We are introducing the California block! In 1912 Hearth and Home solicited quilters to submit a quilt block that they thought represented their State, and they then published them and I am recreating these blocks for us to make!
National California Day is Wednesday February 22, 2023! I am going to try to release the State blocks on their National day throughout 2023!
I changed up this block so that there are no Y seams.. I designed it with flying geese and snowball corners to get the same effect and utilize parts of a quilt that we are all familiar with! This is a 12″ finished block and utilizes four colors. The colors that I chose for my block are from the State Mineral – Benitoite.
If you would like to make this block, sign up for the password to get into our Free Resource Library and download the pattern and come back here and make it today!
Supplies
- Four Fabric Colors for this block, contrasting enough that all elements of the block stand apart.
- 6″ Square ruler will be enough to cut all the pieces.
- Chain Piece cutter is optional
- Rotary blade
- Thread – I used Aurifil Thread 50wt.
- Iron – I have a cordless iron that makes it easy to iron next to my machine.
Below are the fabrics I used in this block.
Step 1 – Cut (F) Piece
Grab your (F) pieces and cut in on the diagonal to get 4 triangles. Clip these triangles to the (E) piece, we will put these together in another step 4.
Step 2 – Make Flying Geese
There are four flying geese in this block. Grab 4 of the (B) rectangles and 8 of the (C) squares. Draw a diagonal on all the (C) squares, this will be the sewing line.
Next, line up your square with the left side of your rectangle with right sides together and the diagonal line will run from the top middle to the bottom left corner. Sew along this line, trim 1/4″ away from the line and iron towards the corner. Repeat for the right side of the flying goose. Make 4 flying geese.
Step 3 – Make the Corners
Grab the 4 (A) squares and the remaining 4 (C) squares. Just like in Step 3, draw a diagonal line on the back of (C). Line up the (C) piece in the corner of (B) so that the drawn line will cut off the corner. Sew along the line, trim 1/4″ away from the seam and iron towards the (C) piece. Make 4 corners.
Step 4 – Make Center Block
Take your (E) & (F) pieces that we put together in Step 1. Center (F) on one side of (E), and center another (F) on the opposite side of (E). Sew and iron towards (F). Repeat for the two other (F) pieces to create the center square.
Step 5 – Put flying geese section together
Take the remaining 4 (B) pieces and add them to bottom of the flying geese. The flying goose will point away from the (B) piece. Iron towards (B) and make 4 of these.
Step 6 – Assemble the block!
Lay out all the pieces you just made in the previous steps to form the block. The block will be put together in rows, iron away from the flying geese section in all the rows.
Now that our rows are together, we can put together the rows in our blocks. Line up seams and points, sew and iron away from the center row.
Congratulations on Making the California State Block!
Congratulations on making the California State Block. Your unfinished block will measure 12.5″ square. Share your block on social media by using hastag #californiastateblockcc.
I have a detailed video tutorial showing the assemble of this block!
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