Blackwork Roads: December Chunk

Hello Friends and Happy December!

A new month arrived over the weekend, bringing crisp and snowy weather along with it!

The snow hasn't really stuck here just yet, it's gathering in little clumps of shade, but just a little further North of me, there was a proper Winter storm!

That storm blew right through the area where my husband works, so he's been home all week waiting for the highway to reopen. I've heard there's supposed to be more snow there tomorrow, so we'll have to wait and see if he makes it in at all this week!

But snow days aren't the only exciting things this December brings, we've also got a new chunk to make for Blackwork Roads!

December Chunk

The pieced motif used in the December chunk is, once again, inspired by the Morning Star block, but now with a slightly different look!

On the left is the Morning Star block as it appeared in October, on the right is the version of the block we'll be making this month!

Looking at them from a distance, these appear to be two totally different block patterns, but on closer inspection, you can see that the same set of units have been used and in the same positions. The corners are split triangle units, the side centres are quarter square triangles, and the block centre is an unpieced square.

It's really interesting how the same block con turn out looking so different just by moving the colours around a little, and you'll see this more and more throughout Blackwork Roads as we continue piecing it together!

Moving away from the pieced design and looking at the December chunk as a whole, it will finish looking triangular, just like October, but we'll be making December just a little differently.

The December chunk is actually three chunks; an upper triangle, central rectangle, and lower triangle. Though you might be tempted to make the whole chunk now, it's been broken down this way so we can avoid Y seams when assembling our finished quilt top in the Spring!

Speaking of final assembly, there's a few other things you can do to make that easier when the time comes; be sure to label each of the finished chunks so you'll remember which is which, and stay stitch your bias edges to help the chunks to keep their shape!

Pattern Notes

sew all seams using a ¼” seam allowance
press each seam before sewing the next and before trimming units
to cut diagonally one, 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)

14 bars at 2¼”x 1½” (for STs)

6 squares at 1⅞” (for half STs)

Acc: 6 squares at 3¼” (for QSTs)

6 squares at 1⅞” (for half STs)

14 squares at 1½” (for 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)

Md.2: 5 bars at 3¼”x2½” (for STs)

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

2 squares at 2½” (for finishing)

Dk.2: 1 bar at 3¼”x2½” (for STs)

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

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

(for finishing)

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)

14 bars at 2¾”x 2” (for STs)

6 squares at 2⅜” (for half STs)

Acc: 6 squares at 4¼” (for QSTs)

6 squares at 2⅜” (for half STs)

14 squares at 2” (for 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)

Md.2: 5 bars at 4¼”x 3½” (for STs)

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

2 squares at 3½” (for finishing)

Dk.2: 1 bar at 4¼”x3½” (for STs)

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

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

(for finishing)

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)

14 bars at 3¼”x 2½” (for STs)

6 squares at 2⅞” (for half STs)

Acc: 6 squares at 6¼” (for QSTs)

6 squares at 2⅞” (for half STs)

14 squares at 2½” (for 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)

Md.2: 5 bars at 5¼”x4½” (for STs)

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

2 squares at 4½” (for finishing)

Dk.2: 1 bar at 5¼”x4½” (for STs)

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

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

(for finishing)

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 6 Md.2 QST units.

Make 6 Dk.2 QST units.

Note: the four at a time piecing method will yield two extra Md.2 and two extra

Dk.2 QSTs; save these to be used in the April chunk

Two at a Time Split Triangles (STs):

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

Sew the two bar units along their long sides with the Acc 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 Acc 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 BG squares and two small Acc 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 BG 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 from the Acc corner through the Lt.2 corner 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

December 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:

December Lower Chunk:

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

December Centre Upper:

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:

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 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:

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

December Centre Lower:

Repeat the steps for December Centre Lower, mirroring the block orientation as shown:

December Centre Chunk:

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

Full instructions for the December chunks, including a few additional notes, can be downloaded as a PDF here:

Blackwork Roads Sample Quilt

With December now upon us, I'm a little disappointed to say that I haven't made any new progress on my Blackwork Roads sample. It's still just as far along as it was in November.

And though I wish I had something new to show off, at least I haven't made some kind of negative progress!

Part of the reason I haven't made any new progress is due to the fact that I took my quilt top to my guild's November meeting. I'd pinned what I've finished of the lower section onto the completed upper section and simply haven't been motivated to unpin them so I could finish. A terrible excuse really, but we can afford to be lazy sometimes!

One benefit of never unpinning the quilt is that I can show off this month's chunk in a mostly whole state!

With that said, I think I should make an amendment to my Autumn goals and say I can't start the new Old Town mystery quilt along until both my Indigo Way quilt blocks and Blackwork Roads quilt top have been pieced. It will give me something to look forward to while unpinning my sample!

And one more thing I have to look forward to is seeing how all of your December chunks turn out now that you have the instructions!

Please share your photos, stories, and questions in the comments section below or reach out to have a chat with me via email! And, if you're sharing your progress on other social media sites, please us #blackworkroadsquilt so I can find your posts!

I'm so glad you came to visit again this month! Next week, there will be a little break in my posting schedule as I'll be away, but I'll be back the following week on 17 December for more patchwork fun!

In the meantime, I can't wait to see where the Blackwork Roads will take us next!