Tips for constructing the Old Maid's Puzzle block that we will be drawing for at the September meeting. Sorry I'm a little late with this one, it's always a little crazy when school starts. 

From the background fabric cut four 3½" squares, and five 4¼" squares.
From the navy fabric cut three 4¼" squares.
From the olive fabric cut one  7¼" square.

Cut each of the 4¼" squares and the 7¼" square in half diagonally.

Start by pairing the navy and background triangles to make six half-square triangles (HST's). Press toward the navy.

Trim each HST to exactly 3½" square.

You might notice in the two pictures above my new toy. At the quilt show in Long Beach I found this cool new ruler. It's specifically made for trimming HST's. There's a grove on the underside that locks on the diagonal seam so there's no rocking or shifting as you trim the sides. It was a little expensive ($21) but I figure if it lasts at least 5 years - that's only $4.20 per year. 

http://usaus.us/cart/quilting-rulers-c-12.html

Now we need to attach a small triangle to each side of the a HST as shown in the picture. We'll need two of these units.

Now we need to trim. Line up the 45° line with one of the short sides of the triangle, and the point of the navy triangle should be a quarter inch from the edge of the ruler where we're going to trim.

Pair up the navy/background triangle unit with one of the olive triangles. They won't match in size exactly.

Your seam should go through the X formed by the previous seams.

Press the seam toward the olive triangle. Trim the square to measure 6½" square.

Here's the basic block layout.

Start by making two four-patches as pictured below.

Rotate the seams so you can spin the center.

Now put these four squares together to make the block.

Again, rotate the seams and spin the center.

Here's one possible layout using 16 blocks.

And here's a way you could use the blocks alternating with applique blocks.

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Bob said:

	Hi Carol WOW what a great job of sharing this quilt block. I haven't been doing the block so I have not looked at it before. Thanks so much bob
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September 12, 2010
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