Seriously..I think it needs stitches.: Olive Quilt Block Tutorial

File this one under quilt blocks I never thought I'd make. Olives.. Who knew they had a day!? Not me. Until I started this National Days scrap project.. What a weird quilt block to make. But the weirdness is kind of what made me want to include it in my quilt. haha What a challenge to draw! Big olive or olive on a toothpick? Since the big olive looked like a green blob, I settled on the toothpick olives. TWO because one looked lonely. It took a lot of reworking but I'm finally happy with it! National Olive Day is on June 1st.

Just a few simple clip & flip corners. Okay, but before I start, I just want to say, I looked up National Olive Day to see why olives have their own day, and duh! I hadn't even thought about all the historical and symbolic significance! It's so much deeper than olive oil and tapenade. The olive branch has been known as a symbol of peace and friendship since ancient Greek times, and the olive tree has a lot of Biblical significance as well. I love that! Now I'm feeling like my olive block is kinda cool! ha! And fun fact, in case you didn't know.. the olive is a stone fruit.

Anyway, here is how it's assembled.

Fabric A (background):

(4) 1 1/4" sq. (+)

(2) 1 1/2" sq. (*)

(2) 2" sq.

(2) 2 x 2 1/2"

(2) 2 x 3"

(2) 4 1/2" sq.

Fabric B (toothpick):

(4) 1" sq. (~)

(2) 2 x 2 1/2"

Fabric C (red):

(2) 1 1/2" sq.

Fabric D (green):

(2) 1 1/2 x 2" (#)

(2) 2 x 3"

Left Lower/Right Upper Double

1. Place a square at the left end or lower left corner of a rectangle or larger square, right sides together.
2. Stitch from left upper corner to right lower corner.
3. Clip, flip & press.
4. Place a square at the right end or upper right corner of a rectangle or larger square, right sides together.
5. Stitch from left upper corner to right lower corner.
6. Clip, flip & press.

*Using above method, 1 1/2" sq. of Fabric A-left lower corner, 2" sq. of Fabric A-right upper corner, and 2 x 2 1/2" rect. of Fabric B-LONG edge at the top, make one unit. REPEAT for total of two of these units.

---------------------

Right Upper Clip & Flip

1. Place square at upper end or right upper corner of rectangle or larger square, right sides together.
2. Stitch from left upper to right lower corner.
3. Clip, flip & press.

*Using above method, 1" sq. of Fabric B, 2 x 3" rect. of Fabric A-SHORT edge at the top, make one unit. REPEAT for total of two of these units.

*Repeat these steps using 1 1/4" sq. of Fabric A and 1 1/2 x 2" rect. of Fabric D-LONG edge at the top. REPEAT for total of two of these units.

*Repeat these steps using 1 1/4" sq. of Fabric A and 2 x 3" rect. of Fabric D-LONG edge at the top. REPEAT for total of two of these units.

*Repeat these steps using 1" sq. of Fabric B and 4 1/2" sq. of Fabric A. REPEAT for total of two of these units.

---------------------

Assemble as shown below, using scant quarter inch seams. The block will be 8 1/2" at this point. (8" when finished in quilt.)

---------------------

And that's it for my quilt block tribute to this ancient commodity. I'm thinking it would make a super cute hot pad.

I know I always say this, but I'll be back soon with the next block in line. In the meantime, if you're just finding these blocks and want to see what other weird blocks I've done for this wacky quilt project, they are all organized on the National Days page, along with links to their tutorials. If you make any come find me, I'd love to see! :)

@kellifanninquilts IG

Kelli Fannin Quilt Designs FB

Sew Along Group at my FB page

Hope your Tuesday is going well.

Happy Stitching!

xoxo