Fence Rail blocks made

As you know yesterday I attended the first beginners quilt class so I could update my cutting and measuring techniques for quilt making. The first block we made is the Fence Rail or Rail Fence, this is one of my favorite blocks when wanting to make up a quick quilt.

These are the first blocks I made yesterday we first cut our strips down to 6.5" and then sewed them together using a method called chain piecing, and yes I did sew the block on the bottom different from the other two it was planned.

The next block we made we just sewed the long strips together and then I guess we will be cutting them into 6.5" blocks as well, we didn't get that far.

For homework we need to make the third set of fence rail blocks for next weeks class. Here is a look at both side by side.

I chose these fabrics for the neutral color and the nature prints, there are bare trees, leaves, butterflies, and the hexagon print because it looks to me like a honeycomb.

From just one class I learned a few new things that will become invaluable to me for future quilt making: 1 cutting strips is a fast and more precise method to cutting. 2 Pressing out seams correctly make a difference in measurement. And the ever valuable measure twice cut once is not just a cute quilter's phrase.

One thing I want to do is mark my machine with a line for a 1/4" for the seam allowance, yesterday I used a ruler to gauge where it was and I stitched slowly to keep everything straight and as luck held out my blocks all came out 6.5" square and when I line up my three loose blocks all the seams match. I could trace a 1/4" seam line on the fabric but that will eat up my time.

The 3 hour class went by quickly, Sally our instructor is a wealth of knowledge, a patient and articulate teacher and I know I will learn much from her class. There are 10 of us attending the class, we introduced ourselves, shared our reasons for taking the class which was as varied as our fabrics, let me say the fabrics my classmates each chose are colorful and will make for some very stunning quilts.  In closing I know I made the right decision to take this class and can't wait till next Friday's class.
Updated later in the day: While buying a OTT Lite today I found a 1/4" piecing foot for my sewing machine at Joann's I believe this may solve my problem. Oh not only was the Ott lite 50% off I had an additional 30% off my total purchase gift card woo hoo.