February Block of the Month: Rally Blocks

Rally Blocks - designed by Melanie Tuazon for the Modern Quilt Guild

This block is taken from Melanie Tuazon’s Rally Quilt, which she designed for the Modern Quilt Guild in early 2020. Melanie's instagram is @melanie.tuazon and her website is melintheattic.com. She's also teaching at Quiltcon Together at the end of February - check her out!

The full pattern for this quilt is available here on the MQG website (Modern Quilt Guild member log-in is required to access the full pattern): https://community.themodernquiltguild.com/sites/default/files/TuazonM_Rally_v5.pdf

Melanie's Note: This is guided improvisation, and will result in a different and unique block each time. Exact measurements are not used. Experimentation is encouraged. I used a rotary cutter and rulers when piecing the angles, but you can opt to use scissors or omit rulers for a much more organic look and feel. I recommend using rulers to square blocks up after the angles are pieced.

Regular viewers may note that this block’s construction is somewhat similar to the modern Christmas trees we did for the October BOM - yay for transferring our skills!

For the February BOM, we’re going to do this block in all solids, as a tribute to the Modern Quilt Guild (you may have noticed that MQG quilters loooove using solids!).

For each block, you will need the following fabrics:

• 8” x 8” blocks - any SOLID dark colours (black, dark grey, navy blue, dark purple, dark green, etc. - anything that reads "dark")

• 1.5” strips (6” or longer) - SOLID bright colours (yellows, whites, bright blues/turquoise, bright greens, pinks, oranges, etc. - anything that reads "light")

Block Sewing Instructions (these are taken directly from Melanie’s pattern):

1. Starting 1-2 inches from the bottom right corner of your block, cut a diagonal line up and through the top of the block. (fig. 1) 

2. Repeat for the left side. Cut up through the top from left to right, but do not cut through the triangle made from your first cut. (fig. 2) 

NOTE: Keep track of your two triangles and their orientation-- you’ll need them again soon. 

3. Starting on the left side, sew a strip to the background fabric. Press toward the dark fabric. (Finger pressing will work fine.) Trim any part of the strip that hangs over the center angle, using the side that is unsewn as your guide. (fig. 3) 

4. Sew a strip to the right side of the angle. Press toward dark fabric. Trim excess. (fig. 4) 

5. Sew top left triangle, aligning the edges closest to the angle’s peak. Press.

(fig. 5)

NOTE: Do not worry about perfection! Not all edges will or should line up. 

6. Sew top right triangle. Press. (fig. 6) 

7. Trim block to 7" square. 

NOTE: So that it doesn’t get lost in the seam allowance during assembly, be sure that your angle’s point is at least ¼" from the top edge of the block.

 

The variety of solid colours and angles from all of our blocks should make for a really cool finished quilt!

Thanks for joining in the February Block of the Month. Feel free to share photos of your finished Rally Blocks on social media - tag your photos with #ottmqgBOM to connect to everyone else's work, too!