Squire Smith's Choice Block Pattern

We are in Week 3 of The Spicerack Sampler! That means we get to make the Squire Smith's Choice block!

Click the image to download the PDF of this pattern.

The Squire Smith's Choice block caught my eye as I was deciding which blocks to include in this series.  It's definitely unique! And it's certainly vintage.  It dates back to 1899! 

I've seen instructions for how to make this design with foundation paper piecing and also odd shapes like parallelograms (not so easy to cut out!).  But I say let's use half-square triangles!

I really try to come up with as many shortcuts and simple methods as I can with my patterns.  If you'd like to see how I assemble this block, click the image below to go to my YouTube channel.

And let's see how this block looks on repeat!

Interesting.  I think it's a bit too busy for me.  And I feel like the unique quality of this block is lost when it's repeated like this.  The secondary star pattern comes to the forefront.

Let's see how it looks with two colors!

Ooh! This is better! With this option, you keep the clear block definition.

But what if we add sashing?

This one looks very vintage-y! The negative space has a calming effect, don't you think?

Okay, one final option I threw together was to color the inner pinwheel a different color so it really stands out.

What do you think? Which one is your favorite? Let me know in the comments below!

And I know I sound like a commercial, but it truly only took me a few minutes to whip up these mock-ups last night in EQ8!  EQ8 makes it SO easy to play around with quilt blocks and shapes and let your creativity go wild!

And there are SO many more things I could do with this block.

But the focus for now is to keep on plugging on my sampler!  If you're just now joining me in this series, here is a picture of the complete set.  These 12 blocks I'm calling The Spicerack Sampler! They're all classic quilt blocks, but I'm attempting to put a modern spin on each one.  I hope you join me in making these! They range from easy to more challenging, but they're meant to be a skill builder.  I'll walk you through each step and help you add a number of skills to your repertoire!  And these are all traditionally pieced.  No Y-seams, paper templates or foundation paper piecing.

A new block releases every Monday!

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