Sew the Quilt Block
- Arrange four half square triangle units and four strip pieced segments around a 3-1/2" center floral square. You'll have three rows and three columns in this nine patch block.
- Make sure the pieces are oriented correctly: narrow floral strips should "point" at the center square and white sections of triangle square units should be in the outer block corners.
- Sew the components of each row together. Pinning the thick edge of triangle squares to their mate helps keep them in place--you can even put the pin across from the beginning of the seam, rather than thru the edge.
- Press seam allowances in rows 1 and 3 away from the center unit.
- Press seam allowances in the middle row towards the center square.
- Sew the rows together, matching seam intersections carefully. Placing a fine straight pin at each end and through each matched seam allowance helps ensure that units won't shift.
- Press the quilt block. Use remaining units to make a second block.
This pattern was written for block of the month swaps, where quilters typically sew with small pieces of fabric from their stash. You can make additional, identical quilt blocks by increasing the numbers of squares cut and either lengthening your 1-1/2" strips or cutting additional shorter strips to yield more units.
You can also vary the fabrics as much as you wish. Maybe you'd like a dark background. Or maybe you'd prefer a center that doesn't match the other fabrics. Use your own ideas to create a quilt.
