A Quilter's ABC on Wednesday--F

Among the simplest of

quilt blocks is the

four patch.

Simple Four Patch blocks can be "set" in a variety of ways. You can see the four patch in this quilt top, set "on point" and surrounded by a triple sashing of plain and pieced strips.

Most quilt block designs are made up of geometric shapes--most commonly squares and triangles. But once they are combined they get their creative block names. One of my favorites is Flying Geese, triangles set in a row as if they were flying north for the summer--or south for the winter.

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Yes, that is a marble on this particular Flying Geese quilt. It is a miniature about the size of a piece of paper. Quilts aren't just for beds, you know. They can be wall hangings, table toppers, pillow covers. And sometimes, they can be just to see if you can.

Triangles take different turns, too. The central triangle of a Flying Goose, is a quarter square triangle--formed by cutting a square into quarters from corner to corner. The straight grain of the fabric is on the hypotenuse.

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The triangles of the Friendship Stars on the left are half square triangles--formed by cutting a square diagonally only once. The straight of the fabric is on the sides. It is important to have the straight in the right position for different purposes, because the other side is on the bias and stretches.

The larger star above has still different triangles. It is called Fifty-Four Forty or Fight. Quilt Block names would often come from the happenings of the time--including politics. Fifty-Four Forty or Fight was the rallying cry of the supporters of James Polk in his campaign for the presidency. Both the United States and Great Britain had interest in portions of the Oregon Territory from the border of California north into present day British Columbia in the early 1800s. Polk was ready go to war to claim all the territory to latitude 54-40º--the southern boundary of Russian Alaska. Though Polk was elected, war was averted as negotiations placed the border at 42º North.

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For an elegant and much more complicated block, try a Feathered Star. Expect at least a small measure of frustration at all the varied parts of this one. It has both half square and quarter square triangles as well as diamonds, and I'm not too sure there are many shortcuts--which are one of my favorite parts of piecing.


This third round of ABC Wednesday has a group blogsite where you will find many fine Fs today, and a site to sign on to Mr. Linky and find all the other players. Mrs. Nesbitt started ABC Wednesday, and lets all the rest of us play with her. It has grown so big that a team effort keeps it organized now. Thank you Denise and the team for a FINE job.