Quiltville Mystery Season: Indigo Way Part 5

This week the number FIVE plays prominently in Bonnie's Part 5 post for the Indigo Way mystery!  We are also treated to more of the sights of Bonnie's Vietnam trip -- specifically a look at some of the beautiful textiles seen while she was there.   There is also a video of a woman working a loom (with hands and feet!) to weave a base cloth.

For the mystery, the blocks this week are Square-In-A-Square blocks.  For the centers, Bonnie plans to cut them from a piece of printed hemp fabric she brought from Vietnam but mystery quilters can use what they like to fill the center squares.  In the instructions, Bonnie shows you five ways to make them:  

• Rotary cutting of both center squares and corner triangles with regular rulers
• Rotary cutting of center squares using the Essential Triangle Tool for the corners
• Doing "Stitch  & Flip" corners by either drawing lines or using the laser lines on your machine if you have one
• Trimming the center square corners using the Simple Folded Corners ruler (so cut first, sew second)
• Paper piecing

Whenever I get around to making this mystery, I have two more techniques at my disposal and of course they involve gadgets:  my go to for SIS blocks is to use Deb Tucker's "Square Squared" two ruler set.

Deb also has a technique sheet that tells you how you can use the ruler to make what she calls "Stacked Squares" but you may know them as "Economy blocks" which are basically "Multiple Squares-Within-A-Square" blocks.

I have not gotten to use this ruler much so I look forward to when I try this mystery.  If I'm pressed for time, the other option for me will be to die cut all the units.  Accuquilt has dies to cut the center squares (what they call "Squares On Point") to the exact odd sizes needed and the packaging will tell you what size  coordinating triangle die you need for the corners.  Fortunately, I already have the ones for the size of block being made for this round.   

As to my own mystery season journey, I am getting close to the end of quilting "Roll, Roll, Cotton Boll"!  Last night I finished the last of the free-motion stitching on the blocks in the center of the quilt.  

I definitely got a little wild and wooly stitching out the motifs on the quarter square string blocks.  In hindsight, I am reminded that when doing FMQ on a DSM  it's better to stick with small motifs for better control.  There are definitely places where I overshot the design and could have marked points to hit with a wash away marker for more even looking motifs.  

But you know what?  It's done and that's all that matters to me right now!  The thread isn't high contrast and once the quilt is washed and acquires "that crinkly look", a lot of stitching sins will be hidden, LOL!  And boy is this quilt heavy now!!  It will be very warm to have on the bed during these winter nights.   

What's left to do is to stitch up the border setting triangles, the inner border and the outer border.  I changed plans and am now going to do the same stitch pattern in the setting triangles that I did in the full string blocks just halved.  The good news is I think I can do the design I wanted to do on the inner border with the same ruler I had planned to use for stitching on the outer border.  

Although this is actually a long arm ruler, I think (hope?) it will still work with my DSM ruler foot.  When I finally finish it all, I want to take it over to our community garden and get a picture of the quilt in the outside light.  

I'm excited that this journey is almost to a close as I still haven't started on basting "Old Tobacco Road".  Thank goodness the mystery season runs into the first week or two of January so I may still get that one done before the season (if not this year) ends!