Happy Presidents' Day
and February Free Quilt Block Patterns

Greetings Quilter -

What a weekend!

Yesterday we got to celebrate not only Valentine's Day and the Chinese New Year, but also Oregon Admission Day, Ferris Wheel Day, Library Lovers Day, and for the singles - International QuirkyAlone Day (it was new to me!).

And now today is Presidents' Day. The background about Presidents' Day is all very interesting, but the bottom line is that the holiday falls on the third Monday in February and originally was to celebrate George Washington's birthday - which really is on February 22.

Whatever the history, it's nice to have a day off to kick back and enjoy a day quilting, uninterrupted by a normal work schedule (for most of us anyway).

Quilters have a habit of creating quilt blocks to memorialize various events, people and holidays, and there have been several quilt blocks designed with both George Washington and Abraham Lincoln in mind.

(Some folks celebrate Abraham Lincoln's birthday on Presidents' Day instead of celebrating it on February 12.)

Below you will find several of these quilt blocks with links to QuiltBlockLibrary.com where you can find the patterns. Some of these are free, but even if you pay for them, they are only a couple of dollars. You'll get an instant download and you'll be ready to cut and stitch.

Scroll down and watch a video showing how to sew the Washington's Puzzle quilt block together. This is a fun block that takes on an interesting look when you place the blocks next to each other - without sashing.

Enjoy!


Lincoln's Hat Quilt Block	Lincoln's Platform Quilt Block	Washington's Star Quilt Block	Martha Washington Star Quilt Block

And now for the rest of the news - -

Happy Quilting!

penny halgren

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I have pictures of both quilts that I made...they were so much fun because they were so personal and there are so many ways to put them together...even a "non-quilter" could put one of these together with no problem...

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These are fabulous examples of easy-to-make quilts that have a very personal touch. As Cyndi says - anyone can make these!

Quilting Tip - Easy Quilt Blocks

If you are new to quilting, you can benefit from this tip: make your first few quilts from squares. The shapes are simple, it is easy to cut on the grain without a lot of thought or effort, and you can still get a beautiful product in the end.

Stitch your first quilts with squares that are at least four inches. Go bigger if you can, but don’t start with anything smaller. The four inch square is great for beginning quilters because it allows plenty of room for seam allowance practice. Anything smaller must be exact when it comes to the seams. So, a four inch square gives the beginning quilter a little wiggle room for minor mistakes.

With squares, you won’t have too much worry about getting them pieced at the proper angle. It is easier to butt a square up against another instead of making sure two triangles are pieced together correctly.

If you work with a template, finding the grain for your square patches won’t be difficult either. Just lay the template on the fabric so that it lines up with the threads in the cloth and chances are that you are on the grain.

There are plenty of beautiful patterns that use squares. The Checkerboard pattern is made up of squares on point (set at a diagonal). Country Lanes, a Nine Patch Scrappy Heart, and Homeward Bound are also good choices based on a basic square. Squares and Square and Squares within Squares are other good choices for beginning quilters.

You can find tons of patterns for quilt blocks using squares at: www.QuiltBlockLibrary.com, including the ones shown below:


Checkerboard quilt block	Country Lanes quilt block	Nine Patch Scrappy Heart quilt block

Quilt Block Video - Washington's Puzzle Quilt Block

It's a week early, but here is a fun quilt block to make for Washington's Birthday, February 22. You'll sew the block together on the diagonal, but you will want to watch the edges of the block - unless you go to great lengths to cut your fabric differently, all of the edges on the outside will be bias.

Stitch a basting (extra long) stitch around the outside of the block - just shy of the 1/4 inch seam allowance. That will keep the edges from stretching out of shape.

February Quilt Block Patterns

The January selection of free quilt block patterns includes a variety of 4 patch quilt blocks, ranging from the easy to make to some that are a little more complex.

Click here to download your February FREE quilt block patterns