Churning out blocks

The most recent Circa 2016 block from Temecula Quilt Co.'s sew-along is a little Churn Dash block.  Adorable! I had so much fun making these, and they were perfect for clearing out some of my 2-inch scrap bag pieces.

By taking a dark piece approximately 7-1/2 inches and matching it with a light piece approximately 9 inches, the blocks can be made with very little waste!  I really like being able to go to just one size scrap bag instead of trying to find the same fabric in a couple of different sizes.  Not to mention 1-inch size pieces are pretty small for my hands to work with.  This method avoids having to cut pieces that narrow.

Press and match the 2-inch strips right sides together.  Square up one end.

From that end sub-cut one 3-1/2 inch piece and two 2-inch pieces.  Then, from the light only, cut one piece at 1-1/2 inches for the center of your Churn Dash block.

Mark the 2-inch pieces on the diagonal and stitch 1/4-inch on either side of that line.  Cut on the line and press open your four half-square triangle pieces. Trim to 1-1/2 inch squares which will be used in the 4 corners.
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Stitch the 3-1/2 inch piece down both long sides.  Mark a center line 1-inch from each long edge.  Because of the width of your pen line, mark from both sides.  You will end up with a double line down the center of the piece.  Cut between the lines to get the exact center.  Press open. Sub-cut to get two 1-1/2 inch squares from each piece (total of 4 side pieces).

Assemble 9-patch style to make a traditional Churn Dash block.  Look how many dark 2-inch strips I found in my bag that were already exactly the right length!

Churn Dash blocks: looking a little wonky because
they are not lying perfectly flat on the design wall.

Other than that, I'm working on fringing all the seams for a denim & flannel rag-style quilt for my son's birthday this month.  Snip...snip...snip...