Sally's Favorite -
This block was first published by Nancy Page in the early 1920s. We are making it in a 9-inch size, and we are going to be oh so careful that those intersections lock together snugly. I've done the block in just two colors, one dark and one light, but there's nothing to stop you from arranging the colors in completely different ways and renaming the block. Please do be careful when you handle the bias edges on the triangles.

Cutting instructions --
Here are the rotary cutting directions for a 9-inch Sally's Favorite block. Please do notice that all the squares are cut on the straight of grain -- that is, two of the sides are parallel to the selvage.

From the light fabric, cut -

• One square, 5-3/4 x 5-3/4 inches. Now cut it diagonally corner to corner in both directions. These are the QSTs for the sides.

• One square, 3-1/2 x 3-1/2 inches. Now cut it diagonally corner to corner in both directions. These are the QSTs for the corners.

• 10 squares, each one 2-1/8 x 2-1/8 inches.

From the dark fabric, cut -

• One square 3-1/2 x 3-1/2 inches. Now cut it diagonally corner to corner in both directions. These are the QSTs for the corners.

• 10 squares, each one 2-1/8 x 2-1/8 inches.

Please click to go to LDRS HBBY Pat's page for the alternate block sizes

	Lay the pieces all out carefully to match the block picture. Be careful on the four corners! They are opposites (you'll see what I mean when you match them up to sew them - you can't zip through four just alike).
	Next, see the four patches? Make those. You can see that in the middle of the block, running diagonally, there are three four-patches sewn side-by-side and a four-patch above and below. Just keep following the picture, the pattern of dark and light.

As you go along, finger press toward the dark. When the block is finished, press gently on that towel (the thin terry towel on the ironing board that helps to hold the fabrics securely … remember?). No steam please! It should measure 9-1/2 x 9-1/2 inches.

Alternate way to do this - To make the four patches in this Sally's Favorite block, there's another cutting/sewing choice. Cut a piece of dark fabric and a piece of light fabric each about 24 inches long x 2-1/8 inches wide. Sew them together the long way with ¼ inch seams. Press toward the dark, and then cut off sections that are 2-1/8 inches wide. Sew two of these little sections together turning one section 180°, to make a four patch. Make five four-patches, and then continue with the rest of the block construction.

LDRS HBBY Pat shows how to make a four-patch block without a bump in the middle. Click

New Mexico  Size: 15" finished

New Mexico --
The second block is from Hearth & Home, and it's called New Mexico. Hearth & Home published patterns from 1885 to the 1930s, so this is another oldie. This looks like a star variation, and it's easier to cut and piece than you might think, except for those little 1-inch strips. We have to handle those carefully.

As you look at the New Mexico block, are you able to pick out the half-square triangles (HSTs)? The nine-patches? The rail fences? Where does the straight of grain go? When you can break a block down into recognizable pieces, it just gets easier and easier. This block is actually a lot easier to make than Sally's Favorite, in spite of the fact that it has more pieces. The triangles in this block get stitched together to make squares, and those are easy to handle.

Cutting instructions -
Here are the rotary cutting directions for a 15-inch New Mexico block. We are cutting this one not according to dark/light fabric, but according to structural elements in the block. Keep reading; it makes sense in a minute …

For the HSTs, cut -

• Six dark squares, each 3-7/8 x 3-7/8 inches.

• Six light squares, each 3-7/8 x 3-7/8 inches.

For the Rail Fence sections and the centers of the Nine-Patches, cut -

• Two light strips, each 1-1/2 x 21 inches (this allows a little extra length).

• One dark strip, 1-1/2 x 21 inches (this allows a little extra length).

For the rest of the Nine-Patch sections, cut -

• One light strip, 1-1/2 x 13 inches (this allows a little extra length).

• Two dark strips, each 1-1/2 x 13 inches (this allows a little extra length).

For the plain squares, from the medium fabric, cut -

• Five squares, each 3-1/2 x 3-1/2 inches.

Sewing and then cutting instructions -

12 HSTs	Put the dark and light squares together to make the HSTs. If you need a quick refresher, please look at the BOM 2000 lessons (Block #7, July). We need 12 HSTs, each with an unfinished size of 3-1/2 x 3-1/2 inches.
4 RailFence	Next, sew the three strips for the rail fence sections together the long way with the dark one in the middle. Press toward the dark, and then cut off four sections, each one 3-1/2 x 3-1/2 inches.
4	This leaves six inches of the sewn-together strips. Cut this into four 1-1/2 inch sections to be used as the centers of the nine-patches.
	Sew the three strips for the rest of the nine-patches together with the light strip in the middle. Finger press everything toward the dark color.
8	Cut this strip into eight units, each one 1-1/2 inches wide.
4 Nine-Patch	It's easy now to finish the nine-patches, sewing all the little units together.

The rest of the block sections are ready to be laid out according to the block's plan and stitched together in rows - and then the rows into the block. Not hard to do! It just takes a little care with these small pieces (the tiniest sections of the nine-patches are 1 inch square, finished size).

LDRS HBBY Pat here! When I saw the 1-inch segments Rathr was talking about, I decided we don't need to make this block any smaller! You could double the size of it, though, and make a one-block quilt that is 30 inches square without borders.

A quilt --
This New Mexico block makes one terrific quilt! Repeat the block three times across and three times down, change the color placement, and look what happens -

These two blocks weren't hard at all, were they? We are on our way to a gorgeous quilt! See you in February …

LDRS HBBY RathrB