Friday Night Block Party: Pinwheels

Welcome to the Friday Night Block Party here at Summercrafter.  If  you missed the first one, don't worry there's another one today!  Every Friday I will be featuring a new quilt block and the name or names associated with it and a little history.

 

 

 

 

Today's featured block is the called the Pinwheel. (It's on the button above!) I love it because it means fun! It makes me think of ...

 

 

 

Ferris wheels

 

 

and cartwheels

 and wind.

The Pinwheel block, was created in the United States around the 1800's. It became a very popular quilt block pattern and continues to be used in a variety of styles. There are so many ways to accent the "blades" with the colors (light/dark) patterns and placement, both within and around a quilt. 


And it's really not a difficult block to do, I'll show you three different kinds of pinwheel blocks to try.

Look at mine. I was happy go lucky as I pieced all these pinwheel blocks with a charm pack of Happy Go Lucky by Bonnie and Camille for Moda.

 

First, there is the traditional Pinwheel block made from half square triangles (HSTs) which is one of the best uses I've found for a charm pack.


Put two squares right sides together.

You are going to draw a line diagonally across on the lighter fabric. Use the lines on the mat, it makes it so much easier!

 

Draw a line from corner to corner and sew 1/4 inch on EITHER side of the line.

  I have sewn ON the line, especially when I first did these, but no need to pick it out, you are going to cut on the line once your stitches are done.

 

And here is the finished block in blues

 

and reds. If you don't pay attention, you might also find that your pinwheels are "spinning" in different directions too.

 

I saw this great video on how to keep the middle of the block from being too bulky. The technique worked like a charm! See it here.

 

The next one you can try, if you are not ready for triangles, are rectangular pinwheels. It looks similar to the "Wonky" Pinwheels Amy sighted on her blog (more on that below) but I just cut charm squares right down the middle.

 

 

I used white rectangles for contrast, see how easy it is to arrange? Sew 2 rectangles together,  then the units together to make the block.

 

When you sew them together, you'll have a bit to square off so they're even. I lined up the center seams with the mat, that's my new favorite trick.

 

I think they look pretty good, they remind me of a propeller or fan. But my block book has not arrived and I can't find the proper name, any ideas?

 

Another Pinwheel block I'm going to show you is called a Double Pinwheel or a Windmill. Don't be alarmed! Charm Pack to the rescue and it's a walk in the park!

 

 

First cut your charm squares like this (there are two in each stack.)

 

Assemble the pieces how you like them.

 

 

Sew the smaller triangles together like this, keep the jagged edges to the outside.

 

 

Then sew to larger triangle on widest side and trim, don't forget to press!!

 

And here it is, a Framed Pinwheel.

 

 

 

 

 Well, guess who else is having a Pinwheel event?  Amanda The Patchsmith. The theme of the month on the Across the Pond Sew Along is the Pinwheel too! This month's theme was Amy's idea.

 

Look at the variety of pinwheels she found in blog land,  it makes you want to try  

them all!

 

 

And on this Quilt Along, hosted by Jana, we are going through the book Simply Retro by Camille Roskelley and the next pattern in the Quilt Along is... you guessed it!!

 

 

 

 

It's another Pinwheel block called "Dapper" and it's made using flying geese units. What is/are Flying Geese?

 

 

Rectangle + Squares

 

 

 = Triangles!!

 

I have to admit I was wary of this one, even though I had done Flying Geese before, I forgot how easy they really are!

 

 

I'm calling mine "Dainty" instead of "Dapper," and by the way it's chocolate and pink, it doesn't show well. : /

 

I am especially proud of my corners, they survived!!

 

 

The giveaway this week is for everyone! This simple Pinwheel Baby quilt pattern from the MODA bakeshop, it's so yummy!  But our giveaway from the first party is still going on, leave a link or a comment here or there and you can still qualify to win TWO patterns of your choice from Camille Roskelley.  She's so generous, thanks Camille!!!

 

These are mine but you can see more in her shop Thimble Blossoms.

 That contest closes on August 15th at 11:55pm.

Here are some of the sponsors that are cooperating with the Giveaways. Thank you!

To read more about the Pinwheel block, check out THIS post by the rikrak studio, and this one from Craftsy. what more can I say?

   This party was such a blast! I for one am so glad I got to crash a few other "Pinwheel Parties" that are going on. I hope you were able to visit all of them.  Now don't forget to add your link below so everyone can see your block, Pinwheel or not. You can grab the button too, up on the right hand side.  Thanks for coming and see you next week!

The giveaway here is closed.