Quilt as You Go Schoolhouse by Kathy Hansen 10/25/25

Kathy Hansen describes her Quilt As You Go Class as a flexible quilting technique that is fast, fun and scrap friendly. There are many variations to this technique which we will discuss in class, but I will show you how to strip piece and quilt at the same time. When your four blocks are completed, we will attach them with sashing on the front and back of the quilt. Voila, a completed 4 block quilt ready to bind.

We will make strip quilt blocks in class, but this technique can be used with any block, and even borders can be attached with the sashing. The back can be one fabric, or a variety of coordinating fabrics can be used to make a reversible quilt. You may choose to keep adding blocks to make a larger quilt. The strip placement can be random or organized to form a pattern. This technique can be personalized in many ways.

Things to consider:

1. The size you want this quilt to be. The 4 blocks can be bound as a small wall hanging/table topper or be the beginning of a larger
2. The back pieces can be the same on all the blocks, or they can be random fabrics.
3. If you choose to make more than the four blocks, you will need more of the sashing fabric. The sashing fabric requires more yardage than expected, as there are pieces on the top and bottom.
4. You can make your blocks random or use the same fabrics in each block to form a You can even make a portion of the block a single piece of fabric.
5. Adding quilting on the top of a finished block adds more interest, and it is a good opportunity to use the decorative stitches on your sewing machine.

Supplies:

Fabrics:

Enough strips, at least six inches long and any width, precut or cut before coming to class, to make four blocks 12 1/2 inches square. I use mostly 2 1/2-inch strips, and a jelly roll can be used.

1/2 yard of a sashing fabric. We will cut the sashing in class

4 -13 1/2 inches squares of batting

4 -13 1/2-inch squares of backing, all the same or a variety of fabrics

You will also need:

Sewing machine

Rotary cutter, mat,

Rulers, one to cut sashing, and a 12 1/2 inch ruler if you have one Thread, and quilting thread if you want to add quilting

Seam ripper, pins, scissors

Other sewing tools you regularly use