Welcome to November!
Congratulations, friends! We are now in our final month of sewing blocks. Next month, we will finally assemble all the beautiful blocks we’ve been working on all year into stunning quilt tops. In fact, we’ve been seeing some of your quilt tops coming together on our social media feeds and we are so impressed with your hard work!
If you’re sewing along with us and want to enter to win prizes each month, post your finished blocks to Instagram or in our Facebook group (between November 15th and November 30th) with the #QP2019sewalong hashtag.
To review all the Tips and Tricks from this year, visit our 2019 Block of the Month Landing Page here.
Which Block Should I Sew in November?
In November, we will be making the Diamond Block. Instructions for this block are on page 21 of the QP magazine.
Snowflake Layout: Make twelve (12).
Pyramid Layout: Make twenty-four (24).
Tips for making the Diamond Block:
Tip #1: The diamond block is essentially a smaller version of the SiaS units we sewed in February and April. Because these blocks are small, accuracy in cutting will be very important. As tempting as it is to stack several layers of fabric for cutting, this can lead to poorly cut pieces. Best to stick with at most 2-4 layers of fabric.
Tip #2: When you are cutting your background fabric squares into triangles, be sure to hold your ruler steady! You want to cut a straight 45-degree line from one point to the other. Keeping this line straight will help you have accurate squares after you sew these triangles on your center square.
Tip #3: When making your SiaS units, be sure your corner triangles are staying centered on your center square and that they don’t shift or stretch as you sew them. Off-centered triangles will lead to a distorted finished square. To hold everything in place, you can use Wonderclips, Sewtites, glue basting or pins.
Tip #4: When trimming up your Diamond Blocks, make sure there is 1/4″ between the corners of the center square and the outer edge of the block.
Since it is our final month of sewing blocks, it’s a good idea to pull out all your blocks and make sure you have all the blocks you need to start assembly next month!
For the Snowflake layout, you should have:
From January- (1) Center Block
From February- (2) Inner Ring Block 1
From March- (2) Inner Ring Block 2
From April- (2) Inner Ring Block 3
From May- (2) Middle Ring Block 1
From June- (2) Middle Ring Block 2
From July- (2) Middle Ring Block 3
From August- (2) Outer Ring Block 1
From September- (2) Outer Ring Block 2
From October- (2) Outer Ring Block 3
From November- (12) Diamond Blocks
For the Pyramid layout, you should have:
From January and February- (4) Inner Ring Block 1
From March- (3) Inner Ring Block 2
From April- (3) Inner Ring Block 3
From May- (2) Middle Ring Block 1
From June- (2) Middle Ring Block 2
From July- (1) Middle Ring Block 3
From August- (4) Outer Ring Block 1
From September- (3) Outer Ring Block 2
From October- (3) Outer Ring Block 3
From November- (24) Diamond Blocks
Guidelines to enter your sewn blocks into our monthly challenge (and win prizes on Instagram and Facebook)
- Between the 1st and the 7th day of each month, you’ll find the pattern for that month’s block and select your fabrics.
- Between the 8th and the 14th, you’ll get your fabrics prepped and cut.
- Between the 15th and the end of the month, sew up your block and post it to Instagram (please use the #qp2019sewalong hashtag) or to the Facebook group (using the same #qp2019sewalong hashtag).
As always, feel free to contact us on Instagram or on our Facebook group if you need any help or have questions about the block!
