After Ben's passionate testimony to Parliament, the debt-ridden British government decided to repeal the Stamp Act even though it reserved the right to tax the North American Colonies. Ben now felt that reconciliation with England was most important. After all, no colony had ever successfully split with its mother-country and survived...at least not in 1760-something, and Ben feared deeper trouble was brewing...
To print a copy of Page 1, click here-->Download Strength in Union Block-Block 17 Benjamin Franklin Mystery Quilt page 1
To print a copy of Page 2, click here-->Download Strength in Union-Block 17 Benjamin Franklin Mystery Quilt page 2
To print a copy of Page 3, click here-->Download Strength in Union Block-Block 17 Benjamin Franklin Mystery Quilt page 3
(We strongly advise downloading all three of these pages)
Strength in Union block tutorial
Begin making the A units by drawing a diagonal line through all of the Beige scrap 2 5/8-inch squares; layer each with a Red scrap 2 5/8-inch square and stitch 1/4-inch to each side of the drawn line.
Cut each sewn square apart on the drawn line. You will have two Beige/Red scrap squares. Repeat for a total of 14 Beige/Red A unit squares that measure 2 1/4-inch square. You will only need 13 A units for the center of the block! Go ahead and set the extra A unit aside.
For the B units, draw a diagonal line through 6 Blue scrap 2 5/8-inch squares. Layer the drawn squares on top of the remaining 6 un-drawn Blue scrap 2 5/8-inch squares and stitch 1/4-inch to each side of the drawn line just like before...
then cut apart on the drawn line, just as for the A units. You will have 12 Blue/Blue squares that measure 2 1/4-inch square. These will be the B units!
Following the diagram on Page 2, lay out the center of the block. The A units and B units alternate in each row. Make sure your diagonal lines are all going in the same direction! (Remenber you will have 1 A unit left over!)
Sew the units together in rows...pinning will help...
then sew the rows together to make the center of the block. Your block center should measure 9 1/2-inches square.
Next lay out the Beige 2 1/2 by (9 1/2-inch) top and bottom borders; sew in place and press the seams toward the border pieces. You can always cut your border strips a bit longer and trim them as you need to!
Lay out the Beige 2 1/2-inch by (13 1/2-inch) side borders and sew in place, as before, pressing toward the border pieces.
The Strength in Union block is now finished...give your block a final press, with a spritz of spray starch if you like; you may trim your finished block to 12 1/2-inches square now or wait until you are ready to assemble the quilt. See you soon for more Ben Franklin and our holiday posts!
If you are missing a page, or need further copies of any of the instructions posted to date, click on the Benjamin Franklin Mystery Quilt button under DON'T MISS A STEP to find what you need. If you have a question, or need further assistance, please contact Erik HOMEMADE®. A CD containing all the instructions in PDF format will be available for sale at the end of the project.
