July's Block Party

For the past couple years I had been running a Charity Scrap Block thing for my guild, wherein each month I did up a pattern and brought in one of the tubs of scraps that I hold onto for the guild, and the members would bring in blocks the next month, to eventually be made into charity quilts.  But the blocks being made and turned in trickled to... zero.

So I rejiggered, and now it's retooled into a Block Party, where theoretically one or more people walks away with all the blocks being made.  We'll see if avarice is a greater motivator than greed, or something?  I say that, because zero blocks got turned in (again) at this month's meeting.  But it wasn't a very dynamic block, and it was the annual picnic, so... we'll see how next month goes.  But in case anyone's interested, here's July's block:

12 1/2” Neopolitan Pinwheel

For each block, cut:

• Four 3 7/8” squares of pink fabric, cut in half diagonally
• Two 3 7/8” squares of brown fabric, cut in half diagonally
• Two 3 7/8” squares of a different brown fabric, cut in half diagonally
• Eight 3 7/8” squares of cream/off-white background fabric, cut in half diagonally

(Alternately, the half-square triangles can be cut from 3 1/2” strips using an Easy Angle or equivalent ruler.)

To make the block:

Sew each pink or brown triangle to a cream triangle, stitching along the bias/hypotenuse/long edge. Press the seams toward the colored part of the square and trim all dog ears.

Lay out the squares as in the image above, with the pink fabric making the main pinwheel, and the two browns making the half-pinwheel and corners. Sew together in rows. Press seams as desired. Tip: pressing each row’s seams in the opposite direction of the row next to it will help them nest better! Stitch the rows together and press the long seams as desired.

Square to 12 1/2”. Congratulations! You have made a block! Bring up to ten blocks to the guild’s monthly meeting to enter into the Block Party drawing.