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| | Guidelines for Birds-in-The-Air Block Exchange
You will prepare 16 6-1/2" blocks for the Block Exchange - 15 pairs to
exchange, 1 pair for yourself. The blocks
finish to 6" so that they can be used with the charm squares and other
blocks we've exchanged.
Materials required for sixteen paired blocks:
- 1/2 yard each of 2 different fall prints (golds, rusts, dark greens, reds, etc. NO NOVELTY OR SEASONAL PRINTS,
PLEASE)
- 3/4 yard cream-on-cream
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optional - triangle paper for 32 3" (finished) half square triangles
Cutting:
You will need the following cut pieces:
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8 - 6-7/8" squares from each fall fabric, cut diagonally once to yield 16 large
birds. |
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32 - 3-7/8" squares of cream on cream, cut diagonally to yield 64 small
triangles, 32 to be used with each of the different fall print large triangles |
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16 half square triangle units made from COC and one fall print, and 16 made from COC and
the other fall print. Do this with triangle paper or
cut 16 more COC 3-7/8" squares, halved diagonally to yield 32 more
COC triangles and 8 3-7/8" squares of each fall print, halved to
yield 16 small triangles of each; sew to make the small 1/2 square
triangle pieces. |
Construction:
Sew, cut and press half square triangles. Press toward the dark fabric.
Lay out pieces for the "Birds-In-The-Air" blocks and construct two sets of blocks.
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Step 2 |
Step 3 |
Step 4 |
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- Press seams towards the dark fabric so that the final squares will sew together correctly.
- Trim thread ends and triangle tails as you go. Those who exchange blocks want a finished, usable product of the correct size, cleanly finished, not a sloppy, hastily done effort.
- Square up your blocks so that they measure 6-1/2".
- Pair up your blocks by putting one block of each color in a plastic
bag with your name on it. You should have 15 pairs of blocks (30
blocks) to exchange, and one set (2 blocks) for you to keep.
TIPS:
- Pressing after each step seems to cause stretching problems with the
triangles. I recommend you finger-press after each step, then, after the block is completely
finished, press with your iron.
- Measure carefully as you cut and as you sew. I had to be very careful with cutting and seam allowance to get a 6 1/2" finished block.
- For alternate directions, you can visit this link - http://www.quilterscache.com/BirdsInTheAirBlock.html.
LAYOUT IDEAS:
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