Stash Bee: Hive 4 October Tutorial

Hi hive four from Australia,

I've had so much fun so far in my first year of participating in Stashbee. I've really enjoyed making different blocks, seeing how other people select colours and do a layout. I've also learnt about what made it easier for me to complete a block, so hopefully my tutorial hits the mark.

About the block

For my block, I've gone with a modified quatrefoil

There are several free quatrefoil block patterns available, but I wanted to use one which is a bit more forgiving.

I used rounded 'petals' - so there are no points to lose, and makes joining the blocks less stressful.

I also used a four patch which doesn't need to match up with the petals (some patterns use a square that aligns to the bottom of the petal and/or folded triangle corner which gives a different secondary pattern when the quilt is laid out, but that's less forgiving of variation between quilters).

I'm going to sash between the blocks with a cornerstone (either a dark green or multi-coloured to reflect the blocks) to give a lattice or Irish chain effect to the quilt.

Fabric selection

I'd love it if you could use your favourite flower or colour as inspiration or just pick a complimentary combination of fabrics for the petals and centre from your stash. Pinks, reds, oranges, blues, purples, yellows are all good. Appropriate novelties are great too and I love text prints. Dots, blenders and solids are all good too. I'd also love it if you could share your inspiration in the description when you post your blocks.

I'd like the background to be light, so any white, cream, white-on-white, low volume print that reads as light is fine. I've kept all the backgrounds the same in my test blocks as it's quicker, but if you want to go super scrappy, that's fine too.

For the four-patch contrast, please use any mid-green, I've used both brights and more tertiary greens. I'd like this to have an overall leafy impression, so in terms of fabric patterns with other colours, so long as it contributes to that leafy feel, that's fine.

Here is my fabric pull for some extra colour inspiration.

Cutting

Note: This block is great for using up left over precuts - I've included which ones are suitable in brackets

Centre: cut one - 4.5 inch square (charm square or layer cake)

Petals: cut four - 4.5 inch squares (layer cake)

Green: half width of fabric (20 inches) x 2.5 inch strip (great for a left over jelly roll or fatquater) OR cut two10x2.5 inch strips (layer cake)

Background: half width of fabric (20 inches) x 2.5 inch strip OR cut two 10x2.5 inch strips AND cut eight 2 inch squares. You can use yardage, one jelly roll strip or 1 layer cake (cutting diagram below).

Piecing

Petal blocks:

Draw a diagonal line on the back of the 2 inch background squares - I use Frixion Pens which disappear when ironed. Sew along the drawn line. Trim a quarter inch from the seam. Press seams towards the corner. You should have four 4.5 inch squares.

Four Patch:

make a strip set with the background and the green (if using layer cakes, you will have 2 strip sets).

Press towards the green.

Cross cut each strip set to 2.5 inches.

Pair 2 and rotate one so that you create a four patch - the seams should nest and sew.

You should have four 4.5 inch squares.

Final Layout:

Assemble the block - see layout below. The main trick to watch for is that the four patches run into the centre. I pressed the top and bottom row seams in towards the petals, and the middle row out away from the centre so that the seams nest, but you could also go alternating rows.