This is the ninth installment in the 2020 Seattle Modern Quilt Guild BOM project! Your guides on this journey are Susan Pray (IG: @sushi.farmer) and Kathy McGinnis (IG: @a_swede_life).
Make this fun quilt design unique with your own fabric selections. It’s not too late to start, join us! All the instructions posted so far are available on our website here.
Creating the Foothills Blocks
Hello Cascadia Cabin Peeps,
This month we will be creating our Foothills blocks in the center of the quilt. They’re identical in construction as last month’s block except you’ll be using your mountain fabric from last month and reserved forest background fabric. The same simple, gentle improv technique will be used which will yield unique looking peaks making your foothill range unlike anyone else’s. We call these Foothills because they pair up with the Mountain blocks to form the base of your mountain range. They ensure your mountains don’t end in a straight line at the bottom!
You can make your fabric strips any width that pleases you as long as your block ends up the correct finished size to fit into the rest of the quilt top. You could cut 1.5” strips instead of 2.5”, you’d just need 12 of them to create the 12.5” (unfinished) width of the block, or a combination of 1.5” and 2.5” strips. Dealers choice! That’s what this “un-pattern” is all about. Make it your own.
You will create 5 blocks this month. Blocks one and two finish at 12” x 5”, the remaining three finish at 12” x 7”. This month we will sew all the mountain and foothill blocks together and join the sky to the forest. It’s a BIG MONTH!
This month’s fabric requirements are approximate: ½ yard of mountain fabric, ½ yard of forest background fabric. It is suggested that you cut the strips as you need them as everyone will be using a different amount of fabrics based on the length and angle of the cuts you choose to make as you go.
Mountain fabric cuts:
Forest fabric cuts:
Exactly as we did last month, begin by laying a mountain strip right side up, then layer a forest fabric strip also right side up overlapping enough to make a diagonal cut through both to create your angle for the foothill range peak. Don’t try to cut anything to the correct length first. Cut the angle, then sew, then trim to the correct length. Refer to the individual diagram of each block to see the direction of the angle and approximate length you’re looking for so you know about what length of strips you’ll need to start with.
Cut the angle and direction of the cut you’d like to see for the peak through both pieces of fabric.
This month’s example uses a scrappy collection of mountain fabrics and a single forest background fabric. Yours will likely be different.
Make the cuts straight so the seam is easy to sew. A ruler helps unless you’ve a very steady freehand.
Offset the angles creating “ears” before sewing right sides together.
Then sew a ¼” seam at the valley created between the strip and the ear. This will result in a strip section with nice straight sides.
After the foothills fabric is sewn to the forest background strip cut it to length (refer to the individual block diagrams) and use the scraps from your first completed strip to continue making peaks until you run out, then cut another set of strips of each fabric and carry on.
A few of the foothills blocks have been completed and sewn to last month’s mountain blocks:
When you’re finished with your foothills blocks, join them to the mountain blocks from last month. Then join the sky section to the top and your forest section to the bottom. Press and admire your work to date!
Here’s the full quilt layout again, in case you need to reference it:
Next month we will be adding the moon, basting to a backing, and deciding on an approach for quilting.
Pinterest Board: https://www.pinterest.com/quiltguild/medallion-quilt-inspiration/
Basic Seminole Patchwork by Cheryl Greider Bradkin, 1990
Liberated Quiltmaking II by Gwen Marston, 2010
Modern Blocks: 99 Quilt Blocks from Your Favorite Designers, complied by Suzanne Woods, 2011
Modern Plus Sign Quilts by Cheryl Brickey and Paige Alexander, 2018
Simply Seminole by Dorothy Hanisko, 1997
Please be social!
Don’t forget to tag your progress pictures on Instagram! Use the hashtags #cascadiacabinquilt or #smqgbom2020 to share your BOM progress.
Also continue to use the hashtags #seamqg #seattlemqg #showusyourmqg and #seattlemqgsewathome to share the wonderful quilts you’re creating.
