Colorado Beauty Quilt Block

This four patch quilt block is called "Colorado Beauty". The real beauty of this pieced block is its simplicity! We've used five different prints in our example which is comprised of half square triangles and flying geese units.

Level: Beginner

Size: 12 1/2" unfinished

FABRIC REQUIREMENTS
Colour One 12" x 16"
Colours Two, Three, Four & Five  7" x 8"

TOOLS
 If you're making a lot of flying geese units you'll want a Wing Clipper Ruler by Deb Tucker, which is specially made to aid in trimming down flying geese units. To match your points when piecing we recommend Fork Pins and a great marking tool that glides across fabric is the Karisma Pencil.

CUTTING PATCHES
From Colour One (background) cut eight 3 1/2" squares and four 3 7/8" squares
From each 7" x 8" fabric piece of all other colours cut one 3 1/2" x 6 1/2" rectangle and one 3 7/8" square. Download the guide for cutting to get the most out of your fabric.

CONSTRUCTION
 Make four patches. Each patch consists of two half square triangles and one flying geese unit made using Colour One and one of the other four colours. This patch should measure 6 1/2" unfinished.

Half Square Triangles
The triangle for a half square triangle is cut once on the diagonal. These triangles have two short sides on the straight of the fabric and the long side on the bias. Care must be taken when working with bias edges.

To avoid stretching the bias join the triangles before cutting them. To do so take two 3 7/8" squares (use colour one with any of the other four colours) and align precisely with right sides facing. Mark a diagonal line. Stitch a 1/4" either side of the diagonal. After stitching use your ruler and rotary cutter to cut on the diagonal. Press in the seam in the direction of the darker fabric. Trim off 'dog ears'.

Flying Geese - Sew & Flip Technique
A flying geese unit is made with two 3 1/2" squares (cut from Colour One) and one 3 1/2" x 6 1/2" rectangle. Mark a diagonal on the wrong side of the squares. Place a square on one end of the rectangle, right sides facing together and edges aligned. Stitch on the marked diagonal from corner to corner. To eliminate bulk trim the square to give a 1/4" seam allowance. Do not cut the rectangle as this stabilises the unit and maintains the original measurement. Press towards the corner. Repeat on the other end of the rectangle.

Unlike a nine patch where you assemble by row, make each of the four patches first. 

Lay out your pieces paying close attention to the diagram.

Comments

[deborah nicely]

Thank you for the easiest way to put this block together!