NQC Block 8

Block 8 of the National Quilters Circle 9 week challenge is here.  Wow-just one more to go.  After spending some time last week working with Half Square Triangles
that measured 1 inch when finished this block was a breeze.  You can find the pattern for this block by clicking on this link: https://www.nationalquilterscircle.com/video/


I have my 5.25 inch squares all cut, pressed and ready to go.  
​Pretty soon I may be able to sew Half Square Triangles in my sleep!

I drew a diagonal line on all of my light colored blocks.  I also drew a line on one of the squares for my A/B combination and one for the  C/A combination needed for this block.

Each pair of squares is sewn together 1/4 inch from both sides of the drawn line.

Cutting on the diagonal line will yield 2 Half Square Triangle units.  After pressing these open I trim to the required 4 1/2 inches called for in Andrea's directions.

All of my units are sewn and ready to be put together.  I just love how many different blocks you can get by simply rearranging these Half Square Triangle units.  
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Have you taken the time to play with yours before arranging them according to the directions?  You might come up with some new blocks you love.

I took a close up off this unit to show off the fabric
​that comes across as so dark in most of my photos.
 It really was the perfect choice to go with my main floral fabric.

Now that my blocks are arranged in the correct order I begin sewing the rows together.
I pressed rows 1 and 3 to the left, and rows 2 and 4 to the right so that the seams will nest together when I join the rows.

Once the rows are sewn together I can join them together pinning at the seams.

This is how I pin so that I can easily pull them out when I come to them.  
If all goes well my needle will hit right at that intersection of seams and
​leave me with perfect points after pressing.

Here is my first version of the block.

And here is my snowman version.  Yes, it was snowing again when I designed this one.

I am bouncing around a few ideas for how I might like to set these blocks in a quilt.  There have been some great ideas shared on the group Facebook page already.
Well, until next time...  

Happy Quilting!!