Hive 5 January Tutorial - Five Crosses

HIVE FIVE. Are you ready? With this tutorial, I'm kicking off our Stash Bee year of awesome. The words that keep running through my head are, "This year is going to rock."

1. Name: 

Audrey. 

2. Where you live: 

Central Illinois surrounded by CORN.

3. Tell us about your family: 

I have an amazing husband-dude of almost ten years, plus three small boys who are super fun.

4. Tell us about your pets: 

No pets. (I'm allergic to most animals, which is SAD.)

5. How long have you been quilting? 

Three years. Ish.

6. What crafts do you do other than quilting? 

I used to do a bunch, but now I focus mostly on sewing, although I do dabble in apparel and bag making as well.

7. Fabric line you want to buy next: 

Chipper from Tula Pink because I can't quit my Tula love.

8. Preferred quilting method (FMQ, long arm, hand, etc.): 

I am really boring when it comes to quilting. Like, really boring. Straight line echo quilting is my bread and butter, but I also love handquilting, especially in conjunction with straight line quilting.

9. Where we can find you on social media:  

blog hotpinkquilts.blogspot.com; instagram: hotpinkquilts; flickr: hotpinkquilts

10. Favorite book: 

TOO HARD. I'm a YA author and former bookseller, so I read a lot, especially YA. A few of my favorites are Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli, Savvy by Ingrid Law, The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin. As for authors, I'm currently excited about Brandon Sanderson, Rainbow Rowell, and Melina Marchetta.

11. Favorite show to binge watch: 

Right now? Star Trek: Next Gen or Sherlock. I am SOOOOO excited for tonight!

Onto BLOCK AMAZINGNESS. I'd like y'all to make me a Five Crosses block. I saw this block randomly on instagram, and I loved it so. I figured, it'll be easy to find a tutorial, right? WRONG. (That being said, if you know of one/find one, please don't tell me! I think I would cry!)

My goal is to make a throw-size quilt for a friend of mine who has been having a bit of a rough time. She loves blues and greens and blue-greens, so that's the palette I've selected. I ask that you keep the colors saturated, not pastels, like the fabrics pulled above. I'm not particular about which color goes where. Use two blues! Or two greens! Or mix blue-green in there somewhere! Just please make sure they contrast well. Also, I pressed my seams open, but I'm not particular about how you press yours.

You'll need: 

FABRIC A (blue in my pictures)

(8) 2.5" squares

(12) 2.5" x 3.5" rectangles

FABRIC B (green in my pictures)

(6) 2.5" squares

(5) 2.5" x 6.5" rectangles

1. You might be able to figure out how the block is pieced just from the photo, but in case you'd like some instruction, here's where to start: piece the center cross first, using (4) fabric A 2.5" squares plus (2) fabric B 2.5" squares and (1) fabric B 2.5" x 6.5" rectangle.

2. After that is completed, attach a 2.5" x 6.5" fabric B rectangle to the top and bottom of the cross. You'll need to piece the left and right sides, which are each composed of (2) fabric A 2.5" squares and (1) fabric B 2.5" x 6.5" rectangles. Once all four sides are attached to the center cross from step 1, set piece aside.

3. There are four corner units, which are each sewn up using (3) fabric A 2.5" x 3.5" rectangles and (1) fabric B 2.5" square. Two fabric A rectangles attach to the left and right side of the fabric B square. A third fabric A rectangle should be centered and attached to the top of the pieced rectangle.

4. Grab your center piece and lay out the block. The four corner units will need to be positioned around the center bit, then attached. One way of centering the corner units properly is to fold both the center square and the corner units in half. (You'll see I folded one right sides together and one wrong sides together so that they will nestle.) Pin and sew.

5. Your finished product before trimming will look like this. I would love it if you sent them untrimmed, but if you really really want to trim it, the block is 12" unfinished.

Thanks for all of your help, hive 5! I am looking forward to your interpretation.