Blackwork Roads: April Chunk

Hello Friends and Welcome April!

Though I posted my Spring goal update last week, it seems Winter wasn't quite ready to let go of us.

Over the weekend, a big ice storm passed over Southern Ontario, downing branches and leaving many homes without electricity. Ours was out for a little under two days, but is back up and running now!

And though the storm brought lots of trouble, I will admit, all that ice was very pretty. I was visiting my parents when the storm hit, so I got to take some photos of the ice hanging from their many beautiful trees!

Such a lovely little gift to be thankful for!

Of course, I'm also very grateful that the power was restored in time to post the next chunk of our quilt along; Blackwork Roads! Let's take a look!

April Chunk

This month, we've made our way around to the fourth and final side of the Blackwork Roads pattern! It should come as no surprise that this month's chunk will feature the traditional Morning Star block, once again with another new colour layout!

Here, we can see all four variations of the block used throughout the quilt. From Left to right, we have October's block, December, February, and finally, the April block!

We'll make a few of those blocks, then tile them together to create our final April chunk! Or should I say 'chunks' since April's will be pieced into three pieces; a small upper triangle, central rectangle, and small lower triangle.

This is the same breakdown that we used in December, and by piecing the chunk this way, assembling the final quilt will be a little easier!

And a few final tips; I recommend running a stay stitch along any pieces with bias cut edges to help them keep their shapes, and it's a good idea to label each of the April chunks with upper, centre, or lower to help remember which is which!

Pattern Notes

sew all seams using a ¼” seam allowance
press each seam before sewing the next and before trimming units
to cut diagonally once, yielding two triangles should look like this:

to cut diagonally twice, yielding four triangles should look like this:

read all pattern instructions and notes before beginning to piece

Cutting Instructions

Cut the pieces that correspond to your chosen quilt size and sort them based on the units they will be used in as labelled.

Small Quilt

BG: 3 squares at 6⅞”, cut in half diagonally once to yield two triangles each

(for finishing)

2 squares at 6½” (for finishing)

12 squares at 3¼” (for QSTs)

Acc: 4 squares at 3¼” (for QSTs)

14 bars at 2¼”x 1½” (for STs)

6 squares at 1⅞” (for half STs)

Lt.2: 1 bar at 3¼”x 2½” (for STs)

3 squares at 3¼” (2 for QSTs, 1 for half STs)

2 squares at 2⅞”, cut in half diagonally once to yield two triangles each

(for finishing)

2 squares at 1⅞” (for half STs)

2 squares at 1½” (for STs)

Md.2: 5 bars at 3¼”x2½” (for STs)

2 squares at 3¼” (1 for QSTs, 1 for half STs)

2 squares at 2½” (for finishing)

2 squares at 1⅞” (for half STs)

10 squares at 1½” (for STs)

Dk.2: 1 bar at 3¼”x2½” (for STs)

2 squares at 3¼” (1 for QSTs, 1 for half STs)

1 square at 2⅞”, cut in half diagonally once to yield two triangles each

(for finishing)

2 squares at 1⅞” (for half STs)

2 squares at 1½” (for STs)

Additional Units: 2 extra Dk.2 QSTs (made in December)

2 extra Md.2 QSTs (made in December)

Medium Quilt

BG: 3 squares at 9⅞”, cut in half diagonally once to yield two

triangles each (for finishing)

2 squares at 9½” (for finishing)

12 squares at 4¼” (for QSTs)

Acc: 4 squares at 4¼” (for QSTs)

14 bars at 2¾”x 2” (for STs)

6 squares at 2⅜” (for half STs)

Lt.2: 1 bar at 4¼”x 3½” (for STs)

3 squares at 4¼” (2 for QSTs, 1 for half STs)

2 squares at 3⅞”, cut in half diagonally once to yield two triangles each

(for finishing)

2 squares at 2⅜” (for half STs)

2 squares at 2” (for STs)

Md.2: 5 bars at 4¼”x 3½” (for STs)

2 squares at 4¼” (1 for QSTs, 1 for half STs)

2 squares at 3½” (for finishing)

2 squares at 2⅜” (for half STs)

10 squares at 2” (for STs)

Dk.2: 1 bar at 4¼”x3½” (for STs)

2 squares at 4¼” (1 for QSTs, 1 for half STs)

1 square at 3⅞”, cut in half diagonally once to yield two triangles each

(for finishing)

2 squares at 2⅜” (for half STs)

2 squares at 2” (for STs)

Additional Units: 2 extra Dk.2 QSTs (made in December)

2 extra Md.2 QSTs (made in December)

Large Quilt

BG: 3 squares at 12⅞”, cut in half diagonally once to yield two triangles each

(for finishing)

2 squares at 12½” (for finishing)

12 squares at 5¼” (for QSTs)

Acc: 4 squares at 6¼” (for QSTs)

14 bars at 3¼”x 2½” (for STs)

6 squares at 2⅞” (for half STs)

Lt.2: 1 bar at 5¼”x 4½” (for STs)

3 squares at 6¼” (2 for QSTs, 1 for half STs)

2 squares at 4⅞”, cut in half diagonally once to yield two triangles each

(for finishing)

2 squares at 2⅞” (for half STs)

2 squares at 2½” (for STs)

Md.2: 5 bars at 5¼”x4½” (for STs)

2 squares at 6¼” (1 for QSTs, 1 for half STs)

2 squares at 4½” (for finishing)

2 squares at 2⅞” (for half STs)

10 squares at 2½” (for STs)

Dk.2: 1 bar at 5¼”x4½” (for STs)

2 squares at 6¼” (1 for QSTs, 1 for half STs)

1 square at 4⅞”, cut in half diagonally once to yield two triangles each

(for finishing)

2 squares at 2⅞” (for half STs)

2 squares at 2½” (for STs)

Additional Units: 2 extra Dk.2 QSTs (made in December)

2 extra Md.2 QSTs (made in December)

Unit Piecing Instructions

Four at a Time Quarter Square Triangles (QSTs):

Select two BG squares, one Acc square, and one Lt.2 squares. Draw a diagonal line on the back of the two BG squares.

Place a BG square on the Lt.2 square and sew ¼” to either side of the drawn line.

Cut along the drawn line to separate into two units.

Repeat with the other BG square and Acc square.

Draw a diagonal line that crosses the seam on the back of both BG/Lt.2 units.

Place one BG/Lt.2 unit on one BG/Acc unit with the seams aligned and the two BG sections on opposite sides. Sew ¼” to either side of the drawn line.

Cut along the drawn line to separate into two units.

Repeat to yield four units total.

Trim to 2½” for a small quilt.

Trim to 3½” for a medium quilt.

Trim to 4½” for a large quilt.

Make 8 Lt.2 QST units.

Make 4 Md.2 QST units. Combine with extra Md.2 QSTs from December for 6 total units.

Make 4 Dk.2 QST units. Combine with extra Dk.2 QSTs from December for 6 total units.

Two at a Time Split Triangles (STs):

Select two Acc bars and two small Lt.2 squares. Sew one Lt.2 square to the short side of each Acc bar.

Sew the two bar units along their long sides with the Lt.2 squares facing opposite ends.

Draw two diagonal lines on the back of the pieced unit, each running from one outer corner through the corner of the nearest Lt.2 square as shown.

Place the pieced bar unit on a Lt.2 bar and sew directly along both drawn lines.

Cut halfway between the lines to separate into two units.

Trim to 2½” for a small quilt.

Trim to 3½” for a medium quilt.

Trim to 4½” for a large quilt.

Make 2 Lt.2 ST units.

Make 10 Md.2 ST units.

Make 2 Dk.2 ST units.

Four at a Time Half Split Triangles (half STs):

Select two small Acc squares and two small Lt.2 squares. Assemble into a four patch unit with matching colours in opposite corners.

Select one large Lt.2 square and draw a diagonal line on the back.

Place the Lt.2 square on the four patch unit with the drawn line running across the Acc squares.

Sew ¼” to either side of the drawn line.

Cut halfway between the lines to separate into two units.

Trim to 2⅞” for a small quilt.

Trim to 3⅞” for a medium quilt.

Trim to 4⅞” for a large quilt.

Cut the units in half diagonally through the Lt.2 corners to yield four half units total.

Make 2 left and 2 right facing Lt.2 half ST units.

Make 2 left and 2 right facing Md.2 half ST units.

Make 2 left and 2 right facing Dk.2 half ST units.

Finishing Instructions

April Upper Chunk:

Select one Lt.2 half ST, two Lt.2 QSTs, one Lt.2 triangle, one Md.2 half ST, and one Md.2 ST.

Assemble as shown:

Select one large BG square and one BG triangle. Join to the triangle block as shown:

April Lower Chunk:

Repeat the steps for April Upper, mirroring the block orientation as shown:

April Centre Upper:

Select one Lt.2 half ST, two Lt.2 QSTs, one Lt.2 triangle, one Md.2 half ST, and one Md.2 ST.

Assemble as shown:

Select one Lt.2 ST, three Md.2 STs, one Md.2 square, two Md.2 QSTs, and two Dk.2 QSTs.

Assemble as shown:

Select one Md.2 QST, one Dk.2 triangle, one Dk.2 QST, two Dk.2 half STs, and one Dk.2 ST.

Assemble as shown:

Using the three blocks above and two large BG triangles, assemble the April Centre Upper as shown:

April Centre Lower:

Repeat the steps for April Centre Upper, mirroring the block orientation as shown:

April Centre Chunk:

Assemble the April Centre Upper and April Centre Lower into the April Centre Chunk as shown:

Download all instructions for the April chunks, including a few additional notes, as a PDF here:

Blackwork Roads Sample Quilt

With my Blackwork Roads sample quilt all in one piece, there's not anything new to update you on.

Though the snow is gone, I'm still waiting for the right weather to take some better photos of this beautiful quilt, and with the ice storm over the weekend, I no longer have a clothesline to take photos on. I may have to get a little more creative in my search for photo opportunities ... hmmm.

At least Meara is always happy to help me out!

Friends, I hope all of you have enjoyed taking a look at the newest instalment in the Blackwork Roads quilt along! I can't wait to see how the April Chunk looks in each of your unique colour schemes!

And I would love to see updates on your quilt along progress! You can share photos and stories in the comments below, or reach out to me directly via email! Or if you prefer to share your pictures on social media, please use #blackworkroadsquilt so I can find them!

After this month, we have just one chunk remaining before final quilt assembly! Please join me again on 06 May to continue our journey down the Blackwork Roads!