Why Is The R Blue?

Judy and Lynda wanted to know why I didn't put the A in the Diagonals group of letters.  I bet they are also wondering why I put the R in the Blue group, and not the Center Block (Purple) or Diagonals (Green) group.

Remember, the groups are based on how the letters are MADE, or how they are constructed, not how they LOOK. 

When I make my R's, I don't start with a center block, and if I started with the diagonal strip, I'd never get the letter R the right size.

If you make an R this way, you can more successfully control it's finished size. Sure, you could put the R with the purples or the greens, but like the song says, "It's my party and I'll cry if I want to."

Why The A Isn't Green

 Jean and Lynda want to know why my A isn't in the Diagonals group of letters (the green ones).

 After all, it is primarily diagonals.

My groups aren't determined by how the letters LOOK when they are sewn together.  They are grouped by the way they are MADE.

When you make an uppercase A, do you start with a diagonal and then sew something to it?

You do not.

You start with a strip of letter fabric and sew a piece of background fabric to each side.

Then you sew the diagonal strips to form the letter A.

You can see a lot more A's here, and they were all constructed the same way.

Four Rows

I'm a visual learner.  I'm teaching the letters class next week, and this will be what I show my students. Free piecing is hard enough to wrap your head around without trying to figure out how to put letters together.  I think organizing the letters this way helps a lot. It's kind of a shortcut to get started.

I still have to add the pink letters, (G, J, K, M, Q) in a column on the right.

Part Four Quiz Answer

 This is what these four letters have in common...

The construction of each is based on a strip pair of the letter and the background fabric.

Quiz, Part Four

Here we go again!

Can you figure out what is common about these letters, aside from their color and height?

Quiz, Part Three

What do these letters have in common, aside from their color and height?

Quiz Answers

I answered the first quiz in the comments, but not everyone saw it, so I am putting the answers here.

Quiz Number One: What do these letters have in common?

Answer: These letters are all based on Diagonals.


Quiz Two: What do these have in common?

Answer: They are all constructed around a center piece of background fabric. These are among the easiest letters to make.