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.