March Riley Blake Mystery Quilt Block – Simplicity

I’m moving right along with the blocks in the Riley Blake Mystery Quilt!  I don’t have a whole lot to share about this month’s “Simplicity” block because it really was simple.  It looks far more complicated than it is!

You start with four half-square triangles.  (If you don’t want to sew these one at a time, take a look around for short-cut tutorials.  Here are two from the Sew Mama Sew blog:  8-at-a-Time HSTs  and 4-at-a-Time HSTs.)Add four squares made from two equal-sized rectangles.  (I sewed these all at once in a strip.  Since I wanted 4 – 4 1/2″ squares, I cut a strip from each fabric 2 1/2″ x 18″.  I stitched the two strips together, pressed the seam allowances and cut the strip into 4 1/2″ squares.  If you use this method, be sure that you’re using a short stitch length so that your seams don’t pull apart when you start piecing the blocks together.)Cut a center block.Follow the instructions for piecing your blocks together, and you’re done! Here are January, February and March all together!  Once I finished the first two blocks, I decided that I needed some more color so I added in some blue, still sticking with the RB Tone-on-Tone dots.  I think I like it.  What do you think?  It seems a little off now, but once I add the other blocks with the blue mixed in, I think it will all balance out.