Friday, April 15, 2022

Blue Ridge Beauty

I'm starting a new quilt, it's another Bonnie Hunter pattern and it is in blues, Blue Ridge Beauty. Blue Ridge Beauty is from Bonnie's book, Adventures With Leaders & Enders. I've been wanting to make this quilt for sometime and this is the year.

This is a good sized quilt, it's queen sized. The quilt flimsy will be donated to the school auction my Pennsylvania grandchildren attend. It's so nice I don't need to be responsible to have it quilted.

As usual there are two different blocks to be made. First are the 4 patch blocks. I already had plenty of strips cut in the sized needed. It only took me a couple days to run the strips through the sewing machine, cut them apart and sew into foursies. 


The HST's are also pieced. I didn't use the directions Bonnie gave for making the HST's. I placed blue and light strips together and cut them with my HST ruler. That's a lot faster than cutting squares and marking them diagonally with a line. 

I'm checking all the HST's for size and trimming off the dog ears. It's time consuming and boring but blocks go together so much nicer when you take the time to do this.

If you read Bonnie's blog, you've seen the lovely quilt display the retreaters show on the front porch railing. Last winter two quilters showed Blue Ridge Beauty quilts at the same retreat. They were both lovely quilts but the one quilt was made with darker blues. I was drawn to that quilt so my BRB is being made with darker blues. 

Linking to Put Your Foot Down, Needle & Thread Thursday, Peacock Party, TGIFF!, Finished Or Not Friday, Off the Wall Friday, Patchwork & Quilts, Oh Scrap

17 comments:

Mrs. T said...

What do you use as an HST ruler?

Ivani said...

Another beauty has born. Looking forward to seeing this beautiful blue quilt progress.

Ray and Jeanne said...

I love this pattern and every Blue Ridge Beauty that I've seen is beautiful. From where I'm sitting this morning, I can see mine. Now I can't wait to see yours. ~Jeanne

Vicki in MN said...

Making four patches can be so relaxing. Looking forward to watching your progress on this beauty;)

Jenny said...

Looks great so far in the different parts, and once you start assembling the blocks its sure to be another quilt of beauty!

Nancy @ Grace and Peace Quilting said...

Neat! Yes, I'm curious what HST ruler you used, too.

Quiltpiecer said...

Same here, have been wanting to make this pattern after seeing a few online. Can't wait to see your finished quilt. I love making Bonnie Hunter quilts.

Created by Kathi said...

Just got yesterday’s blog post at my inbox!
I love the you chose blue ridge beauty for your quilt to make! I like to make sure things are squared up before piecing too!
Lovely dark blues too!
Kathi

Gretchen Weaver said...

I use a Half & Quarter Ruler. There are many brands out there. Mine is a Fons & Porter which was made by Omnigrid. Creative Grids also has a ruler, so does Bonnie Hunter does. I used to mark a diagonal line in the center of squares but decided to purchase the ruler. I'm glad I did, I've had my ruler for at least 15 years and use it often. I'm not one to buy lots of rulers but the Half/Quarter ruler has been a good investment. I purchased my ruler at JoAnn fabrics and used a 50% off coupon.

Gretchen Weaver said...

I responded to this question in the first comment. You can check out the information there. Thanks!

Sylvia@Treadlestitches said...

What could be better than a blue and white scrap quilt? You've got such a good start on it already. I don't draw lines for hsts either, I use an Easy Angle ruler and have for more than 30 years. It is a good idea to trim the dog ears, I should do that more often.

Chopin - A Passionate Quilter said...

Made me rethink and checked my ruler drawer and I have one that will do the same! Thx for mentioning it - Light bulb went off! Saves steps when you press the 2 strips together and then cut! I also like the bias ruler to make the small HSTs. So thx for the posting! Hugs and Happy Easter

Rebecca Grace said...

Ooh, I have those rulers but I never thought of using them like that, layering both strips before you cut so they are all ready to sew. Great tip, and I can’t wait to see your new blue beauty come together!

Frédérique - Quilting Patchwork Appliqué said...

This new project is going to be wonderful, great tip about the ruler too!
Thank you for sharing, and linking up ;)

Cynthia Brunz Designs said...

You have made great progress already Gretchen. Thanks for linking up with Oh Scrap!

Alycia~Quiltygirl said...

Ohhh It will be cool to see this one come together!!!

Leanne Parsons said...

This will be amazing when it's finished :)