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Often we think about quilting with squares and rectangles of fabric. My guests thought outside the box, asking, "What if?" And then started to add improvisational 1" strips of color to blocks. Joining me are Bill Kerr, Weeks Ringle, partners in marriage... Yes. And also partners in creating great modern quilts. Welcome back to Sewing with Nancy. Thank you. - Thank you, Nancy. Well, when making "Magic Inch Quilts," the color work is as important as the technique. Mm-hmm. And I'm about to show you a quilt called Whiskers. And we used solids for the blocks, and then we used yarn-dyed stripes for the strips. And this quilt can be customized for a baby, a teen, or even a grandpa. And you use a basket weave layout, alternating the blocks, to add additional interest and then repeat the striped fabric in the binding. "Magic Inch Quilts," that's what's coming up next on Sewing with Nancy.

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Whenever there's something that you repeat, I like efficiency, and so something I've done is, I've set up the cutting mat here with just strips of masking tape on the four sides, so I can just take my block and set it right down. Great, mm-hmm. It fits really nicely in there, because what I'm going to do is slice the three lines through there where I'm going to splice in the magic inches, and I've actually put a little dot there, and the other thing I've done is, I've put an arrow on each side of where this seam goes, because I could have the block oriented either way. But by keeping it in the same direction, they'll all be identical. Sure, so if there's any variance in the fabric or the seams-- whatever. And then I'm simply cutting.

I've got three splices

one, two, three. And I'll be done. And what-- - Okay-- go ahead. I'm just shifting this around. I moved a little bit. Most of us don't cut at an angle, do we? But, you know, it works well. There we go. And those splices, which we're going to show you are-- are seamed together, so they end up with 1/2" pieces. Exactly, so we'll take this apart and then put it back together with the splicing. And you'll see how it'll be exactly the right size. The magic of a 1/4" seam allowance is what's important in this next step of making "Magic Inch Quilts," and, Bill, you've spliced and cut up and arranged your quilt block. Yeah, thank you. You've just seen how we cut this up, and what's interesting is-- I have the finished block here, which is a perfect square. We started out with a square and ended with a square. But to get there, we have-- you can see how rectangular it looks right now. And what's really fun with this is, we're gonna splice it together, but first, if you look at the different stripes, the darks fall in different areas. So when I cut the long strips, I made sure to have-- to stagger where I cut the strips. And if you don't like where the-- that falls, you can turn it over and find a new home. But then I'm gonna scoot these off to the side and just show-- I'm gonna line these up, and again, one of the beauties of working with the yarn-dyed stripes is that there's no right or wrong side. So I'm just gonna put that right down and feed this in to my well-marked 1/4". And I'm gonna lay this flat. And I just love-- this machine just purrs beautifully. And you can use a 1/4" seam allowance-- you must use a 1/4" seam allowance, I should say. Yes, and I'm using a walking foot here. You don't have to, but I love the way it feeds things so evenly. Mm-hmm. And some people love to work with their 1/4" foot-- whatever works for you. I just recommend, always, with these "Magic Inch Quilts," that you-- you really do a test-- a test seam or two so you can measure your 1/4", because that's very, very vital to this working. And then I'm just gonna feed this through. And if you're doing this with all 54 blocks, it's really an assembly line production. And what I'm doing-- I'm just going to do a couple of these strips to give you a sample of how this works. But I've got... this sewn. And I'm just going to kind of finger-press lightly open. And I've got the next one. And what I would do is take these, and I would sew them, putting right sides together again. Mm-hmm. Put that and feed it back through the machine, just like this, and then what I would do-- I'm gonna put my presser foot down. Go back through, and really, I had quite the assembly line going with this. I'm sure you did. And then once I've sewn these all together, we move over to press them. And the beauty about-- with the 1/4" seam allowances is that you have... no loss in width of the fabric-- or of the square. Everything butts 1/4", 1/4", 1/4"-- It's magic. - It's magic. And the seam allowances, as you can see, are pressed open. And rather than pressing them to one side, it gives a much flatter look, and you can steam them. And then if you want to set the crease, just use that block of wood to set the seam. And it really gives it-- nice and flat and accurate. So you're gonna make blocks like this to get that movement from the stripe of the fabric plus the piecing of the fabric. And we laid out-- or Bill and Weeks, not I-- I didn't do it-- laid out this quilt with the basket weave look, with the stripes going vertically, horizontally, vertically, and then reversing the order in the subsequent rows. So amazing movement with one type of technique but a little bit of improvisation with the different types of fabric. Pickup Sticks is the original Magic Inch Quilt that Bill and Weeks designed in 2000. Inspired by the children's game, these colorful sticks appear to be lying on top of one another as a result of a unique piecing process. For each block, you'll decide how many cuts and where to make them for your one-of-a-kind improvisational masterpiece. I have to admit, Weeks, that... - Mm-hmm? The one quilt I'm gonna try first is this one. Oh, this is so fun. You'll love it. It is so fun. There are big blocks of fabric, and they're cut, as you mentioned, with three to five pieces and sections and 1"pieces of fabric that have been cut, and you can tell which one was done first because it's underneath, just like in the game. Right. And then this one is the second one. Here's an over and an under. And then an over and an under, and the final stick lies on top. Right, exactly. And then just showing a three-block-- or a three-splice block is quite interesting. And then down below, we have one with five. Right, and you can have as many or few as you want. Very, very enjoyable. And again, that spontaneous work. Exactly. - So we're gonna cut. But we need some special markings, as you'll learn. Yes, yes, we do. So the first thing I'm gonna do is make the first cut. Mm-hmm. So you can really make the first one anywhere you want. I'm gonna go in the middle here. And I'm not really paying attention to the grid or anything... Angles. Because you can be really loose and free, and in subsequent cuts, you can change the angle. Now, it's really easy at this point, especially with solid fabrics, to get lost between here and the sewing machine. So we use these flower-head pins of the same color, and I like to put 'em on either side of the area I've just cut to remind myself that they need to go back together just this way. They're the notches of garment sewing-- That's right, exactly. - That are now... And we'll need slightly longer, strips here, because if you're cutting at an angle, you want to make sure it's gonna fit. So you can overlap the ends. - Right. And sew one side. And the next sample that we have-- I'm going to swap out samples with you. Mm-hmm. One side has been stitched. Right, and you'll see, we've still got the-- the pins reminding us of what goes where. And these ends, you will want to trim... With a ruler, just lining it up on the bottom of the block. And... Pretty easy. - Yes, it is. You still have that same 1/4" seam allowance with the walking foot or patchwork foot-- whatever type of foot you'd like to use. Mm-hmm, and then you're gonna sew it back together. And remember to keep those pins every time you make a new cut. And you want to do the matching? Sure. So... these are a slight angle. So we'll want to make sure that the 1/4"-- 1/4" in from the raw edge is where the fabrics are going to overlap. So you have a little divot at the 1/4"-- Exactly. So you can kind of see-- I'm exaggerating it just a little bit. Right, just so you can see. But the greater the angle, the greater the divot. Correct. Correct. You start sewing in the dip. And here's a close-up, you can see, of Weeks stitching this, starting in that divot area or that 1/4". Right. And when you are finished with that, the beauty of it is that... Mm-hmm. - Everything lines up. Exactly. And then should we make the next cut? We do. - Okay. Because now you can pick up those sticks. So I'm-- I'm holding on to my pins again. And I'm gonna make this one a little bit more pronounced. And then before I take it to the sewing machine or I even add the strip, I'm gonna make sure I put those pins in, because it's very easy to get confused. And this sample has that first-- that second seam... Right. - Stitched. Now, one of the things that can really get confusing is trying to make sure that this green one looks convincing, as it does here, that it connects straight through. Here's one that's not so convincing. Right, and that's an example of-- of, um-- when-- if you don't mark it, you might not get them lined up as precisely as you'd like. So mark away. Yes, so what we like to do is to use a straightedge and this great marking-- this chalk marker. And if you line up the ruler on the edge of the previous strip and you make a really nice mark all the way across-- I'm gonna just steal this pin for a second-- when you're pinning the next side on, you're gonna want to make sure that, right there, at 1/4" from the raw edge, that's the really critical part that you need to line up. So we'll line it up. Yes. So I'm gonna be putting my pin through... At 1/4" from this edge and 1/4" from here. And that pin is crucial. It is crucial. So here you can see again another close-up of how that seam is stitched so that the pin, in this instance, is the key area. As we look at the finished quilt, you can see the accurate marking gives a very crisp graphic look. First responders are among th e local heroes in every town. Weeks and Bill made this quilt for their local firehouse, where the firefighters and emergency medical technicians rest when not on call. This improvisational technique creates a patriotic block that can be made by adventurous beginners and veteran quilters alike. Bill, we have the last of the "Magic Inch Quilts." Yeah. And this quilt has a lot of movement to it. It's all about movement, because we were inspired by the flag. It doesn't sit static on the pole. No. - It's always waving. And it's a rectangular shape, not a square block, and the piecing-- same as you did earlier. But you can see that it's staggered. They're not evenly spliced. And in fact, there are some that are spliced with three. Some have four; some have five stripes. This is about-- 8 x 12" rectangle. Yes. And we'll talk about the size difference in a little bit-- a little bit later. But let's talk about fabric. Okay, so you think, well, this is an easy one-- red, white, and blue, right? Right, mm-hmm. Sure. But you have to-- we wanted variety. The variety gives it movement. So we were looking for a grouping of blues that weren't all identical, because otherwise, you know, what's the point? And likewise with the reds. So we had that nice variety, but I also brought some that we decided not to use, so you could understand the challenges. For instance, here, this raspberry print, the light spots really compete with the white stripes. And too intense and too muted and then too blue or purple. Almost purple there. - Purple and too green. Yeah, and it's funny. They seem obvious now. - Yeah, this one seems-- But as you're building the-- - Nope, mm-hmm. Exactly, and sometimes if you're not sure, make a block and put it up and just look at it from a distance. Great. Now, Bill and Weeks, when creating this, spliced-- the rectangle-- and look at how-- I like this. I like this example of the 8 x 12" block-- or rectangle, and it's the same size after seaming it all those times. Yeah, so you've seen how we've seamed others of these. Yes, and everything kisses in the middle, meaning, those seam allowances come together. They do, and in the splicing, it's fun, because you can really see with these two how they're not perfectly spaced. Now, if you happen to be a quilter who loves precision, you-- if that's important to you, you could do that. Sure, go ahead. - You could measure. But we don't measure here. And I think there's a lot of looseness involved in improvisation. But the one thing that I did want to caution people about here... Oh, yeah, this is important. Is, red and blue, more than any fabrics, tend to bleed. So we use washer sheets that catch the color, that you can get at the... Sure. Wow. Grocery store. Look at this. That looks like red fabric. This was a white color catcher put in with the red load. Yikes. - It's scary. 'Cause can you imagine if we didn't do that and everything bled onto the white? Okay. - It would be ruined. Yeah, we get it... Yeah. - That's a good lesson. Good example. So why don't you do the cuts? Okay. So actually, I'll cut this one right now. Sure, sure. And the way these go together diagonally, I'm just going to cut from corner to corner. And the important thing in this cut is, we need to make sure that they mate very nicely with the blues. So you can imagine, if I cut the wrong direction on the blue, it's not going to go together. So we're going to the same corner to corner. And so this yields two blues and two reds. And then just pair it with another-- another blue, not the same blue. Exactly, so we'll mix them up. And again, like that divot we worked with earlier, overlap the ends so that you have 1/4" rabbit-ear, which is pretty common quilting techniques. This on the bias, Bill. And the bias, as you know, stretches so much. And we want this to be a nice, crisp diagonal. Uh-huh. So you're doing exactly the right thing here. We begin by pinning the two ends to get the rabbit-ear. Right. And then if you put one pin in the center, that will keep everything flat, especially because one side has all the splices in it, and the other is a continuous piece of fabric. And here's Bill stitching the seam and starting stitching on a scrap of fabric. We always start on that scrap. It just helps guide the fabric through. And after you've sewn that seam and done the pressing-- pressing that seam open and assembling the quilt, Bill, you like to, in closing, just after doing the stitching, you like to wash it again. Yeah, we love that-- a little shrinkage and nice texture. Great project, great ways of making dramatic quilts with 1"pieces. Memories of living in her native country of Ghana, specifically the remembrance of the "beat the drum" serve as the inspiration for the quilts of today's Nancy's Corner guest. Please welcome Wendy Mamattah, who joins us today in studio, and she's from Portland. Thank you. Welcome to Sewing with Nancy, Wendy. Thank you so much, Nancy. Wendy, when I saw your quilts in print, I thought, "I have to interview you." Right. Because they have such movement, such life. And when I see them in person, I'm even more impressed. Right, thank you. Give our viewers a little summary of how you started quilting and how you create these lively dancers. Okay. In the beginning, you know, before everything started, I was a sewer, so I used to sew a lot for the community, locally and all that. And towards the end of the recession, you know, I-- I lost my job, and that wasn't a happy moment. So when I came and sat at home, a church mommy of mine told me she would teach me how to start quilting. And then, she was a traditional quilter, so she basically taught me traditional quilting, and that was a struggle, because I-- I didn't want to do that. So I started, you know, just putting artworks together, because I did art in school, and I have that creative ability... You certainly do. And showed her my first quilt, which was "And She Said Yes." And it's just two African silhouettes looking into each other's face. You know, it's a marriage quilt. Now, your fabric is also a marriage of fabrics. So you have batik fabrics. - Right. But then you have traditional African fabrics... Yeah. - Not the original woven fabric. But explain the difference between the print and the woven that we have here. Okay, this is a Kente sash that I have. The real Kente is very rigid, and it's woven by hand in wefts and then finally joined in pieces till it gets really big. And Kente in our culture is-- is huge. Like, that's what we celebrate in for our traditional ceremonies and stuff like that. And the colors in Kente actually represent the gold, which is a raw material that Ghana has, and other colors too. And it used to be used by the royals, you know, in times of old. And right now, in my quilts, I actually-- what I do is-- Use the prints. I use the Kente prints, because they're, cost-wise... Yes. Easier to manage and to use in the quilts. And I often would select, you know, just audit a lot of fabrics-- audition a lot of fabrics, like batiks, that reflect our African weather. And this is one of the best that I found out... Sure. - And started quilting with. It's hot. Yeah, it represents, to me, the West African sun. Sure. - You know? Now, this is a small quilt of yours, but let's look at your newest edition called "Celebrations." That is spectacular. Thank you.

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I've got three splices

It has drummers, it has dancers... lovely job. Thank you. Now, when you design quilts, you explained to me that you put on your music of your native country and get into the mode. That's right. When I'm quilting, I just want to be transported to that place. Sure. And sometimes it's hard just to zone out... And go to that place to feel, you know-- to feel the richness of my culture, to represent that in fabric. So I help myself by playing our traditional Ghanaian music, which we call "Highlife," and that's what I use. And, you know, just getting into playing it for about five minutes just takes me right home. Oh, nice. And the rhythm of the music actually helps me into placing-- cutting out the silhouettes, you know? Uh-huh. Because I know a lot about our traditional dances. So it depends on how-- what music is playing. I just tell myself, "This would go with "Adowa." This would go with "Aba Yaa." This would go with..." Sure. - You know, whatever. So, I cut out my silhouettes just according to what kind of music I'm listening to. Mm-hmm. And then I'm able to place the limbs of the silhouettes. That's the legs and the hands. - Sure. You know, in-- dynamically, just to go with the kind of music I'm listening to. Now, quickly, the very vertical quilt that we're looking at now of the women in the line... Right. The perspective you have there is amazing. Thank you. Now, they're walking into town. They're walking into town. You know, we have a lot of African villages everywhere, and in the mornings, the women would leave because they-- they are like th e hard workers of the family. Yes. They would leave, either to go sell at a local market or go shopping at the market, you know, to come and make the evening meal. And most of them have their kids behind them, and they all walk along a footpath, and some hold sticks, and others come in with pots and pans on their heads, and-- Well, it's lovely. - Yeah. That's so lovely, Wendy. Thank you for sharing your work with us. Thank you. - It's inspiring. I know it will inspire many of you at home. Okay, thank you. Thank you for joining us during this two-part series of "Magic Inch Quilts." And I hope you watch next time or watch us online at NancyZieman.com. Bye for now.

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Be inspired by a fresh approach to quilting taught by Weeks Ringle an d Bill Kerr in their book Magic Inch Quilts. Learn their secrets to piecing small strips of fabric to create quilts th at will delight both beginning an d veteran quilters. It's $15.99 plus sh ipping and handling. To order this book, call 800-336-8373, or visit our website at se wingwithnancy.com/3020. Order item number MIQ, Magic Inch Quilts. Credit card orders only. Visit Nancy's website at NancyZieman.com to see additional episodes, Nancy's blog, and more. Sewing with Nancy, TV's longest-airing sewing and quilting program with Nancy Zieman,

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