It’s time to reveal the SAHRR Round Four, the next border in the Stay at Home Round Robin sew along hosted by Quilting Gail and friends. This week I get to reveal the border I chose, and I’m excited to share that I have chosen the Signature Block.
Generally, a Signature Block would have a light fabric for the center and colored fabrics for the outer pieces, so that a signature could be added and easily seen. How you decide to use your lights and darks is entirely up to you; I’ve chosen to switch the dark to the center for more effect.
There are several Signature Block styles out there. I chose this one in particular because there are so many ways to lay it out. More on that in a minute, but first, let’s look at how to make this block.
Start with a large square and two smaller squares. For my sample, my large square is 4 inches, and my two smaller squares are 2.5 inches.
You can adjust the width of the center by adjusting the size of your smaller squares. For instance, if you start with a 4-inch square and want the center to be 1 inch, make your smaller squares 3-inch. If you want the center wider, make your two smaller squares smaller.
Once you have your squares ready, draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of the two smaller squares.
Place the smaller square in one corner of the larger block, and sew along the drawn line.
Trim, leaving a 1/4″ seam. Press the corner open.
Repeat with the other smaller square, and your block is done.
I mentioned that I like this block for its versatility when playing with layouts. I’ll show you a few, using my improv blocks that didn’t make the cut for use in my quilt.
You can lay these blocks out end to end, making a ribbon-like border.
Or you can place them in the same directions.
Make a clever corner . . .
You could even make small units and combine them into a larger unit, for a fun circle block.
Those blocks didn’t work in my quilt because the centers were too wide and bold. The border swallowed up the rest of the quilt. So I had to take some creative license with my own border. This is part of the fun of the Stay at Home Round Robin – you make the border work for your quilt. Because my quilt has the Kona Silver creating quilt a bit of negative space, I needed to keep that going with this border. My block centers are pretty thin (but if I had to sign them, I could!).
Now it’s your turn! Add your SAHRR Round Four border to your quilt. Don’t forget to stop back here and link up! The linky party will be open now until 11:59 on Sunday, February 13th.
Looking forward to seeing your SAHRR Round Four borders!
Wendy
Love the placements of your signature block and the solid centers! All of that negative space will be fun to quilt! I’ll be back later to link up!
Wendy this border is perfect on your quilt! I love it. Now to see how I can make it work on mine 😉
Very impressive. It’s so much fun to see the different interpretaions.
A great addition! I like that you made the signature part with the darker fabric.
Your piece just gets prettier and prettier! I really like the signature block – very versatile – and the thinner center really works well with your quilt.
I’m thinking of dropping out of SAHRR, even though I swore I wouldn’t! My mind may change during the day though.
Haha, now that I’ve had my coffee, I am not ready to drop out of SAHRR – lol!! 😀
really nice! I haven’t used solids much in a long time but they feel really right for this project. It is looking really nice
I love what you did with these signature blocks, Wendy! The narrow ones look perfect for the style of your quilt. I just finished my stars yesterday, and was waiting to see what was next before attaching them to the quilt. Now I know what I want to do!
11:59 AM or PM, Wendy? I missed Roseanne’s Link Party last night. It was closed by 9:15 PM. :o((
BTW… Thanks for this round! I’ve already got an idea of what I want to do. :o))
Love it, Wendy!! I love signature blocks!
I love how the narrower blocks work with the rest of your design! Then it was fun to see another quilt from the link up. I’ll check back when there are more. Very fun!
I love it! Thanks for the math — I didn’t realize that’s how you determined the size of the corner squares. And we did the same thing. LOL
Very versatile block!!! Looking so colorful good!!!
Great job on the signature block….I did not see that option coming. I love what you did – the negative space is really important in this quilt and you are doing a fine job of keeping it going.
Love the idea of a signature block. Your quilt is looking great!
Your piece has so much energy and vibrancy. All you’ve added works really well with your center. Nice job.
I’m intrigued by that polka-dot and green square. I hope it shows up somewhere in a project.
I suppose art is art, whether quilting or drawing or painting or writing… sometimes a piece that is just so good by itself just isn’t right to fit in with the whole. Good editing choice.
It is still dancing! And your newest border provides a great frame for the center! 🙂
I really like the way you showed so many variations on the same block. Your new border compliments your overall design so nicely.
Hi Wendy! I’m with Helen – I love the polka-dot and green fabric block. What are you doing with that? Now, back to round four – this just continues the fun. It is such a happy piece. With only two more rounds to go, I can hardly wait to see how they end up and how you’re going to quilt it. Not to add any stress, but this is fab! {{Hugs}} ~smile~ Roseanne
Oh, these are so fun!! I love the way they accent the middle of your rows. Very fun! (I also didn’t think at all about the purpose of the signature block, my centers are dark!)
This looks great. I love those bright blocks surrounded by all the white 🙂
It’s glorious.
Love the choice of your signature block! And great way of making it fit your overall design.
Wow Wendy. This is absolutely stunning. Thank you for also providing a very clear tutorial on signature blocks. I have learnt something new and also been inspired to try it out!
w=What a joyful riot of colour and shape and play this is Wendy! Just what I need today!
That is the perfect border for your piece. I had no idea this block was so versatile and I especially like how it can handle corners!
Your elements all look like they are just floating around so peacefully with a light breeze!