Month 6 The Patchwork Barn

This is the FREE Block of the Month pattern "Patchwork Barn", designed by Edyta Sitar exclusively for The Quilt Show. You must be a Star member of this world-wide quilt guild/show/internet community to receive the free patterns each month, beginning January 1, 2018. Join today and get started on this journey.

Previous instructions are here:

IntroductionMonth 1
Month 2
Month 3
Month 4
Month 5

NOTE: On The Quilt Show, the Forum is the best place to ask questions, find answers, or find out if there is a change in the pattern.  I recommend you check in there frequently. And there is a Show and Tell Topic--show us your blocks. Forum Patchwork Barn


We've made it to Month 6--half way there! You will like these blocks, pretty simple, not many pieces, a chance to use smaller pieces you've been saving.

Block 16

This Turnstile block is a combination of half square (HST) and quarter square (QST) triangles. I like to "sew first" when I can. I always oversize the starting pieces to allow for trimming after the sewing is done.

For this block I started with two 4.5" squares of a light and a darker fabric for the smaller triangles--the quarter square triangles. I drew a diagonal line on the back of the light fabric and then sewed 1/4" away from both sides of the line:

I cut apart on the drawn line and the opposite diagonal, creating four pairs of QST:

Next I cut two 4" squares of fabric for the HST in half and added them to the QST units:

One little problem: because of the way the units are made, the blocks have different pinwheels in the middle, one red, one yellow. I am OK with that. If you are not, make them all by following the pattern directions, cutting out all the  pieces first, then sewing the block together:

The front and back of two of these, showing my pressing on this block:

Block 17:

A simple combination of QST, this block is easy to "sew first". I started with two pairs of light and dark fabrics. I drew a diagonal line on the back of the light fabrics, and sewed a 1/4" on both sides of the drawn line:

Then I cut the block apart, first on the drawn line, then on the opposite diagonal:

I pressed toward the darker fabric and then laid out the QST pairs, ready to sew into a block. This time it was easy to get the units in the proper orientation. I even used a directional print for the light fabric. As long as you draw the diagonal lines with the directional fabric positioned the same on both pairs, the lines will be all the same in each block. Of course, if you don't care which way the lines run, feel free to draw the diagonal line anyway you like:

Block 18:

A really easy block, and a good one to use some of the smaller pieces you may be saving. I have a ziploc bag of strips and pieces less than 3" wide and a bag of strips and pieces greater than 3". I dug in those bags to cut the pieces for these blocks. Follow the pattern directions and you'll have these done in no time:

I found an orphan 4-patch in the ziploc bag of smaller bits so I used it in the center of one of the blocks.

Hopefully, you're finding these blocks enjoyable to make, only 6 more new block patterns to go. I am working on an alternative center if you want something different than the barn. Additionally, there will be some ideas on how to enlarge the quilt size if you want a bigger quilt. The Sunday Sew and Sews keep me on my toes with such requests!

Let's quilt.

Barbara