Blocks From the Past: Kansas Troubles

Happy Easter and Happy Passover—and Happy Spring!

I had an unanticipated hiatus from my newly renewed blogging when my father (who is moving from the Southwest U.S. to southern Baja, Mexico) asked me to drive him from NM to Mexico. Who can say no to a roadtrip—and a parent?!

So I'm back on grid after far too long without any access to internet. Felt like the old days!

Today I'm here to share with you my second week of coverage of Blocks From The Past! Today's block is "Kansas Troubles," and let me tell you it did cause me some troubles! I really love the finished product, but boy was it a bit troublesome!!

As with my last set of blocks, the measures were a little off our modern "normal" piecing, but thankfully easier than the last blocks I did!

The pattern called for three fabrics:

Grey: 1) Two 3 7/8" squares (cut into triangles); 2) Four 1 1/4" squares; and 3) One 1 1/2" strip

The pattern does not specify how long that 1 1/2" strip should be, but you'll need 8 squares (for HSTs), so according to the pattern the strip will need to be 12" long.

Note: We all have different ways of tackling HSTs. I prefer to have just a bit more fabric to work with that I can then trim back, rather than having a scant HST, so I actually cut my strips into 14x1.75" length, then cut my HSTs down to the required 1 1/4". For those of you who always have precise, flawless 1/4 inch seams, you'll likely go with the measurements as stated in the pattern.

Green: Two 2 3/8" squares, cut each in half diagonally

Blue/Green: 1) Four 1 5/8" squares, each cut in half diagonally; and 2) 1 1/2" strips (see above note).

I sewed the grey and blue/green HSTs into blocks, then trimmed down to 1 1/4" squares.

 I then assembled eight units—each had one blue/green triangle and two grey and blue/green squares. This was straightforward, but took some attention to ensure that the triangles were oriented in the right way.

I then sewed a grey square to the end of one unit (described above) and the larger green triangle to another unit. Again, here it was important to ensure that I was constructing the triangles in the correct orientation to ensure it matched the direction in the outline.

After sewing together the pieces pictured above, I then sewed the large grey triangles and assembled it in the order depicted in the pattern.

It was only at this point that I began to enjoy the pattern that was emerging as the block was taking shape.

And here is the Kansas Troubles block—finished! Of the blocks that I've done so far from this book, this block is by far my favorite. Of course, the green Lizzy House fabric does help me feel happy!

Happy sewing and check back in tomorrow for a new blog post and Wednesday for a new BFTPqal block!