Hive 2 - July Tutorial: Molly Sparkles Union Jack block

Oh my goodness I am so excited for July!  Not only has school ended, yes, I'm a teacher :) but I am due to close on my very own house... single again after 23 years of marriage!  

I would love to have you help me make a quilt for my new living room and I have been thinking about the block I want to do since I first found out I was in the swap.  After much hemming and hawing and countless hours spent searching Instagram, flickr and Pinterest I decided to challenge myself and maybe my hive a bit by choosing Molli Sparkles' Union Jack block design.

This was a challenge for me as I tend to create wonky blocks, usually without trying!  This tutorial does require some measuring and more careful cutting than I might usually do but after seeing the gorgeous work my fellow Hivemates have produced I think you will handle it easily!

I followed his tutorial and found that if I took my time there were no issues.  I printed out the tutorial using print friendly but I will caution you that it is 21 pages to print.

I took some photos along the way to share my progress....

In the background of the photo below was my first attempt - I got the diagonal stripes upside down in 2 of the quadrants - if this happens to you - DON'T WORRY OR TEAR IT OUT!!  remember my style is wonky....I will still use it :)

  

For color inspiration (excuse the pics, my fabric is packed so I couldn't pull any to show you!) I'd love:

blues, greens, purples for the traditional blue section of a Union Jack;  

reds, pinks, oranges for the diagonal & cross (traditional red of the union jack)

text or low volume fabrics for the white accents

No pastels please!  Geometric or smaller pattern prints will work better but larger prints are OK if there appears to be a predominant color.  Any questions - I am just an email away :)

Question for my Hive Mates:  Do you have any exciting or unusual summer plans?  I am moving and sending my oldest off to college!

thanks ladies - hope you have fun :)

Kristen