Okay, time to head to New Jersey. Admittedly, I don’t know a lot about New Jersey, but I’ve got a good friend who lives there and it’s called the “garden state” so it sounds lovely enough, right? (Let’s just forget about all the Jersey Shore stereotype and focus on the “garden”, okay? We all love a nice garden, and you are going to love this block!)

There are a number of different ways this block could be put together. Possibilities I’m using include use mostly half square triangles or make the “legs” of the x a single piece of fabric. Instead, I’ll show you how to construct this block as a 3×3 grid made up of flying geese and half square triangles.

Cutting directions for New Jersey quilt block:

From background fabric (gray for me):
(4) 2.5 inch x 4.5 inch rectangles

From fabric 2 (dark pink):
(1) 3-1/8 inch square (for center on point square)
(6) 3-inch squares (to use in the corner half square triangles)

From fabric 3 (yellow-gold):
(4) 2.5-inch squares
(12) 3-inch squares
*6 of these will be paired with dark pink to make HSTs
*sub-cut 2 of these on the diagonal to make 4 triangles to use around the center on-point square
*4 of these will be used to make flying geese

From fabric 4 (dark orange):
(1) 5.25 inch square (used to make 4 flying geese)

Construct the block

1. Make the center square.
Use the 3-1/8 inch square of Fabric 2. Along each edge, sew a triangle from 1/2 of a 3-inch square. Trim the center square to 4.5 inches.

2. Make 12 half square triangles using (6) 3-inch squares of Fabric 2 and (6) 3-inch squares of Fabric 3. For a review of how to make HSTs, please revisit the Maryland tutorial. Trim each finished HST to 2.5-inches.

3. Make 4 flying geese using the 5.25 inch square of Fabric 4 and (4) 3-inch squares of Fabric 3. This is my favorite method for flying geese, but it works best when you need 4 (or multiples of 4) geese.

The first step is similar to how you make a HST. Begin by aligning two 3-inch squares in opposite corners of the 5.25-inch square. Draw a line from corner to corner, bisecting both of the smaller squares.

Sew a 1/4 inch line of stitches to each side of line you just drew. Cut the piece apart on the drawn line.

Iron the small triangles up away from the large triangle you created with your cut.

Align the remaining 3-inch squares in the remaining “empty” corner of the larger triangles. Again, draw a line bisecting the square into 2 triangles. The line will begin at the “empty” corner of the large triangle and end between where the two smaller triangles are attached.

Sew a line of stitches 1/4 inch to each side of the line you drew and cut the piece apart on the drawn line.

Iron the final small triangle open. Trim the flying goose to 4.5 inches x 2.5 inches.

4. Put together the sub-units of the block.
4a. Sew each flying goose unit to a 4.5 x 2.5 inch rectangle of background fabric along the long edge of the center triangle.
4b. Combine 3 half square triangles with (1) 2.5 inch square of Fabric 3 as seen below.

5. Sew the 9 sub-units into rows, sew the rows together, and your done! Don’t forget to share your block in the Road Trip Quilt Along Flickr group!

Linking this up as my finish this week.

I have not actually spent any significant time in Delaware. At most, I’ve driven through a portion. So, if you’ve been there, tell me something fun to do in Delaware.

This block is pretty straight forward and should come together really easily for you.

Cutting directions:

From background fabric:
Cut (1) 2.5 inch square
Cut (2) 6 inch squares, then sub-cut each of these on the diagonal to make 2 triangles (4 total)

From each of two focus fabrics:
Cut (2) 5.5 x 2.5 inch rectangles
Cut (1) 6.25 inch square

Making the block

Create half square triangles from the 6.25 inch squares.  Place the fabric right sides together. Draw a diagonal line from corner to corner. Sew a line 1/4 inch to each side of the drawn line. Cut the square apart on the drawn line. Iron open. For instructions with photos, go back to the Maryland tutorial.

When you’ve finished the HSTs, cut them apart on the diagonal through both fabrics as shown below.

Place each 2-color triangle right sides together with one of the triangles of background fabric and sew along the long edge. Iron open. Trim this piece to 5.5 inches.

From here, it’s just laying out the remaining pieces of the block and sewing them together.

Easy! But remember to sew the pieces together so your background HSTs all point to the center? See that line at the top of this block: that’s where I sewed the last row on upside down. The seam ripper is my most important sewing tool!

From Virginia, our road trip takes us north into Maryland. During last year’s road trip, we made a Maryland Star, so this year, we’ll try something different. I’ve seen this called “Maryland Beauty” and it involves a series of “feathered triangles” with the feathers measuring just one inch. My husband saw me making this block with teeny tiny triangles and he said: “Why would you do that to yourself.”

Me: “Because. Doesn’t it look awesome?”
Hubs: “Yes. But … why would you do that to yourself?”

It’s worth the reward!

Cutting direction for Maryland Beauty quilt block:

Background fabric:
1/2 of a 13-inch square cut on the diagonal
1/2 of a 7-inch square cut on the diagonal
(18) 2-inch squares

From each of 3 focus fabrics:
1/2 of a 6-inch square cut on the diagonal (3, 1/2 squares in total)
(5) 2-inch squares (15 in total)

Create Half Square Triangles

From the (15) 2-inch squares of focus fabric and 15 of the 2-inch squares of background fabric, create half square triangles. Here’s how:

Align 1 square of focus fabric and 1 square of background fabric right sides together.

Draw a diagonal line through the square.

Sew a line 1/4 from each side of the marked line.

Cut the square in two along the line.

Iron each of the 2 halves open.

Trim each to 1.5 inches.

Repeat 14 times. You will end up with 10 half square triangles from each of 3 fabrics, but you only need 9 of them.

Cut the remaining 3 squares of background fabric in half on the diagonal.

Put the block together

Begin with one of you 6-inch half square of focus fabric. You will add the small half square triangles along two edges.

All small HSTs will face the same direction. Sew 4 of them together horizontally, and add an extra half square of background fabric to the end. Sew 5 more small HSTs together vertically and add an extra half square of background fabric to the bottom.

Attach first the shorter piece and then the longer pieces to the large half square of focus fabric. Trim the long edge of the triangle so it is 45-degrees from each of the other edges.

Sew this piece to the 7-inch half square of background fabric.

Trim the resulting square to 6.5 inches.

Create 2 additional feathered triangles by the same method and sew one to each remaining edge of the background fabric half square. Sew this entire piece to the half 13-inch square of background fabric.

Trim your Maryland Beauty block to 12.5 inches.

Maryland Beauty block: the cheater way

If you agree with my husband and think “why would I do that to myself?”, there is a short cut to this block. It’s much easier to put together, but just remember: it’s not nearly as awesome!

You’ll need:
From background fabric:
1/2 of a 13-inch square cut on the diagonal
1/2 of a 7-inch square cut on the diagonal

From each of 3 focus fabrics:
1/2 of a 7-inch square cut on the diagonal (3, 1/2 squares in total)

Put the block together just as the direction indicate, but instead of constructing and then using the feathered triangles, you’ll just use the 1/2 7-inch squares.

Hello and welcome to the first stop on the Road Trip Quilt Along: Virginia. This quilt along was born last summer when my family travelled through a total of 16 states in 8 weeks. In order to keep myself sewing while we were away, I decided to make a quilt block to represent each state we travelled through. This year, the road trip isn’t really happening, but the blocks we’ll be making represent states that are contiguous, so this is a hypothetical road trip, and you really could travel this route if you desired. When we are finished, we will have 12 blocks representing states from the northeastern United States.

Last year’s road trip also began in Virginia, and I showed you how to make a Virginia Star. This year, we’ll make something else to represent Virginia: the Virginia Reel (though, as of 2 weeks ago, I no longer live in Virginia. Perhaps next year we’ll begin our road trip in Missouri!).

Cutting directions:

*note: the block can be made with 2 different fabrics, rather than 4, as I used. If using 2 fabrics, you will need 2 center squares of each color.*

Center: Cut a 2-inch square of each color.

Radiating triangles: *You will need 1/2 squares (cut in half on the diagonal) of each color. If you are using 2 fabrics, you will use both halves. If you are using 4 fabrics, you will only use one half.*

Cut a square of each color in each of the following sizes:
3-1/8 inch
4 inch
5-1/4 inch
7 inch

Cut each square in half on the diagonal to make two triangles.

Construct the Virginia Reel block

All seams are 1/4 inch.

Sew the 4 center squares into a 4-patch. If using 2 fabrics, alternate their placement so a square is not adjacent to one of the same fabric. If your seam allowances are accurate, you should have a 3.5 inch 4-patch block.

Add the first round (smallest) triangles. The bottom left corner of each triangle should be touching the square of the same fabric. Trim this block to 4.75 inches square.

Add the next larger size triangle. Again, the bottom left corner of the triangle should be touching the triangle from the same fabric.

Trim the block to 6.5 inches.

Continue in the same manner for the two remaining rounds of triangles. Trim the resulting block to 9 inches, and finally to 12.5 inches.

I cut out a second center square of each color and used my other 1/2 square triangles to make a second block.

Easy, right? I thought this was a really fun block. Come and share yours in the Road Trip Quilt Along Flickr group!