Hive 5 - Diamond in a Square Quilt Block for Nina

 Hello!

I'm working on a round robin quilt challenge for my guild and am stuck on the last round, diamond in a square blocks!

Here's the quilt so far -- it all started with an orphan block :) We've had stripes and HSTs and text and now it's time for the diamond in a square blocks.

I would love you to make me one or two blocks either 8.5" unfinished or 6.5" unfinished. 

COLOURS AND PATTERNS:

I'd like solids, blenders, geometrics, stripes, modern prints in colours drawn from the work in progress::

White, red, blues, yellow, gold, greens, teal. A little bit of another colour is no problem in a print! Text is fine, as long as it's not religious or political. My orphan block was made with Japanese fabric so if you have a bit of that kind of cotton it would be lovely.

You'll generally want one fabric for the central diamond and another contrasting fabric for the triangles around it, but if you want to make it more scrappy go ahead and mix up those triangles!

CONSTRUCTION OPTIONS

FOUNDATION PAPER PIECING a 6" finished (6.5" unfinished) block

There's a great tutorial at Generatiions Quilt Patterns which goes through all the ways of making a square (or diamond) in a square blocks in different sizes, with free printable Foundation Paper Piecing patterns for all sizes up 7" finished, so if you prefer FPP you could use the 6" finished (6.5" unfinished) pattern!

TRADITIONAL PIECING (both sizes)

I'm going to go through the steps of making an 8.5" unfinished block with piecing and with very generous margins so we have lots of room to trim it down to size :) I'll also give the cut list for making a 6.5" unfinished block the same way. 

If you are a very precise piecer you could follow the formula given in this link from Farm and Folk, but I really like having wiggle room and I prefer my diamond in a square blocks to have a tiny margin around the diamond after they're sewn into the quilt. But I am so relaxed about this I can barely sit up straight so all will be good :)

CUTTING

For 8.5" unfinished block: 

A: cut 1  6" square

B: cut 2 6" squares to contrast with A

    cut these two 6" squares on the diagonal giving you four triangles 

For 6.5" unfinished block

A: cut 1  4.5" square

B: cut 2  4.5" squares to contrast with A

    cut these two 4.5" squares on the diagonal giving you four triangles 

ASSEMBLING:

fold square A in half horizontally and crease to establish centre of opposite sides.

pin 2 triangle Bs on opposite sides of the square, right sides together, lining up the points of the triangles to meet the creases.

 Sew quarter inch seam. Press away from centre. 

Trim off doglegs.

fold A in half to crease centre of remaining sides.. Pin last two triangles to A, right sides together matching triangle points to crease and sew a quarter inch seam. Press away from centre. (yes, it's a different set of fabrics heh heh heh)

I was having huge problems trying to photograph stuff because of this little monster, Vittoria, the Adventure Cat, my sewing companion. Her thread-eating ways are why I will not be renovating my kitchen this year, but she's all better now, thankfully!

Trim unit to 8.5" (or 6.5") making sure you have fairly equal amounts (at least one quarter inch) away from each point of the central diamond. I'm fine if it isn't perfect, honestly. This whole thing is pretty improv! Thank you so very much, and I'm thrilled to be part of Stashbee again!

Hive 5 Wonky Star Block for Becca

Happy September everyone! 

This month’s block will feature some warm, autumnal colors. Hope you have as much fun putting this together as I did.

For the background color, please select peaches, apricots, raspberries, burnt oranges and pinks. The star fabric is pure white, or white on white (no cream, ivory, off white, etc.).

Patterns in colored fabric should be small scale, with no cartoons, figures, animals, sports, or novelty. Just patterns - they can be floral, geometric, random…whatever makes you happy!

Select 8 colored scraps from your stash and cut them into 3.5 inch squares.

From the white fabric, cut one 3.5 “ square, and then you have a choice! You can either cut four or eight 4” squares. Read on for directions.

Place your white square at a wonky angle as pictured on top of the colored square. Sew with a 1/4” seam along the edge of the WHITE square. Press toward the white fabric.

Repeat the same process on the right side of the square, creating a point in between the two. Pay attention to where the white sections intersect; if the intersection isn’t at least 1/4” from the bottom, you won’t be able to see the point in the finished block!

Here’s your white fabric option: I just used the selvages from the four white squares after the first trim, so I only used four white squares. If you are more comfortable using two full squares per star point, that’s fine too, you will simply need all eight squares! Feel free to start with four and see how your first set of points goes before committing fully.

Lay out your block like this:

Your (untrimmed) block should measure 9.5“ and be full of happy warm colors!

Hive 5 August 2026 Tutorial Quirky Shoo Fly for Susan

This one is hopefully fun for you.  It is rather improv which is one of my favorite techniques.

I like bright colors with lots of contrast.  This makes a happy cheery quilt.  

Start with the center.  It can be a square, a rectangle (vertical or   horizontal)  It can be fussy cut or a plain piece of fabric.  It's one of a kind.  Only one of this in the block, because it came from your stash and thoughts, I already love it.  Quirky is special.  

If you love to fussy cut, or want to experiment, that is perfect.  You have the opportunity to create a fussy cut that is not restricted by size.  I hate it when I have the cutest image and it falls outside the block size required.  I suggest cutting 1/2 inch beyond the image on all four sides.  2 sides should be parallel, but the other two could be slanted.  Then if you have an unregular size, use the center to cut the other blocks for the block.  Measurements are not required.  

The other eight pieces of the block  are the same fabric or the same color fabric, but different prints.  Like the two yellow fabrics in this one.  My block did not come up the right size, so I will be adding another yellow fabric strip to this to bring it up to size.  That's called a coping strip and if you use the same fabric, no one will be the wiser....except you guys because I confessed my error to you.  So don't tell!

Also you will need some scrappy snowballs for the corner blocks.  We are going to snowball one corner of each corner block with.....again options:

A. Four different fabrics or colors

B.   Four different sizes or 

C. Four different shapes or

D.  Your own idea for a snowball!  I'm sure I haven't thought of all the possibilities.  Also, any combination of these options will also work.  It's improvisatory, no rules, no rigidity, no negatives.  

The easiest construction is make everything 4.5 inches square....yielding a 12.5 inch block.  And that's great if you choose that...then the fabrics are the focus.  So pick something you love that reads a solid, and something for the center that is different.  The quirky thing will be the snowballs.  I would snowball the four corner blocks (4.5) with a 3.5"square, a 3" square, a 2.5" square and a 1.5" square.  Any combination or pattern will work.  Just place the square on the correct corner and sew a diagonal line and trim.  Sew the block together like a nine patch and send it to me.  

If you center is not a square, here's the method I used.  Lay your center on the edge of your background and cut a strip the same width as your center.  (The background strip needs to be at least 13-14 inches long.  Then cut that strip in half...that's your center top and bottom.  Then lay the center strip horizontally and cut the your background the same  width (it actually is the same length as the center, but you just laid it down horizonitally so the definition changed.  Hope that made sense)  as your center piece  This is your two center sides.  Make your corner blocks from the same fabric.  Make them oversized but should match the height of the top center block and the width of the middle blocks.  

Next easiest method would be to keep the 4.5 inch squares and then snowball with a rectangle instead of a square.  Or a combination of rectangles and squares.  If you use a rectangle, start with a larger piece of fabric and place the edge of the fabric on an angle that is not a 90-degree angle. Like these two upper blocks.   Then trim.  

If you want to be daring, you can play with the proportions and make the centers smaller or larger than the 4.5" block and make it rectangular.   You will need to make your other blocks correspond to the different size.  You can use math, or you can wing it.    If you are totally improvising this, add an extra inch or so to the outside blocks so you can guarantee it will reach 12.5 inches.  

Stitch together,then trim to 12.5:

You'll notice that I tried improve curves here for my snowballs.  It was okay, I think it was cute, but I'm not the one to teach you how to do that.  I will say that I sewed them and then trimmed them to fit the block.  So if you are feeling Quirky...do this .  I can definetly press better than this appears, but I was just playing with fabric.  

The goal:  send me a 12.5 inch block with a cute center and four triangle-ish fabrics pointing to the center.  I don't prefer any color or design, or type of fabric.  Just what is near your cutting table and I will enjoy it.  

Thanks tons! I hope you have fun playing with fabric!!!

Susan

Hive 5 - June Tutorial - Holiday Economy Block for Bonnie

 

The Inspiration:

Last year, our hive made some adorable “I Spy” economy blocks for some kiddo quilts, and I've not been able to stop thinking about how cute they were! Here are the ones I made:

The Vision:

I would like to make several different holiday themed wall quilts inspired by these blocks for hanging up during different seasons. Side Note: When I told my husband about my idea, he thought I was going to make one quilt with all holidays, and he was horrified… As efficient as that would be (haha), I have much loftier goals, so please pick one or more of the holidays/seasons/themes listed below: 

• Valentines Day / Love / Hearts
• Halloween / Spooky / Fall
• Christmas / Winter
• Easter / Spring / Pastels

Colors & Prints:

 

I'm not too picky with colors as long as the fabrics coordinate well. For Valentine’s Day, for example, you can use colors besides pink and red (that just happens to be what I have on hand at the moment). Maybe you have purple kisses or teal hearts. Great! Do it! :)

Feel free to fussy cut something interesting in the center square. Not all fabrics need to be holiday prints. Feel free to use blenders that coordinate well with the other fabrics being used. I found that the middle section is a great place to use blenders and separate prints to make the blocks look a little less busy. I also avoid using directional prints in the middle section because they will be tilted on the diagonal and sometimes look wonky.

Tutorial

I followed Catbird Quilt Studio’s free Tutorial here for 6” finished blocks:
https://catbirdquilts.wordpress.com/2014/01/26/economy-block-any-size-with-cheat-sheet/

Cutting:

For each block you need one 3.5” center square, two 3.5” squares for the middle sections (cut in half diagonally), and two 4.5” squares for the outside sections (cut in half diagonally).

Adding the First Round:

Center the long edge of a triangle on one side of the square. Sew. Then sew one on the opposite side as well. I pressed toward the center square here, but you can press towards the triangles if you feel like it. Trim the overhang with a straight edge. See trimmed version on the left.

Add the other two triangles to the remaining sides. I pressed out toward the triangles this time, because it felt right... Trim the edges to 1/4” seam allowance, as shown on the left.

I used a ruler with a 90-degree angle to trim the sides down, but if you don’t have one, just trim ¼” from the points as best you can.

Adding the Second Round:

This is basically the same as the first round. Center the long edge of a triangle on one side of the unit. Sew. Then sew one on the opposite side as well. I pressed out toward the triangles again. Trim the overhang with a straight edge. See trimmed version on the left. 

Then add the other two triangles to the remaining sides. I pressed out toward the triangles again. Trim the edges to 1/4” seam allowance, as shown on the left.

Viola!

I would appreciate a set of four, but if that is a hardship, please just make one. I am asking that you not sew them together so that you have some more freedom with which holidays you choose.

 Thank you! I can’t wait to see them all! I know they'll all be fabulous!