ABC 3-D Tumbling Blocks... and More!: Strip-Pieced Really!

By Marci Baker

Includes 16 projects, twelve using Marci Baker's strip-pieced method from Not Your Grandmother's Tumbling Blocks and several updated designs from Sara Nephew's most popular book, Big Book of Building Block Quilts, including Hollow Cube, Honeycomb Waffle, Downtown, and Space Crystal. Be inspired to explore the world of 3-D with the full-color photos and step-by-step illustrations.

• Language: English
• Publisher: C&T Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Feb 1, 2015
• ISBN: 9781644030660

Marci Baker

Recognized internationally for her expertise in quilting, Marci Baker enjoys sharing ideas that simplify the process of quilting. Enthusiasm and inspiration for quilting can be seen throughout her lectures, workshops, and books. She has been featured in Redbook, on Home and Garden TV’s Simply Quilts, Quilters’ News Network, NBC’s The Jane Pauley Show, and has been published in American Quilter Magazine and Traditional Quiltworks. Marci spends much of the year traveling and teaching classes for quilting guilds and trade shows. Marci resides in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Book preview

Published by Alicia’s Attic, Inc., Fort Collins, CO

1-888-348-6653, 970-224-1336

www.aliciasattic.com

© 2010, Marci Baker

Third Printing

Editor: Marci Baker

Assistant Editor: Anita Hartinger

Assistant Editor: Rachel Hill

Instructional Editor and Associate Designer: Bobbie Crosby

Production Coordinator: Susan Simono

Narrative: Alicia Sanchez

Graphic Layout: Bobbie Crosby, Marci Baker

Photography: Randy pfizenmaier of Fusebox Studios, except as noted

www.fuseboxstudio.com

Exclusive Distributor: C&T Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 1456, Lafayette, CA 94549.

Contact us at 800-284-1114 or ctpub.com.

Acknowledgements

Bringing Sara’s designs and methods together with my own strip-piecing technique has been a dream waiting to take flight. The whole is so much more than each of the parts simply added together. Many individuals with their God-given talents have contributed to this view of creating quilts with 3-D designs.

Thank you to all who shared their quilts, Heather Carruthers, Patty Jo Clifford, Haley Davis, Shirley Gunderson, Melinda Harbaugh, Cindy Langdon, Joyce McClanahan, Mandy Meierotto, Karla Robbins, Janice Schlieker, Bethany Schmidt, Pam Tyson, Bonnie Walker. You gave us more opportunity to provide inspiration.

Thank you to Sara Nephew for making her lifelong work be designs of 3-D for quilting. Your imagination has given rise to many quilts over the years. You have made 3-D easier than ever with explanations and methods to break it down into simple shapes.

Thank you to the Alicia’s Attic team, Anita Hartinger, Susan Simono, Rachel Hill, Alicia Sanchez, and Bobbie Crosby. You made the book come together through your determination, persistence, and trust, even with interruptions of schedule and the challenges of my travels.

Thank you to Randy and Gregg who brought their creative talents to the quilter’s table. What a feast this book is to see through your eyes!

To Rick at Cedar Graphics who makes each print job a joy to produce. Thanks for being there and always providing a job well done with awesome customer service.

As always, with love, to my husband, Clint, and my sons, Kevin and Marcus, thank you for your patience and understanding throughout the process of my writing and producing this book.

Thank you to Northern Drylanders Museum in Nunn, CO for sharing the one room school house for the cover photo shoot. You have such a treasure in how you are preserving the everyday history of our country.

And to all of my students, past, present, and future, thank you for believing in my work and supporting my vision. I find joy in teaching each of you and in the anticipation and revelation of each of your creations.

Special thanks to these professional entities for supporting the art and craft of quilting:

Collections from Lecien, www.lecien.co.jp/en

Moda Fabrics, www.modafabrics.com

Northcott Fabrics, www.northcott.com

P&B Textiles, www.pbtex.com

Presencia USA, www.threads.com

Quilter’s Dream Batting, www.quiltersbatting.com

On the title page:

Millennium Quilt by Marci Baker

Two thousand different fabrics cut into triangles resulted in my interpretation for a charm quilt contest. The three layers of blocks is based on Ruth McDowell’s book Pattern on Pattern. The challenge of showing the various degrees of values made this one of my favorite projects so far of my experience with 3-D designs.

Dedication

To those who follow their heart and make the world a better place...

...especially Dr. Raymond Kim and Dr. Douglas Dennis.

You have given me back the ability to walk

...so I can follow my heart.

Preface

In 1985 in my first quilt class, I learned how to make tumbling blocks the traditional way, by hand with templates and inset seams. The design intrigued me but the technique was tedious. There must be an easier way, I thought. Wanting to make a baby quilt for a friend and figure out an easier way I bought some pink and blue fabric and started cutting. The photo shows the resulting piece. I learned a lot…the strip widths were too small, the proportion wasn’t right and the values were way off... for what I wanted. The friend’s quilt ended up being a Trip Around the World in pink and blue and my tumbling blocks idea was back to the drawing board.

To get the colors right, I collected fabrics in similar hues (the color: red, yellow, etc.) and some different values (the shading: light, medium, and dark). In 1987 the best I could do for solids resulted in On The Diagonal as shown below. To make the quilt look traditional I decided to hand quilt. Looking back I realized I wasn’t choosing color to get the design. Rather, I was finding the right values. This was a lot of new concepts for me and just the beginning of what I have learned about tumbling blocks and other 60 degree designs.

I began teaching the method and in 1997 published the booklet, "Not Your Grandmother’s Tumbling Blocks". This has been my favorite design to teach and appeals to a majority of people. In 2006, I purchased Clearview Triangle from Sara Nephew and have merged the businesses. ABC 3-D is a combination of my best seller with her best seller, Big Book of Building Block Quilt.

Incorporating her designs and expertise with my piecing methods has brought new dimension to 3-D quilt designs. They are even more accessible to all level of quilters. From the simple, quick project, Tumblers for the Table, to the challenging, Your Radiant Beauty, and every design in between, there is something for everyone. I hope you find inspiration, enjoyment, and success with your selections, bringing a new dimension to your quilting.

Enjoy,

Introduction

My favorite words to hear from my students and customers are I’ve always wanted to make a tumbling blocks quilt. Now I can! If you have thought the first, you can say the second. The methods shown throughout this book make 3-D designs as easy as ABC and the step by step instructions give you the ABC’s of the process, hence the title of the book. With updated and new combinations of Sara Nephew’s Big Book of Building Block Quilts and my Not Your Grandmother’s Tumbling Blocks, there is something for everyone.

Each classic design is made without the traditional set-in seams (a.k.a. Y-seams). So the sewing is easy as shown here.

You will learn how to select fabrics to get surprising 3-D designs. Pressing instructions make joining the points easy. Quilting designs are offered for that additional dimension which only quilting can do. All of this provides a successful 3-D quilt project that you can enjoy and be proud of, sharing the results with your family, friends, and fellow quilters.

Strips are cut and sewn together into strip-sets.

Shapes are cut from the strip-sets.

The pieces are then arranged and sewn together into the finished quilt

Throughout the book you will find tips for all levels of quilters. We have defined them as follows:

New Quilter? For the quilter wanting help at critical steps.

Want a Tip? For confident quilters wanting a little extra information in the process.

Designing Quilter? For the quilter wanting a change and ready for a challenge.

Know Before You Sew

Here at the beginning a few steps for general quilting are given. Because the values (relative light, medium, and dark) are so important, read through The Shapes of 3-D and Choosing Fabric for a 3-D Quilt. Then, if needed, read about rotary cutting, sewing, ¼″ seams and pressing. See the project index, to make your selection from all of the designs offered. Review the terms and sample diagrams, then go to your project page and follow the step-by-step instructions. There are references to specific cutting instructions which are given at the back of the book. If you are ever lost come back to this overview to see how the step you are working on fits into the overall picture.

In Big Book of Building Block Quilts, Sara provided excellent detail and explanation of 3-D design and how value plays into the resulting design. Her years of experience and education including a bachelor’s in the arts provide a solid foundation to understanding the basics. Beginning here