MY QUILTING INITIATION - Making the blocks by Dianne Huck

Updated: Wednesday, December 30, 2009

In the January issue, Miriam Winram described how she was introduced to patchwork and quilting whilst staying in America.

Here are the instructions for making the 5 main blocks that appear in her first quilt. The instructions assume knowledge of piecing American blocks, but if you are a beginner, click on ‘In A Nutshell’ to find some more guidance. All the blocks include 3 colours: green – dark, yellow – medium and blue – light.

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Lover’s Knot

12" finished size

9-Patch
1a. Cut:
     2 strips green, 2" x 16"
    1 strip blue, 2" x 16".
b. Stitch a green strip either side of blue strip.
c. Sub-cut into 8 sections, 2" wide, dia. 1a.
2a. Cut:
    2 strips blue, 2" x 8"
    1 strip green, 2" x 8".
b. Repeat as for step 1, sub-cutting blue/green/blue strips into 4, 2" segments, dia. 1b.
3. Join to make 4, 9-patch blocks, dia. 1c, measuring 5" at this stage.

Strip Section
1a. Cut:
    2 strips blue, 2" x 14"
    1 strip yellow, 2" x 14".
b. Stitch a blue strip either side of yellow strip.
c. Sub-cut into 4, 3½" sections, dia. 2.

Centre Square
1. Cut 1, yellow 3½" square.

Assembly
1. Join units into rows, dia. 3.
2. Join rows.
3. At this stage the bock should measure 12½" square.

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Ohio Star

12" finished size

Half Square Triangles
1. Cut:
    2, 4 7/8" squares blue
    2, 4 7/8" squares green.
2a. Place a blue and green square, right sides together and draw in one diagonal.
b. Stitch both sides of this line with 1/4" seam allowance, dia. 1a.
c. Cut along diagonal line to give 2 half square triangle squares, dia. 1b.
3. Repeat for other two squares.

Quarter Square Triangles
1.Cut:
    2, 5 1/4" squares yellow
    1, 5 1/4" square blue
    1, 5 1/4" square green.
2. Place a yellow and blue square right sides together and draw in both diagonals.
b. Stitch both sides of one of lines with 1/4" seam allowance, dia. 2a.
c. Cut along both diagonals to give 4 pairs quarter square triangles.
3. Repeat with yellow and green squares.
4. Join yellow/blue and yellow/green pairs to make a square, dia. 2b.

Assembly
1. Arrange units into rows keeping orientation correct, dia. 3.
2. Join rows.
3. At this stage the bock should measure 12½" square.

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Jacob’s Ladder

12" finished size

4-Patch
1a. Cut:
    1 strip green 2½" x 25½"
    1 strip yellow 2½" x 25½".
b. Join strips.
c. Sub-cut into 10, 2½" segments, dia. 1a.
2. Join into 5, 4-patches, dia. 1b.

Half Square Triangles
1. Make half square triangle squares as for Ohio Star.

Assembly
1. Arrange units into rows keeping orientation correct, dia. 2.
2. Join rows.
3. At this stage the bock should measure 12½" square.

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Drunkard’s Path design

12" finished size

Drunkard’s Path Unit
1. Using templates A and B provided, cut:
    4 of template A and B in green
    4 of template A in yellow
    4 of template B in blue.
2. Stitch pieces together to make square units as dia. 1.

Download Templates


4-Patch
1a. Cut:
    1 strip blue, 3½" x 14½"
    1 strip yellow, 3½" x 14½".
b. Join strips.
c. Sub-cut into 4. 3½" segments, dia. 2a.
2. Join into 4, 4-patches, dia. 2b.

Assembly
1. Lay out Drunkard’s Path and 4-patch units, dia. 3.
2. Join in pairs and then pairs together.
3. At this stage the bock should measure 12½" square.

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Jewel Box

12" finished size

4-Patch
1a. Cut:
     2 strips green, 2" x 16"
    1 strip yellow, 2" x 16"
    1 strip blue, 2" x 16".
b. Join a green and yellow strip and a green and blue strip.
c. Sub-cut 8, 2" segments from each strip set.
2. Join into 8, 4-patches.

Half Square Triangles
1. Cut:
    3, 3 7/8" squares in yellow
    2, 3 7/8" squares in green
    1, 3 7/8" square in blue.
2. Make half square triangle squares as for Ohio Star with following combinations:
    yellow and green squares x 3 to give 6 units
    green and blue squares, x 1 to give 2 units.

Assembly
1. Join units as shown in dia. 1.
2. Join units into 3 rows.
3. Join rows.
4. At this stage the bock should measure 12½" square.

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These blocks can be made into your own Sampler Quilt in many ways. Following are a few suggestions:
1. Using plain alternate blocks (cut 12½" square).
2. Using Quarter Square Triangle blocks (as did Miriam). (Cut 2, 13 1/4" squares each of 2 colours).
3. Make more of these blocks – maybe altering the way the fabrics are used to emphasise different parts of the design.
4. Add different blocks.
5. If you have more blocks, join with sashing.

Do let us see your versions of this or any other Sampler Quilt you have made for our Readers’ Gallery. Please send to dianne.huck@traplet.com with the following information:

Your name:
Name of piece (if any):
Size:
A sentence or two about its making (optional):

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