Scrappy Sticks Tutorial

Hello!

It feels like it has been forever since I've blogged about anything . . 

. . . summer has been so busy, but so much fun!  I have lots of completed projects to share -- soon.  When the kiddos head back to school (next week), I'll do more writing.

For now though--out of necessity!!!--I have a tutorial to share.  I've had this idea in my head for awhile.  I thought there would be a tutorial out there for something like this, but I couldn't find one.  September is my month for my do.Good Stitches circle -- so for the ladies of the Peace Circle, here is this month's block:

Take a 12.5 or 13 inch square block of light to medium gray and cut in half straight down the middle.

Then make two slanted cuts on each half -- making sure you don't cut closer than 1-2 inches from the outer edges.

 Then make 3 scrappy strings -- using 1 inch wide scraps, sew as many together as you need to make the strings about 13 inches long.  On this block I've sewn 3 scraps per string, but do whatever you'd like (1 or 2 fabrics per string is fine, too).  Make sure the fabrics are bright and happy!

 Lay out your strings so that you're happy with the fabric placement, and then sew the block together.

Press seams towards the scrappy strings -- this helps them stand out a bit.

 Here is the back of the block,

and the front.

 Trim the block to 12 inches square -- to do this, very carefully line up the 6 inch mark in the exact center of the middle scrappy string -- on the finished quilt I'd like these middle strings to line up perfectly.  The outer strings won't line up, but will generally alternate in a slight zig zag pattern, like this:

Let me know if you have questions!

And thanks for making these scrappy sticks blocks!