This week I am using up 16 more bonus half square triangle blocks…two sets of eight blocks. Look at the lovely, swirly whirlpool in the center. I used darker half square triangles for the center swirl.
This block can be speed pieced into quadrants or fourths. Notice the layout below for placement…a flying goose and a “blade”.
Make the goose and the blade units. Press open to reduce bulk. Assemble into a four patch as pictured below.
Make two units of two four patches. Note the layout below.
Turn one of the units…sew the final seam to complete the block.
Tah-dah! Tah-done! This is a 4 1/2″ version.
This is the 8 1/2″ version.
I love the swirling movement in this block…almost like a frame.
And look what I found! More blocks to trim! Yeah!
Here is the cutting chart with various sizes:
These are the base blocks for next week…shocker…more bonus half square triangles.
This is one of my favorite blocks to use up those bonus half square triangles. I am not sure that I am calling this block by its correct name. It is made up of 16 bonus half square triangle units. If you have a bunch of these hanging out in your sewing space, you will absolutely love this block. Grab a design board and let’s go!
I am starting my layout in the center. The half square triangle pieces must be made from a distinct light and a distinct dark piece to be effective in this block. Color is not an issue in this scrappy block…only light and dark.
In this center, light fabric points towards the center.
Next add more squares to create points going left and right. The “frame” is beginning to emerge.
Add top and bottom pieces to complete the frame.
Add the outside corners to complete the block layout. In this case I used 4 matching corners, just because I could. Scrappy corners would have worked just as well…or better! Sew pieces together in pairs.
Now that you have pairs, lay your pieces out again. (I pressed seams open to reduce bulk.)
Join pair units into rows of four.
Lay your block out to check for correct placement.
Join two rows to make larger units. Notice that the top and bottom halves are the same layout turned around.
Also notice that this block could be pieced in quadrants. This four patch unit makes up the entire block.
Join your larger units together to complete the block. Ta-done!
The jewel box block that we did a while ago also has the same “movement” as the frame in the economy block.
Here is the original version of this block from October in my YouTube series on Scrappy Blocks that use bonus half square triangle pieces. See the video here.
I hope that the cutting charts for this block are not confusing. They are presented in 2 charts…one for just using bonus blocks and the other for construction of half square triangles.
I hope you are enjoying this Build a Block series! Enjoy!
This book is my muse. It only offers templates to be cut. Thank you, but not today! For the video and below, I list the pieces needed for the 6 1/2″ block.
In the video, I take time to play in my fabric scrap bins. I created a blue version and a green version of this block. The bonus half square triangle blocks have been trimmed to the appropriate size. The half square triangles were pressed to the dark fabric before they were trimmed.
I do like the diagonal movement in this block. This would make a fantastic quilt all by itself. Hmmm!
I start by speed piecing those little four patches…zoom, zoom…and away we go sew!
I press the four patches open to reduce bulk. If I were making one of the larger versions of this block, I would probably press to one side or the other. Life is full of decisions…don’t spend too much time on this one.
At this point, some people like to “web sew” the block together. I seem to get tangled and frustrated with the joined threads, so I repeatedly lay the block out on a design board so I don’t make mistakes. (Unfortunately, I still make mistakes. I have become very proficient with a seam ripper!)
I press towards the four patches and plain squares. Pressing open is an option, too. See my illustrations below. (The arrows would not cooperate when I was editing the next picture…and I had had enough fun that day!)
If you pressed towards the 4 patches and/or the solid blocks, your seams will nest nicely as you finish assembling this block. Almost completed…just assemble the rows.
Ta-dah! Ta-done! It was that easy!
Here’s another possible layout. There are many ways you could layout a set of these blocks to make a beautiful quilt.
Here is the cutting chart for additional sizes of this block. If I were making an entire quilt, I would probably go for the 12 1/2″ size for starters. I would make the second version with 6 1/2″ blocks because that is the size I am fascinated with at the moment. Please share any quilts you have using this block. I love to see your work, too!
I took a short break today from quilting to fix some jewelry, etc. I played with glue…not the hot kind…
Some of this is very blingy. I think that bracelet in the middle is Sarah Coventry. The cat will be so impressed when I am wearing that to work in my sewing room.
I used to wear pins all the time. Maybe I need to impress the cat with those, too. That one looks like a scarab beetle…creepy and cool simultaneously.
The barette is sterling silver. It is incredibly heavy. The barette part had come off the decorative piece. I think I finally found the correct glue. Hot glue was not it.
I used to work with a lady that would create and kiln her own glass pendant pieces. I added a charm and a beaded “chain” to this one so I could wear it. I love the foil in the middle of this one!
I hope you have enjoyed this week’s build a block presentation…and my other ramblings. What are you working on? We are quilters…and sew so much more!
This is an easy, scrappy block, especially if you sort your scraps by certain sizes like I do…It just makes it faster to choose the bits and pieces to sew together. Here is a cutting chart for the three sizes show below:
This 12 1/2″ block is made from all 4 1/2″ and 2 1/2″ blocks…all straight line piecing! No triangles on this block!
Here is the breakdown of my choices:
This block goes together SOOOOO quickly!
Make four 4-patch units. Please note the placement of the lights and darks in the picture below. All four units are identical. Zoom! Zoom! Speed piecing is a wonderful activity!
Normally, I show you an example of a small block with the seams pressed open. Since this is a bigger block this week, I pressed towards the darker fabrics in these 4-patches.
Now it is time to plug those beautiful and simple 4-patches into the main block.
Notice that all the dark blocks are towards the center block and radiate outward. Please note the placement of the blue and the background fabrics also.
Here is the 9 1/2″ example:
Here is the 6 1/2″ example:
Ta-duh! and Ta-done! This block would have a great secondary pattern if placed together. Easy…it would be great as a kid’s or baby’s quilt, too! Let me know what you think about this block. Have you tried it? If you have, please share pictures to my e-mail. I look forward to hearing from you.
I decided to add some pictures because this was such a short, quick post.
I found a stash of bags in my sewing room as I am zone organizing. I donated some. I washed the rest to repurpose.
This one was one that my friends and I made at quilt came with the Camp Frame Fireside quilters. The pocket is paper pieced and held on by the straps. It is lined. The top edge is a rolled down cuff, so the bag can actually be deeper if needed.
Welcome to another Build a Block post. If you prefer the video, less reading version, you can find it here on my YouTube channel. This makes an 8 1/2″ block. It has a wonderful secondary design as you can see at the end of this post.
Here are the pieces you need for the block:
This block is assembled in two easy parts. First the butterfly pieces of the block. You will need the 2 1/2″ squares and the 4 1/2″ squares to create the two sections that make the butterfly at the end reveal.
There are many ways to make that diagonal so that it is sewn straight.
Mark the line with a pen or pencil and a straight edge, like a ruler,
press a crease into the 2 1/2″ block as a sew line or
my prefered and very lazy method…the piece of tape to follow along with the corner of the square as I sew. You can see the tape in the picture below.
I always opt for the bonus block if the original square size is 2 1/2″ or bigger. That would be the reason I am being over run by half square triangles. I am working on fixing this little problem. There will eventually be a series of blocks on this blog that use up many of those bonus triangles! I promise!
I am a big fan of pressing pieces as you go, as you all know. Butterfly wing sections are now complete.
Now for the second section of the block. It is all straight line sewing for the rest. See the layout below.
Divide the layout into 2 sections…a big section and a little section. I show it in rows in the picture below.
Sew the 3 1/2″ square to the side of a lattice piece. Sew the 1 1/2″ square to the end of the other lattice piece.
Press towards the dark fabric on both of these units…unless you prefer to press open.
Join the two units you created into one bigger unit. The other part of the block is now sewn together.
It really was just that easy.
Press towards the straight lattice pieces…or open.
If you press towards the lattice, sewing the final seam will be easy!
Sew that last final seam. Sorry, no picture of that seam!
Ta-dah…Ta-done!
Here are a couple sample layouts. This block could be much scrappier than I made it. I tried to control the scrapiness for an aesthetic pleasing effect.
I decided to make an additional four blocks and use up some other orphan blocks, too. This is the beginning of a car quilt for my son’s family. Everyone needs a quilt, a flashlight, battery cables, and a small tool kit in their vehicle. Just a thought!
Those borders will fit when they are all sewn together. I, too, am always amazed at how much is eaten up in a 1/4″ seam allowance!
If you construct any of these scrappy wonderful blocks, please share with me through gmail. I look forward to see your work!
If you are interested in making this a larger block, please use the chart below to help you resize the block.
This block is quick and easy to construct! I know that I say that almost every week, but it is true every time I say it. Using contrasting scraps is the best way to make this block pop! I pulled strips and squares from my “pre-cut” bins to make this a faster finish.
A one minute video of this block construction is available here on YouTube.
Presenting a New Feature at the bottom of this post! I have added a fantastic size chart for pieces to cut. It contains a variety of finished block sizes. Check it out at the end of this post!
The version shown below is constructed from a 2 1/2″ square in the center and 2 different 1 1/2″ strips surrounding it.
I did cut my strips to the following lengths:
2- 1 1/2″ x 2 1/2″ (inside round color)
2- 1 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ (inside round color)
2- 1 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ (outside round color)
2- 1 1/2″ x 6 1/2″ (outside round color)
This week I have words imbedded on the pictures, as well as arrows. This is a no brainer approach. Please remember to always use a good 1/4″ seam, no matter how crooked the arrows are in my photos.
Please add the 1 1/2″ x 2 1/2″ pieces to the center here.
There are not a lot of bulky seams here, so I press out.
Add the 1 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ pieces to the sides here.
Now is a great time to press it flat, flat, flat. By pressing now, the block will be crisper and flatter for the next round of strips.
Please add the 1 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ outer round pieces to both sides. (I forgot to take the picture before I sewed one of the pieces… oopsy!)
Give the strips a quick press outward.
Add the final two 1 1/2″ x 6 1/2″ strips to both sides.
Press outward one last time. If you want the block to be even flatter, give it a little shot of starch or Best Press at this point.
Tah-done! I love this little block! I told you it was quick and easy!
Below is the new size chart! This took some work to figure out how to embed this in a blog post…making the chart was the easy part!
Please let me know in the comments if you like this new feature. I look forward to hearing from you.
