Chain Piecing Quilt Blocks, Your Quilts, Interesting Links and a Cat or Two…

The end of the weekend has rolled around. I tried to get this Bonjour Quilts update out earlier but it just wasn’t happening. Today’s issue is all about taking a moment away from the chaos that is currently descending on the world. It’s important to recharge at some stage and I hope this newsletter, with a cup of tea, will help with that regard. Let’s get to it!

Quilt Blocks Emerge

I have made a good start on my queen size Diamonds in the Deep quilt, in teal blue and a low volume fabric. There are four main block types in this quilt, and I’ve almost sewn half of them (Block Families 1 and 2).

The Diamonds in the Deep quilt pattern works wonderfully with chain piecing. This lets you whip up your blocks quicker, with minimal fuss. Exactly what I’m looking for these days. Here’s a run down of how I like to chain piece these blocks.

Chain Piecing Diamonds in the Deep Quilt Blocks

I recommend sewing each block family in its entirety (ie. Block 1, 1a and 1b) before moving on to the next block family. That way you will only have the strips for that block family at the machine with you and there’s less chance of sewing the wrong strips in the wrong block.

Remember to sew with a scant quarter inch seam. This will give you a slightly oversized block that you can trim back to give an exact block.

Starting with your centre squares, you will sew them all to your first strip along one edge.

Then clip them apart with scissors (like me) or your rotary cutter.

Next, turn these units around 180º and sew the opposite side of the centre square to the strip.

Clip apart and then either press both seams, either open or to the side.

If you’d really like to speed things up, just finger-press these first two sides open, then iron-press once the first ring of logs is complete. In the photo above the left-hand units are iron-pressed. The one on the right is finger-pressed.

Once you have sewn your first two logs, you are ready to close that round by sewing the other two sides.

Press these last two sides open and there you have your first round of your block done.

You’re now ready to continue on with all the other rounds.

Remember – the “b” blocks only need 2 sides. You’ll know the “b” blocks (1b and 4b) because they have the very big centres. Only sew 2 adjacent sides for those blocks:

A note on my clipping technique. When chain piecing I leave only enough space between my blocks to squeeze my scissors in and clip the blocks apart. This is not the most precise method. The most precise method would be to leave more space between the units, clip the units apart, press and then use a ruler to trim the log edges in line with the centre square. This is very precise, to be sure, but it also takes a fair bit of extra time. And as mentioned before, extreme accuracy will not be noticed in these blocks in the overall quilt. This is why I just clip the units apart quickly with scissors and continue sewing.

However, because the edges of those logs may not be perfectly lined up with centre square, you should remember this when you sew subsequent logs.

Just make sure you line up your units on the centre square, rather than the outer raw edges of the logs – this will help you keep your logs parallel to your centre square and not listing left or right. For example, in the photo below you can see I have my purple block on top of a white strip, right sides together.

My machine foot is lined up with the edge of the strip (see the arrow). Then I have the centre square lined up along the strip, rather than the outer, raw edges of the log. The dotted line shows how the centre of the block is in line with the edge of the strip. You can see that the outer log raw edge is actually a little off – it’s overhanging the line of the strip because I just eyeballed it when I cut the units apart. So I use the more accurate centre of the block to guide my sewing, and let the log edges just fall as they may.

This is the way I like to really power through getting these blocks sewn. I know it might seem a little shady to those who love precision – if it doesn’t appeal to you then please continue on as you prefer!

Oh, and remember to save your strip remnants. If you find yourself short of a log, you’ll be able to piece it together from your leftovers.

And don’t forget – a scant quarter inch seam. You want the blocks oversized so they’ll trim back to perfection. 👌

This newsletter section forms part of my series on the Diamonds in the Deep quilt. You can find the previous part of the series here:

• Fabric cutting for Diamonds in the Deep quilt pattern.

Around the Interwebs…

It’s time for the Pantone Quilt Challenge again! Yay! 2026’s colour is the controversial Cloud Dancer – but sometimes unusual constraints lead to some fantastic outcomes.

This fabric reacts to heat, changing colour. This could be a whole lot of fun.

Art on unexpected substrates. These are very clever!

The latest issue of Make Modern, the Aussie quilting e-magazine, is now available.

Moda’s Bella Solids are 20% off for the month of March at the Fat Quarter Shop.

Wonderful travel opportunities for textile lovers: two amazing weeks in Japan in November, or a retreat week on Norfolk Island in July. Treat yourself!

Some super-cute embroideries, even more impressive embroidery. I hope reincarnation is real because I need another life to explore beautiful crafts like this. And this, swoon.

Reader Quilts…

I always love to see quilts you’ve made from Bonjour Quilts patterns so please keep sending them in! Either email (Kirsty at BonjourQuilts dotcom), or tag me on Facebook or Instagram.

I love all the saturated colour in Karen’s baby size version of In The Stars. She did some fantastic straight line quilting to accent the stardust, which I love!

Jill sewed up two Scrappy Lattice quilts for two brothers, each in their favourite colour. (I love how together they form a holiday colour scheme.)

The When You Wish…baby quilt is a such a fantastic addition to any modern nursery. I have a free tutorial for this baby quilt, and also a paid pattern for larger sizes. Here is Rita’s beautiful version with a space theme:

And here’s the version Chris sewed for twin grand-nieces. Chris added her own borders to make it larger for two bubs.

Christine’s Go West quilt is a stunner!

Narelle sewed this lovely version of the Zed quilt in wonderfully earthy colours.

Cats’ Corner…

As usual, our two cats (Tigger: orange, Lulu: brown) have spent the week napping, cleaning, zooming and then sleeping.

Have a good week

I’m not confident that we’ll have a good week, but we can hope. Keep your chin up and be kind to those around you – it’s the only thing you can really control.

Take care everyone,

Kirsty x

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