W.i.P. Wednesday: Setting Sail

One of my goals for this year was to use up all the precut collections I've got hanging around in my studio.  While I like them in concept I find them really hard to work with.  Still I couldn't resist this Boat House collection by Sweetwater and when I stumbled across this Sloops pattern on Pinterest I knew it was meant to be.

While this pattern is layer cake friendly the instructions are not.  There are also no cutting instructions included for the blocks.  I'm really glad I took the time to make a test block to verify my cutting plan before I started chopping up my layer cake.  Here are my suggestions if you decide to make this quilt for yourself.

From your background fabric cut 39 of the following:

   Piece 3 - 6 1/2" x 5 1/2"
   Piece 5 - 1 1/2" x 4 1/2"
   Piece 8 - 8 1/4" x 5 1/4"
   Pieces 10 & 11 - 4" x 2 1/2" (for a total of 78)

From you layer cake cut 39 of the following: (I did these in stacks of 5)
   Piece 9 - 2 3/4" x 10"
   Piece 6 - 7 1/4" x 1"
   Piece 7 - 7 1/4" x 4 1/2"

For your first block you will also need to cut 1:
   Piece 1 - 3" x 2" from print
   Piece 4 - 5 1/2" x 3" from a different print
   Piece 2- 2 1/2" x 4" from background

You don't need to cut all 39 of these pieces because you will be able to use trimmings from your blocks for these pieces.

When you trim after adding piece 5 you will be left with a triangle that is perfect for future flags.

Also, the piece remaining after you trim piece 8 is exactly the right size for another smaller flag 4.

Finally, when you trim your final block you will be left with background triangles that will fit in piece 2.  I do find pieces 2 and 3 to be the most awkward to sew.  Once you get past those the block is a breeze.

I have to admit I'm not usually a fan of the revolving rotary mat but for squaring up these blocks it's a life saver!

I'm making progress but the depressing thing about paper piecing is once you've done a few you have a pretty good idea how long it takes to make each block.  These average about 30 minutes a piece so I'm looking at 15 more hours of sailboat construction.  I see a movie marathon in my future:-)

Better late than never, linking up with this week's W.i.P. Wednesday:-)