Square One Quilt - Christmas Quilt

I recently saw a quilt at Quilt Vine's blog that I really liked.  It seemed so simple, sort of like a log cabin, but only wrapped on two sides.  They called it "Square One".  I did a smaller version based on the fabrics I wanted to use, all Christmas fabrics in 1 - 1/4 yard cuts.

I drew my own pattern using a 5" square as my "square one"( 5-1/2" with seam allowance).  Since my fabric had words on it, I decided to turn them all the same way. 

We've probably all seen the fabric cutters at the stores clip and then rip the fabric instead of cutting it.  Don't always trust that the rip gets a straight edge.  You still need to square up your fabric before cutting.  See in the picture above how off my straight edges were from where the cutter ripped my fabric.  I normally don't wash my fabric before using them, but this time I should have.  This red bled into the white fabric when I got it damp to remove quilt markings.

I had three colors from this fabric line WinterBerry Lane by Terri Degenkolb of Whimsicals.  I cut each of the solid/snowflake design into 1-1/2" strips.  (see my handwritten design on a post-it?)  Then I simply started sewing them in the order of their layout, just like you do a log cabin design (side-top-side-top).  The finished block measures an 8" square.  If you look at the picture above, I have the sides strips to the right of the block but I actually sewed them to the left of the block.  Not that it really matters, just keep it consistent.

I added a 3 1/2" white border between the blocks.  If you look closely, the white has words in gold printed on it.  I only had enough fabric to make a small quilt, 44/50".  I used the left over 1-1/2" strips sewn together to make another boarder and the binding.

This was a Christmas gift which the recipient is planning on using as a wall hanging, so a hanging sleeve will need to be added to the back.  It would also make a cute baby quilt or add more blocks to make it a lap quilt or full size quilt.  It's a very simple design and goes together quickly.