Trial Block RSC16

I was looking for a new block for 2016.  Something large in size so that one or two blocks each month would make a nice quilt by the end of the year.  Something that uses common strip sizes.  Something "starlike".  I thought about Carpenter Star, and Ice Crystals, maybe Swoon.  I sketched them out on graph paper and played with colors.  Finally, I decided on Missouri Puzzle.  It uses 3.5 inch and 1.5 inch strips.  It is a 15 inch block.  It resembles a star.  Best of all, in dark and light, it would make a nice layout for a quilt.  Since aqua never got a turn this year, I thought I'd make a trial block with some of the aqua scraps from the cleaning up yesterday.

 Layer 3.5 inch strips of background and aqua fabric together and use the easy angle ruler to cut 8 HST units.  In addition to those you will need 9 3.5 inch aqua squares.  These can be all the same or scrappy.  I chose to use two shades because I didn't have enough of any one color.  In addition you will be making two strip sets from the 1.5 inch strips.  Dark-light-dark is needed for the corners of the nine patches, so it only needs 12 linear inches.  The light-dark-light however, makes up the center of the nine patches as well as the rail fence portion of the center section, so this will need 20 inches total.  It is fine to use multiple sections or make it scrappy.  That is part of the fun for scrap quilts after all.

 Sew the HST blocks together and make both strip sets.  Press toward the dark fabric in both cases.

 Next, sub cut your strip set.  Start with the rail fence units.  You will need 4 - 3.5 inch lengths.  Then start cutting the 1.5 inch sections.  You will need 8 dark-light-dark and four-light-dark-light

 Use the 1.5 inch sub cuts to make four 9 patches with dark in the outer corners.

 Wow is this a HUGE block.  I had to find a bigger cutting mat to put on the TV tray that sits next to my sewing machine.  Lay everything out and sew the blocks together.  It would be fun to play with the layout on this.  I've seen lots of versions with the center edge squares in contrasting colors, but I thought that it took away from the star like quality.  The center could easily be an accent or string block.

Press carefully and you will have one ginormous 15 inch finished quilt block.  Maybe next week I'll try one with the reverse color placement?