GAME ON! MONTH 4

Game On! is the 2026 Block of the Month quilt designed by Becky Goldsmith exclusively for THE QUILT SHOW: find Game On! information here. Join as a Star Member to get all the patterns and all the videos FREE. Membership is just $49/year and provides access to over 18 years of shows and tremendous additional content. Join HERE

This month we move on to the narrow borders. Becky has used a classic triangle block in a unusual way:

The only cutting change I made was to the white background triangles. Instead of cutting rectangles 2" x 4.5", I cut them 4" x 4.5", in pairs, wrong sides together. Cut them into half triangles starting about 1/2" from the upper left to lower right. This puts close to straight of grain on the outside edge rather than bias:

If using a fabric with a motif you want to center it takes a bit of effort to figure out how to cut it. My  Zebra was carefully fussy cut so it was centered but I forgot about the triangle shape. Here you can see this won't fit without chopping off important parts: 

                                                            

I cut a second Zebra and he fits better though he has lost his hind end: 

The rotation of the blocks just wasn't my favorite so I tried an alternate layout. My original plan to have all the points facing out would have put a lot of bulk at each seam so I tried this instead. It's still fun and different, just not as different as Becky's. This will go on the PRINTS KIT version when I get that made:

For my SOLIDS KIT version I designed a completely different paper pieced border. Let's call it BB's Border. Here it is on the left:

You are welcome to use it if you like. It is simple to draw--I won't be providing it already drawn. This works well using freezer paper so you only need 2 patterns for speedy sewing. Or you can use vellum or newsprint.

Start by drawing a 3" square, add seam allowances all around to have a 3.5" pattern. Draw a line from the top left corner to the lower center. Draw a line from the bottom right corner to the top center. Connect the top center to the left line, connect the bottom center to the right line. That's it, you have your pattern.

Because these are sewn as reverse mirror images, half have blue on the left and half have green on the left. I simply wrote those two colors on the paper--make 6 of each:

Cutting sizes are:

A1-- center diamond 2.25" x 3.75" (3.5" would work but I like insurance) Cut 12

A2 -- white triangles Strip 2.5" x WOF folded in half will make the 24 equilateral triangles needed, the photo below shows just a small strip of fabric to show the process. Start with a 60 degree cut on the end and alternate those cuts all along the strip. Cut 24

A3, 4 --outer colors, 3.5" 4.5" cut in pairs, wrong sides together, 3 pair of each color, blue and green in my sample. Cut these exactly as shown in the diagram above for the original pattern:

This border has to be 36.5" including seam allowances when complete so it fits the center medallion. The best way to be sure it will be correct is to check as you go. After sewing 6 pairs, check that each is now 6.5" long. You want to find the mistake as soon as it happens, not when the border is done and is too long or too short:

Then join the pairs into fours--check them--they should be 12.5" long. Join the three sections and check one more time. If the border is 36.5" long you are good to go! Add it to the left side of your center.

The other project for this month is one of the 4 larger corner blocks. I followed the SOLIDS KIT fabrics exactly with no other changes. Set this aside until later when needed:

If you are a symmetrical kind of person, as I tend to be, you can make each of the narrow borders the SAME. It's YOUR quilt, YOU get to decide. For my PRINTS  version that is what I am doing. This is the border we do in MONTH 5, and is one of my Favorites:

Next month we make the top narrow border and another of the larger corner blocks.

I look forward to seeing your progress on the FORUM

Let's quilt.

Barbara