Saturday, April 7, 2018

Squared Away Block 4

Hello all, and welcome back to the Squared Away quilt project!  If you're new here, this quilt was designed by me and Angela of soscrappy as a fun way to use up some scraps.  It's free, and all the patterns are saved with links on both blogs, so come on along and sew with us!

This month's color is a bright, happy yellow, along with golds, perfect for spring.  Here is this month's block:

4X Star, Ladies' Art Company, 1895

This is actually a very old block with several names, called 4X Star in the Ladies' Art Company catalogue in 1895.  It appears again as a Carrie Hall block in 1935, and here it is in our quilt in 2018.  For this block, you will need two yellows, ideally with one that leans more towards gold to preserve the pattern.  You could also choose a completely different color instead of the second yellow, too.  Green or pink might look really good with the yellow.

Let's make some blocks!

Cutting for 10-inch blocks:


I made my blocks using strip piecing, but if you have 2-1/2 inch squares, feel free to use those instead.

From the main yellow, cut:

5-3/4 inch square* (for hsts, can oversize if that's something you do)
1 2-1/2 by 10-1/2 inch strip
1 2-1/2 inch square

From the darker yellow/gold, cut:

4 2-1/2 inch squares

From the background, cut:

1 5-3/4 inch square* (can oversize)
1 2-1/2 by 10-1/2 inch strip
4 2-1/2 inch squares

Construction:

First, use the 5-3/4 inch squares of the background and the first yellow to make 8 2-1/2 inch  half square triangles using the Magic 8 method:


Next, stitch the 2-1/2 by 10-1/2 inch strips of the background and the first yellow together along the long edge.  Press to the yellow, then cut into 4 2-1/2 inch sections.  (A little bit is included for straightening.)


That's all for the units. On to assembly!

Assembly:

First, make the corners.  Use 2 of the yellow hsts, the background 2-1/2 inch squares, and the gold 2-1/2 inch squares and lay them out as shown.  Make sure that the yellow hsts "kiss" in the middle.


Stitch into a 4 patch, pressing seams to the solid 2-1/2 inch squares.  Press the seams "down" toward the gold if you'd like your seams to nest.  If you usually spin your seams, be aware that this may cause a buildup in some areas because these 4 patches can't be turned to  avoid it.

These units should measure 3-1/2 inches square.  Make 4.

Next, gather all of your units plus the remaining yellow 2-1/2 inch square and lay them out as shown:


Notice that the yellows in the strip units are on the outside of the block.  It's easy to get them turned around!  Join the units into rows and the rows into a finished block.  Give it a good press, stand back and admire your lovely spring-like block!


As always, I made three blocks this month.  I used a pale blue print for one of the backgrounds, which I think worked out okay, though it's difficult to see in the picture:


And here are my 15-inch blocks for this month:


I love these blocks!  Yellow is one of my favorite colors, even if it is difficult to photograph.

With that, we are almost halfway finished with the blocks for the quilt! Hope that all of your stitching is going well.  As always, be sure to hop on over to Angela's blog to see her blocks and get some more ideas, and be sure to visit her linkups on Saturdays this month as well.  You can link up Instagram posts there, too, and if you're sharing on IG, be sure to tag me (@academicquilter) or use #squaredawaybom so I won't miss your pretty blocks.

Happy stitching, everyone! Our next block will be May 5th.  Meet right back here with some fabric and thread!

Sharing at soscrappy for RSC18.

21 comments:

piecefulwendy said...

Such a pretty block, and I love looking at that bright, sunny yellow, especially at this time of year (with more snow in the forecast)!

Jo said...

Oh goody. The next block is here.
I'm busy tomorrow but hopefully I can get it cut out during the week.

Deb @ Frugal Little Bungalow said...

Bold and beautiful / Love those blues as well.

Ivani said...

Another beautiful block for April. Thank you so much Mari.

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

love the colors - bright and cheerful!

Frédérique - Quilting Patchwork Appliqué said...

Beautiful block, I love the blue ones too, with dark background

LIttle Penguin Quilts said...

This is a pretty one, Mari! Perfect for yellow! I'm looking forward to making some this week.

grammajudyb said...

This is one of my favorite blocks. Yours are lovely!

Cathy said...

Awesome blocks! This is going to be another fun month!

Bernie Kringel said...

I love the large blue and yellow blocks Mari! Especially the one on the left. Sooo pretty.
Better pull the yellow bin out. These look like fun ones to make.

Kathy's A Quilter said...

I LOVE your selection of Carrie Nation blocks, All. OF. THEM. Awesome blocks, this is going to be another stellar blocks month.

Unknown said...

This month the blocks are 15"?

Quilter Kathy said...

So fun... I'm enjoying playing with the gold and yellow scraps and turning them into this cute block!

Mari said...

No, the instructions are for a 10-inch block. For my own personal quilts, I am also making a separate quilt with 15-inch blocks.

Kate said...

This will be a fun block to play with. I'm still working on my green ones from last month, but hopefully tomorrow I can cut a couple of yellows and see what happens.

Edith said...

All your blocks are so pretty, I'm looking forward to getting started on mine.

PaulaB quilts said...

Your block looks like rays of sunshine. The blue with the print is so elegant!

Danice G said...

So pretty. This QAL is so tempting. I have last year's Constellations nearly finished, finally. 'Just need to get it binded.

Cathy Tomm said...

Great sampler block! I hope to get mine done this week.

Preeti said...

Yellow can be difficult. Too dark and it is almost orange and too light, it is almost off-white. One time, I used the yellow fabric from the wrong side to get the exact color I needed. Looks like you did beautifully though - Princess Buttercup :-)

Sandra Walker said...

I love your yellows, Mari! And those 15" blocks, WOW! Wish I could've done these as well, but I haven't even got my two blocks done yet for April...