Aug 1, 20224 min read

Nothing but Love Quilt Along - Grateful

Updated: Aug 19, 2022

Now that we are closer to Fall, I thought I would add in this wonderful block reminiscent of a sunflower. Traditionally it is called a Rolling Stone block, but with the addition of the center heart I have named it GRATEFUL. I hope that you have lots of love to be grateful for giving and receiving!

I used to think this block looked really hard to make, but it is deceptively easy. Aside from the center, it is just 2 patches - a double bar and a diamond in a square. We are going to make it even easier by using the stitch and flip method to make one of the patches. I hope you have grown to love this method on our quilt-along journey.

Another Nine Patch

I hope that looking at the "fabric coded" example above you get a clearer picture of the patches involved. In my original red version, I again went super scrappy with two reds, two prints, and one white. You can make it simpler, the same, or more scrappy. You can even change up the fabric placement like in my current rainbow version below - using white for the background, color in the center, and prints for the petals and heart.

When deciding on your fabrics and color placement, make sure you have enough contrast with the petals to separate the exterior background from the flower's interior, and also the interior from the heart.

If you are ready to get rolling (lol), here is the pattern for Block 15 -Grateful. Just click below to download and/or print :

If you have any questions or issues with downloading please ask here or on the contact page.

Making the Grateful Block - Visual Aids & Tips

Following the pattern, we start with making the center heart patch. This heart is a little bit rounder, so we are using some of the tiniest pieces to stitch and flip those top corners. Below you can see each step:

Pressing in the diagonal lines,
Laying the pieces out,
Stitching the diagonal lines across the corners,
Trimming off the excess fabric on the bottom,
Press and get one lovely little plump heart!

Next we are again using the stitch and flip method to replace all 4 corners of your the squares that will be your corner patches. This will create the diamond in the middle. Make sure 3 of the corners are the same (exterior/background) fabric and 1 corner is the flower's interior fabric.

My construction tip for this process is to sew on the opposite corners - and you can use chain piecing for efficiency and speed. Then trim, press, and sew on the remaining 2 opposite corners.

Last patch is simply sewing the 2 rectangles together to make a square (x 4).

And then finish off your nine patch by sewing your patches into rows, rows together, and press.

And now your block is finished and you have plenty of extra time to work on your bonus patches for the border! Next week we will quilt this beauty, and then on to the final block in our heart sampler quilt. I can't believe we are almost done!

All the Details for the Nothing but Love QAL

Don't forget that is so much more fun when you share your progress on the blog, Instagram, or Facebook. Don't forget to use the hashtags #nothingbutloveQAL #gratefulblock or tag me @polkadotpeepquiltsetc

There are link buttons to my Instagram and Facebook on my website.

You can also sign up and join my community here on Wix (or the Wix Spaces app) - just hit the "Log in" button at the top.

If you are just joining us, here is the quilt along schedule (with links for you to catch up anytime):