A couple of weeks ago I bought a magazine “Quiltmakers 100 Blocks”. All the blocks are 12″ finished, so it would be good for mixing and matching to make pillows, mini quilts, and of course larger ones. I thought it would also be good for me to use to practice and learn different techniques.
I really like a lot of the blocks, but one in particular caught my eye – Block #896 Metro Mod.
I found some cool fabric at my LQS that I thought would give the block a nice modern vibe.
Still not sure about the red print.
So, I decided to make the block to see if I like it well enough to make a large quilt. Here it is all finished:
What a pain! This block was irritating interesting to make because it used a partial seam, something I’ve not done before. I didn’t realize there would be so many seams to match and, as you can see, I didn’t do a very good job of it!
Piecing the Metro Mod block.
Its really four smaller blocks that combine to make the finished 12″ block. And because everything is cut from 2-1/2″ strips, it’s the perfect block for using a jelly roll. The entire thing took me about two hours (whew!!), but part of that time was spent re-cutting and re-sewing pieces for one of the block sections. FYI, that’s what happens when you don’t follow the directions…. 🙂
Working with a partial seam is not my favorite thing, but it wasn’t as bad as I expected it to be. I didn’t even know what it was until I started constructing the block. Here’s a pic in case you don’t know what a partial seam is:
The top right section of the red piece is not sewn – partial seam!
I’m not sure how I feel about this pattern. There were no instructions to square each individual block before putting them together, but I did it anyway. It’s difficult for me to work with a block that’s not somewhat square. Because of this, my finished block will only be 11 inches. So, I definitely need to practice more…..maybe this will end up being a quilt.
What do you think of this block? Should I make more, or let it simmer on the back burner for a while? If anyone has any advice for making this block less frustrating, I’d love to hear it!
