Hive 6 November Block: Modular Maryland for Elise

 Hi! I’m Élise. This is my third time participating in the Stash Bee.

I was born and raised in Maryland, and you may not know this, but Marylanders are a little obsessed with our flag.

History of the Maryland Flag

The colony of Maryland was chartered in 1634 and Cecil Calvert, Second Baron Baltimore, was named as its proprietor by King Charles I of England. His 17th century heraldic banner of arms consisted of the black and gold of his father’s arms, along with the red and white of the Crossland family, of whom his grandmother was on heiress.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Cecil_Calvert,_Baron_Baltimore.svg#/media/File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Cecil_Calvert,_Baron_Baltimore.svg

During the Civil War, pro-Union Marylanders flew the black and gold Calvert flag, while pro-Secession Marylanders flew the red and white Crossland flag. Following the Civil War, both coats of arms began to be used again. The present design was officially adopted as the State Flag in 1904 and is seen as a reunion of all the citizens of the state.

Block Construction

Enough with this history lesson. Let’s get to making the block. This block is based on the Modular Blocks Quilt by Soho Purl https://www.purlsoho.com/create/2015/08/10/modular-blocks-quilt/

Fabrics

You will need red, white, black and yellow fabrics. They should be as close to the tones of the Maryland flag as possible. No novelty fabrics. Solids and blenders are great! Prints are fine as long as they have one of the other flag colors in them.

Cutting Instructions

2 Red 5 1/2 in squares

2 White 5 1/2 in squares

2 Black 5 1/2 in squares

2 Yellow 5 1/2 in squares

1 Red 5 7/8 in square

1 White 5 7/8 in square

1 Black 5 7/8 in square

1 Yellow 5 7/8 in square

Piecing Instructions

-Draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of one of the 5 7/8 in squares and pin it to another 5 7/8 square, right sides together. Repeat with remaining 5 7/8 squares

-Sew 1/4 in on each side of the diagonal line, then cut on the diagonal line. Repeat with second pair of squares.

-Press seam toward the darker fabric. Now you have four HSTs! Trim them to 5 1/2 in.

Now for the fun part: choose any eight of the 4 HSTs and 8 5 1/2 in squares to create a 4 x 2 block. The only rules are that no two of the same color 5 1/2 in blocks can be next to each other. Going forward, I'll be showing the steps based on the combination in the first picture.

-Create four 1 x 2 units by sewing the two squares next to each other, pressing the seam toward the darker fabric

-Create two 2 x 2 units by sewing the top 1 x 2 unit to the bottom 1 x 2 unit. Press the seams toward the darker fabric

-Create a 2 x 8 unit by sewing the right 2 x 2 unit to the left 2 x 2 unit. Press the seam toward the darker fabric

Final block measures 10.5 x 20.5