October Block for Hive 3

Hello!!!  I'm very excited that it's my turn as Queen Bee for October!  I hope this finds everyone happy, well, and safe, and hopefully enjoying some fall weather!

First, I'd like to share a little about myself and my little family.  We live in rural Georgia, in the middle of farm country.  I work in agricultural finance, and my amazing hubby is a commercial contractor.  We have a beautiful little girl who is our joy and our world.  She is a ball of energy waiting to spontaneously combust, who is smart and kind and loving.  We are blessed.  And then there are the two dogs....always the two dogs!   Also, I like pictures.  Lots of pictures.  I find them especially helpful in tutorials....which will explain a lot in the coming post.  I'd love to hear about you and yours in your block posts!!  Please share if you'd like!

This month, I've chosen a "great" Granny Square block to be done in reds, whites, and blues.

My only request with fabrics is to keep it a 'true red' and not Christmas themed, keep it a good "royal" or navy blue, and use white.  I love using white on white prints, or solids, but just white (not cream), and again no Christmas themes.  I say that because I keep picking up a white on white snowflake print out of my stash!! I'm also good with a low volume that is primarily white.  Again, I just request "white" rather than cream or pale gray as the predominant color.

Below is a picture of my fabric pull for a couple of blocks:

This is also a great way to use up a lot of those 2.5" strips if you have any in these colors.  For this block, you will need:
     8 Blue 2.5" Squares
     17 White 2.5" Squares
     16 Red 2.5" Squares

From this, lay out your block as shown below:  White in the center, and build a "round" out from this.

 Add red around the white:

 Add blue around the red:

Add a second round of red:

 Add a final round of white:

With the layout set, I stacked my rows on the diagonal to begin construction.  I started with the white square in the upper left corner.  Then, I stacked the white/red/white in the next row to the right, in order to be sewn.  Then, stack white/red/blue/red/white, etc. until all are stacked in order of sewing.  Join with scant 1/4" seams.  Press each strip to one direction.  Because these are symmetrical, you can easily flip them to make the seams nest nicely.

With all rows pieced and pressed, lay them out for joining (my picture is pre-pressing, sorry!).  Join.  I personally love the "fork pins" by Clover for making seams "stay still" when sewing.  You place either side of the pin across the seam, and wha-lah! If you've never tried them, it's well worth the small investment (especially if you are ever working on a Bargello and have some OCD tendencies on seams!).

 

Join all rows, and give it a good press!  I worked mine from both short sides, and then joined just offset from the center. 

 

And there you have it!  Please send them untrimmed - I'll square them all up at once for a uniform size.  I can't wait to see what beautiful blocks you ladies create!!
Thank you!!
Lisa