March 2006 BOM

QAF Block of the Month

March 2006

City Streets (var.)

9 1/2" (unfinished), 9" (finished)

QAF's March Block of the Month is a variation of the City Streets Block found in Barbara Brackman's "Encyclopedia of Quilt Blocks". It was first published by Nancy Cabot in 1937, in the Chicago Tribune. I really like the way the blocks go together, looking a lot like the gridded blocks surrounded by 'city streets'. I hope you like this block and have fun making it.

It is an easy block, but has more seams than last month's block. You will have good success if you make sure to sew with a 1/4" seam and measure each component as you go along. This would be a good block to strip piece if you were making many, say for a whole quilt.

All fabrics for this BOM are to be, as usual, 100% quilter's quality cotton, prewashed and pressed before you cut the pieces.

For each block you will need ONE good white fabric, such as a Kona White, or a good bleached muslin, ONE medium dark to dark blue Tone on Tone (TOT) and ONE clear, bright medium TOT fabric, like Fossil Fern, Moda Marble, or a batik that is solid or almost so. No metallic fabrics, please.

A helpful tool for this block will be a small ( 4 1/2") square-up ruler and also one that is 9 1/2" or larger.. If you don't have these, please consider getting them and learning how to use them. And please, do feel free to open or join a discussion in the forum about the tools, fabrics, or any other aspect of making our BOM blocks.

You may make up to 3 blocks using the same clear, bright medium TOT for this BOM, then use another color for the next 3 and so on. You may repeat the white and the blues for all the blocks, as you wish.

Cut for each block:

(1) Place each 1 1/2" x 2 1/2" blue rectangle RST with a 2 1/2" white square and stitch seam. Press to the dark. This section should measure 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" as sewn.

Lay these out as they appear in the picture (the 4 corner pieces) and place the remaining blue strips (1 1/2" x 3 1/2") vertically on the inside edge of the pieced patch you just made. Note that you will be sewing two on the left side of those patches and two on the right side. Press to the dark. This section now should measure 3 1/2" square, ready to be sewn into the block.

(2) Place each 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" white rectangle RST with a 1 1/2" x 3 1/2" bright TOT rectangle and stitch. Press these to the white fabric. This section should measure 3 1/2" square.

Please take the time to sew 1/4" seams carefully, and measure as you go. It is a lot easier to fix problems during construction than it is after the block is sewn.

(3) Now you are ready to make the block. Lay out all the pieced patches and the middle square as in the picture above, and stitch them into rows. Press the top and bottom rows away from the center patch, and press the center row toward the center square. Sew the rows together as in the picture. Press the rows to the center. Measure your block with your large square-up ruler and trim if necessary. Your blocks should measure 9 1/2" square, with the center square at 3" finished.