Thank you so much for playing along with me this year! I have enjoyed it and I hope you have too. 

This month we’re putting it together and finishing it! I know a lot of you have worked ahead on the piecing and some have also finished. That’s awesome! I’ve loved seeing them come together. 

For the front- 

For those of you who haven’t finished, this is your month! The layout above is how I put mine together. Of course, there is no right or wrong way to put the blocks together. 

1. Piece Section 1 blocks.

2. Piece Section 2 blocks.

3. Piece Section 1 to Section 2. 

4. Piece Section 3 blocks.

5. Piece Section 1_2 to Section 3.

6. Piece Section 4 blocks. I did this in the three horizontal rows. 

7. Piece Section 1_2_3 to Section 4. 

8. Piece Section 5 blocks. 

9. Piece Section 1_2_3_4 to Section 5. 

10. Piece Section 6 blocks. I did this in the three horizontal rows.

11. Piece Section 1_2_3_4_5 to Section 6. 

And for the back- 

Remember how I mentioned to hold on to your extra pieces in the months we had extra pieces? Well, I had a BUNCH of scraps from testing each block. Hopefully you don’t have nearly as many extra blocks as I did! The front has no improv… You know I love improv… So, my challenge to you is to improv your scraps and left over fabrics to make a back that is totally different from the front! 

Of course, you don’t have to. You can use one wide back piece of fabric if you want to! 

I went full on improv on the back and pieced tons of scraps. I didn’t use all of my scraps, but the back is only made with scraps and extra fabric from the front. I do still have a few leftovers! 

Just like all your other quilts, once the front and back are done, quilt it however you want to and the binding as you typically do. And you're done! Another SMQG BOM is complete! (now I just need to quilt the previous two years of SMQG BOM’s I have ready to be quilted!) 

Thank you!!!!

My quilt was quilted by SMQG Member Jana Royal, Reverie Quilting. 

It’s November! Sorry I’m late this month… A lot going on. Not only is it November, it’s our last block! Can you believe it???? 

This month we are making a ‘V’ blocks. This is another block I kind of made up. I’m sure there’s a version out there with a name, but I don’t know what it is! 

We’re making 4 blocks total this month. You will need your background fabric and colors 4 and 5. 

Cutting: 

(2)  2 1/2” x 11” rectangles of Color 4.  

(6)  2 1/2” x 11” rectangles of Color 5.

(8)  5 1/4” x 6 ¼” rectangles of the background fabric.

Download the PDF here.

Step 1: Cut (4) rectangles of your background fabric diagonally from the top left to the bottom right.   

Step 2: Stack the color rectangle over the bottom left triangle. Then sew a ¼” seam. (This is a good spot to chain stitch again.)

Step 3: Open and iron with seam allowances open.

Step 4: Trim off the top little triangle to have a right angle at the top left corner. 

Step 5: Stack the top right rectangle over the color rectangle. Then sew a ¼” seam. (This is a good spot to chain stitch again.)

Step 6: Open and iron with seam allowances open.

Step 7: Trim your block to be a 4 ½” x 8 ½” block positioning the corners as shown below.

Step 8: Repeat steps 2 thru 7, three more times. You will end up with (4) 4 ½” x 8 ½” blocks with the diagonal line pointing from the top left corner to the bottom right corner. 

Step 9: Now we are going to start over and do everything in the opposite direction! Cut your remaining (4) rectangles of your background fabric diagonally from the top right to the bottom left.  

Step 10: Stack the color rectangle over the bottom left triangle. Then sew a ¼” seam. (This is a good spot to chain stitch again.)

Step 11: Open and iron with seam allowances open.

Step 12:  Trim off the top little triangle to have a right angle at the top left corner.  

Step 13: Stack the top right rectangle over the color rectangle. Then sew a ¼” seam. (This is a good spot to chain stitch again.)

Step 14: Again, open and iron with seam allowances open.

Step 15: Trim your block to be a 4 ½” x 8 ½” block positioning the corners as shown below.

Step 16: Repeat steps 10 thru 15, three more times. You will end up with (4) 4 ½” x 8 ½” blocks with the diagonal line pointing from the top right corner to the bottom left corner. 

Step 17: Now we’re going to combine the opposite half blocks into (4) full 8 ½” square blocks. Sew two of the half blocks together with a ¼” seam. Iron the seam allowances open. 

Step 18: Repeat Step 17 three more times to end with your four finished blocks! 

And that’s it! All of our blocks are done! Next month we’ll be putting them all together! 

It’s October! This month we are making a ‘Half Square Triangle in a Half Square Triangle’ blocks. I don’t know if that is really a block name or not, but I thought it was a good name for this month’s block! 

We’re making 5 blocks total. You will need your background fabric and colors 2, 3, 4 and 5.                                        

You can download the PDF instructions here. 

Cutting: 

(1)  5” squares of Color 2.

(1)  5” squares of Color 3.

(1)  5” squares of Color 4.  

(1)  5” squares of Color 5.

(8)  5” squares of the background fabric.

For the 9 1/2” triangles, see diagram in the instructions before cutting.

(1)  9 1/2” triangle of Color 2

(1)  9 1/2” triangle of Color 3

(2)  9 1/2” triangles of Color 4

(1) 9 1/2” triangle of Color 5

We’ll start with the small HSTs: 

Step 1: Stack your 5” squares, (1) Color piece and (1) Background piece, right sides together.  

Step 2: Use a pen or chalk pencil to draw a line from corner to corner as a guide for your stitching. Then sew a ¼” seam on each side of your line. (This is a good spot to chain stitch again with the two squares)

Step 3: Cut along the line you drew in the previous step.

Step 4: Open the triangles and iron with seam allowances open. Do this for both halves.

Step 5: Trim the HSTs to 4 1/2”. 

Step 6: Take a background 5” square and cut it diagonally from corner to corner into two triangles.

Step 7: Sew one of the triangles to the HST you previously made. You will want to orient the background triangle along the side of the color half of the HST with a 1/4” tip overlapping as shown below. 

Step 8: Iron your seam allowances open.  

Step 9: Repeat Step 7 on the other side of the color triangle of the HST. 

Step 10: Iron your seam allowances open. This will leave you with a 1/4” seam allowance at the point of the HST as shown below. Your background triangles will be slightly larger than the HST block and that’s ok. Leave it this way for now. 

Now we will finish the block to make the larger HST half! 

Step 11: Cut your triangles. Since we don’t need (2) HST blocks of each color, we are starting with triangles instead of squares. Cut all the triangles with the (2) equal sides measuring 9 1/2“. 

Step 12:  Stack your color triangle with the piece triangle we previously pieced, right sides together.  Sew your seam allowance along the long, diagonal edge. Chain stitch opportunity! 

Step 13: Open the triangles and iron with seam allowances open. Repeat for each block.

Step 14: Trim all the blocks to 8 1/2“ squares. 

Step 15: Repeat each step until you have completed all 5 blocks! 

That’s it for this month! Five more blocks done! Only one more month to go! 

It’s September! Fall is almost here!  Can you believe it?

This month we are making Striped Half Square Triangle blocks and a few large Half Square Triangles. 

We’re making 7 blocks total. Four of them make up the big section in the top left corner and the other three are the large HST’s. You will need your background fabric and colors 1, 2 and 5. 

Block 1, Striped HST:                                       Block 2, HST:                              

This month you will need your background fabric and Colors 1, 2 and 5

Cutting: 

For the Striped HSTs:  

(2)  9 1/2” squares of Color 2.  

(2)  5 1/2” squares of Color 1. 

(2)  9 1/2” squares of the background fabric

(4)  1 1/4” x 9” rectangle of background fabric

For the HSTs: 

(1)  9 1/2” triangle of Color 1.  

(1)  9 1/2” triangle of Color 2. 

(1)  9 1/2” triangle of Color 5.

(3)  9 1/2” triangles of the background fabric

(see diagrams in the instructions before cutting)

Download the PDF instructions here.

We’ll start with the Striped HSTs: 

Step 1: Stack your 9 1/2” squares, (1) Color piece and (1) Background piece, right sides together.  

Step 2: Use a pen or chalk pencil to draw a line from corner to corner as a guide for your stitching. Then sew a ¼” seam on each side of your line. (This is a good spot to chain stitch again with the two squares)

Step 3: Cut along the line you drew in the previous step.

Step 4: Open the triangles and iron with seam allowances open. Do this for both halves.

Step 5: Trim the color triangle. Trim it 2 1/4“, parallel along the center line. 

Step 6: Center your long rectangle of background fabric along the edge of the Color 2 fabric. And don’t forget, chain piecing makes these 4 blocks go even faster! 

Step 7: Iron your seams open. And then trim the strip to 1” wide. 

Step 8: Cut the (2) 5 1/2“ blocks in half diagonally, for (4) Color 1 triangles. Align the corners of the two triangles and sew the small triangle along the edge of the background rectangle. 

Step 9: Iron your seam allowances open. 

Step 10: Trim your block to an 8 1/2" square, 

Step 11: Repeat steps 5 thru 10 (if you haven’t been chain piecing!). You will end up with 4 of these blocks. 

Next, we’ll do the HSTs. 

Step 1: Cut your triangles. Since we don’t need (2) HST blocks of each color, we are starting with triangles instead of squares. Cut all the triangles with the (2) equal sides measuring 9 1/2“. 

Step 2:  Sew your seam allowance along the long, diagonal edge. Chain stitch! 

Step 3: Open the triangles and iron with seam allowances open. Repeat for each block.

Step 4: Trim all the blocks to 8 1/2“ squares. 

That’s it for this month! 

Are you ready for some inset circles? That’s what we are doing this month! 

We’re going to make (3) inset circle blocks using your background fabric and Colors 1 and 3. 

Cutting For the Inset Circles: 

(2)  6” squares of Color 1.  

(1)  6” square of Color 3. 

(3)  9” squares of the background fabric

Additional materials:

Plus (1) to (3) 8” square pieces of freezer paper

Glue, I use both Elmers school glue and a stick glue

There are numerous ways to make inset circles. I’m going to show you the way I make them, but you are, of course, welcome to use any way you want. If you have a favorite tutorial, go for it! You could also applique the circle if you prefer. To make the blocks the way I enjoy making them, you will also need freezer paper and glue and a glue stick. 

I started making circles this way back in 2015 when I wanted to make a sports themed quilt for my nephew. I take no credit for this method, but it’s by far my favorite! I also made myself a tutorial and it’s on my blog. Yes, I made the tutorial for myself, because I go back to almost every time I do this! Ha!

Inset Circle Tutorial 

If seeing actual photos helps, the tutorial may help. On my blog, there’s also a link to a video of someone else using this technique. 

You can download the PDF of the instructions here.

Step 1: Prep the freezer paper. Cut an 8” square of freezer paper and then cut a 5” circle in the middle of the freezer paper.

Step 2: Iron the freezer paper to the wrong side of your background fabric. Then cut out a circle in the middle of the freezer paper and background fabric. I cut the circle about 4”, leaving about a ½” seam allowance. This circle does not have to be exact! 

Step 3: Snip around the seam allowance. For this size circle, I spaced my snips about ½” apart. Do not snip all the way to the freezer paper. 

Step 4: Use the glue stick to glue down the seam allowances to the freezer paper. I glue around a quarter of the circle and then fold over the seam allowances onto the freezer paper. I finger press them over. The seam allowance should stick to the freezer paper well without the need for ironing.

Step 5: Put a little dot of school glue on each piece of the seam allowance. Light on the glue, you don’t need much!  

Step 6:  Flip over the background piece and center it on your square of color fabric. Color Fabric right side up and background fabric right side up. At this point it will look like the finished block. 

Press the two pieces together. 

Step 7: Now to sew the pieces together. Gently pull the main background fabric away from the freezer paper. Then stitch in the ditch around the circle along the edge of the freezer paper. As you stitch around the circle, you will continue to be separating your background fabric from the freezer paper and, ever so slightly, pulling it out of the way of the stitch line.

Step 8: This step is a few steps all wrapped into one to finish the block! 

Remove the freezer paper. If you do it carefully you can reuse it for the next two blocks. 

Trim your seam allowances and iron the block with the seam allowances away from the center circle. And lastly, trim the block to an 8 ½” square. 

Repeat steps 1-8 with your second Colors 1 block and the Color 3 block.  

Congrats, your inset circles are complete! 

This month's block is a mouthful! Half Rectangle Triangle blocks!  They are pretty easy blocks again. The main trick is to angle the background fabric in the right direction.

We’re going to make (3) different blocks using half rectangle triangles (HRT). These will be two double blocks, one oriented to the left and two oriented to the right, and one large one.  

This month you will need your background fabric and Colors 1, 2, and 4

Cutting for the HRTs: 

(1)  9” x 5” rectangle of Color 1.  

(1)  9” x 5” rectangle of Color 2. 

(1)  9” x 5” rectangle of Color 4.  

(3)  9” x 5” rectangles of the background fabric

(1)  17 1/2” x 9 1/2” rectangle of Color 4.  

(1)  17 1/2” x 9 1/2” rectangle of the background fabric

You can download a PDF of the directions here.

Step 1: Starting with our double HRT block in Color 4. 

Stack your background and Color 4 rectangles. Orient the fabrics with the Color 4 fabric straight and your background fabric angled as shown below, with right sides together. Mark the line from corner to corner. 

Step 2: Sew a ¼” seam on each side of your line. (This is a good spot to chain stitch again with the other rectangle blocks.)

Step 3: Cut along the line you drew in Step 1.

Step 4: Open the rectangles and iron the seam allowances open. Do this for both halves.

Step 5: Trim the blocks to 4 ½” x 8 ½” rectangles. 

Step 6:  Sew together the (2) HRTs with both HRTs oriented in the same direction as shown below. 

Step 7: Now for our other two double HRT blocks in Colors 1 and 2. 

Repeat steps 1-6 with your Colors 1 and 2 rectangles and the background fabric. For these blocks, orient your background fabric in the opposite direction of your previous block as shown below, right sides together. 

Step 8: Now you have three 8 ½” blocks! Two oriented towards the right and one oriented towards the left! 

Step 9: On to the large block! 

Orient the rectangles as you did in Step 7 and repeat Step 1. 

Step 10: For the oversized block you can choose to sew on one or both sides of your line. 

You only need one large HRT. You can sew on both sides for two HRTs and use one for the front and save one for the back of the quilt! Or, you can save your fabric and possibly use it in a future block. 

Then continue to repeat Steps 3 and 4 for this block. 

Step 11: Lastly, trim your oversized block to 8 ½” x 16 ½”  

And with that, we’re another 4 quilt blocks closer to a quilt top!! 

This month we will be making quarter circles! These quarter circle blocks are one of my favorite blocks to make. You’ll see them in a LOT of my quilts! Hope you enjoy it as well. 

This month you will need your background fabric and Colors 2, 4 and 5. You will also want to download the PDF instructions and Templates for these blocks. 

Cutting: 

(5) 9” x 9” squares of Background Fabric

(2) 9” x 9” squares of Color 2 Fabric

(1) 9” x 9” squares of Color 4 Fabric

(2) 9” x 9” squares of Color 5 Fabric

Cut out the two sets of templates and tape them together

Step 1: We’re going to start with Templates A and B for the smaller quarter circles in Color 5. Stack your Color 5 fabrics and position the Template B in the corner. Cut along the dashed line, the ¼ seam allowance line. 

Step 2: Stack your Background fabrics and position Template A in the corner. Cut along the dashed line, the ¼ seam allowance line. 

When cutting, be aware if you have directional fabric, that the fabric will be in the correct direction. This is most important with the two Color 2 blocks, using Template C, as they will be mirror images of each other. 

Step 3: Position the background piece on top of the Color fabric. Sew the pieces together along the curved edge. Sew slowly and ease the background fabric along the curve of the Color fabric. Avoid stretching the fabrics. Both edges will align. 

I don’t pin, but you can. Starting at the center of both curves, pin and work your way to the edges. Then sew along the curves. 

Step 4: Iron the seam allowances toward the quarter circle.  

Step 5: Trim the block to 8 ½” square. When trimming, position the quarter circle to be 2 ¾” away from the corners. (The 2 ¾” doesn’t need to be exact, as the circles do not align with other blocks.)

Step 6: Repeat for the other block. You will have two of these blocks, both in Color 5.

Step 7: Repeat steps 1 thru 6 with Templates C and D and your Background fabric and Colors 2 and 4. Trim the block to 8 ½” square. For these blocks, position the quarter circle to be ¾” away from the corners.

Step 8: You will have three of these blocks, one in Color 4 and two in Color 2.

Step 9: We’re not going to let our scraps go to waste! For these, you don’t want to align the edges, but offset them about a ½”. Or you can pin starting from the center. Then sew them together following Steps 3 and 4. 

Step 10: You will end up with 5 more blocks. I didn’t trim mine. You can square them or you can leave as they are until later! Set aside and we’ll use these later! 

Hopefully, you enjoyed these as much as I do! 

Sorry for the delay this month! I made it an easy one since I'm getting a late start this month! 

This month we will be making stripes! Should be an easy month! 

This month you will need your background fabric and Colors 4 and 5

Cutting: 

Background rectangles: 

(6) 1 ⅝” x 9” rectangles of Background Fabric

(6) 2” x 9” rectangles of Background Fabric

(6) 1 ⅝” x 9” rectangles of Color 4

(3) 1 ⅝” x 9” rectangles of Color 5

You can download a PDF of the instructions here.

Step 1: Stack your rectangles right sides together. Stack a wide background rectangle with a color stripe, two times. Stack a skinny background rectangle with a color stripe. Sew down the long side of the rectangles with a ¼” seam allowance. Iron seam allowances open. 

Step 2: Add to the stripe sets from Step 1. Sew the wide/skinny stripe set to the skinny/skinny stripe set. Sew the wide/skinny stripe set to the other skinny background stripe. Sew using a ¼” seam allowance and iron seams open.

Step 3: Sew the stripe sets from Step 2 together using a ¼” seam allowance. Iron seams open.

Step 4: Trim the blocks to an 8 ½” square block. 

Step 5: Repeat for two more blocks. 

And with that, we’re done! Another month of blocks complete! 

April Showers bring May flowers and Half Square Triangles!! Hopefully it will be another quick month for everyone with their blocks. 

We’re going to make (3) different block types using half square triangles (HST), background squares and our three leftover flying geese from last month. 

Block 1: 

Block 2: 

And Block 3: 

This month you will need your background fabric and Colors 1, 2, 3, and 5

Cutting: 

Background squares: 

(5) 4 ½” squares of the background fabric

For the HSTs: 

(1)  5” square of Color 1.  

(3)  5” square of Color 2. 

(1)  5” square of Color 3.  

(4)  5” square of Color 5.  

(9)  5” Squares of the background fabric

You download the instructions here. 

Step 1: Stack your 5” squares, (1) Color piece and (1) Background piece, right sides together.  

Step 2: Use a pen or chalk pencil to draw a line from corner to corner as a guide for your stitching. Then sew a ¼” seam on each side of your line. (This is a good spot to chain stitch again with the two squares)

Step 3: Cut along the line you drew in the previous step.

Step 4: Open the triangles and iron with seam allowances open. Do this for both halves.

Step 5: Trim all the blocks to 4 ½” x 4 ½” squares. 

Step 6: Now we will start putting the blocks together starting with Block 1. There are (3) Block 1s to make using Colors 2 and 5, (1) in Color 2 and (2) in Color 5. 

Sew together (2) HSTs with both HSTs oriented in the same direction as shown below. 

Step 7: Sew together (1) HST and (1) of the background squares oriented as shown below. 

Step 8: Sew the two pieces from Steps 6 and 7 together. Repeat for the three blocks. 

Step 9: Now we will move to piecing Block 2. There is only (1) Block 2 in Color 5. 

Sew together (1) HST and (1) of the background squares oriented as shown below. Do this twice. 

 

Step 10: Sew the two pieces from Step 9 together with the triangle points touching as shown below. 

Step 11: Now we will move to piecing Block 3. This Block finishes the unfinished flying geese blocks from last month. There are three of these blocks in Colors 1, 2 and 3. 

Sew together (2) HSTs with both HSTs oriented in the same direction as shown below. Repeat for each of the (3) colors. 

Step 12: Sew the piece from Step 11 and the flying geese block from last month together as shown below. Repeat for each of the (3) colors. 

And with that, we’re done! Another month of blocks complete! 

You can It’s March! Can you believe it? Obviously, I wasn’t ready for March since I’m a day late posting this months blocks… This month we are making Flying Geese Blocks!

We’re going to make the blocks (or part of the blocks shown above). You will need your background fabric and colors 1, 2, 3 and 4. 

Cutting: 

For the (2) four at a time flying geese cut: 

(2) 9 ½” squares out of the Color 1 fabric. This will be the ‘triangle fabric’

(8) 5 ½” Squares of the background fabric

For the (5) one at a time flying geese cut: 

(1) 5” x 9” rectangle of Color 1.  This will be the ‘triangle fabric’

(1)  5” x 9” rectangle of Color 2.  This will be the ‘triangle fabric’

(1)  5” x 9” rectangle of Color 3.  This will be the ‘triangle fabric’

(2)  5” x 9” rectangle of Color 4.  This will be the ‘triangle fabric’

(10) 5” Squares of the background fabric

You can download a PDF of the instructions here. 

The first block we are going to make is the double flying geese block. It looks like a quadruple flying geese block, but we’re going to split it into (2) double flying geese. These are going to be made using the background fabric and Color 1 fabric using the 4 blocks a time technique..

This month, I switched gears to make this tutorial in diagrams rather than photos. Hopefully, you like the diagrams and they make sense! 

Step 1- Layout your large squares with 2 of the smaller squares situated on top as shown below. You will want to clip the overlap between of the smaller squares. You can clip these with scissors or lay it out on your cutting mat and cut there. 

Step 2: Use a pen or chalk pencil to draw a line from corner to corner as a guide for your stitching. Then sew a ¼” seam on each side of your line. (This is a good spot to chain stitch again with the two squares)

Step 3: Cut along the line you drew in the previous step.

Step 4: Open the triangles and iron with seam allowances open. Do this for both halves.

Step 5: Add another 5 ½” block in the corner, draw your guide line from corner to corner. Then sew a ¼” seam allowance on each side of the line. (Another opportunity to chain stitch with the other half of you finished in Step 3.)

Step 6: Cut along the drawn line.

Step 7: You now have (2) flying geese blocks, (4) with the other half. Iron you seam allowances open.

Step 8: Trim all the blocks to 4 ½” x 8 ½” blocks with ¼” at the point of the triangle.

Step 9: Repeat all the steps for the other half if you haven’t already done it. Now you have the 8 flying geese blocks. Sew them into pairs. You’ll end up with (4) 8 ½” blocks. You are done with these for now. We’ll sew them together later in the year.

Next up is the 1 at a time flying geese blocks. We are going to do this process 5 times, or get yourself set up do it with chain stitching since you already cut everything (my preference). 

   

We’re going to make the block on the right and the flying geese blocks for the blocks on the right. 

Step 1: Layout your large rectangle with 1 of the smaller squares situated on top as shown below. You are going to mark the diagonal line from corner to corner to help you stay straight. Then sew right over that line. (insert chain stitching recommendation here!)

Step 2: Cut the corners off, ¼” off of the sewn line. Save those corners! 

Step 3: Iron with seam allowances open. 

Step 4: Basically, you are going to repeat steps 1-3 on the other corner with another 5” square of the background fabric. You are going to mark the diagonal line from corner to corner to help you stay straight. Then sew right over that line.

Step 5: Cut the corners off, ¼” off of the sewn line. Save those corners! 

Step 6: Iron with seam allowances open. 

Step 7: Trim all the blocks to 4 ½” x 8 ½” blocks with ¼” at the point of the triangle.

Step 8: You are done with the blocks in Colors 1, 2, and 3. Sew your (2) Color 4 blocks together, point to point. 

That’s it for this month! Yay!