National Quilting Day…the perfect time to start a new project!  I hang out in the Quilters Knitting forum on Ravelry and we thought it would be fun to start a Block of the Month.  Sure, there are plenty of gorgeous BOM groups out there…we  were  inspired by Jen Kingwell’s Long Time Gone (now closed) and Gypsy Wife as well as Pat Sloan and Jane Davidson’s Splendid Sampler, but we wanted a DIY version so several of us decided to choose blocks and share them in a more informal sew-along.

This will be a random assortment of blocks; in fact most of us are waiting to see how everything turns out before we consider a layout!  I do like to have some sort of goal so I came up with this possible pattern for a variety of blocks:

There is a lot of room for “filler” blocks, which could be plain patches of a favorite fabric or classic blocks such as 4-patches, pinwheels or crumb/crazy blocks.

Today, I want to share the basic measurements for three basic blocks that can be used as fillers.

The four patch is a simple block that can be easily converted to any size – just divide your block width in half and remember to add 1/2″ for seam allowance.

4-patch Sizes

4″ block is made from 2-1/2″ squares

6″ block is made from 3-1/2″ squares

8″ block is made from 4-1/2″ squares

10″ block is made from 5-1/2″ squares

12″ block is made from 6-1/2″ squares

9-patch sizes

You can get a lot of variety in the 9-patch block by alternating which fabric (dark or light) is dominant in the corners. The match gets tricky for even-numbered sizes, so I am only including the easily-divisible-by-3 combinations.

6″ block is made from 2-1/2″ squares

12″ block is made from 3-1/2″ squares

Checkerboard sizes

The checkerboard block just puts more 4-patches together.  This is a fun way to use up scraps. Mix and match fabrics from the same color family and add a lot of interest to your quilt.  I have calculated this block as a 16-patch (4×4) arrangement by dividing the block width by 4 and adding the 1/2″ seam allowance

4″ block is made from 1-1/2″ squares

6″ block is made from 2″ squares

8″ block is made from 2-1/2″ squares

10″ block is made from 3″ squares

12″ block is made from 3-1/2″ squares

Sew Along with the Rav BOM2016

Anyone is welcome to sew along with the Ravelry Block of the Month.  Patterns come from public use tutorials found online.  We will be announcing a new block every two weeks starting in April.  Join us on Ravelry or with #RavBOM2016. There are no sign up fees or purchase requirements. We encourage you to use your stash for this project.

Enjoy, Experiment and Excel with your quilting!

~Andi @truebluequilts