Pattern courtesy of Tracey Russell of Whirls ‘n Swirls Quilting. 1

Skill Builder Sampler

This quick and easy-to-piece sampler quilt will give you plenty of opportunity to build your ninja quilting skills! It is designed specifically to give you spaces perfect for working on stitching in the ditch, straight or curved ruler work and lots of wide open space, especially in that center square. Let your imagine run wild with freehand quilting! It would look great scrappy or monochromatic fabrics, soft or bright colors, or how about a black background with jewel tones instead of a light background color? Just think of the possibilities! For more information about Tracey, visit www.whirlsnswirlsquilting.ca

Fabric Requirements

Background (white)

1.5 M (1-1/2 yards)

Fabric #1 (Green)

.75 M (3/4 yard)

Fabric #2 (Orange)

.25M (1/4 yard)

Fabric #3 (Turquoise)

.5 M (1/2 yard)

Fabric #4 (Purple)

1 M (1 yard)

Fabric #5 (Border Print)

1.5 M (1-1/2 yards)

BLOCK A - Half Square Triangle Blocks — MAKE 4

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Pattern courtesy of Tracey Russell of Whirls ‘n Swirls Quilting. 2

BLOCK B - Diamond In Diamond Blocks — MAKE 2

BLOCK C - Star Blocks —MAKE 2

CENTER SQUARE — Wide open space for fabulous quilting!

Cutting instructions

All first cuts are WOF

We will cut the fabric for all the blocks and separate it after.

Background Fabric

Cut 1 strip @ 12 7/8”

Sub Cut into:

1— 12 1/2” Square (centre plain square)

2 — 12 7/8” Squares

**then cut these in half diagonally to make 4 triangles

(these will be the large triangles for block A)

Cut 1 strip @ 5”

Sub Cut into:

6 — 5” squares (Block A)

Cut 2 strips @ 6 1/2”

Sub Cut into:

8 rectangles — 6 1/2” X 3 1/2” (flying geese units for star blocks -Block B)

4 squares — 4 3/4” X 4 3/4” (centre of Blocks B & C)

Cut 1 strip @ 3 1/2”

Sub Cut into:

8 squares - 3 1/2” (outside corners of the star blocks)

Cut 1 strip @ 7”

Sub cut into:

4 squares - 7”

**then cut these in half diagonally to give you 8 triangles (outside corners of the diamond

blocks)

Cut 1 strip @ 6 1/2”

Sub cut into:

4 - 6 1/2” squares (outer border corner stones)

Block A

Block B

Block C

Pattern courtesy of Tracey Russell of Whirls ‘n Swirls Quilting. 3

FABRIC #1 (Green)

Cut 2 strips @ 5”

Sub Cut into:

6 — 5” squares (BLOCK A)

Cut 1 strip @ 4 7/8”

Sub Cut into:

6 - 4 7/8” squares

***then cut each in half diagonally to get 12 triangles (you’ll need 3 for each block A)

FABRIC #2 (Orange)

Cut 1 strip @ 4 1/4”

Sub Cut into:

8 - 4 1/4” squares cut in half diagonally (Blocks B & C )

FABRIC #3 (Turquoise)

BLOCKS

Cut 1 strip @ 5 1/2”

Sub Cut into:

8 — 5 1/2” squares then cut in half diagonally to give you 8 triangles (Block B)

Cut 1 strip @ 3 1/2”

Sub Cut into:

16 - 3 1/2” squares (flying geese units Block C)

FABRIC #4 (Purple)

Cut 4 strips @ 2 1/2” (sashing)

Sub Cut into:

6 - 2 1/2” X 12 1/2” (vertical sashing pieces)

2 - 2 1/2” X 40 1/2” (horizontal sashing)

Cut 5 strips @ 3” (inner border)

FABRIC #5 (Turquoise print)

Cut 5 strips @ 6 1/2”

Pattern courtesy of Tracey Russell of Whirls ‘n Swirls Quilting. 4

CENTRE SQUARE

Cut one 12 ½” X 12 ½” background square.

BLOCK A - HALF SQUARE TRIANGLE BLOCKS — MAKE 4

Cut 6 background squares @ 5” X 5” and draw one line diagonally from corner to corner

Cut 6 FABRIC #1 (Green) squares @ 5” X 5”

Place a background square on each (green) square RST and sew ¼” on each side of the line. Cut on the

line and press seams open to produce 12 blocks, 3 for each corner square. Square these to 4 ½”.

Cut 6 FABRIC #1 (Green) 4 7/8”. Cut once diagonally, from corner to corner. You will need 3 for each

corner square.

Cut 2 background squares 12 7/8”. Cut once diagonally, from corner to corner. You will need 1 for each

corner square.

Construct each of the 4 corner blocks as numbered in the diagram.

(1-3) + (4-5} + (6) + (7) Press seams open.

6

7

4 5

1 2 3

Pattern courtesy of Tracey Russell of Whirls ‘n Swirls Quilting. 5

BLOCK B - DIAMOND IN DIAMOND BLOCKS — MAKE 2 Diamond Centers for Blocks for center top and bottom and two sides

Cut 4 background squares @ 4 ¾” for each center.

Cut 8 FABRIC #2 (Orange) squares @ 4 ¼”. Draw one line diagonally from corner to corner and cut on

the line.

Sew the long side of one FABRIC #2 (Orange) triangle on each side of one background square.

Make 4 of these units.

To complete the BLOCK B - DIAMOND IN DIAMOND BLOCKS, Start with 2 of the Diamond Centres

made in the previous step.

Cut 4 FABRIC #3 (Turquoise) squares @ 5 ¼”. Draw one line diagonally from corner to corner and cut

on the line.

Sew the long side of one FABRIC #3 (Turquoise) triangle on each side of one Diamond Centre Square.

Make 2 of these units.

Cut 4 background squares @ 7”. Draw one line diagonally from corner to corner and cut on the line.

Pattern courtesy of Tracey Russell of Whirls ‘n Swirls Quilting. 6

Sew the long side of one (background) triangle on each side of Square in a Square Unit.

Make 2 of these blocks. The blocks should be 12 ½” square.

BLOCK C - STAR BLOCKS —MAKE 2

Start with the remaining 2 Diamond Centres Squares.

Cut 8 background rectangles @ 6 ½” X 3 ½”.

Cut 16 FABRIC #3 (Turquoise) squares @ 3 ½”. Draw one line diagonally corner to corner on each block.

Pattern courtesy of Tracey Russell of Whirls ‘n Swirls Quilting. 7

Cut 8 background squares @ 3 ½”.

Align one FABRIC #3 (Turquoise) square on the narrow end of each of the 6 ½” X 3 ½” rectangles and

sew on the line. Press to the corner. Cut away the middle FABRIC #3 (Turquoise) triangle, leaving a ¼”

seam.

Align one FABRIC #3 (Turquoise) square on the other narrow end of each of the 6 ½” X 3 ½” rectangles

and sew on the line. Press to the corner. Cut away the middle FABRIC #3 (Turquoise) triangle, leaving a

¼” seam.

This will create 8 star point units.

Construct 2 star blocks as shown.

Each of the two star blocks should be 12 ½” square.

Sashing (2” finished)

Cut 6 - 2 ½” X 12 ½” strips of (purple) sashing fabric

Sew 2 ½” X 12 ½” strips of (purple) sashing fabric to join 2 corner blocks with 1 diamond block for each

of 2 rows

Pattern courtesy of Tracey Russell of Whirls ‘n Swirls Quilting. 8

Cut 2 - 2 ½” X WOF (40 ½”) strips of (purple) sashing fabric to join the three rows together.

Inner Border (2 ½” finished)

Cut 2 strips 40 ½” X 3”

Cut 2 strips 45 ½” X 3”

Sew a 40 ½” X 3” strip on each side and a 45 ½” X 3” strip on the top and bottom.

Outer Border (6 inch finished)

Cut 4 strips 45 ½” X 6 1/2” strips.

Cut 4 cornerstones 6 ½” square.

Sew a cornerstone to each end of 2 of the 45 ½” X 6 1/2” strips.

Sew a 45 ½” X 6 1/2” strip to each side of the quilt, sew the 45 ½” X 6 1/2” strips with the cornerstones

to the top and bottom.