Crooked Courthouse Steps!

It all started with The Plague.

Okay, so it wasn’t really the PLAGUE – but a round of bronchitis, double ear infection and sinus infection that may as well be forever known as the 2019 Trifecta of Death.

But something happens when I’m under the effects of copious amounts of antibiotics, cold meds and Nyquil.  I QUILT!  

In fact, I can’t even TYPE NYQUIL without turning it into NYQUILT and then have to edit it.  So there you go. Enough explanation.

I love my string bins more than life itself.  The depths are bottomless and full of so much variety that it is a complete joy to dig in and see what I can find and sew into good use.  And that’s where this whole saga of a tutorial starts.  The strings.

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Everything 3/4’’ up to about 2’’

This bin lives next to my cutting table and I am always tossing leftovers into it.  It’s like stone soup – the more you add the better it gets, and be sure to stir it around liberally.

If you don’t have a string bin, cut yourselves a wide variety of strips in colors and in neutrals in widths from 3/4’’ up to 2’’.  And do yourself a favor – don’t cut them all STRAIGHT.  Things are more interesting if strips taper and lean a bit.  These Crooked Courthouse Steps blocks go in every direction.

Start with some scrap 2’’ squares.

Add a scrap of neutral to either side of the center square.

Press toward the neutral scraps.

Trim with scissors – no squaring up allowed!

This whole quilt was a scissor trimming project for me.  Sew the scraps on, trim the excess off with scissors over the trash can. Let things organically lean this way or that – or even trim things at a slight angle to get your block started off in a fun direction.

The process of of Courthouse Steps is simple – two neutrals on the sides, two colors top and bottom, and then repeat – two neutrals on the sides, followed by 2 colors top and bottom –all seams being pressed toward the outside of the block.

Two colors going on opposite sides.

Trimming – not looking too wonky yet!

Next neutral choices -

Some wider, some narrower.

Next two colored sides -

Things are starting to lean!

3rd set of neutrals -

We are wider than we are tall! LOL!

Round 3 of colors -

As I am working on blocks there are a couple of things I like to do.  This is a great block for chain piecing.  I worked in chains of 5 blocks at a time.  Sure, you could go to town and do 90 blocks at once, but I like to watch things grow. 5 is manageable.  Then I can trim them up and start the next batch.

Look for different widths of strips.  You can trim anywhere, you don’t have to maintain a perfect 1/4’’ seam allowance.  You can even purposely lay the next strip on top of the block at a slight angle to force a lean, there really are NO RULES.

Also – I go for variety in color, print style, as well as size.  If I’ve already used a purple print – chances are I’ll chose a different purple for the other side of the block.  Mix it up as much as possible.

Round 4 of neutrals.

Round 4 of colors.

This was my “average” number of strips going around that center 2’’ square.  At this point, measure your blocks and see if there is a common size of block you can get from the majority of them.

Some blocks may end with a neutral round, or with only 1 side of the final color round because you are sewing for BLOCK SIZE, not the same number of strips per block.  Strips vary in width, so some blocks may take more, some blocks may take less.  Just stop when your block reaches the size you are shooting for.

Ready to trim up!

I trimmed my blocks to 8’’, finishing in the quilt at 7 1/2’’.

Trim yours whatever size you want.

I purposely did NOT center the ruler, nor did I try to have the center square directly in the middle of the block.  I let them be where they wanted to be and trimmed wherever I got the most fun out of the block.

I tried to leave at least 1/2’’ of any strip showing at the edge of the block.

Meaning when I sew it into the quilt, there will only be 1/4’’ of that strip showing, but it is enough of the strip showing without losing the whole strip in the next seam.

This block ended with only ONE 4th colored strip -

I didn’t do a 4th one on the opposite side because the block was already big enough.  Shoot for block size, not block symmetry!

Four blocks in a row…I can see a lot of crazy fun happening here!

Blocks sewn in rows, ready to join rows together.

Quilted and trimmed, waiting for binding.

(Hanging sideways over the rail)

I made 120 blocks and set them 10 X 12 for a quilt that measured 75’’ x 90’’.  It was the PERFECT measurement for one of the twin beds at Quiltville Inn.

I bound it in an old VIP Cranston print.

I love how it works with the great yellow/green backing fabric.

Binding finished, and photo op over the porch rail.

And even better on the bed in bedroom #3 -

Just waiting for someone to come sleep beneath it!

Those four leftover sample blocks became a cushion!

I loved making these blocks.  They were fast and so much fun.  I loved the amount of scrap fabric they used up.  I love how the quilt looks on the bed, and now I find myself wanting to make more pillows and cushions from leftover blocks.

I’ve got some fun hints on how I did the cushion as well, and I’ll be saving that for another post.  Be watching!

Quiltville Quote of the Day 

Vintage string quilt found in North Carolina

It's okay to go your own direction, even when others don't understand it! You do YOU!  You be YOU!

Have a wonderful Wednesday, everyone!