Firecracker

I'm so excited because it is my day to contribute a block design to Madame Samm's Red, White, and Blue blog hop at Sew We Quilt!  Mine is called "Firecracker".  (And, yes, there is a giveaway - see the bottom of this post!)


( sorry I was late, I got Mdm Samm to post it for me, I forgot to schedule it ..thanks everyone)

It is a 12-1/2'' block that can be arranged to form this...

I actually paper-pieced Firecracker.  You can find the pattern here.
You'll need to enlarge the pattern to 200% and trace it onto paper-piecing paper.  The template looks like this.  The outer solid lines indicate trim lines and the dashed lines right inside them indicate seam lines in the finished block.

When you enlarge the pattern Section A will JUST fit onto a sheet of 8-1/2'' x 11'' paper.  Just center it so that you have a 1/4'' seam allowance on both sides when you trace. You'll need scraps of red, white, and blue fabric, and scraps of white background fabric.  You'll also need two white rectangles 4-1/2'' x 8-1/2''.  I chose to use red fabric for pieces A4 and C1 and D1.  A5, A1, B1, and D4 were various shades of blue.  The rest of the pieces was white.  (The blues I used were from "Blue Eden", designed by Maria Kalinowsky for Bernatex.  The red was from my stash and I used Kona White Organic cotton.)

I pieced each section using a traditional paper-piecing method. (Note that, in the photos below, the lower section labeled A4 should have been labeled A5 - my mistake!)

You get the idea...

I then pieced Sections A, B, and C together into 1 unit.
And pieced this unit with Section D and the two white rectangles to form a block.

I love it in red, white, and blue, but it would also be really dynamic in bright assorted colors - oranges, pinks, and greens.

I hope you enjoy Firecracker!

And don't forget to visit the other bloggers who are making up fun, red, white, and blue treats!
Today the bloggers will be:

• QuilterShelia
• The Slow Quilter
• Creativity Amongst Chaos
• Diane P
• Mochawildchild

 You can find a full schedule of all the blogs here at Jane's Fabric and Quilts.

And now for the giveaway...  I'll be giving away the winner's choice of 5 patterns in my pattern line to one person who comments on this post.  (I haven't updated my website to reflect the two newest yet, but Cupcake Countdown and Square Dance are also fair game.)  To enter, just leave me a comment on this post telling me what your favorite color combination is... at least currently.  (Mine changes almost every day.)  Please consdier becomign a follower or subscribing to my Feedburner feed if you haven't already.

The giveaway deadline is this Wednesday, the 11th, at midnight.

Happy sewing!

Amanda