Row 10 of the Hometown Nostalgia Row Quilt - Maple Leaf

 It's mid-October, and fall has definitely arrived!  The leaves are starting to turn here, and we are starting to see more rain.  Still, the sunny days are absolutely perfect and I treasure each one!  For this month's block, the Maple Leaf is the obvious choice!  And it's a nice easy one.  Nothing too difficult, just a few half square triangles and a simple sew and flip to make the stem of the leaf.

If you are using the same fabric for all of this row, you will need 3/8 yard of dark and 1/4 yard of background.  I am using different browns for my leaves, and a nice background with subtle leaves on it.  I think it will shine in this block!

The cutting goes quickly with just a dark and a background to deal with!

Start out by making the stem units.  Layer the small background squares on one of the dark squares.  Sew the diagonal line, then trim 1/4 inch from the seam allowance and press the background out to the corner of the block.  Repeat on the other side and you will have a 2 1/2 inch stem.

Now you can sew your half square triangle units.  As always, you can use your favorite option for making these, as long as you end up with a 2 1/2 inch unit.  

Lay out and assemble in the typical fashion.  

And here is the first finished block for my row!  I'm excited to see what other fabrics I can chose to complete it.  It's been fun using up my scraps.  Actually, I should just say using as I am nowhere close to using them all up!

Download Row 10 instructions

Enjoy!

Fall is in the air!

 It's definitely feeling like fall here - last week I got up and it was actually in the 40's!  My car's rear tires needed some air, too, so they were feeling the chill as well.  We've had some nice rainy days, which makes the sunny ones feel even better and the leaves are starting to turn here and there.  Yes, I think autumn is making it's appearance!

I've started a project with these lovely prints, plus a panel.  I love the soft colors, so I think I'm really going to be happy with the results!  This is Bountiful by Sandy Clough for P&B textiles.  They were sent to me by Missouri Star Quilt Company as part of the Creator Program, and I just love them!  I can't wait to share my finished quilt - I'm adapting a new pattern for it, and I think it's pretty great.

This project looks pretty fall-ish as well! I'm finally finishing up this Road Trip top for my husband - I gave him the top and a promise to get it done for his birthday in March.  He wants a puffy quilt, so I am tying this and using two layers of fluffy polyfil batting.  I got the tying done yesterday, so today the binding can happen and he can watch football under his new quilt - now that's a perfect fall day for both of us!

I'm also working on getting some quilts added to my second Etsy shop!  It's that time of year - though I don't want to rush fall, Christmas will be here before we know it.  I've got quilts of all sizes, shapes and color schemes available, so if you need a gift, make sure you check it out.  I've even got some fun scrap bags available from my stash.  More quilts coming soon, too.

All these pieces are sewn up into my Friendship Star blocks for the Hometown Nostalgia Row quilt!  Hope your stitching is coming along as well!  

Wishing you a happy Fall - if you are looking for a new project to kick off the season, here's a discount code for 20% off any pattern in my Etsy shop: 

Happy Fall!

Row 9 of the Hometown Nostalgia Row Quilt

 What a trip we had, really the best and most relaxing time I've had in a long time!  We drove through beautiful scenery, ate good food, and enjoyed wonderful stays at a variety of hotels.  I read lots of books and didn't do much work at all.  It was fabulous! 

We even paid a visit to my hometown - Pueblo, Colorado - of course we took a walk around the Riverwalk, even though it was a hot day!

Since we've been home, I've been working on getting caught up on the Hometown Nostalgia Row Quilt! Rows 6, 7 and 8 are now complete!

I really hope that you won't be too mad at me for Row 8 - so many pieces!  I think that one almost took as long to cut out as it took to sew it together!  I promise, the rest of the rows are not as complicated, and don't have any 1 1/2 inch squares to cut!

So now it's time for Row 9 - this is a simple one, similar to Row 7.  You will need a background, dark fabric and light fabric.

If you are using the same fabric for all your blocks, you will need about 3/8 yard of background, 1/4 yard of dark and 1/8 yard of light.

I'm choosing golden tones for this row, after all it's pumpkin spice season!  For each block you will need two 2 7/8 inch squares and four 2 1/2 inch squares of background, two 2 7/8 inch squares of dark and one 2 1/2 inch square of light fabric.  The instructions call for making the triangles by drawing a line on the reverse side of your dark 2 7/8 inch squares.  I chose to cut my squares in half diagonally and sew a 1/4 inch seam.  Feel free to use any technique for half square triangles you like as long as you end up with a 2 1/2 inch half square triangle unit!

After you sew the triangles, arrange your units as shown.  Make sure you pay attention to how those triangles are facing!

Then, just sew it together and press!  I love this classic block - it's fun and quick to make, and is versatile for borders.  I hope you enjoy this row!

Download Row 9