A couple days late on this one. I swear, every month flies by faster than the last. But here it is, my April 2013 free block of the month pattern, April Inspire. (FYI, I’m backdating it to April 30th, so it’s easier to find for people who are looking. :)

This month has been full of soccer games, and daffodils peeking their heads out of the ground, only to see snow falling on their petals. I’ve been dealing with some personal health (thyroid-related) issues too, so I’ve been all over the place emotionally.

I started my garden seeds inside, and they sprouted beautifully. Just last Saturday, I planted them outside. And then the wind and snow and freezing temperatures came.

Needless to say, this month needed some sunshine.

The month of April? Well, I have a particular affinity for it, for some strange reason. But aside from it being my namesake–I love it because it is so full. Full to bursting. Everything is on the precipice of greatness. I mean, what is more inspiring than watching spring unfold?

April inspires me. Makes me feel like I’m on the cusp of something really awesome. What a lucky month, April, she gets to carry inspiration with her everywhere she goes.

Was your month full to bursting?

xoxo

April

PS Need to catch up? Here are links to the other blocks in this series: January Sparkle, February Adore, and March Believe.

Instructions:

Cut:

(16) 2½” squares from various yellow scrap fabrics

(16) 2½” squares from various orange scrap fabrics

(2) 12½” x 1½” orange strips

(2) 4½” x 1½” orange strips

Make 32 half square triangles from your yellow and orange 2½” squares by marking a diagonal line on the wrong side of all yellow squares. Place one orange square and one yellow square right sides together, and sew ¼” away from each side of the marked line. Cut on the line. Press.

Arrange triangles as shown, and sew together in rows.

Sew two rows together to make a chevron pattern, press seam open. Repeat for second chevron, set aside.

Using yellow scraps and a linen background, and following the paper piecing template provided, paper piece the center of the block, sewing all units first, and then putting letters together to make the word. Square up to 10½” x 4½”.

Sew your two 4½” x 1½” orange strips to each side of your word block. Press toward the strip. Repeat on the top and bottom of the word block with the 12½” x 1½” orange strips.

Sew one chevron unit to the top, and one to the bottom of the word block. Press toward solid orange strips.

Square up to 12½” square.

Download Paper Piecing Template here.

The month of March was a doozy for me. You know the times where you have plans, and then things just come out of left field all over the place to mess with you? Yeah, that kind of month. Some of the stuff was super cool, like my brother coming home after being away for two years in Russia and Kazakhstan. That was awesome. Other things, not so cool, like hey, strep.

So of course, I thought it pretty darn ironic that the word for this month’s block (which I planned back in September) is “believe”…because hey. This month? It was all I could do to believe that I could handle even one more minute of the insanity. (Turns out I could, no matter how it felt.)

And then, of course, when I went to actually make the block, I ended up having to do it twice. Apparently my math was all over the place the first time, and I didn’t notice until I got to the part where I’m sewing all the rows together. Hooray for do-overs.

So. Believe.

If I were trying to be inspirational, I would say “Believe in yourself! Believe in your dreams! Believe in the goodness of humanity! Believe in love, and grace, and kindness! Believe in creativity, and passion, and luck! Believe in beauty! Believe in your own worth, and in a loving Heavenly Father who’s looking out for you!”

But that’s not the month I had, so I’m going to say this instead:

Believe, that no matter how crazy today is, and no matter how crazy tomorrow is, that you’ll get through it. You will. Even if there are a couple do-overs.

And all that inspirational stuff? Believe that too. :)

How was your March?

xoxo

April

PS Check out Amy’s Virtual Quilting Bee!  She’s having quilty bloggers post a block tutorial every other Friday. I get to post my block this Friday! Come follow along!

Instructions:

Cut:

(12) 2 5/8″ dark green squares.

(24) 2 3/8″ squares from various green fabrics. Subcut diagonally once to make (48) triangles.

(1) 7″ linen square.

Make the green diamond square-in-a-square blocks by sewing a triangle to opposite sides of each green square. Align centers for correct seam allowance. Usually, I fold pieces in half and finger press as I sew to align the middles. Be sure your seam is hitting right where the two pieces intersect.

Press toward the green square.

Using the same method as described above, sew two more triangles to the remaining sides of your green square. Press toward the triangles. Trim little triangles off.

Trace the embroidery onto the linen, and stitch the word and stem using 3 strands of Sublime Thread #778 in Leaf.

Trace the shamrock for the applique using your desired method (please note, the template does NOT include seam allowance). I chose to pin my piece to some minky and cut it out without fuseable web. I pinned the shape to the linen and adhered it using a zig zag stitch.

Trim the linen down to 6½” square.

Lay out the block as shown, piece together by rows, pressing seams between square-in-a-square blocks open, and blocks surrounding the linen, toward the linen.

Finished block is 12½” square.

Block Templates Download