Nautical Knots

      I don't think I am the only quilter who has been obsessed with the latest internet buzz on the garlic knot block.  Bonnie Hunter featured them on her last quilt cam, apparently, and I keep seeing references to them on Facebook, chat groups, etc.  I looked for my issue of Quiltmaker that was supposed to have it in the Addicted to Scraps column, but couldn't find it.  Its in this house somewhere, but thats another subject.  I did see a post from someone else that said it is a traditional block called Arrowhead Puzzle, but my 501 Quilt Blocks book didn't have it.  After chasing this block all over my house and the internet, I finally decided to draft it myself and get it out of my head. How hard could it be?  Its just squares and rectangles.  My first adventure with it took place with my scraps from the Seven Sisters topper from our guild workshop.  There were some 2-1/4" scraps, which I cut down to 2' and made a Christmas Knot.  It finished at 6-1/2" and is cute as a button.

     I thought this would satisfy my obsession, but alas, it wasn't to be.  With the 4th of July rapidly approaching, I had a yen to sew with patriotic fabrics, so out came the red and blue scrap bins.  Suddenly, this little table topper appeared on my design wall.  I'm calling it "Nautical Knots".

     Just in case, anyone else is having garlic knots or arrowhead puzzles swarming in their heads, here is a short tutorial on the one I drafted.

Fabric requirements:

Nautical print - 1/2 yard

Red accent - FQ

Kona Snow background - 1/4 yd.

For each block, cut the following;

6) 2-1/2" squares of nautical print 

2) 2-1/2" squares of red accent

4) 2-1/2" squares of background

2) 2-1/2" x 4-1/2" rectangles of background

Make 2 small blocks in this configuration with a background rectangle and square,

plus a square of the nautical print.

     Make 2 small blocks in this configuration with two nautical squares, an accent square, and a background square.

Make a larger 4-patch with your four components in this configuration.

     This completes the 8-1/2' knot block.  To make the topper, make four of the knot blocks and arrange with the four blocks as the center.  My inner border was cut 1-1/4" to finish at 3/4" and my outer border was cut at 3-1/2 to finish at 3".  The topper will finish at 23".  

     If you get the urge to make one of these, be sure to share it in the comments section.  

Have a great 4th of July!

Judy