Squared Away Block 8

Hello all, and welcome back to the Squared Away quilt project! We are heading into the home stretch with block 8 out of 10 blocks.  This quilt was designed by me and Angela of soscrappy as a fun, free project to use up some scraps.  If you have just found this quilt along or have missed a block, links to all of the blocks so far can be found on the tab at the top of this page or the tab on Angela's page at soscrappy. 

Our colors for this month are orange and brown, neither of which are major colors in my collection, but I did manage to make a few blocks:

State of Georgia, Workbasket magazine, 1935

This block is called State of Georgia, a 1935 block from Workbasket magazine.  For this block, you will need a little bit of an accent color.  For the tutorial block I managed to find a tiny bit of brown fabric, but if you scroll down you'll see that I used blues as the accents for my other blocks. 


Let's make the block!

Cutting for a 10-inch block:

This block uses strip piecing to make some units.  If you already have squares cut, go ahead and use those instead.  No need to let them go to waste!

From the background, cut:

8 2-1/2 inch squares

From the orange, cut:

2 2-1/2 by 10-1/2 inch strips
1 2-1/2 inch square
1 4-1/4 inch square OR 2 2-7/8 inch squares*

From the accent, cut:

1 2-1/2 by 10-1/2 inch strip
1 4-1/4 inch square OR 2 2-7/8 inch squares*

*these are for making half-square triangles, so they can be oversized to trim down after stitching

Construction:

First, use the 4-1/4 inch squares to make 4 2-1/2 inch hsts using the 4-at-a-time method described last month, or use the 2-7/8 inch squares to make the hsts using conventional methods.

Next, make a strip set using the orange and accent 2-1/2 inch by 10-1/2 inch strips.  Stitch the accent strip between the two orange pieces, then cut into 4 2-1/2 inch sections.  If you are nesting your seams instead of pressing them open, press to the accent color.

That's it for the units--time to assemble the block!

Assembly:

First, make the center 9-patch using the hsts, 4 of the background squares, and the orange 2-1/2 inch square.   Arrange as shown and stitch, paying attention to the directions of the hsts.  The accent triangles should point in toward the center.

Press to the accent triangles and the orange center square. The center should measure 6-1/2 inches square.

Gather the remaining sections and background squares and lay them out as shown:

Join the pieces into rows and the rows into a finished block.  Give it a good press, stand back, and admire!

Your block should measure 10-1/2 inches square to finish at 10 inches in the quilt.  I love this block because it's so simple to make but gives such a nice effect.  Wouldn't it look great as a whole quilt? 

As always, this month I made three of the 10-inch blocks:

and two 15-inch blocks for a separate project:

That finishes off the eighth block of our quilt!  We'll be quilting this up in no time.  As always, hop on over to Angela's to see some more blocks and some of her variations.  If you are so inclined, remember that Angela has a linkup at her blog every Saturday, and we would all love to see your blocks.  You can also link up Instagram posts there, and be sure to tag me (@academicquilter) and/or use #squaredawayquilt so I won't miss seeing your pretty blocks. 

Our ninth block will be posted right here on Saturday, September 1, so be sure to come back for that.  Our quilt will be finished before you know it!

Sharing at soscrappy for RSC18.