Calico Calvin

 My first Whirleygig quilt is finally complete, measuring at 38"x44",  it's my entry for Amy's blog festival:

  

There are lots of whirleygig tutorials in the blogging world.  Allie at "Stranz . . . Obsessive Quilting Disorder" has a tutorial which is very easy to follow.  You can find it here.  "crazy mom quilts" also has one here.  If you want a tutorial which instructs you to trim a bit off your square at the beginning, instead of having to trim the whole block at the end, visit Quilting on Turtle Hill's blog for a nice tutorial.

Finished quilt, baby size:  38" x 44".
56 (6") blocks, 7 across, 8 down.
My finished block size was 6 inches.
To make 1 block:
Cut 2 calico 4 inch squares
Cut 2 white 4 inch squares

 56 different fabrics is a lot to come up with.  On Calvin's quilt, I found 1/2 the amount, and made 2 blocks with each fabric.

Once I have my fabric cut into 4 inch squares, I like to match up 1 calico square and 1 white square, and cut the off-set line with them together.  That way I'm sure they'll sew up right, and it helps with the organization of this whole mess.

 Set them off by 1/8th".  If you want your finished squares to look wonkier, you should off-set them by 1/4 ", or more if your squares are larger.  Look at the link to Allie's tutorial I've given above.

Take into consideration when measuring, that you will loose some fabric when you trim your square down.  So before cutting and sewing, this square would have measured 8 inches.  After seam allowances and trimming, it's down to 6 inches.

 I stitched in the ditch through the center of all the squares, going both ways.  Then, I stippled in the white, which after washing, creates the "pop" effect.

It's backed with flannel since it's going to a cold climate. 

I love comments, otherwise I feel like I'm blogging to myself :) . . . then,

 go see the other quilts entered in the Blogger's Quilt Festival, click on this link.

LAP SIZE CONFIGURATIONS:
The next time I try this quilt, I want to make a lap size 60" x 80".
I will make the blocks bigger than Calvin's.


48 (10") blocks total (48 fabrics is hard to find) 
Use the same fabric for 2 blocks, only needing 24 fabrics. 


Finished block:  approx. 10 inches.
To make 1 block:
Cut 2 calico 6 inch squares
Cut 2 white 6 inch squares
(cut 4 of each if using the same fabric for 2 blocks as mentioned above)

Cutting the white separately?
Total of white,  96 - 6 inch squares, purchase 3 1/4 yds. of Kona white for 48 blocks.  (1/4 yrd. added for good measure :)

Make off-set cut between 1/4" and 1/2 ".
Experiment to determine amount of wonkiness.

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