According to Wikipedia, Serendipity means a "fortuitous happenstance" or "pleasant surprise".
Every time I make a mistake, I learn something. Occasionally, I will go back and fix it. Most of the time, I just let it be - my unique signature in the quilt-making process :-D
And once in a blue moon, I will find something - something amazing, exciting and totally unexpected - SERENDIPITY
Sometime ago, in response to a question on a quilters website about snowball block, I responded with a comment. The conversation went like this.
Me - Oh, you can get the same effect by using the tube technique.
J - Oh, yeah? Well, show us if you think so.
Me - I will. Next week. I am busy now.
J - No problem. I'll wait.
So, I tried the tube technique to achieve the said snowball block. Not quite the result I expected. But I found something else. Today I am sharing with you that serendipitous find!!!
Fabric Requirements:
2 strips of fabric (one light and one dark) each 5" wide by WOF.
I used solids (see picture above) for dark and white for the light.
Directions
1. Fold the dark strip of fabric, right sides together, along the length. Iron it to create a crease along the entire length.
2. Repeat for the light strip of fabric.
3. Stitch together the two strips, along the length, RST. Press open the seams. Be careful to not press the creases flat, see picture below.
4. Stitch the two strips on the other side to form a tube. Press seams open. Maintain the creases. Your finished tube should look like this picture below.
5. Lay the tube flat, with the open seams in the center. Now, you see why making those creases in the beginning was so vital - it keeps the tube flat on your cutting board.
6. Using a 45 degree ruler, cut out triangles. I made six tubes with six solids+white
7. From one tube you should get eight squares - 4 with dark centers and 4 with light centers. Each square measures about 61/4 inch.
Does this block have a name? I am going to call it Half Snowball Square (because the snowball effect is only on two out of four sides). Let us divide them into two piles - the dark centers and the light centers pile, see below.
So what is the serendipitous part, J may ask. Well, there are at least seven different layouts that can be achieved from these blocks. Yes, seven!!!
Dark Centers Layout
1. All blocks going the same way - Diamonds
2. Xs and Os
3. Zig Zag
Light Centers Layout
1. All blocks going the same way - Whimsy
2. Jewels (This is the same layout as Xs and Os above, but the focus here is the center and hence the name Jewels)
3. Silly Goose (because some are flying one way and some are going the other way - that is what Jenny said!!!)
Now, I know there is someone reading this blog and saying - Oh no, I just want to make one quilt, not two. For those who want to make just one - here are few layouts using both dark and light centers blocks.
1. Zig Zag - Plain Jane
2. Zig Zag - Crazy Daisy
3. Very Crazy Zig Zag
4. Bow-Ties - This one is my favorite...
What about the snowball effect?
Looks like this passion of mine is snowballing into an avalanche of quilting happiness!!!
So, here is my question for you - which one of these layouts is your favorite?
 |
| The Colors |
And once in a blue moon, I will find something - something amazing, exciting and totally unexpected - SERENDIPITY
Sometime ago, in response to a question on a quilters website about snowball block, I responded with a comment. The conversation went like this.
Me - Oh, you can get the same effect by using the tube technique.
J - Oh, yeah? Well, show us if you think so.
Me - I will. Next week. I am busy now.
J - No problem. I'll wait.
So, I tried the tube technique to achieve the said snowball block. Not quite the result I expected. But I found something else. Today I am sharing with you that serendipitous find!!!
Fabric Requirements:
2 strips of fabric (one light and one dark) each 5" wide by WOF.
I used solids (see picture above) for dark and white for the light.
Directions
1. Fold the dark strip of fabric, right sides together, along the length. Iron it to create a crease along the entire length.
 |
| Creased Strips |
2. Repeat for the light strip of fabric.
3. Stitch together the two strips, along the length, RST. Press open the seams. Be careful to not press the creases flat, see picture below.
 |
| Stitched once and Seams Pressed Open |
4. Stitch the two strips on the other side to form a tube. Press seams open. Maintain the creases. Your finished tube should look like this picture below.
 |
| Completed Tube, seams in the center (ready to cut) |
5. Lay the tube flat, with the open seams in the center. Now, you see why making those creases in the beginning was so vital - it keeps the tube flat on your cutting board.
6. Using a 45 degree ruler, cut out triangles. I made six tubes with six solids+white
7. From one tube you should get eight squares - 4 with dark centers and 4 with light centers. Each square measures about 61/4 inch.
Does this block have a name? I am going to call it Half Snowball Square (because the snowball effect is only on two out of four sides). Let us divide them into two piles - the dark centers and the light centers pile, see below.
 |
| Half Snowball Squares (HSS) - Dark Centers |
 |
| Half Snowball Squares (HSS) - White Centers |
Dark Centers Layout
1. All blocks going the same way - Diamonds
 |
| Dark HSS - Diamonds |
2. Xs and Os
 |
| Dark HSS - Xs and Os |
3. Zig Zag
 |
| Dark HSS - Zig Zag |
Light Centers Layout
1. All blocks going the same way - Whimsy
 |
| Light HSS - Whimsy |
2. Jewels (This is the same layout as Xs and Os above, but the focus here is the center and hence the name Jewels)
 |
| Light HSS - Jewels |
3. Silly Goose (because some are flying one way and some are going the other way - that is what Jenny said!!!)
 |
| Light HSS - Silly Goose |
Now, I know there is someone reading this blog and saying - Oh no, I just want to make one quilt, not two. For those who want to make just one - here are few layouts using both dark and light centers blocks.
1. Zig Zag - Plain Jane
 |
| Mixed HSS - Plain Jane Zig Zag |
2. Zig Zag - Crazy Daisy
 |
| Mixed HSS - Crazy Daisy Zig Zag |
 |
| Mixed HSS - Very Crazy Zig Zag (all mixed up) |
What about the snowball effect?
Looks like this passion of mine is snowballing into an avalanche of quilting happiness!!!
So, here is my question for you - which one of these layouts is your favorite?
