May Hive 3 Gina's Catherine Wheel

Hello hive mates. I'm Gina from South Wales in the UK. I blog, very infrequently, at Quilts and Cakes. I am also dabbling my toes in the designing world.

My block for you is one of my own design ( I think). I was playing about in EQ and this is one of the results. My hubby has named it Catherine Wheel.

It's a 12" block and made mostly from HST's. As you can see it's scrappy. Now I love scrappy quilts but I am too much of a control freak to make one. I need to know exactly what fabric goes where and they never work out for me. They always look a mess. So I've decided to ask you ladies to make my scrappy quilt for me.

Fabric choice

The background is all Low Volume. A mixture of creams, whites, very pale greys, pinks, blues and lilacs.
This was my starting pile of Low Volume fabrics if you need inspiration.

That said if you just want to make the background a scrappy white/off white that will work too.

Pattern

Any bright fabrics you have. They can be solids, patterned, batiks, novelties, uglies. I don't mind. The brighter the better. Raid your scraps. This is the excuse to use that " what was I thinking" fabric that you've been sitting on.

Instructions

Quick  note.....I doubled the amount of squares as I made two squares at a time. It also meant I didn't have the same fabric twice in a block. You are not obligated to send two and that's why I've just given the cutting plan for one block. 

Pressing..... I have pressed ALL my seams open. I find it easier to match points and seams when I do. Also the block lies flatter. Can I ask that you do the same.

Background

6 no 4" squares ( draw a diagonal line on the back)
2 no 3" squares  ( draw a diagonal line on the back)
4 no 2.5" squares

Brights

6 no 4" squares ( draw a diagonal line on the back)
2 no 3" squares ( draw a diagonal line on the back)
1 no 2.5" square


To make the middle

Pair each of the 3" background square with a bright one. Sew a quarter inch either side of the diagonal line. Cut down the middle and press open. Trim to 2.5"

Lay the units out along with the 2.5" squares as below

Sew together and press all the seams open

This centre block should measure 6.5"

Outer Units

Using the 6 no 4" squares make 12 no HST's using the same method. Trim these to 3.5"

Lay out the units as below around the centre unit. Please note the placement of the corner units.

Sew the units together and attach to the centre unit, pressing all seams open.

I'm sorry if the post is a bit long for what is a fairly easy block. I haven't done a tutorial for quite a long time. One thing I will say is don't sweat if your points don't match or they've been cut off. In the large scheme of things it won't matter. It won't show when the quilt is put together.

As I mentioned earlier I made two blocks, well to be honest I've made four. This is so I can show you why the placement of the corner units is important.

When you put them together they make a pinwheel. I love quilt blocks that have hidden designs in them when you put them together.

Thank you in advance for making these blocks for me and don't forget that mail from the US/Canada to me can take up to three weeks so don't panic when it takes me a while to email you they've arrived.