Session 2 of Jane's January QuiltingTutorials

Welcome back!  We are ready to make our second quilt top in this series.

Remember, we sewed some strips of fabric together and then cut them to the size we needed?  We are going to do it again.  This time, however, we are making them into squares, so measure across the strips then cut your strips across at that distance and they will be squares.

I had a few chunks left over from the Session 1 Tutorial, so I cut them into squares.  I decided I needed 5 blocks by 5 blocks to make my quilt top, so I had to sew another set of four strips together and cut them into squares, so I would have enough blocks.  In the photo, above, I am holding one of the new blocks.  Before you get too far along, make sure all your blocks are squared up.  If they are all exactly square and the same size, they will go together easily.

You want to arrange them so the first one goes horizontal, then turn the next one vertical and keep placing them like that until you have them all on your design wall.  Then stand back and have a look to see if the arrangement is pleasing and balanced.  Well-balanced means not two reds right next to each other, you don't want all the blues in one corner. and etc.  You want to spread them out evenly.  It may take bit of tweeking, but it is worth it.  You want it to look like they are random, but you also want it to have a balanced look.  I call it 'planned randomness".

After you have them where you want them, you can start sewing them together; into rows.  The nice thing about this design is when you sew the vertical to the horizontal, you do not have to match any seams!  Above is the photo of all the rows being finished and ready to sew to each other.  Now, you will need to match the seam where the blocks in one row come in contact with the blocks in the next row. 

I have all the rows sewed to each other. It was only four seams, to sew five rows together.    My rail fence quilt top is all finished!  Now, wasn't that easy?

I hope you will give this rail fence quilt top a try.  It is fun and easy.  See you in a few days for Session 3, where we will use some of those left-over sixteen-patch blocks, left-over rail fence blocks, and some other left-overs to make our third quilt top in one month.  I suppose we can call it the "left-over quilt."