Cedar

Grandma does really good work. She used to always have hand work going whenever she was still and her stitching is amazingly even. I'm not sure she had a full quilt planned when she started. She could have just been doing blocks she liked and planned to figure the rest out later, but there is clearly marked stacks of 3 sets of four. This is flannel fused with an iron with buttonhole stitched edges and some french knot details (there might be more, but mostly french knots).

I also apparently need to start making quilts fast. These cardboard boxes she covered with contact paper are her main organizational system and this isn't the only "quilt in a box" she has.

I've been looking at different sashing styles and layouts. She has implied that she finds "traditional sampler" styles a bit boring. We also agreed that while we loved the blocks on point on the cover of one of her books that I might not be ready for that. The other thing that she mentioned is that there is a bright orange/pink/coral in the autumn set that she hasn't worked with much before and is really enjoying. So I'd love to bring some sunset colors into that set of blocks and really accent that.

So while I've been searching around for the perfect sashing combination that isn't too boring or too loud I have this other idea in the back of my head of an Irish Chain style giving the illusion of blocks on point. I've thought that it was too complicated with a 10 inch block and kept coming back to it a few times, so tell me what you think and feel free too be blunt

So I saw these

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And I remembered I could get the look of on point without triangles. I also thought of this quilt

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And thought it could be the perfect combination of air space and color that could bring out those bright coral colors. Basically I would do chain squares with cream/off white tonal background that doesn't necessarily match the background of the embroidery but blends. I was originally thinking each stripe one color, but the scrappy general brightness of this I think might be better at letting the blocks be the star.

This is the closest I could find to what I'm envisioning.

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So let me know your thoughts. Do you think that not having the background material match will spoil the look? How difficult is this going to be with 10" squares (if they were 9 this would be a no brainer) Anything else that I'm possibly not thinking of?

Shoofly1

I noticed that many of the appliques are stitched with an on point orientation, so I think it would be best to set the blocks on point. I don't think it will be as difficult as you are anticipating. Maybe some others here can give you suggestions where to look for instructions on sewing blocks on point; I haven't done it myself. The Irish Chain is one of my favorite designs and it should also look awesome with blocks set on point. It's a wonderful thing you are doing with your grandma and I wish you tons of fun sharing this project.

Shoofly1

I just had another thought. Why couldn't you set the applique blocks on point and snowball background fabric on each side to make them square before proceeding to set the blocks together. Of course, the blocks will be pretty large.

Tiggersmom

2 Books I would recommend, both by Sharyn Craig, are "Setting Solutions, and "Great Sets". If you don't want to purchase them maybe your local library has a copy.
Your grandmas blocks are fantastic. Before sewing anything together, I would trim them to all the same size as I noticed the fraying around most of them.
I think they are screaming 'on point', however you can add triangles to each corner to make they look as they are straight set. Make your triangles a little larger then trim them all to the size you want. It's really easy to do.
You have an eye for design by the look of the items you posted above. I do not think the Irish Chain is above your skill level. Take it slow and square up as you go. You shouldn't have any problems. You Can Do This! You are making wonderful memories you can cherish forever.

madamekelly

Here is a helpful video on setting a quilt on point. It is not
as difficult as I thought it would be, and I made one 110” x 112”!

https://youtu.be/0AfBeYeCzRE

Here are nice directions written out to do it with sashing. When you go to the site, scroll down a bit to find it. She starts one without sashing, then does another with sashing. Just take it one step at a time, and make a small quilt to learn it, then you can make grandma a pretty placemat with it. It is not as hard as you think.

https://quiltnotes.com/learning-center/on-point-quilts/

givio

Oh! It sounds like your Grandmother is giving you a lot of input for what she likes. If she likes the blocks on point, or likes the coral color, I'd go with her suggestions. When you set blocks on point, you are simply sewing the rows of the top diagonally with a triangle on the ends of the rows. If you can sew squares together in rows, that's basically what you are doing on point too. Maybe you could practice with some other fabric-- probably you will find out it's not that difficult.