips: (6) 1" wide by 18"
• Fussy-cut squares: (10) 2 3/4" x 2 3/4"

Note: Because there are a lot of seams in this block, I suggest pressing all of your seams open so that the block will lie flat. All seams are 1/4".  The measurements given are generous.  You will trim your block to the final size at the end.

Make the first film strip:
1. Attach sashing to the side of each fussy-cut
Lay 5 fussy-cut squares, face up, end to end.  (Put the top of each square flush up against the bottom of the next one.)  Lay one strip of sashing face down on the squares, lining up the sashing with the right side of each fussy-cut. Pin in place.

Sew the fussy-cuts to the sashing strip.  Press the seams open.

Cut the fussy-cuts apart.  Now you have five fussy-cuts, each with a sashing strip sewn along its right side. 

2. Sew the fussy-cuts together into a strip
Lay out the fussy-cuts, face up, from left to right, in the order you want them in your film strip.  Since the block will be trimmed later, I suggest using your least favorite fussy-cuts on the ends.  Sew the fussy-cuts together so that there is sashing between each pair of squares.  Press seams open.  Now you have one fussy-cut strip.

3. Sew sashing to the top and bottom of your fussy-cut strip
Lay out your fussy-cut strip face up.  Place a strip of sashing face down on the strip and line up the edge of the sashing with the top edge of the strip.  Pin, sew, and press seam open.  Do the same with a second piece of sashing on the bottom edge of the fussy cut strip.  Now you have one film strip, ready to go.  One end of your film strip does not get sashing, but this is fine because both ends will eventually get trimmed off. 

Make the second film strip:
4.  Repeat steps 1 - 3 with the remaining (3) sashing strips and (5) fussy-cut squares.

Insert the first film strip into your block:
5.  Lay your background square face up on the table.  Lay your film strip face up on top of it.  Arrange the film strip across it at any wonky angle that pleases you.  (Make sure to leave room for both strips.)

Put one pin in each side of the the block to mark the location of the top edge of the film strip.  (Be sure that the pins follow the same wonky angle as the film strip.) Flip the film strip up and over so that is is face down on the block and still alligned with the two pins.  If you wish, scooch the film strip down the block about a half an inch from the pins.  This is where you will attach the film strip to the block.  This may sound a little bit complicated, but really, you can just eyeball it.

6.  Pin the film strip into place on the block. Sew along the edge of the film strip using a 1/4" seam.

Using a ruler and rotary cutter, cut next to the seam allowance of the seam you just sewed.  Press the seam open.

7.  Now you have two pieces: 1) the top part of your block joined to one film strip, and 2) the bottom part of your block. Lay them together  on your table so that the right and left edges of your block line up.

Using your ruler and a pencil, mark a line across your film strip and sashing to show where the edges of the block are.

8.  Flip the bottom half of your block up over the film strip.  Line up the marks on the film strip with the sides of the block and pin.

Sew the seam and press open. There you have it!  One film strip is inserted into your block. 

9. Repeat steps 5-8 with the second film strip.

10. Trim the block to 12 1/2" x 12 1/2 "  Yay, you're done!

Annoucing the Bay Area Modern Block of the Month

Back in December, we asked our members to fill out a quick survey on group quilting activities that they would like to do in 2013.  There was a very clear winner... Block of the Month!  Not just any Block of the Month, but an easy, fun, and modern one.  Mission accepted, guys! 

Schedule:
January:  Film strip
February:  AMH Feather
March:  Snails Trail
April:  Mod Pods (hosted by Heather of the Portland MQG)
May:  Geese Gone Wild
June:  Cropped Pinwheel
July:  More Birds in the Air
August:  Chevron Echoes
September:  Woven
October:  Pixel strips
November:  String star
December:  Pine Tree


These blocks were selected for a modern aesthetic and gradually increasing skills.  Plus, they are all compatible with traditional or wonky piecing, whatever your preference. If you aren't too keen on sampler quilts, you could use a selection of the blocks to make a quilt in another style, like this:

Or use more of the blocks for something epic:

So how is this going to work?  We will be presenting one block at each of out monthly meetings, plus posting here on the blog in case you couldn't attend (or aren't a member of our guild - folks outside our area are welcome to join in!).  During the following month, you make that block and then bring it to the meeting and/or post pictures in our Flickr group.  We will be picking blocks from the meeting and the Flickr group to share on the blog each month as well.

So who's in??