I continue to stitch on my Drunkard's Wife Quilt Along blocks. Here are two that I made using
Thangles.
This first block, block 11 of Felice's Drunkard's Wife QAL -
Long Island Iced Tea, is made entirely using 2.5" strips of fabric. That is the glory of using
Thangles to piece half-square triangle blocks -- there is no need to cut odd sizes of fabric strips.
This lively block uses 2"
Thangles (my favorite size - just sayin'). Like Felice did in her version of this block, I elected to make a scrappy version. My block uses 5 different pink prints and 3 different background prints (including a dark and a light print from
Emma's Garden). In fact, the fabrics were all leftovers from the other blocks in this quilt-along.
To make the block, gather your scraps and slice them into 2.5" strips. You need an equal number of light and dark prints (well, actually 11" more of the dark strips). Cut eight 2.5" squares from the dark prints. Cut four 2.5" squares from the light. Set these 12 squares aside and with the remaining strips make 24 half-square triangle blocks using
Thangles as follows:
Mix and match your dark and light strips. Place them right sides together, pin the
Thangle paper pattern on top of the light print and stitch on the indicated stitching lines (click
here for detailed step-by-step photos). Each 2"
Thangle strip will yield 6 half-square triangle blocks, 2.5" unfinished. Cut the stitched
Thangles papers apart, press the block open, then remove the paper.
TAKE: two dark 2.5" squares,
one light 2.5" square and
six of the half-square triangle blocks...
and
ARRANGE them to match the nine-patch pattern below.
Mix and match your scrappy fabrics in any order that tickles you. Make four of these nine-patch quilt squares. To piece the finished block, I angled three blocks in one direction and the fourth in a different orientation (see the first photo).
This pattern is called the
Single T or the
T-Quartet in the traditional quilt world. Here are different sites with images and/or directions in making this block (
here and
here and
here). Note: none of these versions are as scrappy as mine! Felice's directions can be found
here.
I used
Thangles again when piecing this block #9, the
Pina Colada block.
It took me a bit longer to find the intentional mistake in this block, but I did. It is another easy block to make using
Thangles, although you do need to cut two 4.5" squares of the light-background-print fabric and one 4.5" square of the dark print before cutting the 2.5" strips of both dark and light prints needed for the
Thangles (note: you can go scrappy if you wish).
Using the 2.5" strips of fabric, pin one light and one dark strip right sides together with the
Thangle paper pattern on top of the light. Stitch on the indicated stitching lines (click
here for detailed step-by-step photos), cut apart, and press the block open
before removing the paper.
Do you notice how the seam is automatically pressed to the dark fabric? Mini-lesson: Pressing the seams to one side (instead of pressing them open) adds strength to the seam and longevity to your quilt's life.
Using the three 4.5" squares and 24 half-square triangle blocks, lay out your block, keeping the light 4.5" squares in opposite corners and the dark square in the center. Remember to add your mistake (wherever it pleases you or use my photo as a guide). Stitch together and press.
The traditional version of this block is known as
Cut Glass Dish and also as
Winged Square. Click
here for another set of directions on how to make this block.
Cut Glass Dish is a free pattern offered by
The Quilter's Cache, and is also sold on
Craftsy and other sites. Googling
Winged Square reveals this site,
Quilting Assistant (click
here) with free directions. Several images of this block used to make full-size quilts are easily found on the internet as well. The internet is a wonderful tool to refer to when looking for guidance in how to make quilt blocks, and to see images of lovely quilts, and best of all - to share what you make or discover with others!
I hope you are enjoying this intentional
oops series of quilt block patterns as much as I enjoy stitching the blocks together.