Blueberry Pie Quilt Block

Hello again! It's mid-January here in Mississippi and we've had colder weather than usual. As I sit here with my mug of hot cocoa typing this blog post, I am able to see yesterday's snowfall on the ground  through my dining room window as well as a layer of snow and ice on our pond.  Even though it is still very cold, the sun is shining brightly, and the snow is melting and dripping off of our roof  making long pointy icicles! I've enjoyed our brief taste of snowy weather; it's been fun sitting in front of the fireplace in the evenings with my quilting hoop in hand and listening to a good audio book (Persuasion by Jane Austen is my newest interest).
I will confess though that I will be glad when we get back to our "normal" mild winter weather.

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Speaking of mild weather, this is  usually the time of year that I start planning the spring garden. I can't help it... my genetics are to blame. I love dirt; it's in my blood. I eagerly anticipate spring because I can't wait to start crawling around on my hands and knees in the garden pulling weeds and planting seedlings.

Our little homestead comes alive in the spring and a  variety of blossoms just seem to emerge overnight. I like to call it a "visual feast" of color and beauty. God's handiwork is evident everywhere I look.

As spring ends and  summer approaches, one of the many things I look forward to is the blueberries! We are incredibly blessed with a large blueberry patch on our property, which was planted by the previous owners several years ago. Two or three mornings a week from late June to late July I head out early to pick blueberries. It is a quiet, peaceful time that I cherish. I'm actually a little sad each summer when the blueberry harvest is finished.

For some reason, gardening and quilting just seem to go together. As a quilter, I find inspiration for my designs in so many places, but no place offers more inspiration to me than what I find in nature.  Since I love blueberries, you can imagine how  happy I was to find this free blueberry quilt block  pattern over on Wendy Russell's website, Patchwork Square!

 Blueberry Pie  is a nine-patch block featuring Flying Geese units and half-square triangles, which are fairly common in many quilt blocks. This is considered an intermediate level block. Even though it is not difficult, it does require accurate piecing. Click HERE for the link to Wendy's free PDF pattern for this block! While you are there, check out her blog...there are dozens of free, beautiful quilt block patterns on her site.

Wendy's pattern shows  the  block  in three sizes: 6", 9", and 12". I chose the 12" block for my project.

I used "Roses on the Vine" fabric by Maywood Studio for my Blueberry Pie block.

To begin constructing the block, you will sew eight half-square triangles and  eight flying geese units. Click HERE for a wonderful tutorial from www.connectingthreads.com titled "Intro to Half Square Triangles". And you may want to click HERE for a  great little video I found for quick and easy Flying Geese units.

You can chain-piece the half-square triangles and the Flying Geese units for faster assembly.

Next, you will combine the Flying Geese units and the four-patch units as shown above.

Lay the block out according to the example above and sew the top, middle, and bottom rows together.

I hope you have as much fun making this quilt block as I did! Stay tuned for a future post on the surprise project I'm designing with the Blueberry Pie block!