Blackwork Roads: October Chunk

Hello Friends and Happy October!

With the arrival of a new month, I'm excited to jump into the next step of the Blackwork Roads quilt!

We started off the quilt along last month with fabric selection and piecing the first chunk! The September chunk featured a variety of square in a square and double square in a square units that come together to form the central medallion of the quilt! I've seen some really beautiful September chunks so far and am really looking forward to seeing this quilts grow!

And with that first chunk pieced, it's time to get started on the October chunk!

October Chunk

The pieced motif used in the October chunk was inspired by the traditional Morning Star block. Traditional quilt blocks are often known by many different names, so you may have heard this block called something different, or seen a totally different block pattern that was also called Morning Star!

The block is tiled several times to fill the shape of the October chunk, creating an interesting pieced mosaic!

And after September, all remaining chunks of the Blackwork Roads pattern do not come out square. The October chunk specifically will finish as a large triangle!

Because of its unique shape, there will be multiple bias edges on the finished chunk, so I strongly recommend sewing a stay stitch around the outer edge to help it keep its 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: 2 squares at 6⅞”, cut in half diagonally once to yield two triangles each

(for finishing)

2 squares at 6½” (for finishing)

6 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)

5 squares at 3¼” (4 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”x 2½” (for STs)

5 squares at 3¼” (4 for QSTs, 1 for half STs)

2 squares at 2½” (for finishing)

Dk.2: 1 bar at 3¼”x2½” (for STs)

5 squares at 3¼” (4 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: 2 squares at 9⅞”, cut in half diagonally once to yield two triangles each

(for finishing)

2 squares at 9½” (for finishing)

6 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)

5 squares at 4¼” (4 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)

5 squares at 4¼” (4 for QSTs, 1 for half STs)

2 squares at 3½” (for finishing)

Dk.2: 1 bar at 4¼”x 3½” (for STs)

5 squares at 4¼” (4 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: 2 squares at 12⅞”, cut in half diagonally once to yield two triangles each

(for finishing)

2 squares at 12½” (for finishing)

6 squares at 5¼” (for QSTs)

14 bars at 3¼”x 2½” (for STs)

6 squares at 2⅞” (for half STs)

Acc: 6 squares at 5¼” (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)

5 squares at 6¼” (4 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)

5 squares at 5¼” (4 for QSTs, 1 for half STs)

2 squares at 4½” (for finishing)

Dk.2: 1 bar at 5¼”x4½” (for STs)

5 squares at 5¼” (4 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 one BG square, one Acc square, and two Lt.2 squares. Draw a diagonal line on the back of the two Lt.2 squares.

Place a Lt.2 square on the BG 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 Lt.2 square and Acc square.

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

Place one Lt.2/BG unit on one Lt.2/Acc unit with the seams aligned and the two Lt.2 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 Dk.2 QST units.

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 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

October Side Left

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

Assemble as shown:

Select one large BG square and one BG triangle.

Join to the triangle block as shown:

October Side Right

Repeat the steps for October Side Left, mirroring the block orientation as shown:

October Centre Left

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 a large BG triangle, assemble the October Centre Left as shown:

October Centre Right

Repeat the steps for October Centre Left, mirroring the block orientation as shown:

October Chunk Assembly

Assemble the October Side Left,Centre Left, Centre Right, and Side Right into the complete October Chunk as shown:

Full instructions for the October chunk, including some additional notes, can be downloaded here:

Blackwork Roads Sample Quilt

I'm still piecing my way through the first sample of the pattern, so I still don't quite have a finished quilt to show off yet, but I have finished the October chunk and am excited to be able to share it!

In the picture, you can see the October chunk joined to November on the right and May on the left!

I've been making the small version of Blackwork Roads and am really loving the challenge of the small pieces!

The other big challenge for this project is the bias seams. Personally, they don't bother me, but I learned to sew by making garments, where nearly every seam is some degree of bias, so I'm sure I've subconciously picked up some habits for dealing with those.

If you aren't as familiar with bias seams, I found a great post by Julie Burton of Running Stitch Quilts that outlines a few quilting-specific tips for making bias seams a little more managable! Check out that post here!

After seeing all of your unique colour choices last month, I'm so excited to see everyone's quilts progress! And once you've put together this month's chunk, you'll have used every colour from your colour scheme nad we can see them all together!

As you work on your October chunk, I would love to see pictures and stories about your progress! I'm happy to read those in the comments below, via a private email, or by tagging your posts with #blackworkroadsquilt on social media!

Thank you all for visiting me again this month, I'm looking forward to continuing our trip down the Blackwork Roads!