Block 18

Here's to ending the year off with a bang!  (or a whimper)  According to the book, this is the block with the largest number of pieces.  

And, yes, it did take me longer than anticipated to finish (hence the late post) but it wasn't difficult.  Just time consuming.

My tips are to pay attention to the direction you are pressing in to minimize bulky seams and to measure and square up the sections as you move along.

Well, this block starts of with a pile of 1/2 square triangles.

Here is the block with all those 1/2 square triangles set out.  First I worked on the centre.  I did the Ohio star block in the centre.

And added the borders around.  Plus, I started connecting all those 1/2 square triangles.

Here I am turning the triangles into rows.

Now it's been reduced to a simple 3 patch. :)

And here it is finished! 

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and are looking forward to the New Year.  Did you realize that, keeping to one block a week, we'll be finished all the blocks in 2010!

Block 63

Here is our next block set out and ready to go.

Here is the block with the centre square-in-a-square assembled.  Plus, I added the posts to the dark triangles and started assembling the triangles in the outer corners.

Now I've completed the outer corners of the block and the centre square.  For the centre square, I used the square-in-a-square method and then trimmed it down to size.  This way I was able to use the simple building blocks without fussing with centering things or any funny cutting.  It does waste a little fabric though.

Now the next border has been added.

And finally the corners added and the block trimmed down to size!

Block 5

A more simple block for the second Sunday in Advent.

Here is everything set out and ready to go.  That small pile of squares is for 1/2-square triangles in the corner.

Here we are with the centre 4-patch assembled and 1/2-square triangles in the corner.

Now the centre square-in-a-square and the remaining triangles for the corners have been added.

(I almost forgot to take a picture of this the next step)  So, ignoring the attached red rectangle, I attached the next border.

And the next border.

And finally, the outer triangles to make up our next block.

Block 24

A much saner block for us this week.

This one is composed of 2 elements; which should all be our friends by now.  In the centre is a square-in-a-square, on the corners are 9-patches, and in the middle is paper-pieced flying geese.  The flying geese do not conform to the standard flying geese, they're a little squished (or stretched depending on your perspective) so the angle is not 45 degrees.  This means that the regular methods won't work, so I'm using paper-piecing.

Here is everything set out and ready to go.

Here are the elements set out.  Now, we've got another 9-patch to assemble.

And tada!  Another block finished!

Block 17

While this block may have a lot of pieces, there is nothing tricky.  So, don't let all the pieces intimidate you.

My advice on this block is to mark up the line diagram with the colour/fabric for each piece and refer to is as you go along.  (Even doing that, I had to rip a few and flip things as this block progressed)

Here they are all laid out and ready to go.  Though without the outer flying geese border.  Not sure how that happened.

Here I've done the flying geese on the borders and started on the hour-glass blocks.  I tend to cut triangles a little larger and trim down.  If you're looking at this one, yes, for some reason they are a little bigger than expected.  Oh well, easy to trim down and better too big than too small.

Here are the hour-glass blocks finished and trimmed down to size.

Now it's just assembly.  I treated this one like a mini quilt and assembled in in rows.  (Yes, there are a few blocks out of place in this photo, fortunately I caught it later).  When pressing, I pressed towards the plain blocks (the 1-patches).  This was the easier side to press towards and it made sure than the seams will nest nicely when attaching the rows.

Here the rows are attached and the block done!

I hope you all have a great week.

Block 54

This block was a bit of a pain for me.  I should have followed my first instincts, but oh well.  You can learn from my mistakes! :)

The line diagram in my book was a little off.  I figured I could fudge the measurements...  That might have worked if I was more consistent in where I took the measurements.  Eventually I ended up re-drawing this block and making sure things lined up.  After that, it was a dream.

Here is everything laid out and ready to go.  The little pile to the side are the flying geese.

Here's our next step with the centre 9-patch completed.  The flying geese in place and the outer triangles attached to the white strip.  I realize that the white strip will be a point in the final block but I find it easier to cut a longer rectangle and then trim things down when the block is all sewn together.

Here is the centre assembled, it was put together as a 9-patch.

Then the next border added.

And finally the outer border added and the block trimmed down.

Block 85

This week's block is not too bad.  Lots of practice available for square-in-a-square and 1/2 square triangles.

The only tricky thing is that middle 1/2 square triangle.  If you look at the pattern, you'll see that the middle triangle of each side of the outside border is a rectangle!  Not a square!  Sadly, I didn't see that until a little later, but I was able to cheat and avoid re-doing those squares.  Since I cut my squares 1" bigger than the finished size instead of 7/8" that proved to be enough wiggle room to cut the rectangles out of the same pieces I cut the squares from.  (Does this make sense??)

Anyways...

Here is everything set out and ready to go.

Here is everything with the 1/2 square triangles sewn and trimmed.  Notice the narrower middle triangles but also note that the sewing line still runs from corner to corner.  I also started the square-in-a-square merry-go-round for the centre.

Here the triangles are sewn for the outer border and you can see the square-in-a-square continues for the centre.

Here the square-in-a-square-in-a-square-in-a.... centre is finished.

And tada!  Our next block is finished!

Block 32

Our block this week is a fun one with lots of 1/2 square triangles.

Here is the block set out and ready to go.  The small piles of squares are the 1/2 square triangles in the making.

Here is everything once the 1/2 square triangles have been created.

I done 4 sets of 4-patches in the centre.  Added the corner squares for the middle border.  And attached the triangle for the outer border.

Here is the centre completed.  (Assembled as another 4-patch)

Now the middle border has been added.

Finally the outer border added to complete our next block.

Block 3

Well, hopefully we're back to our regularly scheduled blocks...

Here is everything set out for this week's blocks.  On the side are two piles, one for 1/2 square triangles and the other for flying geese.

Here are things with the flying geese and 1/2 square triangles.  Plus, I've done the centre square-in-a-square.

Now the white border has been added to the centre square-in-a-square.  I've attached the 1/2 square triangles to the flying geese in the next border and attached the red triangles to the squares for the outer border.  (Yes, I'm a fan of chain piecing as much as possible...)

Now I've added the middle border.

And then the outer border finishes off the block.

Block 46

hmmm. A week late or a day early. I'm choosing a day early. :)

I started off this block with a few flying geese. Then I set things out. I chose to do this block with just two fabrics because I really like the red one but it would be stunning in different colours and fabrics.

Here it is with the centre Ohio star assembled. (It was assembled just like a 9-patch).

Here is the first border attached. If you notice the pattern is courthouse steps. I first attached the opposite short strips. Then centered and attached the longer strips. Since we're dealing with fairly narrow borders, I cut each one slightly larger and then squared up each block to the correct size for each border.

Do the same things for the next border.

And the next one, and the next one, etc....

Until you have your finished block!