Part 2 Simple Square in Square Quilt

Here's part 2 of my simple blue and white Square in Square Star quilt I posted about last week.

Directions are in my FB group files. I will also put them up on my website later today.

                                   

Make 9 blocks. I know it's a very simple design for some of you but hope you still have fun with it.

Fold your center square in half, then half again (quarters). Line up the triangle points with the lines as you attach the triangles. Sew opposite triangles first, then add the others. 

Make sure you follow the other tips in the pattern for sewing your blocks together so that your points come out perfectly (or almost). I hear some quilters have trouble with points that get lost. This will really help you in making lots of other quilts.

                              

Sew to the right of the "X" to avoid cut-off points.

I finished sewing my blocks together last night and picked out a couple of border fabrics but got tired and couldn't decide so thought I'd just sleep on it.

This morning I woke up and said "What was I thinking??" LOL. I love that print on the left but I'll probably go with the dark blue border . . . . If you squint you can see the Star!

* * *

Coming up: I often hear that some of my followers in the FB group wish they could make more small quilts, or have several of my patterns on a list to make "Someday" but don't seem to be able to get around to actually making them. When I started leading groups years ago we used the Challenge Method: I would select one small quilt per month from one of my books and people would challenge themselves to make that quilt, following along with the progress of others. Lots of quilts were made! 

I always tried to encourage quilters to break down their monthly project into 4 weeks, cutting and piecing in a couple of hours the first week, making the blocks the next week, perhaps taking only another couple of hours, adding borders next and then finishing up in the last week. It's a very efficient way to get things done in small chunks of time if you schedule them. So not too stressful. And it leaves time for doing other things. 

By the end of the year, some quilters had finished twelve small quilts! That's pretty impressive if you think about it and if you're someone who just can't seem to organize yourself to make the things you want to make.

So this means we'll be using these ideas as we begin a few new sew alongs in my FB group soon, working through some of your favorite quilts from some of my books or patterns. Your choice on what quilt you would like to make or maybe I'll give you a block where you challenge yourself to make a small quilt out if it. Seeing photos of what others are doing and watching their progress can be very inspiring. Something to look forward to.

Square-in-Square Quilt

My Facebook group is making a sweet little blue and white quilt in two parts. We'll be making some easy square-in-square blocks in Step 1 and then assembling them into a small quilt with borders in Step 2 which will be posted next Monday, August 12.  If you're in the group, you'll find the simple directions in the group files. Or, you can get the block directions from my website Country Lane Quilts.

Some years ago, I saved a picture of a blue and white antique pillow I found in an old decorating book and when I came across the photo recently I thought, why not turn this into a sweet little doll quilt?? Square-in-square blocks stitch up pretty fast so it's a fun little project. 

What is it about blue and white quilts? 

You'll see in Step 2 that when the blocks are put together you get a secondary image of a star. All you'll do this week is make 9 square-in-square blocks - 4 with light centers and 5 with dark centers. Next week I'll show you how to put the quilt together with borders. Simple and fun. 

This is intended as a two-color quilt so of course you may use any two colors you like. I happen to love blue so it was easy for me to pick out some favorite blue and light scraps. Whatever colors you choose, make sure you use enough contrast so that the star appears.

Step 2 will be uploaded on Monday, August 12.