Sewcialites Round 2, Block 5

It’s a fun day today!…we have a new Sewcialites quilt block and I’ve shared a new UFOs/WIPs video over on YouTube.

First, let’s chat about our Sewcialites block.  The block today is Empower by Carrie Nelson.

You will find the block pattern available here.

I thought that this block was going to give me trouble with all of those little HSTs.  The smallest ones finish at 1/2″…they are very small!  The block went together so nicely for me…I think the best of any of them so far.  Because the entire block is composed of HSTs I used Primitive Gathering Triangle Paper for all of the pieces.  This really helped.  I also trimmed down my seam allowance which helped eliminate the bulk.  In my YouTube video today, I chatted a bit about the Sewcialites blocks and showed the back of this one so you can see how the seams look trimmed down and pressed open.

The other thing to keep in mind as you are choosing fabrics for this block is just how tiny those outer HSTs actually are.  I chose the very small honeycomb print from my Buttercup & Slate line for the yellow/green smallest HSTs and Moda Bella Solids for the smallest gray HSTs.  If you choose larger prints you will lose your definition in the points (and the prints won’t show up either)…especially on these smaller blocks.  If you are making the 9″ blocks you can get away with larger prints than you can on these small ones!

If you’d like to see a bit more about the Sewcialites blocks, I’m talking a bit about them in my video today as well as what I checked off my list over the last month and plans for the next month (anyone up for a scrap-busting quilt?)

I’ll be back tomorrow with the next block in our Oh, Happy Day! sew along and then next week we are on to the first week of the finishing instructions.  Happy Sewing! Corey