Hometown Christmas, Section 1

Slacker no more! I've finished the first section of the Hometown Christmas project. And I have a couple photos. I guess the ones I took of the toenail clippings will have to wait for a slow photo day.

Here's what my version of the completed section looks like:

If you click on VICKY, you can see the one she did, which is the original pattern.

The house part of this section measures 20-1/2" by 12-1/2" (unfinished edges). What I've made into candy pieces and what was originally a pinwheel and hourglass block measures 6-1/2" by 12-1/2" (unfinished edges). The strips between are CUT at 2-1/2" by 12-1/2". If you're working on this quilt and want to substitute something else, or if you're designing your own quilt and like the general layout of the Hometown Christmas, these measurements may be helpful.

Okay, about the changes I made. For the house block, I substituted a lighter "gold" for the windows and the entire door section as I wasn't fond of the darkened windows as shown in the book. I added an appliqued wreath and bow to the door. Feel free to adopt any of my ideas if you'd like. For the wreath, I simply used the bottom of a glass to draw a circle and then made the edges bumpy.

Here's a photo of just the "candy" blocks so you know what I'm talking about below:

As far as what were the pinwheel and hourglass blocks, book two has a penny woolie pattern for making peppermint candies. I used the pattern they had for the red parts of the peppermint, but I cut five sections instead of four. I appliqued those red pieces onto the lighter of the two backgrounds and then appliqued the entire peppermint onto the darker background.

Here are my measurements and directions for making the "twisted candy" blocks. Please note that I'm assuming you have experience in piecing--since I don't have illustrations for each step, hopefully you'll be able to figure out what I'm talking about. Also, you should know that I like to make my half square triangles larger and then trim down, so you may want to just look at the size those pieces are supposed to be and make yours differently.

For each "candy" block, I cut:

One 3-1/2" square colored piece for the center
One 3" square colored piece for the twists
One 3" square background piece for the twists
Two 2" squares of background fabric
Two 3-1/2" by 2" background rectangles
Two 5" by 2" background rectangles

Using the two 3" squares, draw a diagonal on the back of the light square, lay it right sides together on top of the colored square, and sew 1/4" on each side of the drawn center line. Cut on the line and press open. Trim to make two 2" half-square triangles. These are your candy "twists" that go on opposing corners of the block. Set these aside.

Place the 2" squares of background fabric on opposing corners of the 3-1/2" colored square. Sew each from corner to corner and press back to form "sides" of piece of candy--trim excess from underneath.

On each side of this center of the candy piece, sew a 3-1/2" by 2" background rectangle. Press.

Sew each of the corner half square triangles to each of the 5" by 2" background rectangles. (Lay these out before sewing to orient the half square triangles correctly.) Press.

Sew the three sections together into "candy" block. Block should measure 6-1/2" (unfinished edges).

Even if you're not making the Hometown Christmas project, you may want to use these candy blocks for a different project--I think they would look cute as a border on a table runner!

I'm going to start on the next section tonight, and I have changes in mind for that one as well. Maybe I'll have something by tomorrow to share. Or, if not, there's always the toenail clippings!