November's Block ~ A Kazillion Pinwheels!

Or many tiny blocks…
Please don’t hate me too much after you get done with this month’s section of the ‘Tis The Season’ BOM quilt.  You get to make what will feel like a ka-gillion pinwheels…. Tiny pinwheels… teeny... tiny pinwheels. I’m not sure what I was thinking when I drew up the pattern. In theory it was adorable. I was shooting for adorable… I did a lot of chain sewing to get these little pieces done and even contemplated drinking (not pop) by the time I got to the end, I was also ready for the pretty white jacket that ties in the back. So plan on taking breaks while working on these. Lots of breaks, watch a movie, grab a pop... (or a drink) Whatever helps you get these blocks done. Also your ¼” seam allowance is super important with this block, so make a ‘test’ block and adjust accordingly. You want these to be 2 ½” squares when you are done (this is including the seam allowance.) If after you do a few of these you are going insane and want to choke the designer. Feel free to substitute 2 ½” red blocks, or make a ‘four patch’ using red and white (or green) using 1 ½” squares. Your quilt will turn out just as cute. If you are having fun making these pinwheels, (And I have to admit, I did fall in love with my stack of double pinwheel blocks when I was done.)  make a bunch extra and set them aside for a special project that I will present this month to go with your ‘Tis The Season’ Quilt. You’re gonna love it!

Following the directions, cut your red square and then cut the square diagonally from corner to corner and then corner to corner again to form four triangle pieces. I like to chain sew, so I cut a ton of them... repeat with the white squares of the same size.

Following the pattern... I cut the squares and cut these in half diagonally corner to corner.

I find it easier to show how this block goes together by showing you the layout.

I chained sewed the small triangles together... It took some time... but it will certainly be worth it in the end. Make sure you stay consistent with how you sew the red and white triangles together. You want your pinwheels to all spin in the same direction.

Iron your triangle sections, to the dark side and trim the 'dog ears'.

Now it's time to sew your white triangles with the red and white triangles together.

I also chain sewed these.

To form the double pinwheel block you will sew these four blocks together.

Make sure your pinwheels are spinning all in the same direction!

An adorable tiny, double pinwheel block. Make sure to square them all up to measure 2 1/2".

I love my stacks of pinwheel blocks. They are so pretty!

You still have time to catch up if you are a block or two behind. This quilt will be so much fun to put out for the holidays. It would also make an awesome gift for someone special. The pattern for the pinwheels can be found for FREE this month in my Craftsy Shop and also on my website. Also, if you ever need to find past blocks or tutorials, I have a tab at the top of my blog labeled 2016 BOM that you can click on to get links to all past blog postings for this quilt. A complete listing of fabric supplies can be found on my website, Craftsy Shop and also under the 2016 BOM tab on my blog. Remember to post pictures of your progress on Instagram #quiltdoodledesignsBOM2016 (you can also tag me at Quilt Doodle Designs) There is also a flickr group you can join and post pictures. I love seeing pictures of what you guys are doing with the Tis the Season patterns. It is soooo much fun to see the quilt made in different fabrics! Love it!

Button packs are available in my Etsy Shop. I have packaged the button packs a couple of different ways. Either as one big pack with everything in it or individually for each design/row.



I hope that you have fun making this block this month. We are all done making blocks... next month we get to sew everything together with sashing and then put on our borders. I'm sorta amazed at how quickly this year went by and I can't believe we are almost at the end of our BOM. Remember to post those pictures! I can't wait to see everyone's finish quilts!

 Happy Quilting!

Cindy

<div class="quilt-doodle-designs-button" style="width: 200px; margin: 0 auto;"> <a href="http://quiltdoodledesigns.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> <img src="http://i1193.photobucket.com/albums/aa347/Cindy_Staub/BOM%202016%20button_zpsybiybocw.jpg" alt="Quilt Doodle Designs" width="200" height="200" /> </a> </div>