Passing the Days:12, 13, 14

Hairy Woodpecker-Debra Davis 2020

We were treated with several birds on our walk this morning.  This one is special because it is the first one of its kind I have spotted this year.  Often it's the little things that bring great joy.

After today I should be all caught up with posts about the blocks I am making to count the days that I have been staying home due to Covid-19.  Thankfully neither one of us has been sick but we now know of a couple of friends who are in the hospital with it.  Today actually marks my 14th day of "staying home, staying safe" here in Oregon.  

But first here is Day 12's block; a very familiar one to me: Shoofly 1.  This is another one that I simply looked over my finished blocks and decided it was time for a but of red.

For Shoofly 1 you will need:
Medium Fabric:
     (cut 2) 3" x 3"
     (cut 1) 2 1/2" x 2 1/2"
Light Fabric:
     (cut 2) 3" x 3"
     (cut 4) 2 1/2" x 2 1/2"

Use the 3" x 3" squares to make Half-square Triangles which are trimmed to 2 1/2" x 2 1/2".  I pressed these to the dark side.  I pressed everything the to the light colored squares when putting the block together.

For Day 13 I chose a block called Practical Orchard.  This was another new block to me.  Now that we are so good with making Half-square Triangles (HST's) we will put that knowledge to good use to make Hourglass units.

The name of this block first made me think of an apple orchard, but then I started to think about our fruit trees in the yard that are showing signs of coming to life.  I know that in other parts of the country the cherry trees have already blossomed so I decided my block would celebrate those cheery pink cherry blossoms.

For this block you will need:
Dark Fabric:
     (cut 1) 3 1/4" x 3 1/4" -NOTE: cut to 3 1/2" if you want extra for trimming.
     (cut 4) 2 1/2" x 2 1/2"
Light Fabric:
     (cut 1) 3 1/4" x 3 1/4" -NOTE: cut to 3 1/2" if you want extra for trimming.
     (cut 4) 2 1/2" x 2 1/2"

To make the hourglass unit I started with the two HST's made from the 3 1/4" squares.  I found I needed to make sure I really had a SCANT 1/4" seam allowance at this point rather than my usual 1/4" seam.  In fact I ended up moving my needle over one position or my final unit was just a tad too small.  You will NOT trim these HST's.

Next I put the two HST's together locking the seams which face in opposite directions since both are pressed towards the dark side.

Now I need to draw a diagonal line on the top HST and will sew with that scant 1/4" from each side of the drawn line.  I fed these into my machine with the seam facing up as shown below.

As you can see there is not a lot of extra to trim off of these.  What I do need to make sure is that I line up the diagonal line of my ruler with the seam.  Now since I will be trimming these to 2 1/2" I also want the center point, which is 1 1/4" to fall at the intersection of those diagonal seams.  (I have circled it)

After trimming the first two sides I rotate the Hourglass and line up the same markings to trim the last two sides.

And here is my finished block.

For today's Block I am working with those Hourglass units again to make a block called Clown's Choice.  This one just seemed like it needed to be bright and cheery.  I started with red for my center Hourglass as it made me think of a clown's nose.  I knew I wanted three vibrant colors for this block so I am using a Triadic color scheme.  Doesn't that sound fancy.  All it means is that I will choose three colors that are evenly spaced on the color wheel.  Since I started with Red my other two colors are Spring Green and Blue.

For this block you will need:
Dark Fabric:
     (cut 1) 3 1/4" x 3 1/4" -NOTE: cut to 3 1/2" if you want extra for trimming.
 Medium  Fabric #1:
     (cut 1) 3 1/4" x 3 1/4" -NOTE: cut to 3 1/2" if you want extra for trimming.
Medium  Fabric #2:
     (cut 1) 3 1/4" x 3 1/4" -NOTE: cut to 3 1/2" if you want extra for trimming.   
Light Fabric:
     (cut 3) 3 1/4" x 3 1/4" -NOTE: cut to 3 1/2" if you want extra for trimming.
     (cut 4) 2 1/2" x 2 1/2"
​

Start by using the 3 1/4" x 3 1/4" squares to make the Houglass units.  Trim them to 2 1/2" x 2 1/2".  Lay out the Hourglass units with the light fabric squares and join to make the block.  There are some bulky seams on this one so I recommend that you sew slowly over those seams.  I the block looks funny at this point since I still have a seam allowance around the outside edges, but all will look great when I put this one into my quilt.

unfinished size 6 1/2" x 6 1/2"

You can find all of the precious blocks I have made for this project HERE.
I hope you have a blessed day and may you find something that brings you joy too.