April 2019 Block Lotto

Spring is finally in the air!  That means spring cleaning, which for a quilter often includes cleaning out the fabric stash.  So, lets make a dent in those scraps!  This month's block is a scrappy flying geese design on a low volume background.

For each block you will need:
Scraps:  6 rectangles 3 1/2" x 2"
Low Volume:  12 squares 2"
                         2 rectangles 9 1/2" x 3 1/2"

To make the flying geese:

Draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of each 2" square.

Place one low volume square on the left side of each of the six scrappy rectangles, right sides together.  Be sure that your diagonal lines are going from the lower left corner to the upper right corner as shown below.

Stitch just to the side of the drawn line (toward the corner) to allow for turn of the cloth when pressing the seam open.  You want to be sure that the it lines up to a 3 1/2" x 2" rectangle when finished.

All six are stitched:

Note:  This step is optional.  If you want to use those leftover triangles, now is a good time to sew them together.  Draw another line a scant 1/2"  away from the original diagonal line (toward the corner) and sew a second seam just off that line, into the seam allowance.  I then cut a scant 1/4" away from the diagonal line, which should be roughly in the center of the two lines.

Now you have a small half square triangle to use in another project!

After sewing all six pieces, trimming the seam allowance and pressing the seams, you will have six rectangles like this:

For the second part of sewing the flying geese, you will place the remaining six 2" squares on the right side of the sewn rectangles.

As we did on the left side, stitch just to the side of the drawn lines, toward the corner.  Leaving a 1/4" seam allowance, trim away the excess (stitch that second line now if you want) and press the seams open.

Sew the six flying geese together to create one row of geese.  I sew them together two at at time, press seams to one side and then sew those three together to get a row of six.

I like to sew with the triangle facing up towards me to ensure that I don't sew past the tip of the triangle.

Now you have a row of six scrappy flying geese!  Next, we will sew the two 9 1/2" x 3 1/2" low volume rectangles to each side of the row of geese.

Pin one 9 1/2" x 3 1/2" low volume rectangle to one side of the row of geese.

Stitch a scant 1/4" seam and press seam towards the low volume rectangle.

Pin the remaining 9 1/2" x 3 1/2" low volume rectangle to the other side of the row of geese.

Stitch a scant 1/4" seam and press seam towards the low volume rectangle.

That's it!  Your block should measure 9 1/2" square and will finish at 9" square.

Have a great weekend and happy sewing!

Maureen