Thank you so much for joining me on the Cloud9 2016 New Block Blog Hop! I have to say, I am absolutely thrilled to share this tutorial with you! I loved, loved, loved working with these Cloud9 fabrics from the Organic Cirrus Solids collection! They handled beautifully, and have a great look and texture! The block tutorial I created for you was inspired by another project I’ve been working on this summer. It’s been a summer of arrow tails and seeking growth in many directions! Thus, the name, Heading Out!

Let’s get started!

Supplies:

Cloud9 Fabrics in these colors: Amazon, Sky, Lilac, Iris and Shadow.

You will need to cut:

From the Amazon fabric:
(1) 2.5″ square
(1) 3.5″ square

From the Sky fabric:
(1) 2.5″ square
(1) 3.5″ square

From the Lilac fabric:
(2) 2.5″ squares
(2) 3.5″ squares

From the Iris fabric
(10) 3.5″ squares

From the Shadow fabric:
(1) 4.5 x 8.5″ rectangle
(6) 3.5″ squares
(2) 2.5 x 4.5″ strips

You will also need a rotary cutter, self healing mat, ruler and a pen for marking.  All seam allowances are 1/4″. Unfinished block will measure 12 1/2″ square.

The How-To:

Step 1. Make the Half-Square Triangles (HSTs)

Using your pen, draw a diagonal line from corner to corner on the back side of all 3.5″ Iris squares.

Place each of these squares directly on top of the 3.5″ Amazon, Sky and Lilac and Shadow squares (rights sides together if you are using a print).

Sew a seam 1/4″ on either side of the marked diagonal line. Repeat for each square.  (Tip 1: you can chain-piece this step to make it go faster! And Tip 2: Don’t worry about pinning your pieces. Because the squares are oversized, even if the fabric shifts a bit while sewing, they will still be perfect when we trim them down to size!)

Cut each of the sewn pairs on the marked line.

Press the seams open.

Trim each HST to 2.5″ square.

Step 2. Assemble the arrow tails.

Sew the 2.5″ Amazon block to an Amazon/Iris HST as shown.

Sew an Iris/Shadow HST to an Amazon/Iris HST as shown.  Press seams open.

Sew the two sets of squares together, as shown, to form an arrow tail. Press seams open.

Repeat this step with the additional Lilac and Sky sets of squares.

You will end up with two Iris, one Sky, and one Amazon arrow tail.

Step 3. Assemble the Flying Geese.

Sew two Iris/Shadow HSTs together to form a Shadow flying geese triangle. Repeat 3 more times.

Sew a 2.5 x 4.5″ Shadow strip to the bottom of each of two flying geese. You will have two Flying Geese and two Flying Geese Units.

Step 4. Assemble the Block.

With the flying geese nose pointing upward, sew a Sky Arrow Tail to the left side of a Flying Geese Unit and a Lilac arrow tail to the right side of the Flying Geese Unit, as shown. This will create the top row of your block.

Sew a Flying Geese (noses pointed outward) to either short end of the 4.5 x 8.5″ Shadow piece. This will create the center row of your block.

With the flying geese nose pointing down, sew a Lilac Arrow Tail to the left side of the remaining Flying Geese Unit and an Amazon Arrow Tail to the right side of the flying geese unit. This will create the bottom row of your block.

Press all seams open. Then, sew the rows together as shown below.

And you are done! So easy! If you want to use this block to make a quilt, here’s a sample layout!  In order to preserve the appearance of the arrow tails, I have added a spacer block to prevent the arrow tails from getting lost as stars:

I hope you’ve enjoyed this quilt block tutorial, and I appreciate you stopping by!

Please make sure to visit all of the other bloggers participating in the block hop today (listed below). And a huge thanks to all of our hosts: Yvonne @Quilting Jet Girl, Cheryl @Meadow Mist Designs, and Stephanie @Late Night Quilter.

Host: Yvonne @Quilting Jetgirl

Abigail @Cut & Alter
Janice @Color, Creating, and Quilting!
Lorinda @Laurel, Poppy, and Pine
Melva @Melva Loves Scraps
Renee @Quilts of a Feather
Kathryn @Upitis Quilts
Kim @Leland Ave Studios
Amanda @this mom quilts
Holly @Lighthouse Lane Designs
Irene @Patchwork and Pastry
Jennifer @Dizzy Quilter
Karen @Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats
Anne @Said With Love
Suzy @Adventurous Applique and Quilting
Sharla @Thistle Thicket Studio
Kathleen @Smiles From Kate
Amanda @Gypsy Moon Quilt Co.
Sarah @Sarah Goer Quilts
Chelsea @Patch the Giraffe
Jinger @Trials of a Newbie Quilter
Anja @Anja Quilts
Daisy @Ants to Sugar