Block 16-The Pail

Happy Thanksgiving to all! It is quite cold in upstate NY this week. I am enjoying a fire in the fireplace tonight while I work on another block. Today I took advantage of a great sale and got my border fabric for this quilt! The local shop, Ivy Thimble, is moving in a couple of weeks so they had a great pre-move sale today-30% off! I still need to take pictures of it, so I will post that soon.  In the meantime, here is block 16.

Mildred's block

Block 16-the Pail   

The alphabet quilt was surely coming on. Here the club members where already at the letter P.

Nancy might have chosen Pansy or Puppet, but she was not sure that little children would know what these things were. Where is there a child that has not played with a pail and shovel? Joan counted this one of her favorites out of all the blocks Aunt Nancy had made for her. Possibly this was because the pail was made out of a blue figured print. So far there had been little blue in the quilt. That made the pail more interesting and noteworthy.

A solid color might be used for the pail and then an entirely different color for the handle of the pail and the shovel.

Nancy’s continued caution was this-be sure the material is fast color. One would hate to do all that work and then have the block fade and run when washed.

**instructions continue here on preparing the cardboard pattern and embroidering the letter**

When the paper pattern was dry the handle of the pail was cut out first. Then the pail was cut and then the shovel handle. The bail of the handle is made with outline stitches later and is disregarded in cutting the pattern.  The three pieces are laid on fast color cloth and used as a pattern to cut the cloth. In cutting, a quarter inch allowance for turning under is made on all sides.

The cloth pail itself is cut so if there were no handle cut out of it. Later the handle is appliquéd right over the pail.

After the quarter inch allowance is turned under, basted and pressed the pail is is laid in place on the penciled out line of the white block.

It is appliquéd in place using fine, slanting invisible hemming stitches. At the top a space is left to slip under the raw edge of the shovel handle. This is appliquéd in place. The pail handle is appliquéd.

Then a fast color embroidery cotton in brown is used to indicate the bail of the handle. Use outline stitch in working this.

Joan began to murmur, “She sells sea shells.” When she had been at the sea shore on her summer outing she had industriously hunted shells to fill her pail. This block brought the whole thing back to mind. 

Click here for the pattern

Happy stitching until next time!