A Randomized Quilt Block of the Month! Month One

 The Random Block of the Month Explained:

I am a quilter. I love to sew, and I want to share my quilt projects. But with work and making videos/blog posts every week to upload, it can be hard to fit in a full quilt project. (Not to mention that it adds time to a project when I film it and most of my projects are following copywritten patterns.)

So like many quilters, I am turning to a 'Block of the Month'! But, to make it more interesting for the blog and YouTube, I am going to make it Randomized.

To make it Randomized, I am going to use a random number generator.

I have three shelves of quilting/sewing books and I went through and counted the books on every shelf. 

So to Pick a Book, I will enter 1 through 3 into the number generator to pick a shelf.

Then I will enter the number of books on the shelf, to pick a book.

Finally, I will enter the number of pages, to pick a page/pattern.

Some notes:

If the book picked is not sewing or quilting related, I will move to the next book.

If the page does not have a pattern, or the pattern is not something that can be reduced down to one main block, I will flip the pages until we find one.

If you want to see me picking the Block out, Check me out on YouTube!

Our Block:

For Month One We have the Classic and Simple 'Block In a Block' (Also Known as "Square in a Square"

This Block is made of a square that has triangles sewn along the edges. This creates the look of a square rotated inside another square. It is perfect for beginners and uses very simple math along with straight stitches to create.

Fabric:

I am using an older line of fabric from Cotton and Steel. I just picked some out of my Stash and do not know the specific designer for the fabric used. I also like to press/iron all of my fabric before I start cutting.

The Math/Fabric Cutting:

Note: this is also explained visually in my YouTube Video

The math for this block is fairly simple. You will start with two fabrics.

Fabric A will be the center of our Block and Fabric B will be the triangle edges.

We first will cut our fabric into squares.

To find out the correct sizes to cut your fabric use the formula:

Fabric B + 1/2in = your Fabric A

So if I cut Fabric B into a 4inch square, then I need to cut Fabric A into a 4 1/2inch square.

Once you have determined the size you would like to make, cut one Fabric A square and two Fabric B squares.

Cut the Fabric B squares diagonally once.

The Sewing:

I personally like to sew using a straight stitch set at a 1.5 or 2 stitch length, using a neutral or white thread. I also like to use, if I can, a sewing machine foot that has a 1/4inch guide to ensure my seam allowance. If you do not have the machine foot, you can always use tape or find another guide that will help ensure you are sewing with a 1/4inch allowance.

To sew the blocks together, take your Fabric A and align the long edge of a Fabric B triangle to it right sides together. Sew it together with the 1/4inch seam mentioned before.

Clip the threads and press the seam to the center or open before repeating with the remaining sides.

The finished Block:

Here you Have it! A Fully Finished Block! Please share with me your finished block if you choose to follow along over on my Instagram @Flock_Squawk!