Hen & Chicks July Block 1

Ohio Star is a simple classic quilt block which uses quarter square triangles (QST). These are pretty simple units. Just like half square triangles, but with one more step. There are, of course, several ways to make them. You could use a specialty ruler such as the companion angle which is also used to make flying geese. You could take squares and cut them in half twice. 

I am going to use the draw down the center of square and sew before cutting method because it avoids the stretchy bias. It does require two sizes of squares, which I usually avoid, but I think it is the best method for the QST.  

Cut two each of background and teal fabric in the larger square size and then 4 background and 1 teal in the small square size.  The rule for QST blocks is that you add 1.25 inches to the finished size of the unit. As an example, for the 6 inch block, the finished unit is 2 inches, so you would cut the large square to 3.25 inches. There is absolutely no harm in cutting the squares bigger and trimming them down at the end. I usually have 3.5 inch squares precut and hanging around in my scrap bin. It makes more sense to trim them down after sewing to get nicer edges and cleaner seams than to trim then down to start and then hope that you sew every thing perfectly along the way. With diagonal seams like these, a little bit of trimming and the end can help with that quest for perfection.  

Layer the teal and background squares right sides together and use a pencil to draw a line from corner to corner along the diagonal of both background squares. 

Sew a quarter of an inch to the right and left of that drawn line and then cut on the drawn line to divide each pair of squares into two.  Press the seams toward the teal and trim the dog ears to make 4 HST units.

Now take two pairs of HST units and stack them right sides together with the top square rotated so that the background on the top square is touching the teal of the bottom square. I tried to stagger them a bit in the photo so that you could see the arrangement.  

Draw another line from corner to corner on the top HST unit perpendicular to the seam.  Make sure that the seams nestle snugly in the center. Pin if you are worried about the squares slipping.

 

Now sew again, a quarter of an inch to either side of the drawn line. Cut again along the drawn line and open the units up to reveal 4 quarter square triangles. Press and trim the dog ears while you admire just how cute and versatile this unit is.  

Seriously adorable! 

Now just arrange your QST units in the center of each side of your nine patch so that the background points to the teal center square and then use a background square in each corner.  Sew as any old nine patch, pressing away from the QST units to reduce bulk. 

There you go, the simplest version of Ohio Square. I also see these with the innermost triangle in a contrasting color, and I like the way those look even better.  I just try to keep colors fairly simple in rainbow scrappy quilts as there is already plenty going on.  This would be a great spot for a bit of contrast or accent though in a full quilt of this block.