Hive 1 September Tutorial - Mediterranean Tiles

Hi all!  Alicia here, with September greetings from lovely Vermont.  I’m very excited for my turn as queen—it’s safe to say I’ve been agonizing about my block choice since January, and I’ve probably had about 20 different ideas between then and now.  I kept coming back to tile-inspired designs, and drew the color palette and general shape ideas for this block tutorial from this image.

I don’t believe I’ve seen this exact block anywhere before, so I hope this will be something fun, new, and not too complicated for everyone to tackle this month.  Thanks so much in advance for your blocks; I’m excited for all the happy mail to come my way!

Happy sewing!

-Alicia (@qvilt)

Fabric Pull & Cutting Instructions:

Lots of blues, with some yellow, teal, and white in the mix.  Prints, blenders, batiks, and solids are all fine; if possible, please avoid licensed and kid-oriented fabrics. 

You’ll need 6 different fabrics (A-E):

Fabric A:  yellow blender, print, or solid (ideally something that reads bright yellow or gold; preferably not pastel or mustard) 

• 1 - 2.5”x2.5” square

Fabric B:  light blue blender, print, or solid (ideally something that reads sky blue or a bit deeper; preferably not pastel), or white background with blue print

• 2 - 2.5”x2.5” squares
• 2 - 2.5”x6.5” rectangles

Fabric C:  medium blue blender, print, or solid (ideally something that reads cobalt)

• 4 - 2.5”x6.5” rectangles

      Fabric D:  navy blue blender, print, or solid

•       4 - 2.5”x6.5” rectangles

Fabric E:  solid white, or white-on-white print (ideally a true white; preferably not off-white or cream)

• 4 - 4.5”x4.5” squares
• 8 - 2.5”x2.5” squares

Fabric F:  teal blender, print, or solid

• 4 - 2.5”x2.5” squares

Block Instructions:

      1. Draw diagonal lines from corner to corner on the wrong side of the 8 Fabric E 2.5”x2.5” squares and the 4 Fabric F 2.5”x2.5” squares.

      2. Stitch the two Fabric B squares on either side of the Fabric A square and press seams.  Stitch the two Fabric B rectangles on the top and bottom and press seams.  You should now have a central square unit measuring 6.5”x6.5”.

      3. Line up a 2.5”x2.5” Fabric E square with each end of a Fabric D rectangle, right sides together, and diagonal lines pointing opposite directions.  Stitch along the lines, trim the corners leaving ¼”, and press the snowballed corners open.  Repeat with remaining Fabric D rectangles and 2.5”x2.5” Fabric E squares.  You should now have four Fabric D rectangles with snowballed corners.

      4. Stitch a Fabric C rectangle to a snowballed Fabric D rectangle and press seam.  Repeat with other Fabric C and D rectangles.  You should now have 4 rectangular units measuring 4.5”x6.5”.

5. Line up a 2.5”x2.5” Fabric F square with each one corner of a 4.5”x4.5” Fabric E square, right sides together.  Stitch along the line, trim the corner leaving ¼”, and press the snowballed corner open.  Repeat with remaining 4.5”x4.5” Fabric E and remaining Fabric F squares.  You should now have four square corner units with one snowballed corner each, measuring 4.5”x4.5”.

    

      6. Arrange the units according to the photo below and stitch into three rows, pressing seams.  Stitch rows together into single block, and press seams.  You should now have a single square measuring 14.5”x14.5”.

General Notes:

• You may press seams either open or to the side (whichever you prefer for accuracy).
• No need to trim blocks; I’m happy to do that once I start putting them together.
• The block should measure 14.5” square when you’re done (and will be 14” square when stitched together in the finished quilt).
• Tackle the snowballed corners in any order you like best (12 in all); chain piecing all of them at once is efficient, which means doing steps 1, 3, and 5 (above) followed by steps 2, 4, and 6.
• If you don’t mind, please also send along a 5”x5” signature block 😊