I was in the middle of working on my Starry Plaid quilt in response to the Project Quilting Scads of Plaid prompt when the Round 1 prompt for the 2026 Stay At Home Round Robin (SAHRR) was announced by Brenda of Songbird Designs last Wednesday. Brenda chose the hourglass block for us to work with for Round 1, which I think is a wonderful prompt!
After finishing up Starry Plaid, I spent quite a bit of time trying to see if there was a way I could modify the hourglass block to use curves. And while, yes, that is certainly possible, I just didn’t love the way the curved hourglass blocks worked in conjunction with my center block. No problem, back to the drawing board!
Round 1 Hourglass Concept
In the end, I decided that traditional hourglass blocks put on the sides of my center were the right choice. My plan is to use the next round to add to the top and bottom, but with slightly larger blocks so that I can transition from a square center out to a rectangular finish. At least, that’s the current idea. We’ll see how tomorrow’s prompt plays into that thought.
In order to use all of the prints from the center block, I will be adding coping borders around the center to bring it up to 28″ finished and then making 4″ finished hourglass blocks.
Round 1 (Hourglass) Progress
All the pieces are ready to sew to the center block, but since I knew I’d be playing catch up after Project Quilting, my plan is to verify my first two rounds of piecing before sewing them all together. Also – it bothers me that the lime green directional prints in the hourglass on the lower right are running opposite of how I oriented them in the center block and for the hourglass on the left. So, by waiting just a bit longer, I’ll probably be making another hourglass block to swap in to that location.
I’m looking forward to seeing what Kathleen prompts us to use for Round 2 tomorrow!
I was wondering how you would use this border, and I like what you have done! I never would’ve noticed that orientation if you hadn’t mentioned it, but I understand the need to fix it because you know it’s there, right? Anyway, nice work!
I really like your direction with this prompt. The traditional blocks make your curved blocks really be a focus
Okay, so the other night I was wondering if you were going to try to “curve” the center seams to make a block that would harmonize with the lines of your center. But I really like your iteration here, so no curved seams needed! It’s so light and bright and airy and is on its way to being a beautiful quilt!
It’s looking good! Sometimes it’s good to start a prompt but hang back to see the next one and then the quilt might ‘flow’ better. I get what you mean about the lime print and I’ve learned if something irritates me, it’s best to take it out and re-do before continuing. And something that struck me, probably because of me flipping my rows of QSTs: have you thought of flipping one side so it goes from lime to orange (top to bottom?) I mean who knows with whatever Kathleen dreams up.
I remember my mom telling me about the Amish including an upside down block on purpose because “only God is perfect.” Sometimes that philosophy works for me and other times my need my order wins out. Your SAHRR project is looking mighty fine!
Nice borders from the first prompt. The fade from dark to light works too. Looking forward to seeing what you do with this weeks prompt.
Great job on the hourglass. I can see your temptation to use the curved seams, but it is fun to see the curve and straight mixed. I like the coping borders too, and was intrigued by what Sandra saw. This is so fun to watch!