Welcome to our first stop on the
I'm Sarah Maxwell and I'm one of the owners of Homestead Hearth, a brick-and-mortar and online quilt store located in Mexico, Missouri. Our store is located in a really unique building just off the town square. Originally built as a chicken hatchery in the early 1900s, the building had many uses over it's lifetime and in 2001 my husband and I bought it with the idea of opening a quilt store.
Dolores Smith, my long-time quilt show buddy, had previously owned a store so we decided to go into business together. 12 years later, Homestead Hearth occupies the majority of the 10,000+ square foot building. We're known for our carefully labeled block-of-the-month shipments and our huge selection of 1800s reproduction fabrics. In recent years, we've expanded to carry more modern, brighter fabrics, too, to appeal to all customers. You can see our selections and visit the store online if you're too far away to visit!
This week, we'll be talking about Sarah's block for the quilt. In a few weeks we'll be back with a post featuring Dolores' block. Let's get started!
Cutting Instructions:
Background print (1038-0188)
*Cut 2 squares 2 7/8” x 2 7/8” – Cut once on the diagonal
Red print (1034-0111)
*Cut 2 squares 2 7/8” x 2 7/8” – Cut once on the diagonal
Gold print (1033-0128)
*Cut 4 squares 2 7/8” x 2 7/8” – Cut once on the diagonal
Black print (1035-0112)
*Cut 4 squares 2 7/8” x 2 7/8” – Cut once on the diagonal
Green print (1702-0116)
*Cut 4 squares 2 7/8” x 2 7/8” – Cut once on the diagonal
Sewing Directions:
This block is made up of half square triangles (HST). There are many ways to construct these units and I'm going to show you my personal favorite. I use a tool designed by Judy Martin called the Point
Trimmer. You can order it here!
After cutting our triangles as listed above, we use the handy point trimmer to nip off those little pointy ends--it makes lining up the pieces much easier & really improves accuracy.
*
Sew the red print and background triangles
together. Make 4 HST press toward the
red print. Each HST will measure 2 ½” x 2
1/2 “ unfinished. (Note how there are no pesky "dog ears" hanging off the ends of the pieced unit thanks to the point trimmer?)
Repeat these steps to make the other HST units for this
block.
* Sew 4 of the black print and gold print triangles
together to make 4 HST. Press toward the
black print.
* Sew 4 of the green print and gold print
triangles to make 4 HST. Press toward the
gold print.
* Finally, sew the 4 green print and black print triangles together to make 4 HST. Press towards the black print.
* Now it's time to sew the rows together!
Row 1, press seams to the right.
Row 2, press seams to the left.
Row 3, press seams to the right.
Row 4, press seams to the left.
If you are worried about lining up the seams and points when sewing the rows together consider using fork pins. You can order them here.
They work miracles! Just line up the points you are trying to match & then use a fork pin to anchor the intersection.
Press the seams for each row. The block should measure 8 ½” x 8 ½” unfinished. And that's it, another block is done.
If you prefer the ease of accessing a pattern via a PDF file, then click here for a PDF version.
Are you excited to see how the entire mystery comes together? Be sure to check back each week for another installment. If you want to make a quilt just like ours, you can still buy a kit of fabrics.
What's a sewalong without giveaways? Please
post a comment right here for a chance to win. If you're stumped for a comment topic, tell us what your favorite method of making HST units is and whether you have tried the Point Trimmer featured in this post. I'll choose a winner the morning of August 18th. (Please do not email your comments as only comments left on the blog will be eligible.)
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