NOTE: these blog posts for the Liberty Lane quilt top are part of a limited series for our Block of the Month subscription program. Sign-ups for the Amherst BOM are no longer available. You can learn more about our upcoming Block of the Month subscriptions here.

Hello again friends! 

I hope you all enjoyed sewing up all our house blocks for this quilt over the past couple of months. This month is a very easy block, and it’s a good thing! I don’t know about all of you, but the holidays are such a busy time of year for me, which means I don’t have much extra time for sewing.  

We’ll be making eight of these checkered blocks now, and will finish up the remaining four next month, along with making the flag blocks, so look forward to those in the new year. 

I know many of you are like me, and like to assembly line piece your blocks, so it can be annoying to only make eight of these this month. Please know that if you have extra fabric this month and would like to cut or sew additional blocks, you are more than welcome to do so. You’ll just be that much further ahead for next month. 

This block begins by making a simple 9-patch. The instructions state that you cut out the Cream and Barn Red squares individually, then sew them together.

However, if you prefer, you can instead cut 2-1/2” wide strips from both fabrics, and then sew them together in sets. Since I believe the Cream Stars fabric you got this month is a FQ, and the Barn Red solid is a 1/2 yd., you’ll want to cut your red fabric in half to make two FQs. This way when you cut the 2-1/2” wide strips, they will all be the same length. 

If you decide to do this, you’ll want one set of Cream/Red/Cream, and two sets of Red/Cream/Red. This is almost like sewing the striped borders we made a few months ago. Here’s a little idea of what this will look like. My strip sets are a little short, but you’ll get the gist.

Once those are assembled, you can cut them into 2-1/2” segments like you see above and below, then sew the rows together to make the checkered centers. Regardless of how you choose to make these center 9-patches, they all need to be 6-1/2” square when finished. 

Next, you need to add the Navy Faux Linen C borders, along with the D cornerstones. 

All that’s left is to sew the A and B borders to the outsides, and the block is finished.  

See how easy that was? If only all quilt blocks could be this quick to make!

Well, that’s all for now. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season, and I’ll catch up with all of you in the new year! 

-Kristin