My Penny Sampler Quilt Club-February Blocks

I have just finished my February blocks for the Penny Sampler Quilt Club. I am making the Dutch Version of the quilt. The other version available is the Nordic version. Here we go:

 The first task was to select the fabrics for this unique courthouse steps block. I laid out my background fabric and set all the step fabrics in order on top of it to make sure what I saw in my head was what I really wanted.

After taking a picture and looking at it, I decided to move the larger white polka dots down one position. I was going for a kind of ombre look with this. That made me happy, so I was ready to sew.

I put this little sweetie in the center. This is Lola Dutch, by Sarah Jane. I found her in my scraps that were left from a skirt I made for Miss N for Christmas. The perfect touch.

 And this is the end result. I am very happy with it. My husband says it looks like stacked wedding cakes. :)

It is quite a large block, one of the largest in the quilt. I love that it just shouts "Look at me!"

 Nest up was the double diamonds block. I chose this solid red to really make the blue pop, and I think it worked.

                  Here is one of the four diamonds in the block.

And here are all four of the diamonds together. This quilt is really a balancing act of colors. Some soft, some not. Choices are based on the position each block has in the finished quilt.

My last set of blocks is thirteen small pinwheel blocks that will go into a sashing strip later on. This is the first one, and I am showing you the back, because it is paper pieced. I don't like all the bulk in the center where the seams meet. So I decided to try piecing one the old fashioned way and trimming it to size.

 With a block like this, I like to press my seams open to achieve maximum flatness in the center.

See how much flatter the whole block is? I was much happier with this option so I made all the rest using this technique.

And here they all are lined up and waiting. And now, February is done and I can sew some other things while I wait for March.
Enjoy your day.