Block 9 - Federal Square!
Yeah! Block 9 is here. I wasn't sure if I was going to make it, as I've been fighting this Upper Respiratory Infection for days, and realized late Wednesday night that I had Block 10 ready to go, but missed 9. Aargh! Oh well, I completed here at the Strong House Inn, where I'm hosting my Quilting in Vermont Spring Retreat.
So, enough about me, onto the block. Another great find (in my opinion). Federal Square, by Nancy Cabot, appeared in the Chicago Tribune, June 19, 1937. This is a clever block, it has great lines and presents different illusions depending on the color and tone placement. While I couldn’t find this block referenced to anyone else, nor under any other name, I did find blocks with similar compositions. For instance, the Broken Star (Nancy Cabot, Chicago Tribune, July 17, 1936) and the Star of the East (Laura Wheeler, unidentified newspaper clipping) both have similar lines but a different constitution of units. Federal Squares, can be found within the older cities, within in the USA, which leads me to wonder of one of those Federal Square led to this block’s name.
For this week's color plan, for my 1st fabric selection I went with a Triadic color plan, selecting that wonderful Turquoise dot (9) and then going for Yellow (1) and Magenta (17)
For the 2nd fabric selection, I went a Split Complementary, Blue Red (17), Blue-Green (6) and Yellow-Green (3)
So, for this week's pictorial, I'm going to cover the making of Dual-colored Flying Geese. I used this technique in my pattern Amusement, and then again on Block 9. You will be following the same basic steps to make Flying Geese, but we are going to use 2 different color sets of small squares, to make mirror image pairs of Flying Geese with dual-colored wings.
For this block, we need (4) Pair of Dual Colored Flying Geese, so we will start with (2) large Dark squares and (4) small Medium squares, and (4) small Background squares. The actual measurements are in the download which is available through March 8th.
1. Gather the (2) large Dark squares, the (4) small Medium squares, the (4) small Background squares
2. Mark 2 stitch lines on the wrong side of all the small squares, using the Quilter’s Magic Wand with dual lines, ¼” away from the center diagonal.
3. Position two of the Background small squares right sides together in diagonally opposite corners of both of the large dark squares, right sides together. Normally you nudge them in toward the center just a few threads. I however, as noted in my pattern, increased the size by 1/8" off the S180 directions, so that I didn't have to nudge. I have found my students to be more successful in keeping their small squares straight, when they can use the edges of both squares.
Either way you go, you will line up the 2 lines to form railroad tracks across the block and pin to ensure they stay in place.
4. Stitch on both drawn lines, then trim between the lines of stitching on the center diagonal and press toward the small triangles. You will note that I use a "Star Foot" on my Pfaff. This foot has that little "leg" that sticks out, allowing me to focus on keeping that "leg" on my drawn line. One, it isn't as tiring on my eyes, and two I find that focusing on that "leg" instead of the needle helps be stay on the line better.
5. Position the (4) small Medium squares into the corner of the previously pieced units. Nudge* the squares if you are using the exact size, align with the edges if you took that small square measurement up an 1/8" inch.
6. Stitch on both drawn lines, then trim between the lines of stitching on the center diagonal. Press seam toward smaller triangles.
7. Position the oversized units on your cutting mat horizontally, if you are right handed, and vertically, if you are left handed, with “the valley” pointing towards you if you are right handed, and pointing towards your right, if you are left handed.
8. Align the diagonal guidelines of the Wing Clipper™ with the sewn seams of the Flying Geese unit. You’ll automatically be centering the ruler over your pieced unit (2” x 3 ½” in this example). Trim the side and across the top.
9. Rotate 180° the unit and reposition the Wing Clipper™ to align the previously trimmed raw edge with the 2” x 3 ½” (in this example) and the “X” at the top with the intersection of the seams. Trim again, up the side and across the top.
10. You should have (4) pair of Dual-colored Flying Geese; (4) Flying Geese A and (4) Flying Geese B.
Okay, my other tip is to ensure that you are laying out your block, taking a photo and then double checking to make sure you have the block laid out properly. You are going to want to make sure you have those Dual-colored Flying Geese laid out properly and that your center is forming that square-in-a-square affect.
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| Block 9 - Federal Square |
So, enough about me, onto the block. Another great find (in my opinion). Federal Square, by Nancy Cabot, appeared in the Chicago Tribune, June 19, 1937. This is a clever block, it has great lines and presents different illusions depending on the color and tone placement. While I couldn’t find this block referenced to anyone else, nor under any other name, I did find blocks with similar compositions. For instance, the Broken Star (Nancy Cabot, Chicago Tribune, July 17, 1936) and the Star of the East (Laura Wheeler, unidentified newspaper clipping) both have similar lines but a different constitution of units. Federal Squares, can be found within the older cities, within in the USA, which leads me to wonder of one of those Federal Square led to this block’s name.
For this week's color plan, for my 1st fabric selection I went with a Triadic color plan, selecting that wonderful Turquoise dot (9) and then going for Yellow (1) and Magenta (17)
 |
| Michelle's Fabric Selection 1 |
 |
| Michelle's Fabric Selection 2 |
For this block, we need (4) Pair of Dual Colored Flying Geese, so we will start with (2) large Dark squares and (4) small Medium squares, and (4) small Background squares. The actual measurements are in the download which is available through March 8th.
1. Gather the (2) large Dark squares, the (4) small Medium squares, the (4) small Background squares
2. Mark 2 stitch lines on the wrong side of all the small squares, using the Quilter’s Magic Wand with dual lines, ¼” away from the center diagonal.
3. Position two of the Background small squares right sides together in diagonally opposite corners of both of the large dark squares, right sides together. Normally you nudge them in toward the center just a few threads. I however, as noted in my pattern, increased the size by 1/8" off the S180 directions, so that I didn't have to nudge. I have found my students to be more successful in keeping their small squares straight, when they can use the edges of both squares.
Either way you go, you will line up the 2 lines to form railroad tracks across the block and pin to ensure they stay in place.
4. Stitch on both drawn lines, then trim between the lines of stitching on the center diagonal and press toward the small triangles. You will note that I use a "Star Foot" on my Pfaff. This foot has that little "leg" that sticks out, allowing me to focus on keeping that "leg" on my drawn line. One, it isn't as tiring on my eyes, and two I find that focusing on that "leg" instead of the needle helps be stay on the line better.
5. Position the (4) small Medium squares into the corner of the previously pieced units. Nudge* the squares if you are using the exact size, align with the edges if you took that small square measurement up an 1/8" inch.
6. Stitch on both drawn lines, then trim between the lines of stitching on the center diagonal. Press seam toward smaller triangles.
7. Position the oversized units on your cutting mat horizontally, if you are right handed, and vertically, if you are left handed, with “the valley” pointing towards you if you are right handed, and pointing towards your right, if you are left handed.
8. Align the diagonal guidelines of the Wing Clipper™ with the sewn seams of the Flying Geese unit. You’ll automatically be centering the ruler over your pieced unit (2” x 3 ½” in this example). Trim the side and across the top.
 |
| RIght Handed |
 |
| Left Handed |
9. Rotate 180° the unit and reposition the Wing Clipper™ to align the previously trimmed raw edge with the 2” x 3 ½” (in this example) and the “X” at the top with the intersection of the seams. Trim again, up the side and across the top.
10. You should have (4) pair of Dual-colored Flying Geese; (4) Flying Geese A and (4) Flying Geese B.
Okay, my other tip is to ensure that you are laying out your block, taking a photo and then double checking to make sure you have the block laid out properly. You are going to want to make sure you have those Dual-colored Flying Geese laid out properly and that your center is forming that square-in-a-square affect.
I think that is all I have to for today, I have to get downstairs, to catch up with the ladies over breakfast, here at the Strong House! Then onto sewing!
Make sure to download the block, before Thursday night, March 8th. Click HERE: Block 9 - Federal Square
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