August's Block~ Sunshine!

Happy August! Summer sure is flying by isn't it! Just got back from a tiny vacation I took with mom to North Dakota to meet her 'California' cousins and see her last surviving uncle. I was hoping to see some sunflower fields while we were there but, alas, no sunflowers. I remember sunflower fields that would go on for miles back in the 70's, but I guess the farmers aren't growing them much anymore. We enjoyed driving out to the old homestead where my grandparents lived and driving by the old school house where mom went to school. It was a beautiful sunny day, not a cloud in the sky.

This month's block will be challenging. It's the hardest block in the quilt but it is also my favorite block. This block combines traditional piecing, paper piecing and 'applique'. Let me show you how I made this month's block. It is helpful to save all of your leftover bits of white (background) fabric and see if any of it can be used in the paper piecing of the suns rays of sunshine sections. Any strips of yellow that are leftover from the quilt so far work well for the paper piecing also.

To begin with, print up your pattern pieces and gather up your fabric scraps that will be useful for the paper piecing. Remember paper piecing feels totally opposite of normal piecing. If you are unfamiliar with paper piecing I would watch a couple of videos or tutorials before you begin.

Following the directions. Layout your orange and yellow 2 1/2" squares to form a nine patch block and sew them together. Iron and set aside.

·         Cut the foundation/paper pieces out, do not cut directly on the outer section edge. Leave roughly a 1/8 – ¼” edge. We will trim it up later.

·         Position the fabrics right sides together on the blank/unmarked side of the foundation paper with the edge of the fabric ‘past’ the seam line on the foundation paper. (It helps to hold your paper piece and fabric up to the light to see if it lines up)

·         Stitch on the sewing line between the numbers using a very small stitch. (1.5)

·         Continue stitching in numeric order until the sunshine rays section is completed. Trim away the fabric so that it is even with the outside line of the foundation section.

·         Make four sunshine ray sections. Sew them together, this will form the outer rays circle for the sunshine.

·         Remove foundation paper.

·         Sew a 1/8^th stitch around the center and outer edges of the circle.

·         Fold the inner edge under ¼” and press. Position the inner circle on top of the nine patch square and stitch in place using a blind stitch.

I pinned it in place before I did the blind stitch.

On the back side, trim away the excess fabric on the nine-patch block center.

·         Fold the outer edge under ¼” and press. Position the sunshine section on top of the 12 ½” x 12 ½” square and stitch in place using a blind stitch.

I pinned it in place before I did my blind stitch.

The block measures 12 1/2" x 12 1/2" with the seam allowance.

~Sunshine~

The monthly FREE pattern will be available on my website. I have a special 2019 BOM section on my website. Each month the FREE pattern will be posted. But as soon as the new section or block is out the old block pattern will no longer be a freebie. But it will still be available for a small fee on my website or in my Etsy shop. If you want to share your finished blocks, feel free to post them on Facebook Group (Quilt Doodle Designs Garden Sunshine BOM 2019) and tag me or post them on Instagram tag Quilt Doodle Designs. I love to see everyone's progress as we stitch along together. 

As a reminder... if someone asks for the PDF or where it is on the Facebook group, please do not post the PDF directly onto the site. I appreciate you referring them to my website or to the blog. Thank you!

This month's block is challenging but worth the effort! Hope you are having a great day, remember July's block is no longer FREE. It can be found in my ETSY shop and also on the Quilt Doodle Website for a small fee. To get this month's block, head on over to Quilt Doodle Designs... remember this block is only available this month as a FREE PDF download. 

Happy Quilting!

Cindy and Belvedere