My Secret Garden - Block 6 with Joy

Here we are on the final block. Our time together has flown past. Ideally, slightly darker fabric for the beige choice would have provided a more floral looking block. However, in this color choice the navy takes the front stage in the design choice.

There are many ways to approach this block and the one I thought yielded the best results for me was to break it up into elements and then assemble into the horizontal rows.

Although I did not piece the block as suggested in the pattern, I did begin with the flying geese units that are in the outside border.

Begin by cutting the strip width as suggested in the pattern.  Rather than draw the diagonal line, sew and trim method, I used the Nifty Notions/Good Measure Quarter Square triangle ruler to cut the bodies of my geese.  Since you need 16 of these, you can go ahead and layer at least two pieces of beige to make the process go a little faster.

By now, hopefully you have made the connection that whatever size strip is cut for the goose body, the same size strip is used for the sky pieces.

I used the Nifty Notions Half Square Triangle Ruler to cut these pieces. I did stack two layers of fabric at a time.

I love how the Quarter Square triangle ruler and the Half Square triangle ruler work together to make flying geese units.

Again, decide which half square triangle will be sewn first and repeat the process.

 For me, it’s always the top unit that goes first and then the bottom one.

Always finger press and do not iron at this point. Heat and steam will stretch your bias sections and make it more difficult to accurately sew them to the other units.

When adding the second half square triangle, flip the goose unit over to make sure everything is aligned.

Lastly, to prevent stretching and distortion, use the back end of your stylus or your thumbnail to finger press your seam.  You can trim the extra little dog ears at this point.

The on point square with these fun half square triangles were completed in the following way.

In some respects, this unit looks like two flying geese units that do not have the joining seam.  So, that is how I approached them.  Below are step by step photos to walk you through the process.

Stack the center square and on of the smaller squares together.

I love, love, love the Doug Leko Simple Folded Corners Ruler for any stitch and flip method.  Look how nicely the markings on the ruler match the squares that are under neath to get a perfect diagonal sewn line.

Trim the excess triangle away and stitch your quarter inch seam.

The seam is sewn and it is time to finger press and to add the second square.

Carefully align all the 2” markings of the ruler with the newly added square.Trim the extra corner off and sew your seam.

Time to add the blue corners...repeat the process. Carefully line up the two squares….pay attention to the top alignment….there is bulk there from the previous seam and it’s easy for the fabric to slip down just a tish.

Trim and sew and repeat for the other blue square.

Voila!  On point square….repeat for all the other ones.

Next up is the 4 patch.  Lay out your pieces.  I always work left to right and top to bottom.  Sew all of your pairs together. I left the thread pins inbetween to keep my 4 patches together.

The red clip is pointing to the thread pin that I am referring to….it is that single little extra stitch between the squares.

The clip in this photo is highlighting that the top seam should point upwards and the one you can not see underneath is pointing downwards.  This allows the seams to nest nicely together to create a crisp union in the middle of the 4 patch.

Because the seams have been sewn in this way, all the seams will lay in a beautiful clockwise fashion and center will make it’s own little 4 patch.

The 9 patch in the middle is made the same as last month’s 9 patch.

Here is a visual of what the rows across look like with the thread pins in between the sections before the rows are sewn together.

The center square is complete and we are ready to lay out all the pieces and begin putting together our rows.

Time to lay out the rows and begin the assembly process.

Oops….I guess a little seam ripping is in order before the last row is attached :)

There we have it!  Another block complete…..see you next time when we wrap things up with the border piecing and sashing!

Happy Sewing, Joy

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