It is a 9-patch with cornerstones. You make the standard 9-patch & attach white rectangles that are the same size to the top & bottom. Then you sew a unit that is the same length of a white rectangle + 2 squares on either end. Attach the unit to each side of the 9 patch.

Thanks, Bree 123. I thought that was how it had to be. I just wanted to make sure there wasn't an easier way to do the block. Is this what you do with your irish chains with SBS?

Janan,
I just did the one SBS quilt -- though I have enough left over to make a 2nd & probably will, I just have been battling some health issues so this has been taking me forever to finish.

Here's the most recent photos I have of it -- it's further along now. I quilted mini 4-petal flowers in every other space in the cross hatching & I'm having to requilt one section in the upper left corner because I thought I could save time by changing up the quilting order a bit & ended up quilting in wrinkles in my backing. Maybe I'll have it finished for my niece's half birthday in October -- we'll see. :o

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My applique blocks finished at 10". Squares were 2" finished, so the white rectangles on edge of 9-patch finished at 6". I seriously detest piecing & generally never do this much. I messed up on the cutting, using 2 different sides of my one ruler & the lines were different thicknesses, messing up my strip pieced units so I actually ended up making my blocks finish at 9 7/8" so I didn't waste an entire quilt's worth of fabric. If I were to do this again, I'd make the SBS boys larger, the SBS girls smaller & would add a tape line to my ruler so I was always cutting identical pieces all the way through. Live & learn, right?

Bree,
Your quilt is adorable! I appreciate the pictures and will use some of your ideas, if you don't mind.

The dolls and the lace have been washed and are drying now. My next step will be to cut the white background fabric in 13" squares for the dolls that will finish out at 12".

My question is, should I appliqué the dolls on the squares before sewing them in the quilt top? The dolls are appliquéd to fabric already. I plan on trimming them and needle turning the edge under. In your post, were you suggesting I stitch through the whole quilt when I do the appliqué work?

Definitely stitch the SBS's before you piece your quilt. The needle turn will cause your background fabric to "shrink" slightly as the fabric is taken up a bit with the stitches (which is why I assume you're cutting at 13" instead of 12.5"). I would trim the applique pieces down to 1/4" beyond the stitching. Once you're finished all your applique & have pieced your 9-patches with cornerstones, then you sew the blocks together.

I will add that one thing I learned too late in the process was that it's critical for this design if you're not quilting on a LA, you need SID before beginning the FMQ. I personally wouldn't want my feathers going through the circle shapes (which, I'm sure, is why the original quilter did a modified orange peal instead of the full design), so what I'll do in the future is quilt the SID with water soluble thread first. Once it's secured, I'd go back & add in motifs & then fills and finish with the borders.

The design that won at MQX was My Irish Grandma Sue by Carol Goin. Her pattern can be found in Quiltmaker March/April 2005.

I'm not sure what all she claims as her design. You'd need to try to reach out to her through Quiltmaker magazine. I know the applique is hers. I could swear I saw an Irish Chain with SBS's from the 30's in it when I was doing my research but I can't seem to find it now so perhaps that setting is original. I know Quiltmaker has proudly claimed past winners of quilts with this design so I'm sure they'd have no problem giving you whatever permission you may need if you plan to enter it in competition.

As far as the modifications I made, you're welcome to them. I'm hoping to show my niece's quilt next year at Pieceful Gatherings in Fox River Grove, but other than that, it is a pretty awful quilt that's staying in my niece's bedroom. :p I like to experiment a lot with family quilts to learn new techniques. I definitely learned a lot from this quilt that will help me with customer & competition quilts, and my niece is thoroughly enthralled with it, but it's generally sloppy construction & subpar quilting. Still, I had fun making it (mostly) and am grateful for the experience!

Wishing you success with your SBS quilt,
Bree

Thanks, Bree! You are sooooooo helpful.

I can hardly wait to get started!

Once I decided to do the quilt as an Straight Irish Chain, I bought a Jelly Roll of Moda Basics Grunge new colors. Now I want to buy a Jelly Roll of white (or should I use the white fabric the SBS are sewn on. I don't live in a town with a quilt shop, so unless I drive to a nearby city, I do most of my shopping online.

My question is, should I stay with the white background fabric for the SBS, or can I buy a Moda Grunge white, or a Moda plain white. I posted again the picture of my fabrics, and a picture of one of the dolls that I have sewn onto a white background.

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Also, have I made a mistake with the white fabric I chose for the background for the SBS?

I wouldn't buy white. I would buy Snow. RK Kona Snow seems to match slightly better than Moda Bella Snow, but either one of those would very likely be a better match than pure white.

Thanks again, Bree!