Boxy Bullseye and Mini-Tut
 

What a fun scrappy! I call this one "Birthday Party" because it conjurs that image to me! By using really large scale for most of your background pieces, it can give that kind of look!

I just started this one 3 days ago and doing 12 blocks a day, I can finish this quilt in 10 days! I chain-sew 2 blocks at a time that have been prepped with corners trimmed and it takes 5 minutes total! It's my own pattern and it's been on the bucket list for 4 years. My first block produced a 'squarish' looking bullseye so I decided to go with this boxy bullseye since I've not seen anything like it anywhere!
I love the way my pattern produces little to no waste! That's unlike most Bullseye patterns where you start with cutting really large circles and end up with lots of leftovers! Then they quarter the blocks so you end up having to scatter those 4 blocks that are identical. With my pattern, you can do it the charm way using up lots of smaller scraps! A charm quilt, for those who don't already know, is a quilt where no fabric is repeated. Plus, you don't have to match anything in this quilt except the seam of the center circle where the 4 blocks join.

Because this quilt is raw edge, you don't really need to be concerned about the circles meeting right as it will all get frayed. And if you're really in a hurry to make this quilt, you can skip the part of cutting the backside out and just leaving the fabric in and eliminating the batting! You could also do each block a QAYG which would make it a faster quilt yet!

I've provided templates but you can make your own to save printing out templates. Simply cut the paper or cardboard stock into the size squares you want and then round off one corner by sketching your line and then cutting it out. You can make an elongated line to give it a 'circle' appearance or you can make it boxy like mine! By the way, you don't have to be precise about these circles as it all gets frayed!

My quarter block pattern produces an 11" block so 30 blocks = 55x66 quilt + border + binding so this will make a fairly large size quilt! I have 21 more 4P's to make or 84 more blocks. I just couldn't wait to do a tut for you so here's the pics of its early stage, but we can see now it's going to be a lively quilt!

Have fun with your Boxy Bullseye! Here comes the self-explanatory tut!:)

and the rest of the tut:

and here is more of the tut:

and some more of the tut:

Good afternoon! What an interesting and cleverly done block. Thank you.:) Blessings to you!

Super job! It gives me courage to try curves! Thank you so much! (Beautiful quilt too!)

I am going to try this one. Looks like fun. Thanks!

Thanks everyone so much! You know my camera just doesn't justify this quilt very well. It's so pretty in person. I just took a pic of a close up for you to see. Most of my circles met very nicely, but the one in this block didn't. It just adds to the appeal of the quilt when it's off a little. After washing, it should really look nice! Anyway, I took a pic of this block so you can see how I used the deer antlers in this block along with the big pansy and the vintage piece of the girl's long legs and feet to show you this is what you should aim for to get a busy looking quilt! It does make it more exciting for the center circle. I'll probably use her face somewhere else in the quilt! I'll be sure and post pics when I get done with this Bullseye! It will be fun to see what you guys come up with it!! I'm looking forward to seeing your quilts! Happy quilting! n2:)

Here's the pic; it's titled 'aim for busy fabrics'

Thanks for the inspiration!

Thanks, Linda! Yes, it is cleverly done as most Bullseye quilts are done in the reverse of the way I did mine! They start with the center block and I start mine from the outside edge working inward! I just took a better pic so everyone can see how really lively it is! My camera merged reds, pinks and oranges in the first pic! lol.:)

Wow, your latest photo sure shows the color better. Even cooler. Thanks. It could be used to make an I spy type of quilt for kids.

Yes, some kid is going to be happy with this quilt!! I will continue using the novelty prints in the centers for a fun quilt for a kid, teen or adult! One of the prints has garden seed packets that says, Pansy, Sunflower and Basil! I will have fun digging thru the stash for some fun fabrics. No telling what I'll find!! :)

Thank you, Pinkiris! Yes, I sure will post a pic after it's all washed and raggy as I can't wait to see it myself!

For everyone else, I forgot to mention that this quilt is not just limited to a circle shape!! Yes, you can make it a star shape, hexagon, circle, boxy circle, or even just squares or tilt the squares and you'll have a wonky square bullseye!!

I drew a pic of my pattern for a Hexagon Bullseye since I was considering it, but will draw a pattern in Paints for those who might be interested and post it here soon. My pen and ink drawing is not too suitable for download since it was a draft. It would, of course, have to be PP. Will post that pattern for whoever may want it. Thanks again, Pinkiris and am so glad you love my quilt! :thumbup:

Ok, I went to Paints and drew my pattern for the hexie bullseye and you can see how the hexie appears when the 4 blocks come together. Drawing with a comp mouse is not my ideal way to draw, but I think you can see how it will look from my drawing. This would have to be PP for it to come out hexie shaped, but would be very nice in a mini size! [ATTACH=CONFIG]368312[/ATTACH]
Hexie Bullseye Pattern

First, let me say that your tutorial is done very nicely. It is easy to use and understand. I love it. I did one using circles but it had a very different layout, http://www.quiltingboard.com/picture...t-t185454.html . Now, here is my question. Why couldn't you do one just using squares without cutting off the corners, using either layout? As I looked at the pictute of your blocks, this thought came to me and I wanted another opinion.

You are a very talented and kind to share the tutorial. Thanks for sharing

You can also just cut a square then 3 circles in decreasing sizes and sew circles on square( around the circles)...then just cut the sewn square into 1/4ths (down sewn square then across the square.)You will have 4 pieces and then mix up all the segments and sew together.

That is what I did in the above post where I showed a different kind of scrappy but I didn't put them back into circles when I was done. It is time consuming but turns out real nice, I think.

Love it ou went to a lot of work producing the templates, measurements, ect.....
Mariah

Thank you, Twinkie, for your nice compliments! I love your quilt and that layout you did is one of my favorites! I almost started to lay my blocks that way but because I've wanted a circle type bullseye for so long that I just decided I would do one of those types later. It's the same layout as you would do with the Fan block and then it's called "Snake in the Hollow" pattern! But of course, you turned it into an ever larger design pattern by the way you did your blocks. I see you missed my earlier comment to someone on this thread, so I'll repost it here in answer to your
question of leaving the squares whole:

For everyone else, I forgot to mention that this quilt is not just limited to a circle shape!! Yes, you can make it a star shape, hexagon, circle, boxy circle, or even just squares or tilt the squares and you'll have a wonky square bullseye!!

Wtg, Twinkie, for thinking about that idea too! I like it and it too would make a great looking scrappy!

My method of doing quarter blocks cuts down on the possibility of getting puckers in the circle like you would get doing the whole circle at once! Plus, I love the fact that there's so little waste of material with my method! Also, I love the fact you don't end up with 4 identical quarter blocks you get from starting with whole circles and then dissecting the blocks and then having to scatter them throughout the quilt so they don't meet up with one another.

Also, this is a good time to tell others about dissecting the Bullseye blocks! If you are making the original Bullseye by cutting out whole circles, there are several ways the blocks are cut. Besides the horizontal/vertical cuts of the 4 qtrs., you can also dissect the block diagonally to get very large pie-shaped wedges. Then you would sew join the longest side of the block to another, where the circles are back-to-back from one another!

Another great thing about these qtr. blocks are the many different layouts you can get from different looks! I realized yesterday I had sewn all my blocks into 4P's before laying them out in a "Snake in the Hollow" pattern to take pics of for the tut. Well, I will do that layout for everyone with my next set of 9 4P's! I really love that look and it looks great with busy scraps!

Also, besides doing a square type Bullseye, I also gave a demo on doing a Hexagon Bullseye! Btw, everyone PLEASE NOTE THAT I WAS WRONG ABOUT THE HEXAGON HAVING TO BE PP. This is not so! I don't know what I was thinking of when I said that but guess I forgot about this quilt being raw edge and it would be VERY EASY to do a Hexagon Bullseye!! NO PP NECESSARY! Also, I was trying to figure out how I would do a star shape and I will come up with a pattern and post the pattern pieces for anyone wanting to do that one! That would look great in scraps!!

Well, thanks Twinkie for your great question! It sure opened Pandora's Box for us as we'll be exploring other shapes for the Bullseye block! :)

p.s. Also, thanks for providing your link and sharing your quilt with us!!

Yes! What quilting nurse just described is the way a typical Bullseye block is made. My preference is to make the quarter block first so that I can use lots of smaller scraps of 3" - 4".

Thanks, Mariah! So glad you like my quilt so far! :)

I found some links for those of you who want to see some samples and layouts:

Here's what a Hexagon Bullseye will look like:
http://www.quilterbydesign.com/MeetT...nBullseye.html

here's what it looks like frayed:
http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/...39363494fmLkVU

Scroll down the page to see this Bullseye w/black background
http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2...ilt-posts.html

Here's one w/the blocks laid in a flower shape:
http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/...51882581eTKgSp

So you see there are many ways to lay this block out!! I even saw a serpentine Bullseye so have fun playing with your layouts! :)

Thank you for sharing your technique with us.

Beautiful ! I love scrappy quilts! Great links too . thanks.

Really cute!!! I love your scrappies!

Thanks everybody sooo much!! In trying to get some links for you yesterday, I got attacked w/6 threats, lost everything in my C drive, all pics, everything, but it's no big deal! It's all restored now, PTL!

I have a great star shape I want to post the pattern for you will love. I drew lots of star shapes yesterday in trying to come up with something nice and think I have it. Will get that posted soon!!

At this link, you can see a pic of a star-shaped Bullseye. It's quite different looking, so my pattern will be built around something similar to this Fons & Porter design. This is just a 1/2 block pattern, but I will come up with something similar because I can't wait to try this one too! haha!!

http://artquiltmaker.com/blog/2011/0...ing-triangles/

After drawing many qtr. blocks yesterday of star shapes, I realize something like the Twirling Triangles pattern above must be achieved because what happens when you draw star shapes in a quarter block, it becomes like a Hexagon Bullseye unless the segments are broken down. So that's what I'll be working toward and hopefully, we'll have a nice Starry Bullseye pattern soon!!#@!#$%!!!

Oh, this one is going to be cute, fun and yes, we want this to be easy! We may even do a PP raw-edged one!! Whoa, I don't think anyone has ever done that one before! It'll be interesting what we achieve!!!

You know me.....I can't rest until we get this one developed and in gear!! lol.:hunf:

Ok, I just decided to take my drawing to Paints and put my ideas to work there and came up with an EASY way to do a starry bullseye WITHOUT PP. This idea was from one of my blocks I hand-drew yesterday on paper of 2 prongs of the star (which will make it easy) in a quarter block! Then I went to Paints and duplicated my idea there. I didn't exactly get it all perfect in Paints, but it's good enough you can see how it will look when the 4 blocks merge.

In looking at my drawing, you can see that the largest fabric, pattern "A", will go down first on top of the fdn. piece and then you'll add "B" and it'll make a star shape that will be faster and easier than the Twirling Triangle pattern of Fons and Porter. Also, "A" will be all one piece and not like it appears in the drawing to be separated. I will then be working on getting your separate pattern pieces to download. Here's the drawing.

This is much easier than 3 templates like Twirling Triangles and better than a 6-pointed star and having to match all those points in Twirling Triangles. I think this will work great showing a very large scale print in the background of "A" and mixed with something opposite in pattern "B" or vice versa! I can see how it will be exciting if you use "B" for merging large florals, stripes, checks, plaids with a near-solid in your "A" pattern that will look fantastic when the 4 blocks merge!

Ok, I just finished making the templates!

While working on my quilt, I decided to stop and do a sample block for you of the Starry Bullseye. Both templates were cut from a 4.5" square and the foundation is 5". I do like at least 1.5" of the foundation to show from the edge of the pattern. This was really easy with only 2 pcs. and the dark showing under the pink is not from the floral but the teal background. The navy floral was cut away from the back the same as the Boxy Bullseye is done. here's the pic: (you can see how this would be a good scrappy too!) :)

Some have been asking me about the fraying of this project so I have been doing some research to find the ins and outs on fraying. So I made a collection of a few links for all those wanting to know how to fray, how to do a rag quilt, etc. and there's not alot out there about fraying a Bullseye quilt or fraying within the block.

I did discover that you don't have to snip the fabric perpendicular to the quilt that you can snip at an angle or vertically. My seams are 1/4" from the edge so there won't be much fraying. I believe I instinctively knew to do this as I didn't want a deep ruffle of fluffiness. hahaha. These are small circles so a deep fluff is out of the question. haha.

For all you newbies who may be interested, here are the links and info: (btw, I've made 27 blocks in the past 2 days! That means in 5 days I'll be through with the last 14 4P's if I keep up doing 12 blocks/day. I'll be posting some pics soon as it becomes more lively looking each day I do some! I've put in alot of ISpy which I love and I want to show you some close-ups and also a busy block or two. This may help you when you merge different fabs together so you can see how I do this and using solids with help give the eyes a break from viewing the mishmash of different types of fabrics!

Here's the info:

Here's an article from about.com showing how to clip to fray a rag quilt:
REMEMBER THIS: The wider your seam, the more your quilt will fray and produce the fluffiness you might want.

http://quilting.about.com/od/ragquil...lt_basic_3.htm
Now for some great tips on rag quilts here:
http://www.how-to-quilt.com/articles...g-quilting.php
This excerpt is from ezinearticles:
Completing your rag quilt will take a little patience once all the sewing is complete. To "rag" your quilt pattern, you will need to clip the seams.
Clip straight down the seam (perpendicular to the stitches). You will need to make these cuts about every quarter of an inch. Your hand will get tired! To avoid hand cramps and blisters on your cutting fingers, you might like to use a pair of spring loaded scissors as you complete your rag quilt patterns. Spring loaded scissors automatically pop open after each snip has been made. They also usually are made so they are held on the outside, rather than putting your fingers inside scissor holes. If you don't already have a good, sharp pair, expect to pay $15 or more. If you plan to do much rag quilting in the future, it might be a good investment!
Once you seams are snipped all around your rag quilt, throw it in the washer on a delicate cycle. It's not necessary to add soap, but it's okay if you do choose to do so. After the wash cycle, give your rag quilt a double check to make sure you've snipped all of the seam allowances. If you find a place you've missed, this is the time to add snips. Once you are satisfied with the snipping, toss the quilt into your drier. Once it's dried, your rag quilt will be complete!
Penny Halgren is a quilter of more than 27 years who enjoys sharing her knowledge of quilting with those who would like to learn how to quilt. Sign up for a free newsletter, quilting tips and quilt block patterns at http://www.How-to-Quilt.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Penny_Halgren

With the blocks I've made recently, I decided to give you some pics of another layout. It's the Snake in the Hollow pattern and I love this layout. I show 2 different directions, but of course you could turn the blocks any way that you'd like.

For some reasons, the pics are blurry but I'll show some close-ups of some ISpy I've recently included. Here are the pics:

This looks like a lot of fun to do. thanks!!

Love your quilt. It's been added to my "to do list".

I'm having a ball with this one!! I'm throwing everything in but the kitchen sink!! haha! It should look like a wreck when I'm done with it!! :shock::D:p

N2, the blocks are looking great! I like the eye spy fabrics in there too. Okay when are you going to have it done to show us?lol I like the snake lay out as well.:thumbup: Isn't it fun to see all the fabrics together and look at each one?

I will be all finished with it on Monday!!! Yes!! I have 19 4P's done and tonight I'll do 12, Sat. 12, Sun. 12 and Monday I'll have 8 left! All 120 blocks finished! I have 11 4P's left, or 44 more blocks (or maybe I'll be done before Mon.!!)

Loving the snake layout too!! Will have to start another one sometime! Yes, I love the ISpy in there and have found the cutest blocks. One little puppy has deer antlers on his head! So cute! And I've put a red giraffe in, a vintage girl and there's a deer standing in the woods, a Harley Davidson front wheel, cowboys and Indians, horses, an Indian girl, cowboy boots, teddy bears inside a Xmas. stocking and so much more!! There's an interesting bird whose face got caught in the corner and a huge bird at that. Yes, it is so much fun looking at all the different fabrics and I'm turning their faces every which way so that some kid will really enjoy trying to hunt for them!

You would never know all those things were in there if I hadn't told you! From a distance, it's hard to see any of them! Well, this is such a fun quilt and I'm having fun finding interesting combinations of fabrics to merge together! More pics to come -- hopefully Monday!!

Thanks sewbeadit!! It is great receiving feedback to know it's looking ok so far!:thumbup:Stay tuned!:D