CQF Month 9 - March 2013 - Belly Buttons

General Description of Block:  This block is a classic nine patch block, with nine patch blocks used in the corners and center.  The pastle and bright colors are arranged to make circles with multi colored buttons in the middle....belly buttons!

This quilt is so simple that it makes me giddy.  When I'm giddy I can't help but think of my favorite music group - Boys in the Sink.  I know this is a huge step outside my normal box...but in the spirit of silliness here is a special song that I think of every time I hear the words "belly button".  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

 

FQG:  Your kit contains fabric for the background!  You will need to add brights and pastels.   My sample used solids, you do not have to; however please make sure your fabric choices read as solid.  Place the brights where the dark purple is in the picture, and pastels where the light purple is.  You do NOT need to make all of the patches the same.  Think jelly beans or Easter eggs and let the lights and darks do the work for us against the background.

 

Our kit fabric is....The Circus, Multi Banner Circles by Robert Kaufman.  The kit contains a 10 1/2" x 14 1/2" rectangle.  You should have no trouble cutting the pieces you need from this.  You will even  have a tiny piece left over.

 

 

 

Cutting Directions: (49 pieces)

• Kit Fabric (background)
• 8, 2" x 2" squares (for corner blocks)
• 4, 5" x 5" square (for edge blocks)
• Pastels
• 16, 2" x 2" squares
• Brights
• 21, 2" x 2" squares

 

Piecing Directions:

 



Corners:

 

 

Remember - the purples in the pictures are only there to tell you where to put pastel and bright patches.

• Gather
• 8, 2" x 2" squares of background fabric
• 8, 2" x 2" squares pastels
• 20, 2" x 2" squares brights
• Sew 4 sets of 3 blocks each as follows
• A: pastel, background, bright
• B: background, bright, bright
• C: bright, bright, pastel
• Iron seam allowances all in the same direction within each set. 
• A : toward the pastel block
• B: toward the bright blocks
• C: toward the bright block
• Sew 1 from each set (A,B,and C) together to make corner blocks
• Trim blocks to 5" x 5" squares

Center:

 
• Gather
• 8, 2" x 2" squares pastel
• 1, 2" x 2" square bright
• Sew 3 sets of 3 blocks each as follows
• pastel, pastel, pastel
• pastel, bright, pastel
• pastel, pastel, pastel
• Iron seam allowances all to the same direction.
• Sew sets together, making sure that the dark square ends up in the middle....else you will be singing with Mr. Lunt...."I ain't got a belly button!"
• Trim block to 5" x 5" square

Assemble Block:

 



• Gather
• 4, 5" x 5" pieced corners
• 1, 5" x 5" pieced "belly button"
• 4, 5" x 5" squares of background fabric
• Sew 3 sets of 3 blocks each as follows
• corner, with "W" leaning to the left; background; corner with "W" leaning to the right
• background; "belly button"; background
• corner, with "M" lifting it's left leg; background; corner with "M" lifting it's right leg
• Iron seam allowances towards the background fabric
• Sew sets together making sure that the "belly button" is still in the middle.



 

The finished quilt will look something like this....

 

 

Bring your completed block(s) to the March 2013 meeting of the Frisco Quilt Guild to be eligible to enter a drawing to receive the whole bundle.