Castle Blocks
July 30, 2014 § 4 Comments
August is my month to organize, gather blocks & create a quilt for the Faith Circle of Do.Good. Stitches. We make quilts and send them to Restore Innocence, an organization that rescues girls from human trafficking. I am asking my fellow block makers to make this Castle Block for me.
I would venture to guess that at least 90% of my scraps are strips and strings leftover from previous projects. I have three large bins and 2 small bins of these kinds of scraps. So I am always looking for ways to use these up. Once I made three quilts to give to three couples that we hang out with regularly. They were the 3 Amigo quilts. Even three quilts didn’t seem to make much of a dent in the scraps! I also have a couple of projects in the works. The Liberated Wedding Ring and the Liberated Log Cabin. I just wish I had more time because I *swear* that the scraps breed like bunnies while I’m not looking!
When I ran across this interesting block that was created for Downton Abbey fans by Michelle Freedman over at Generation Q magazine, it seemed like a good idea for our Do.Good.Stitches group. And…. maybe I could use up some of my overflowing string scraps. We make 12 1/2″ blocks in our group, but I wanted just one cross per block. So, here’s my version of Melissa’s block.
1. Gather together enough scraps to make two 4 1/2″ squares and one 4 1/2″ x 12 1/2″ rectangle. Sew the scraps together and press the seams open. Trim to make two 4 1/2″ squares and one 4 1/2″ x 12 1/2″ rectangle.
2. From a variety of background fabrics cut four 4 1/2″ squares and eight 2 1/2″ squares.
3. With a pencil, mark the diagonal on the wrong side of the 2 1/2″ square background fabrics. Place one in the corner of a scrappy 4 1/2″ square and sew on the marked diagonal. Trim away the corner leaving a 1/4″ seam allowance. Repeat to the adjacent corner. Do the same to the second scrappy 4 1/2″ square. Press the seams towards the corners.
4. Repeat sewing & trimming a 2 1/2″ background square to each corner of the scrappy 4 1/2″ x 12 1/2″ rectangle.
5. Place the scrappy 4 1/2″ squares perpendicular to the 4 1/2″ x 12 1/2″ rectangle. Place the 4 1/2″ background squares in the corners and sew to each side of the scrappy square in the middle. Press the seams towards the corners.
6. Sew the rows together to complete the block. Press the seams towards the center of the block.
Would you like to see the back?
If you are part of my Do.Good.Stitches group, then proceed to making another one. Please? Thank you! If you just want to practice your 1/4-inch seams, then make as many as you like!
Can you believe that August is just around the corner? My summer is going WAY. too. fast.
Bloomin' Workshop 
Anita, this is such a great block. I love your pieced version as an alternative to the original pattern and like you, am always looking for a new way to use my stash of strips.
Nice block. It’ll make a nice scrappy quilt, won’t it?
These are on my agenda for the day :o) I head back to school on Thursday so I figured I’d better get them finished before the crazy cycle starts back up :o)
very pretty block, I would like to give it a try