Blogger's Block of the Month, it's my turn!

I was delighted when Jackie (Canton Village Quiltworks) invited me to be one of the designers for her Blogger's Block of the Month program. It's not to late for you to join in too because it's only the second month! You can find the first block here.

I'm happy to present the second block:

Now, let's make it. The block finishes to 8.5" square (8" in your quilt)

Just to give you a different construction method, we are going to construction this one without cutting half square triangles. There's more waste with this method but it's a good method to know and the cutting is very simple.

You need 5 fabrics although D and E could be made with the same fabric.

Cut:

A - 12 - 2 1/2" squares for the background 

B - 4 - 2 1/2" x 4. 1/2" rectangles 

C - 4 - 2 1/2" squares

D - 2 - 2 1/2" squares

E - 2 - 2 1/2" squares

Step 1 - Make 4:

1. Match A and C right sides together and draw a pencil line diagonally through the middle of the square

2. Stitch on the pencil line and then trim one side to 1/4" seal allowance

3. Press the seam. I pressed all seams open for this block. Press to your own preferences.

Step 2 - Make 4:

1. Position square A right sides together on the right edge of B and draw a diagonal line through the middle of A. The orientation of the piece and the line is important so make sure yours looks exactly like the photo.

2. Stitch on the pencil line and then trim one side to 1/4" seal allowance

3. Press the seam.

Step 3 - Make 2 with D and 2 with E:

1. Again, orientation is important here. Place D or E right sides together on the rectangle. Make absolutely sure that the pieces are aligned exactly like they are in the photo. Draw a line diaginally through the middle of the square. The line is drawn from the lower left corner to the upper right corner of the square.

2. Stitch on the pencil line and then trim one side to 1/4" seal allowance

3. Press the seam.

Step 4 - Make 4:

1. Position the half-square triangle block from Step 1 right sides together with A. Make sure the diagonal seam is aligned exactly like the photo and sew a 1/4" seam on the right side.

2. Make sure your piece looks like this when opened and press the seam.

Step 5 - Make 4:

Using the pieces from Steps 3 and 4 sew then together as shown in the photo. There's only one point to match on this step where the 2 diagonal seams meet on the right side. If you don't get them perfect don't sweat it! If you want to get perfectly matched points you might find this method helpful to you.

Step 6:

Arrange the 4 blocks so that the D & E pieces are diagonally opposite. Sew them together like you would any other 4-patch. Again, the matching points tutorial may help you with this step. But unmatched points are not a problem on this block.

Here are my blocks. Since the blocks are only 8" when finished in the quilt, I decided to do 2 of each design. The new ones are on the right. You can see that I did one with D & E as different fabrics and one with them using the same fabric. I like it both ways. You can also make this block by totally eliminating D & E for a 3rd look and simpler construction. When you block is done be sure to share it in the Flickr group.

 

 

 

Comments

[Debbe]

I'm this months BOM flunky... I can't get my HST's to work for the life of me. they came out way too small. Everything else is perfect though? Thoughts suggestions?

[Susannah]

Made the block... Thank you for the lovely star!

[quiltdivajulie]

Gotta try this method ... need to make bunches of stars for a scrappy border ... PERFECT test scenario!

THANKS!!

[Kim]

Love this block. I might have to start another BOM.