Cherry Tree Lane Quilt Along – Week 1 Lamppost Quilt Blocks
The Cherry Tree Lane Quilt Along has officially begun, and this week we’re starting with the lamppost quilt blocks. These charming blocks frame the quilt and help create the storybook street scene around the panel.
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For Week 1, we’re making eight lamppost blocks, and I’m happy to report that these are a great way to ease into the quilt along. The construction is straightforward and beginner friendly, using mostly strip piecing and stitch-and-flip corners.
Lamppost Quilt Block Overview
The lamppost blocks are tall, narrow blocks that add vertical movement to the quilt layout. Once finished, they help create the feeling of a whimsical street scene surrounding the Cherry Tree Lane panel.
Because the blocks are repeated several times in the quilt, they’re a great opportunity to use efficient piecing methods.
For this set of blocks, I made eight total lamppost blocks.
Strip Piecing for Faster Sewing
One of the things I appreciated most about this block was how efficiently it could be sewn using strip piecing.
Rather than sewing small pieces together one at a time, I first sewed the required fabrics together into long strip sets using the widths listed in the pattern. Once the strips were sewn together, I pressed the seams open as directed.
From there, I simply sub-cut the strip sets into the exact sizes needed for the block units.
This method makes the process much faster and keeps your pieces consistent.
Chain Piecing the Block Units
Since several of the units repeat across the eight blocks, chain piecing made the sewing process even smoother.
Instead of starting and stopping for each unit, I fed one piece after another through the machine. This saves thread, keeps everything organized, and speeds things up quite a bit when making multiple blocks.
If you’re making all eight lamppost blocks at once like I did, chain piecing is definitely the way to go.
Stitch and Flip Corners
The only other technique used in this block is stitch and flip corners.
These are used on the bottom of the lamps to create the angled shape of the light fixture. If you’ve done stitch-and-flip corners before, these will feel very familiar.
Simply place the small square in the corner of the unit, sew diagonally across the square, trim away the excess fabric, and press the corner open.
It’s a simple technique but adds a nice bit of shaping to the lamp detail. Diagonal seam tape comes in handy here so you don’t have to draw any diagonal lines to follow, you simply use the tape lines as a guide.
Week 1 Progress – Cherry Tree Lane Panel Quilt Along
With the strip piecing, chain piecing, and stitch-and-flip corners combined, these blocks came together quickly.
After a little time at the sewing machine, I had all eight lamppost blocks finished and ready for the next stage of the quilt.
These blocks are a great start to the quilt along and set the stage for the rest of the design.
Coming Up Next
Next week in the Cherry Tree Lane Quilt Along we’ll move on to the House 1 blocks, where we’ll begin building some of the charming houses that surround the panel.
Be sure to check back next Tuesday for the next step in the quilt along.
