Patches of Blue Quilt Along – Block 9 First Flakes

September is here, sunflowers are in full bloom, and it’s time for our next Quilt-A-Long Block!

For block 9, I have chosen a star from our “First Flakes” quilt in the Patches of Blue book.

We have had so much fun over the last nine months making blocks – some easy, some more difficult, and I can’t wait to walk through the gate with you again this month!

“First Flakes” is on page 38 in our Patches of Blue book.  For this block I recommend: 3 blue 10″ squares 1 blue 12″ square 2 light 10″ squares 1 light 1/2 yard

Start with the blue 10″ square and cut H for center of the star.

From another blue 10″ square, cut triangle E for the star points.

From blue 12″ square cut 4 half square triangles D, 8 diamonds F, and 4 squares G.

From light 1/2 yard of background fabric cut; 4 triangles A  and 4 squares B (use templates on page 42).

From light 10″ square cut 16 half square triangles C.

From the remaining light and blue 10″ squares make 32 half square triangle units (HST) using our LBQ-0528-X 1-1/2″ finished size half-square triangle paper.

Now lets lay the block out to check how the colors play with each other. If you love it, you are ready to sew.

Lay HST in the rows.

Sew them together and check the length, it should be 4-3/4″.

Add 2 light triangles C and one blue triangle D.

Sew and press, you need make 4 “sets” for a block.

Next, we will add pre-sewn sets to background triangle A.

I pin everything in place to insure that all the seams are aligned.

Don’t forget to stop and leave an open seam at the ends to set pieces in later.

Next we will add blue triangle E to this unit. Center up the triangle and pin in place.

So far I have finger-pressed all of the seams. We want to be very careful to not stretch the pieces as we are assembling the block. Repeat to make 4 of those units before moving to the next step.

Next, we will line diamond F, triangle C, 1-1/2″ HST and square G.

Sew pieces together.

Notice how I place my diamond on the previous piece.

It is important to overlap the point in the bottom…

And at the top.

We will make 4 “sets”.

Once completed lets sew them to square B.

Notice how I position my piece: The tip of my diamond is going to overlap the square and the bottom will match.

Push the seam allowance towards the square.

And remember to pin.

Repeat to make 4 units total, one for each corner of the block.

Lay out your block using center blue square H and pre-sewn units.

Once side units are sewn…

finishing sewing background triangle A.

I use lots of pins to make sure all my pieces stay lined up.

Once the block is complete, press with iron.

This may be my very favorite block, I love the 22-1/2″ unfinished size.

Its points make it beautiful but also a little difficult at times.

Do not give up!

My advice is PIN, PIN, PIN!

If you would like, make another block to practice the skills you learned making this one. You can use it as I did to make a beautiful pillow that would go with any quilt like our new Alaska quilt.

Thank you so much for taking the time out of your day and joining our Quilt-A-Long. I hope that with every block you are learning and enjoying something fun and new. Your blocks have been beautiful and I love seeing them, not every block is simple but I am so proud that you do not give up!

Happy Quilting Edyta

If you would like to download a PDF version of this Quilt-Along Block 9 – click here!

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Patches of Blue Quilt Along – Block 8 Shining Star

Last few weeks I was blessed to visit my Mom in Poland and take in some simple beauty of the surroundings.

In the middle of the summer, everything seems to be bursting with color, especially at Zalipie, a little painted village that we stopped at.

I was smittered by some of the paint combinations chosen by these local folk artists for their homes.

I just wanted to peek inside,

and experience their creations.

Where your house becomes a canvas,

from every angle.

This was one of my favorites, I was really drawn to the shades of blue.

I couldn’t help but imagine some of my “Patches of Blue” quilts resting on the beds or laundry lines of that little painted village.

As I was daydreaming, my thoughts drifted to the next block of our “Patches of Blue” Quilt Along.

Shining Star is our block number 8 in the Patches of Blue Quilt Along.

You can find the detailed directions on page 90 of the “Patches of Blue” book. I’m digging down to the bottom of my scrap basket to find fabrics for this block. The goal is to continue using the same fabrics through all of our blocks so the finished quilt looks cohesive.

We will be selecting 8 blues and 8 lights for this Shining Star block. For the background you will need 1 fat quarter light fabric, I love this piece from Something Blue.

In the book, directions call for 22″ strips, to make the block even scrappier I will be using twice as many strips cutting them 11″ long.

From the blues, cut 8 small 11″ long strips and 8 large 11″ long strips.

From the lights, cut 8 small 11″ long strips and 8 large 11″ long strips. Notice that if my fabrics were not long enough, I sewed short strips together then cut to 11″. Now we’re really getting scrappy!

Cut large background fabrics into 4 quarter square triangles and 4 squares.

Time to sew your strips into sets – remember to offset your fabric strips as shown above so later your ruler will align well at a 45-degree angle to cut diamond units.

Sew a total of 8 strips sets together – 4 with a large light strip in the middle and 4 with a large dark strip in the middle. Press seams open.

Align 45-degree angle on you ruler to strip sets and cut as outlined in the book.

From 4 light middle strip sets, cut a total of 16 small diamond units. From 4 dark middle strip sets, cut a total of 8 large diamond units as shown above.

Sew 1 large and 2 small diamond units together to create a diamond. Press seams open as shown above.

Create a total of 8 diamonds for our star block.

Sew 8 diamonds together then set them in background quarter square triangles and background squares. I suggest watching my videos below to give you the best results with your star.

Please watch my video above for detailed 8 point star assembly technique.

This video will also be helpful when making our block.

We only have a few more months to go and our Patches of Blue Quilt Along  quilt top will be completed, I’m looking forward to adding some applique flowers and branches to our project.

Happy Quilting! Edyta

If you'd like to download a PDF copy of this blog post click here.

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Patches of Blue Quilt Along – Block 7 Pine Tree

Welcome to our “Patches of Blue” Quilt-Along, we are moving along with our quilt nicely and I hope you are enjoying the lessons and your blocks!

It is sometimes hard to find the time to quilt in the middle of the summer when the beautiful weather and nature is calling us to spend time outside.

And speaking of nature, many times she can be found in our quilts.

Grandmother’s Garden is one of the many quilts that reflect botanical beauty.

The next block in our Quilt-Along is “Pine Tree” from page 110 in our “Patches of Blue” book.

You can also find this block gently sprinkled through the “Blue Barns” quilt from page 44.

This will be a piece a cake.

Grab your fabric. You’ll need: 1 big print in blue 15″ x 7″ 4 blues 3″ x 7″ 1 light 12″ x 10″

Cutting directions are on page 111.

I start with cutting my light fabric using a template (Tree Background) that I traced from page 50. I fold my light fabric in half, wrong sides together so that way with every cut

I get a left and a right side of my tree background

I cover the template with my ruler (4-1/2″ x 12-1/2″) by Creative Grids, it’s one of my personal favorites to protect the edges of my template as I cut.

You will cut enough for two trees. Don’t forget the little rectangle for the bottom.

From dark fabrics you will cut; 5 rectangles, 2 small squares,

and 1 tree using the Tree Template from page 52.

Arrange the blue rectangles in a column,

sew them together and press seam allowance in one direction.

Position tree template on top of your sewed rectangles.

Follow template and ruler edge to cut a tree out.

Your tree should look like this.

Lay out all your pieces.

Sew tree trunk square and rectangles together. Press seam allowance towards the blue.

position light background with tree.

I like to check my templates to see where the points need to match – remember to pin.

After sewing the right side, position the left side, pin and sew. I push my seam allowance towards the blue.

Add the tree trunk to the tree top to create the full tree.

Make two.

With these baby steps, you just made the Pine Tree blocks! If you need a little more help, you can watch this video on our YouTube channel.

I love making this block with my friends.

You never know, maybe you will plant a whole pine forest. Think out of the box, you can reverse the colors and your trees will be frozen in time. It’s a great quilt for Christmas in July.

I am so thankful you had time to stop by and quilt with me. See you next time!

Happy Quilting, Edyta

If you'd like to download a PDF copy of this blog click here.