Christmas Morning Fabric Sewcialites Quilt Along Sewcialites Sew Along

Sewcialites Quilt Along: Free Block of the Week (Block 22)

Sewcialites blocks made by Lella Boutique
Sewcialites Quilt Along – free block of the week. Block 22: Blessed by Vanessa Goertzen of Lella Boutique. Fabric is Christmas Morning for Moda.

I guess you could say I’m “blessed” to share the next free block design for the Sewcialites Quilt Along by Fat Quarter Shop. I am a little behind in making the other Sewcialites blocks (okay, maybe a lot behind)–but will be catching up soon. (There’s no real deadline here, right?) I have a feeling that making the blocks in Christmas Morning fabric (shipping in July) will be well worth the late start!

Christmas Morning fabric by Lella Boutique for Moda Fabrics.
Christmas Morning fabric by Lella Boutique for Moda Fabrics. Shipping July 2021.

Sewcialites Block #22

Block 22 “Blessed” is a spunky little star is made with flying geese, half-square triangles, and squares. I made several color combinations and realized pretty quickly that it takes a little bit of thought to make sure the unidrectional prints end up facing the same direction. We’ll talk more about that in a minute. But first, here’s the link to the free pattern instructions:

Sewcialites Block 22 is Blessed by Lella Boutique. Fabric is Christmas Morning by Lella Boutique for Moda Fabrics.
Sewcialites Quilt Along: Block 22 is “Blessed” by Vanessa Goertzen of Lella Boutique. Fabric is Christmas Morning by Lella Boutique for Moda.

Layout

For my layout, I’m making 40 blocks and grouping them by color: 10 red blocks + 12 green blocks + 16 grey blocks + 2 low volume blocks. The breakdown will all make sense once you’ve seen my layout:

Tips & Tricks

As a supplement to the instructions, I thought I’d draw up a few little diagrams to show you how to piece with unidirectional prints. I’ll use the red “Fa La La” text print (SKU 5145-16) from Christmas Morning as an example.

Half Square Triangles (HSTs): Lay the print squares side by side, face up, with the prints oriented upright. Bring a background square RST with each print square, aligning raw edges (i.e. don’t stagger them like I did in the diagram). Orient the marked lines as shown (mirroring each other).

Half-Square Triangles: The print squares will be oriented the same way. Bring the background squares RST with the marked lines mirroring each other.

Flying Geese Pair #1: Lay the print rectangles side by side (horizontally). Orient one rectangle so the unidirectional print is upright, and the other is upside down. The finished flying geese should look like this:

Flying Geese pair #1. Notice the print is oriented upright on the left and upside-down on the right.

Flying Geese Pair #2: This is where placement can get a little tricky! The goal is to have the print upright in both flying geese units when they are set side by side vertically (mirrored) like this:

Flying Geese pair #2. Notice the print is oriented upright on both units and that the flying geese shapes mirror each other.

Let’s break it down further. Begin by laying 2 rectangles of background fabric side by side vertically. Bring a marked print square RST with each background rectangle, aligning raw edges along the top, orienting the print as indicated. Mark the diagonal lines as shown (mirrored). Stitch/trim/press/etc.

Add a marked print square RST to each unit, aligning raw edges along the bottom, orienting the print as indicated. Mark the diagonal lines as shown (mirrored). Stitch/trim/press/etc.

Flying Geese Pair #2 breakdown: Notice the print ends up oriented upright on both units and that the flying geese shapes mirror each other.

That should yield just the right block components that will come together to run in the same direction in the block. Hope that helps!

As always, share your Sewcialite blocks and get inspiration from others by visiting the Sewcialite Lounge on Facebook. You could win some really great prizes by sewing along! Check out this month’s prizes on the Fat Quarter Shop blog. When posting your blocks, be sure to use the hashtag #SewcialitesQAL and tag @fatquartershop.

If you’re new to the Sewcialites Quilt Along, here is the full schedule including links for the blocks released so far:


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2 Comments

  1. Christine Rudy

    March 12, 2021 at 10:18 am

    Hi Vanessa:)
    Thank You for such a “detailed” tutorial!! Very helpful.
    A-n-d, your blocks are so very beautiful!! I going to have trouble waiting for “Christmas Morning”, in May! lol:)

    God Bless,
    Chris R.

  2. Ann Chandler

    April 17, 2023 at 11:26 am

    I purchased the Chandler pdf. When assembling the blocks today I noticed that the pattern had says

    I purchased the Chandlier pdf. When I was assembling the blocks today I came up two corners short. Your instructions said to cut a one 6,78 inch square in half then cut on the diagonal but in fact, two 6.78 squares cut on the diagonal are needed.

    I hope you will correct this on further instructions.

    Thank you,
    Ann Chandler

    I

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