Ah, dear friends! A new month is upon us, and that means it’s time to add another block to our growing stack of Sugar Block goodness– and not a moment too early (admittedly, I’m hesitant to get into the nitty gritties of why this month’s block is being released later than usual, but suffice it to say, this imperfect human is so grateful for your patience and understanding).
September’s block is inspired by classic flying geese-based quilts- but with 2 different shapes/sizes of triangles, it’s much more whimsical! I call it “To & Fro”, which I thought was just perfect for this busy back-to-school month.
If this block looks familiar, it’s because it’s straight out of my brand new book, The Quilt Block Cookbook! It’s been SO much fun to see designs from the book starting to pop up on social media now that it’s finally in stores and folks are able to get their hands on it, so I decided to celebrate by sharing one of the book blocks with you as part of our Sugar Block Club this year. I hope you enjoy making it as much as I did!
This block is truly one of my absolute favorites because it’s so playful, and it’s perfect for using up scraps and charm squares, featuring extra special favorite prints, or playing with fussy cutting (I did all three in mine!). Can’t wait to see your version!
This month’s new quilt, inspired by the block, is Razzle Dazzle and the pattern is available for download in my shop. Isn’t it fun? I just love how alternating the direction of the blocks really adds movement, chaos even, but it still manages to convey a feeling of order because of the spacing between the blocks. So whimsical…oh, and PERFECT for using up charm squares!
Anyway, here’s the free block pattern! Enjoy! If you stitch it up, be sure to post a pic on Instagram and tag @sugarblockclub and me, @SticheryDickory.
To & Fro Block
Finished Size: 12” square
Fabric Requirements:
1/4 yard of white
Scraps from Various Prints at least 2 1/4” x 4 1/2” and 5” square (charm squares work great!)
- White:
- Cut (12) 5 ½’’ x 3’’ rectangles (triangles)
- Cut (12) 2 ½’’ squares (geese)
- Various Prints:
- Cut (6) 5’’ squares (triangles)
- Cut (6) 4 ½’’ x 2 ½’’ rectangles (geese)
Templates:
You’ll find the templates for this block HERE. Print three copies.
Construction:
1. If you’re comfortable paper piecing these, then print your templates and jump right in! If not, please refer to THIS photo tutorial of a similar block, or revisit the Craftsy BOM October lesson for a video demo. Piece all six large triangle units using this method, then press with starch, trim, and remove the paper.
2. The flying geese units are constructed by adding two 2 ½’’ white squares to a 4 ½’’x 2 ½’’ print rectangle using the draw, stitch & flip method as follows (Figure 1): Draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of the white squares, then align square to one side of the print rectangle. Stitch on the line, then trim 1/4’’ past the line of stitching to form a seam allowance, and press the corner open. In the same way, add a second white square to the other end of the print rectangle, taking care that the drawn lines are perpendicular to one another. (Figure 1). Make 6 flying geese for this block.
Figure 1
3. Stitch the twelve units together into 3 columns of 4 units each, following the block layout guide (Figure 2). Press seams away from triangle points, then join columns. Press.
Square up block to 12 1/2″ as needed.
Figure 2
And that’s it! One of the quickest and easiest foundation paper pieced block you’ll find!
PS- Looking for the other block patterns from this year’s club? Look HERE.
PPS– Want a super printer-friendly PDF download of this pattern? Sign up for a Premium Sugar Block Club membership and receive all 12 months of block and full quilt patterns for a flat $19.99. You’ll get 24 patterns (12 blocks and 12 full quilts), complete with step by step diagrams, tips, photos, and many in multiple-size options- for just $.83 per pattern! You can sign up to be a premium member HERE.
Have a fabulous September, everyone, and thanks for stopping by!
Amy, the two To & Fro templates that I downloaded are both the same size. How do I find the templates that will make my block look like yours? By the way, I have so loved the pattern each month and it is so exciting to get the full quilt patterns.
If I’m reading it right (haven’t made it yet) you need 6 triangles (the templates X 3) and 6 geese made using stitch and flip as above. That gives you the 2 different shapes. Hope that helps!
Make six the size of the templates – these are the larger triangles. Then make 6 regular flying geese blocks – these are the smaller triangles. The directions explain how to do this.
Hi Fran! Thanks for the note! The only units that need templates are the larger triangles (there are 6 of them). The other 6 smaller triangles are flying geese, made via the instructions in Step 2. Hope this helps! Let me know if you still have questions. :)
Thanks for the help with the templates. Next time, I shall read the instructions more carefully. Now I can’t wait to make the block! Thanks again, Erin, Chris, and Amy.
So glad to hear all is well, or at least mostly well.
This one is fun and I haven’t had a chance to see a block from the cookbook yet! I’m headed to choose my fabrics now. But I’m gonna have to excersize extreme willpower and go to bed at a decent time and sew tomorrow.
Thanks Branalyn! So sweet of you :) We are all good here but just have had a really rough 2 weeks…couple of car accidents (everyone’s ok thank goodness!), and a couple of medical situations… Murphy’s law of course that those kinds of things seem to all pile on at once, but we’re all good- thankful for health and protection! Thanks for your kindness and patience! xo
I meant I haven’t had a chance to sew a block form the cookbook yet, I spent several hours pouring over the book seeing them. Crazy autocorrect.
Anyways, yes, things do tend to pile on at once. Glad things are looking better and nothing too major happened! You make this look so easy from this side of the screen. 4 kids, homeschool, quilting, blog, etc. But I know how crazy life gets and I can only imagine the things that must go on behind the scenes!
what an awesome block – just love your fussy cutting and that cute kitty peeking out !
Ohhhh this is sooooo cute I love it. What a great pattern.
Thank you so much for sharing this.
Gosh, how inspiring!!
Awesome block for September. Sorry you’ve had a rough few weeks…I hope things settle down for you :-)
Love it! I’m so behind, but I can see that I’ll have to make this block first when catching up! Looks like a fun one!
Beautiful block! Hope u all are well! Can’t wait to start this one! And ur book is on my Christmas list…lol!
Amy, thanks so much for this fun block! I love how there are 2 sizes of triangles–really sets off the block in an unexpected way. I’ve been seeing a lot of posts on blogs about your Cookbook–and every single photo is scrumptious. Congratulations! And glad to hear life is getting a little easier :)
Love this month’s block. I have to play major catch up as I still have July and August’s blocks to sew too. We had work done in the house and the craftroom was used for storage. Back in order now though and this is the perfect block to get me sewing again. I will be putting your book on my Christmas list too! Hope life has calmed down a bit for you all now. xx
I bought this pattern on craftsy. Thought it was so interesting. Instead of doing the stitch and flip method for the smaller flying geese could you use a foundation paper piece pattern? If so what would the dimensions for the flying geese block unit be to print out? I come out more accurate when I do paper piecing. Thank you and I look forward to making this.