Hello Aunt Dinah! You brought friends.

These are just a few of the blocks being made by quilters sewing-along with the Blockheads.  Who knew there were so many happy-to-be-called-a-blockhead folks?

Week 3 is upon us and today's block is Four X from Jo Morton.  The instructions for Four X can be found on Jo's Journal.

First up, Tammy's Fall Palette block.  It includes Rachel Remembered and a couple of Primitive Gatherings fabrics.  Blocks - how adorable is that tiny block?  It will finish at 3".  (Yes, Tammy loves teeny tiny itty bitty piecing.)

Tammy also loves French General fabrics so she's making two sets of blocks.  (Four sets of blocks?)

The fussy-cut centers are a perfect touch.

This is my scrappy blue traditional-Reproduction block.

The fabrics are a mix of Snowberry, Grand Traverse Bay and Lizzie's Legacy.

One of the questions that has come up on the Facebook Group is about pressing - to one side, open, any-which-way-you-can.  I press in the direction that lays best so sometimes that's to one side and sometimes that is open.

I do like "popping" the seam on the quarter-triangle squares to get it to lay really flat.  If you'll notice on the two half-triangle squares on the left side, the seam is also clipped to let me flip part of the seam for stitching.  In ten years of using this trick, I've never had a seam come apart or fray.  It's done all the time in garment sewing - sleeves and collars - but for some reason, quilters seem reluctant to do the same thing.

Except Jo.  She clips seams all the time.  She calls it her "clipping trick".  It's a good thing.

I also made a Figgy version of Four X - fabrics by Fig Tree & Co. with a Minick & Simpson Lexington background.

Can I tell you a secret?  It's taking me longer to pick the fabrics for each part than to make the blocks.  (At least so far... wait until Week 5.  Lisa Bongean.  'Nuff said.)

Yardage. It's still one of the most frequently-asked questions - how much do I need?

I wish I could tell you that there was an exact amount but the best I can do is share what I've calculated for my own quilt.

Background.  So far, each block has used less than a "Sweet Sixteen" of background fabric - a 9" x 10" piece.  Sixteen pieces in a yard, forty-eight blocks... forty-eight divided by sixteen is three... so three yards of background for the blocks.  And that will be generous, especially if it's a single piece.  If you're using scrappy backgrounds, add a little bit more because the cutting is usually not as efficient... though it is easier to add more later.

Prints.  As with the background, each block has used a Sweet Sixteen or less.  That is roughly the size of a Layer Cake square so I'm allowing for one Layer Cake square per block.  If I were using fat quarters - 12 should suffice for just the blocks.  For fat eighths - count two F8 for each fat quarter.

But what about extra pieces or yardage for setting squares, sashings, alternate blocks, etc.?  I'm not sure if the other Blockheads have figured out their settings but I think I finally have - or at least I have a direction.

I've decided to go with a "lighter" feel for my quilt - quilts... ack?!? - so I'm going to use additional background for sashings and then some flying geese.  Some? I've calculated that I'll need 1 3/8 yards for the sashing and another 1 3/4 yards of background for the background - for a grand total of about 6 1/8 yards.  I'll make sure I have 6 1/4 yards just to be on the safe side.  I'll also need to add 25 Layer Cakes for the geese.  I did say there were a lot, right?  I've started cutting those pieces and I'll make a few of them each week with my blocks.

Without an additional outside border, my quilt will finish at 75" x 75".

I'll also need a few extra blocks - sixteen for each quilt, a total of 64 - 6" finished blocks.  I could just borrow some of these...

As always, be sure to go visit the others to see what they made this week:

• Lynne’s Blog / Facebook / Website
• Betsy’s Blog / Facebook / Instagram
• Jan’s Blog / Website
• Jo’s Blog / Instagram
• Lisa’s Blog / Website / Instagram

And if you're not already a member, there is a Moda Blockheads Facebook Group.

If you post to Facebook or Instagram, remember to use the hashtag - #modablockheads so we can see your blocks.

See you next week!