Hi everyone, and welcome back to the Intricate Stitches quilt block of the month! This month's color is purple tending toward gray, with another lovely green accent. Green is one of my favorite colors, so let's put a bit of it in this block, okay? This month's block turns out beautifully and is not difficult to construct, but it does include a partial seam in it's construction, so be sure to read all of the directions before starting. I promise that it's not too difficult!
Here is the block:
This is Double Aster, another Nancy Cabot block from the 1930's. It's number 4206 in Barbara Brackman's
Encyclopedia. Asters are very pretty and are the "official" flower for September, which is my birthday month, which means that I like them very much. This block takes longer to describe than to sew, so let's get going!
Cutting:
You will need 2 purples, at least one green, and a yellow scrap, plus a background. I used a deep purple, a lighter purple, and two different greens, plus a scrap of yellow for the center. I used the different greens because I wanted to use up some pieces, but you could definitely use the same green and have the block turn out great. You could also make the center green, or the background color, instead of yellow. Also, some of these may seem oddly cut, but cutting them this way keeps the grain lines correct and makes the cutting easier. Feel free to adjust the cutting as you deem necessary!
From the dark purple, cut:
One 7-1/4 inch square
(If you don't have a piece this large you could cut 2 5-1/8 inch squares instead)
From the lighter purple:
2 3-7/8 inch squares
From the green:
2 5-3/8 inch squares* (the lightest green)
1 4-1/4 inch square (in my block, the darker green)
2 2-3/8 inch squares (lighter green)
*These squares are used for the corners of the block. I chose to use green, but you could use yellow, white, or a pale purple for your block.
From the white:
3 4-1/4 inch squares
2 2-3/8 inch squares
From the yellow:
One 2-5/8 inch square.
Construction:
It's all about making units and combining them! The first unit is green half-square triangles. Take one of the white 4-1/4 inch squares and the (darker) green 4-1/4 inch square. Cut each of these from corner to corner twice to make 4 smaller triangles.
Pair the triangles and stitch to make 4 half-square triangles. Pro tip: If you stack the two squares together and then cut, the triangles will be properly paired already. The hsts should be 2-5/8 inch square.
Next, take another white 4-1/4 inch square and cut it the same way, corner to corner twice. Add one of the resulting small triangles to the top of the green hsts as shown:
Note that the seam allowance of the triangle hangs over the edge. Align the pieces along the right edge and it will be fine.
First unit finished! You should have 4 of these units. Put these aside for now.
The next unit is the main flower unit. Take the (lighter) green 2-3/8 inch squares and 2 white 2-3/8 inch squares and cut them in half once diagonally to make two triangles. Pair the triangles as shown and stitch:
Make 4 of these.
Next, take the remaining white 4-1/4 inch square and cut it in half twice diagonally to make 4 triangles. Arrange these triangles and the units you just made as shown and stitch:
Moving right along! The next step is to take the lighter purple 3-7/8 inch squares and cut each of them in half diagonally once to make 2 triangles. Arrange these triangles and the previous units as shown and stitch:
Only one more step in the flower units! Take the darker purple 7-1/4 inch square and cut it twice diagonally to make 4 triangles. Arrange each of these triangles with the previously made units as shown and stitch to make 4 flower squares:
These units should measure 4-3/4 inches square. Take a second to admire these units, then arrange them with the hst units made previously as shown and stitch:
All the units are made! On to the assembly of our block.
Assembly:
Take the green 5-3/8 inch squares and cut them each once diagonally to make 4 triangles. Arrange these, the yellow 2-5/8 inch square, and the units you just made as shown:
The final assembly is not difficult, but does require some attention. First, take one of the flower units and the yellow square. Put a pin in the yellow square from the right hand edge over about 1 to 1-1/4 inches. This measurement doesn't have to be precise but should be just less than half the length of the yellow square.
Stitch to the pin and STOP. Backstitch a couple of stitches to keep the seam from coming apart in handling. This is your partial seam which makes it possible to construct the rest of the block. The left edge of the flower unit should be free.
Add the second flower unit as shown. You should stitch a full seam here. Do the same with the third flower unit.
For the final flower unit, join it to the piece with a full seam. Fold the free edge of the first flower unit away from the piece to give you access to stitch this seam.
After the fourth flower unit is added, return to the first unit, fold it over to match the seams, and finish stitching the partial seam. You should now have a complete flower unit where all the seams are secure.
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| Eep! I'd better press that better! Bad quilter! |
The final step is to add the remaining triangles to the corners. Give your block a good press, stand back, and admire!
I think this block would look spectacular with the pink flower block from last month! A whole garden of lovely flowers.
This is block 9 for the quilt, and August is a two-block month so that we can end up with 12 blocks for the quilt. Block 10 is coming up on August 16, so have fun with this one and come back for the next exciting installment!
Sharing at
Linky Tuesday,
Let's Bee Social, and
soscrappy for RSC16.
