Diamonds, Hexagons and Y-Seams!

Yes, I know. I never (hardly ever) sew y-seams. But this block from the desktop calendar by Katja Marek was calling my name. Here is one of the 6 blocks I stitched. I shared these before, but I also was able to finish the table topper and quilt it. This is the January 26 block in the calendar.

I upsized the blocks and cut out my patches for machine sewing (and not English Paper Piecing).

One of the 6 blocks I made by machine

I began with cutting fabric diamonds. This was easy using my standard acrylic ruler - have you ever considered those 60 degree diagonal lines?!

18 diamonds cut for my six Baby Blocks

This block is what I would call a traditional Baby Blocks. I begin with a lot of diamonds. Each block uses 3 diamonds and I will be making 6 blocks. Put on your math hat: what is 3 x 6? 18 diamonds! I am using all Kaffe Fassett fabrics for the diamonds.

Then what's next? I cut 120 degree triangles from my background fabric:

Oversized 120 degree triangles

I join two of these odd sized triangles to each of my diamonds. Hey! What's that little dot at the top of that diamond? That's how I will know where to stop stitching when I put all three of these sections together. You'll see. But it has a name - the dreaded Y-seam!

Two triangles joined to a single diamond

Here are the 3 diamonds I selected for one block. Yes, I know. There's a y-seam about to happen. There actually is no other way to stitch this one. But we're going to get back to that little black dot.

Three sections to my Baby Blocks

The marked dot tells me where to stop stitching:

Stitch from the raw outside edge to the dot

Now what?

Sewing the 3 diamonds just UP TO the marked 1/4" dot. Then you can "spin" the center join

Let's see another:

This is the Baby Blocks upside down

I made a total of 6 Baby Blocks. Then, I added a triangle to 3 of the 6 sides. I used one blue fabric for 3 of the blocks and a second blue print for the other three.

Adding triangles

And, how does it all look? Here is my wreath of Baby Blocks.

My wreath of Baby Blocks!

Now, for the finish. Are you ready? I love that bold and sassy black with white dots inner border. The floral print on the outside reflects the various colors from the blocks. And, there is nothing I like better than a striped binding. She's all set to grace my table.

Table Topper: 26" x 30"