Anything goes color split 9-patch variation for August

It is hard to think about quilting over the summer vacation.  Even if you are not on vacation exactly, your kids might be.  Or your potential house guests.  Also, like the February block, the August block only gives you two months to get everything together & mailed for swapping.  So, I  thought I would go with a simple classic:  the color split 9-patch.

The August 2010 block swap block is made of eight squares & one 1/2-square triangle.  One half of  the block is primarily one color, the other half is primarily another & the 1/2-square triangle is half&half.  This is a good scrap blaster, because no piece starts larger than 3 inches (& most start smaller).  For those who participated in the December 2009 Bingo Block swap, yes I am basing the cut piece dimensions on those used in that block so you can mostly use the leftovers from those scraps.  You're welcome.

In the past I have suggested a theme for the fabrics:  kids or patriotic or floral.  This month the theme is get this (s)crap out of my sewing room.  Anything goes, so long as the color divide is maintained.

For myself, I strip pieced those parts that could be strip pieced & made the 1/2 square triangles without having to deal with open bias edges BUT how you put the blocks together yourself makes no-nevermind to me.  I often cut a strip from the beginning &/or end of a piece of fabric to even the edge up & these strips just kind of pile up, but you could work with squares instead of strips, if that is how your stash is arranged.  As for the 1/2 square triangles, this is the same technique I blogged in floral sunny lanes, but if you would rather put them together another way-go for it.

The 8 individual squares (or strips) should be 2.5" unfinished/2" finished.  Four should be primarily one color the other four should be primarily another color.  If you are cutting down a large &/or boldly patterned fabric, please double check that the square you cut out meets the color requirement.  For example, a fabric patterned in large red roses may very easily produce smaller green squares if you are cutting up just the stem; I know because this is exactly what happened to me.  As you can see, there are other colors in the fabrics I grabbed BUT no one looking at anyone square would say it was anything other than either obviously intended as  red or obviously intended as blue.  As for your own color choices, please feel free to represent any two of the following colors:  red, orange, yellow, green, blue, pink or purple.

The layout is:

• First row color 1, color 1, color 2.  
• Middle row color 1, 1/2 square triangle, color 2.  
• Third row color 1, color 2, color 2.

As always, we swap in sets of five.  You can make (& swap) more than one set, just keep it to sets of five.  You are very welcome to submit a 6th block for every set you send (or more, or just for one-any & all are welcome).  You will still get only five swapped blocks back, the 6th blocks go to a member of the group who has requested them (after participating in a certain number of swaps) to make community quilts.  The guidelines for requesting 6th blocks are on the Facebook group page but the highlights are the quilt must go to a person or persons (not a raffle, not an auction, not for fund raising), through an organization that distributes quilts, or uses them in their facilities.  6th blocks are not for gifts for family members or friends, etc.  If you think this might interest you, you MUST join the Facebook Quilt Block Swap Group & make the request there.  As it happens, this swap is looking for a 6th block person; usually the kids blocks have long lists of pick-mes but I timed this one badly, what with summer vacation & all the waiting list people asked to be re-waiting listed.  The sad thing is this EXACT thing happened with last December's kids block.  You would think I would learn.  Oh well.

Blocks are due the last Saturday of an even numbered month.  In this case Saturday, August 28th.  Blocks will be swapped on the 29th & will be brought the to the post office Monday, August 30th. 

& for anyone looking for a little music to get them started - I give you Mister Porter à la Miss Gaynor.  Or if you prefer, something even more vintage.