LAUREL RIDGE -- MONTH 9

Laurel Ridge is the 2025 Block of the Month quilt designed by Lynn Wilder exclusively for The Quilt Show.  Star Members have FREE access to the patterns starting January 1, 2025. Made in two colorways, the complete patterns are excellent. You will love making this quilt. Lynn supports the pattern instructions with Videos too. 

Month 9 brings us the Nine Patch Star Blocks. This block has the most pieces and will improve your piecing skills for sure. This is Lynn's block from the Autumn version of Laurel Ridge:

The measurements are accurate and will make somewhat quick work of making the small units needed for all 16 blocks.  I strongly encourage you to WATCH THE VIDEO for MONTH 9 before you begin.

When it comes to piecing those units into 5" finished blocks, accurate piecing is essential. I check myself with every seam. Here are my most of the pieces laid out for one block:

                                                  

The remaining green/white quarter square triangles:

The only thing I did differently from the pattern instructions was in making those green/white quarter square triangles. First, we make 8 half square triangles at a time, using 5.5" squares of green and white. The instructions say to trim each of them to 2.25" square before doing the second sewing step.

One of my mottoes is "Don't the do the hard thing twice."  It isn't necessary to trim the half square triangles BEFORE the second sewing step. They can be trimmed AFTER the second sewing step. 

The unit in the top here I did trim BEFORE the second sewing step. They still need to be trimmed AFTER the second sewing step. The unit in the bottom I did not trim before, only after. I saved time by eliminating that first trimming:

The units ultimately get trimmed to 1.5" square--that's SMALL!  So I chose not to do the trimming more than once. That means there is more to trim away now but that's okay with me. I placed the 3/4" line at the center of the unit, being sure to keep the diagonal line straight. The unit needs to be exactly 1.5" square, so "Measure TWICE, cut ONCE":

NOTE: My top was completely done before I got this pattern. So I only made ONE of these blocks for my demo, using different leftover fabrics from my top. I pieced some fabrics to be the size needed rather than cut from yardage. That explains any unusual seams you may notice in my block. The pattern instructions are correct so you won't have any extra seams like I do. Remember, my block is only a "sample test block". 

As I made the center nine patch, I sewed individual squares together. After joining two squares I measured to be sure they are 2.5" including seam allowances, before adding the third square. Then I checked to be sure 3 of them measure 3.5" including seam allowances. 

Another of my sayings: "If they are not the right size now, they will not miraculously become the right size when you do the next step." Check each seam with these small pieces as you go.

I did the same as I joined the corner squares to the half square triangles. I checked to be sure they both measured exactly 2.5" before I joined them to the Green/white quarter square triangle:

The same is true when you make the two sides that join the center nine patch. Be sure they are exactly 3.5" when joined so they fit the center:

My advice with this block is take it SLOW.  Check each seam as you go. There are 16 of these blocks and you have all month. Use the BLOCK LAYOUT SHEET page 5, to be sure you have each unit turned as it should be. Ask me how I know that's important!

Next month we make easy stars: the Plaid Stars. There are only 8 of those so no need to rush Month 9. 

Let's quilt.

Barbara

Finally Finished Four-Patch

After quite some time, I am finished with this leader/ender project:

It is based on a quilt in the book Small Pieces, Spectacular Quilts by Mary Elizabeth Kinch and Biz Storms.  I made 4 patches from 1.5" squares over a couple of years, then they became groups of four four-patches, then larger groups of four sets, all with 1" sashing between the units.   There are many of my favorite fabrics in here and all are from projects I've made in the past 10 years.  It's like a reunion looking at them as the quilt top was completed.

As I'm a number person it seemed reasonable to count the squares when the top was done.  Not including the two outer borders, there are 1957 squares and rectangles in the body of the quilt.  It is a gift for my sister who was born, wait for it... in 1957!  Weird, right?  She had fussed at me some time ago that I never made a quilt for her so I've been working on this for a while.  I told her I'd make her a quilt for her 60th birthday so at this point I'm more than 3 years early.   Now it's on to the longarm quilter and eventually to my sister--sometime in this next year I guess.  No problem, she does not read my blog so she won't know.

This was the perfect leader/ender project.  By that I mean, I keep a container of light 1.5" squares and dark 1.5" squares right beside my machine.  As I start or end a row of stitching on every seam I sew, I grab 2 squares, one light one dark, and join them--then they get joined into a four patch and set aside until I need four-patches.  It's a way to create pieced units as you work on a project.  If I had decided to just make this quilt, all at once, I'd have gone crazy--there's just too much piecing and it's all squares and rectangles. 

Every quilter who has a cat knows that as soon as you spread out a quilt, anywhere, the cat will immediately appear out of nowhere and jump on it.  Patches did just that.  Sadly, her "brother" Stitches, is quite ill and will go back to the vet tomorrow.  We think he ate Christmas cactus.  It's touch and go today so I hope to have better news next report.

Check out Judy L's blog to see what others are up to.

Let's quilt!

Barbara