Even Easier Quilt As You Go!

Do you occasionally get frustrated figuring out how you're going to quilt up that quilt top you've just finished? What if you didn't have to send your quilt tops out to be long-armed? Quilting your own blocks one by one is easier than you think! I'm going to give you a tutorial on how to create a lap-size quilt called "Nimble Courthouse Steps".

"Quilt As You Go" is a sewing technique that's been around for many, many years. I'm going to share with you how to create a block that not only has you "quilting" as you go, but also uses quick strip piecing!

*The backing/batting layers of the block sandwich are shown in tan in the photos below, and have been cut larger than is needed.

1. Layer one backing square and batting square with the batting against the wrong side of the backing square. Center one Dark 2½" square in the middle of the backing/batting sandwich. Pin in place. Place one First Light 2" x 2½" rectangle RST (Right Sides Together) against the center square. Pin in place, and sew ¼" along the top raw edges through all layers. Flip the First Light square back and press in place. Repeat with the other First Light 2" x 2½" square along the opposite edge. See photo below.

2. Place one First Dark 2" x 5½" rectangle RST against the previous sewn set along the long right edge. Pin in place, and sew along the right raw edge through all layers. Flip the First Dark rectangle back and press in place. Repeat with the other First Dark rectangle along the opposite edge.

3. Place one Second Light 2" x 5½" rectangle RST against the previous sewn set along the top long edge. Pin in place, and sew along the top raw edge through all the layers. Flip the Second Light rectangle back and press in place. Repeat with the other Second Light rectangle along the opposite edge.

4. Place one Second Dark 2" x 8½" rectangle RST against the previous sewn set along the long right edge. Pin in place, and sew along the long right raw edge through all layers. Flip the Second Dark rectangle back and press in place. Repeat with the other Second Dark rectangle along the opposite edge.

5. Repeat the above Step 4 using the Third Light 2" x 8½" strips along the top and bottom edges.

6. Repeat the above Step 5 using the Third Dark 2" x 11½" strips along the right and left edges.

7. Square your block up to 11½" and you're finished!
8. Place one 2" x 11½" sashing strip RST along the right edge of a block. Pin in place. Now place one folded sashing strip along the same edge on the back of the block with all raw edges even. Sew ¼" seam. Press.
9. Sew another quilted block to the top sashing piece as you normally would. Press.
10. Place a 1" x 11½" strip of batting inside the sashing in the back and fold over the back sashing to enclose the batting. The folded back sashing will extend enough to cover the seam allowance on the next block. Hand stitch the folded sashing in place.

Fast and easy! You can use this technique with any strip-pieced block. Finish all sashing as directed above. Add borders by sewing them onto the center quilt as you do the sashing, except the backing border strips do not need to be folded as they will be incorporated into the binding. Bind as usual.