This week found me playing with blocks again. I don't know if the practice blocks will ever lead to finished quilt projects, but I'm enjoying the process of constructing different star-style blocks!
I decided to keep making the practice blocks using the blue starry fabric I'd used back in July.
This is the six inch version of the Wreath Star block from Moda's Countdown to Christmas BOM from last year. The six inch size was a little fiddly, but not difficult. Instructions are also provided for a twelve inch block, which would be great for a table runner or wall quilt project.
The next experimental block comes from 501 Rotary-Cut Quilt Blocks by Judy Hopkins.
The instructions for this block use the traditional square-in-a-square piecing: adding the white triangles to the blue center square, then adding additional blue triangles to the white square.
I've made lots of square-in-a-square blocks in the past, and I always struggle to get the points to come out evenly. As you can see above, my points were OK, but not perfect. 😀
As with everything in quilting these days, there are other options for making this block!
Here's experiment number two, which uses a completely different construction technique. For this block, I used Hourglass blocks, made with three different fabrics. For a brush-up on this technique, I used this tutorial. The Hourglass blocks are then attached to the center square. The corners of the block are completed with blue and white HSTs and solid blue and white squares.
Both of these blocks finish at twelve inches. The block has lots of different names, but you'll most commonly find it called Union or Union Square.
There are lots of design possibilities for this block. It makes a striking two color quilt, or can be all scrappy, with different fabrics/colors for each element of the block. I haven't decided for sure on a project using this block, but it's been fun experimenting and thinking about what might be!
