I need another hand piecing project now that I've finished the Tumbling Blocks quilt. This one seems to be an obvious choice; I have about 1/4 of it pieced, a lot of shapes cut out and it will go together quickly as the pieces are large. The original quilt was published in a Ladies Circle Patchwork Magazine in 1990, and I set about making a copy, even though reproduction fabrics were almost non-existent then. I'm actually quite glad I put it aside, because now I have the perfect 1800s prints to finish it.This charm pack of the Charleston IV range is going to find it's way in there somewhere. The template only just fits.

I taught at a quilt conference with Tina Gravatt years ago, and one afternoon after classes about 10 of us sat on the floor around Tina while she showed us her stack of beautiful miniature quilts. One of them was an elongated hexagon, inspired by the same photo in the magazine that had made me start my full-size version. I love mini quilts, and one of the major advantages is that they are much quicker to finish. Tina certainly didn't waste time completeing her version, and I'm still working on mine 18 years after I started it.

When I mark my templates I use a mechanical pencil with a thick .7mm lead. I also use carbon leads in it, instead of the more common polymer leads. The carbon marks more easily and washes out better, and the thicker refills make them more robust. I use a sheet of Wet'n'Dry black sandpaper under the fabric to stop it from sliding around, and the pencil marks the fabric more easily. It's extremely fine, and is much gentler on the fabric than regular sandpaper.

The Tumbling Blocks quilt was made with a 60 degree diamond that measures 3" along each side. That's quite a large shape, I've made my other ones with a 2" diamond, which made them rather cute. I like the bigger shape because it shows off the pretty materials.

This is a photo of the Tumbling Blocks I made for Mum, with an apron made by my great-grandmother. I pinched the photo from Mereth's blog, from way back in May 06. I'm too lazy to go round her place and take a more recent photo.

I don't use a pattern for these quilts, as it's just the one template shape throughout. All you need is a picture of a Tumbling Blocks quilt that you like, and a 60 degree diamond template, and you're all set. All you have to remember is to join the light, mediukm and dark value pieces together in the same orientation throughout the whole quilt.