Summer Sampler 2018: Half-Timber block
Let's start off this beautiful week with Block #7 of Summer Sampler 2018: "Half-Timber," designed by ME!
My family's favorite summer vacation to date was four years ago when we went to Germany and Switzerland. We had such a great time and saw such beautiful sights! And is there anything more classicly German than the half-timbered architectural style? Buildings like the one in my photo above bring to mind forested vistas, medieval towns straight out of fairy tales, and cowbells clanging from the hillsides. And not only that, but quilt design inspiration abounds in every building you see. (By the way, yes, those are my kids who are valiantly trying to fall into that well in the photo. And no, they did not succeed in doing so. 😂)
At any rate, let's put another star up on the big map of Summer Sampler 2018 inspiration locations! Germany is now on the board. Ding ding ding! Want to join us and make one travel-inspired block each week for the rest of the summer? More than 650 other quilters have already subscribed, so you'll be in great company! Click here for all the details.
Tip time! This week's block is paper-pieced, but hopefully you'll find this one to be an easy-peasy one. The block is pieced in quadrants, and as we all know, the fewer paper-pieced sections you need, the quicker and easier it is! I also made sure the A and B templates were pieced in reverse order, to allow for nesting seams when joining the quadrants. The only thing I would suggest is that there are lots of bias edges on the paper-pieced units, so I left my paper on until the very end, in order to stabilize those bias edges. Also, be sure to pay close attention to the color-placement instructions in the pattern if you want your color placements to echo my block's. I like to write my chosen fabric colors onto their corresponding template sections so that nothing gets accidentally swapped.
Enjoy this week's block! And remember, we're taking NEXT WEEK OFF, because of the Independence Day holiday in the U.S. Those who have gotten behind can use this as a catch-up week! Or, spend some time enjoying all the eye candy under the #summersampler2018 hashtag on Instagram! Either way, enjoy your week, and we'll meet back here for Block 8 on July 9. (And don't forget to click here for more info on Summer Sampler 2018.)