Hi friends!

This month as part of both the Exploring the Basics series and as part of our ongoing Block Challenges on Instagram, Tammy and I are exploring the Birds in the Air block!

Basic Birds in the Air Block

This basic quilt block has half square triangle and half square triangle units on one side and a large half square triangle on the other side. Often it will be shown as a 2 color block, like the one below.

A fairly straight forward block, unless you get hung up on the language such as what is the difference between a half square triangle units and half square triangles?

The Half Square Triangles

What are half square triangles? They are the triangles you will get when you take a square and cut in half on the diagonal once. 

 

You will have 2 triangles. When sewing with these, you have to be careful not to stretch the long diagonal side because it is on the bias. You will use these triangles when the short sides will end up on the outside edge of the block so all the bias is inside the block!

Half Square Triangle Units

These are units in a block that are made up of 2 half square triangles sewn together into a square. The usual abbreviation seen for these units is HST. Sometimes they are units that are part of a bigger block, like in our Birds in the Air block, and sometimes they are used as a block.

 

They are also called triangle squares, half triangle squares… and so it can get confusing!

Want tips on making these units? Check out this blog post!

Mystery Quilt Along

I had a lot of fun with this month’s reimagined block as I created it as a free mystery quilt along as well! And a whole bunch of you made blocks along with me!

One of the things I noted in the quilt along about this block is pressing. I normally press things to one side. This is a block where pressing the seams open can help the seams to lay flat. But really, we all need to press in a way that works for us. I am always looking for ways to nest my seams so I like pressing to one side.

My Reimagined Block

Here is my reimagined block! I decided to leave the HST side alone except for adding more color. On the half square triangles side I used 2 reds and 3 greens.

Then for the second side, I added a Partial Quarter Square Triangle unit or PQST. This unit also has many names! Combination unit, Y block… to name just a couple.

 

Why is it called a partial quarter square triangle unit? Well, first let’s look at Quarter Square Triangle units.

Quarter Square Triangle Units

Similar to the HST units, which are made up of half square triangles, quarter square triangle units (QST) are made up of quarter square triangles, which is how the unit got it’s name. What are quarter square triangles?

They are the triangles you get when you cut a square in half on the diagonal twice.

These triangles have the bias along the short edges, not along the long diagonal. So you would use these in a block when you need that long diagonal of the triangle along the outside edge of the block.

You could make a quarter square triangle block out of half square triangles, but the whole outside edge would be made up of bias and then it would be so easy to stretch out of shape! 

Partial Quarter Square Triangle Units

These units have 2 different halves- kind of like our Birds in the Air quilt block! One side is made of 2 quarter square triangles and the other side is made of a half square triangle. 

Want tips on making these units? Check out this blog post!

My Table Runner

Here is my block in the fabrics I used. I added the PQST to my reimagined block to give the block a secondary pattern when it was put with other blocks; I do love a pinwheel!

 

This is my table runner that I made using 16 of my reimagined blocks. I love how it came out. My holiday table is getting a new look! I only turned one set of blocks to create the yellow pinwheel in the center of the runner, but there are other ways to rotate these blocks!

 

I really like the quilting that I did. Since I had this awesome green and gold plaid fabric, I quilted a design that reinforced the plaid.

I used a yellow gold thread and quilted some straight lines across the runner to start (the short way, not the long length!). Then I quilted diagonal lines.

Lots of diagonal lines.

It took a while but I love how it came out!

For those of you how sewed along with me this month as part of the block challenge mystery, I can’t wait to see what you made!

Be sure to pop over to Tammy’s post and see her reimagined block and to get her tips. She is so creative and usually does an in-depth tutorial!

Next month we are taking a holiday break and skipping the block challenge but will start again in January!

happy quilting!

Kate

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you have a wonderful holiday!