Thursday, January 16, 2025

Hometown Nostalgia Quilt Along - Row 1

 Are you ready to start sewing?  I've got Row 1 ready to work on!  This Block is Schoolgirl's Puzzle.  I think it looks pretty neat in a row, you see kind of a star effect.



This block is made of two units - Hourglass and Birds in the Air.  Lots of triangles, but after making 10 blocks I promise you will have mastered this one!


For this row, you will need background fabric, dark, and medium fabrics.  If you are making all of your blocks the same you will need about 3/8 yard of your background, 1/8 yard of dark and 1/4 yard of medium.  I decided to use scraps and make each row out of a different color. Thanks to Delaine for that great idea!


I'm using teal for this row - each block will have the same background, and the darks and mediums will be different.  Here is the process for making one block:


You'll want to start out by making six half square triangles using medium and background triangles.  Make sure you trim off the extra fabric (I call them dog ears!) and square them up.  For these, you could make them oversized and trim down to 2 inches, but you will still need four of the medium cut at 2 3/8 for the rest of the block. 


Before I sew the side triangles for the pieced triangle section, I like to lay them out so I can make sure the triangles are all pointing in the same direction.  


Then you can just flip it over and sew your seam.


Then I do the same thing with the remaining triangle. (You will make two of these units for your block.


Now I'm ready to add the large triangle to my pieced triangle.  You can either trim those dog ears at this point or wait until the seam is sewn if you like.


I recommend sewing with the pieced side up so you can sew right at that point.  


Trim dog ears and press the seam toward the dark triangle.  See how nicely that point matches?  This unit should measure 3 1/2 inches.


Next, use the remaining pieced triangles and background squares to make two hourglass units.  


Combine the hourglass and bird in the air units to complete your block - make sure you pay attention to how your hourglasses are oriented!


Turned the other way, it is a Fox and Geese block - still a nice block, but not what we are aiming for! Press your block, it should finish at 6 1/2 inches.


Block one of ten is finished!  I have the rest of my blocks cut out and ready for sewing, so I'll share them as I get them done this month.  I had a good time sorting through my bin of teal scraps (all Island Batik) and am happy to say that it's not only cleaned out and organized, but I can actually get the lid on it!  I hope this helps you with sewing your blocks - if you have any questions, let me know!  I'd be glad to share any tips to help!

You can download the pattern by clicking the link below - feel free to join in and start making your first row!

Download the pattern

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I agree with your statement, " I think it looks pretty neat in a row, you see kind of a star effect." Thank you for the pattern and tutorial.

Quilting Gail said...

Looks great!!! I wish I had time to join in the fun ... but, you know how it. goes! LOL!!!