Blog Mystery Post 4

Here's the first clue. But first, a few questions... have you told anyone about the mystery yet? Sharing the blog address with your friends? Or are you keeping it to youself so you can win the box of fabric. OH, what box of fabric you say... recently I offered a box of fabric to a lucky blog reader. Today and today only, I will give each person who makes a comment on the blog two chances to win that box. And if you make a donation to my Relay web page, you will get ten times your donation in chances to win the box! Yep, make a $5 donation and you will get 50 chances to win the box! http://main.acsevents.org/goto/MargeGordon is where you make the donation, and the comments are below. Two entries per comment and ten times your donation! And thanks, together we will beat cancer!

Step One:
Let’s get those diagonal half squares out of the way first…
You will be making 96 diagonal half squares for the wall hanging and of course more for larger projects. There are several ways to make these, you may decide for yourself which technique to use.

To make them two at a time:
First, mark your color 1 squares diagonally through the center. (This will be a cutting line when you are finished.) Place your color 2 square, right sides together, with the color 1. Sew on either side of the drawn line, exactly 1/4 inch from the first line. Cut this square in half on the cutting line. (Don't forget to trim off the corners or dog ears) You will now have two diagonal half-squares, which should measure exactly 4 1/2.






Repeat with the remaining 4 7/8 squares.

Press to the darker fabric.

Making more than two at a time:
First you need to draw a grid of squares on your fabric. (I'm using 3 7/8 inch squares, which fits the camera better.)







Draw diagonal lines through alternating squares in one direction, and then the other, so that each square has one diagonal line through it. These lines will be your cutting lines, so you may use a pencil to mark them if you wish.






You will of course be sewing two pieces of fabric together, but you only need to mark one. Place the two fabrics right sides together, and press.










Next step is to sew, using a 1/4 inch seam allowance on all sides of the diagonal lines.

















If you do not have a true 1/4 inch foot, you can mark these lines. Mark 1/4 inch on both sides of the diagonal lines. These lines will be your sewing lines.










On this diagram the red and yellow lines show you that you can sew this in one continuous line.
Start on a corner and sew to the outside of the grid on the next corner, put the needle down, and pivot, then continue sewing.

If you follow the directions of the red and yellow arrows, it can be done in one continuous line of sewing.












When they are all sewn, cut them up into squares on the first grid lines you drew. Finish by cutting down the middle of the square on the diagonal lines you drew.





Trim off the corners, or the "dog ears" so that your squares are truly squares, and don't have any extras sticking out. Before pressing the squares open, trim the tips at an angle, beginning at the edge where the stitching stops. You can trim with scissors or a rotary cutter, just be careful not to cut your stitching.






Next open and press to the darker fabric.

Sorry this formats so weird, I'm doing the best I can. If any of you bloggers have any ideas to help me, please do!
Thanks!

This pattern can be used for personal use only and can not be used commercially without the owner's permission. No copies may be made without the owner's permission. This includes the patterns as well as any graphics and/or instructions that are associated with a pattern.
Delaware Quilts Blogspot Mystery #1 Post 4 © Delaware Quilts September 2009