Windmills

It's been a very busy time recently, what with one things and another (DD isn't well at the moment and is home from uni, I've had two quilting meetings recently, and am in the middle of panto -more of which later) but I managed to find time for a visit from Mary, who had 17 Project Linus quilts for me! She hadn't made them herself - they had ended up at hers by a circuitous route! - but brought a work-in-progress to show me, which was a strippy made from various orphan blocks. One of the blocks was a windmill, which she had made from charm squares and she generously gave me the instructions, and here it is.

It's a windmill, but the extra pieces on the sides make it knit up big, as it were. Here is what you do.

Choose 5 squares, one of which must be a contrast to the others, and the other four can be the same or different. Cut the contrast square into quarters and the other squares in half to make rectangles.

Sew the contrast squares onto the edges of four of the rectangles. If you've used different fabrics, use a rectangle from each.

Sew the remaining rectangles onto the side of each rectangle with a triangle corner. Make sure the triangles are all 'going the same way'!

Lay out the pieces so that you get a windmill in the centre and sew together.

You will have a little waste on each side, so trim to square it. the beauty of this method is that you can use any size squares you like. Mine were 5" charm squares and produced a block of 8 1/2" (8" finished). Have to get on and make some more!