It's Kristina from Center Street Quilts wishing you a Merry Christmas! I hope you are enjoying a peaceful day filled with the people that you love most.

Today's Countdown to Christmas block is as classic as they come--it's the Ohio Star block, but we've renamed it Night Divine for this sewalong. :)  This block was one of the very first blocks that I learned to make as a teenager and I still remember how magical it seemed figuring out how those hourglass blocks were sewn. I love the simple, timeless look of the Ohio Star block in two colors, but am excited to see how those of you sewing along mix and match the color combinations!

This block finishes at 6" or 12" square.

6" Block	12" Block
From white fabric, cut (2) 3 ½” squares and (4) 2 ½" squares	From white fabric, cut (2) 5 ½” squares and (4) 4 ½" squares
From red fabric, cut (2) 3 ½” squares and (1) 2 ½” squares	From red fabric, cut (2) 5 ½” squares and (1) 4 ½” squares

 

We'll start by making the four hour glass blocks. I'll be sharing the instructions for the 12" block with any dimensions for the 6" block in parentheses.

Gather the two white 5 ½” (3 ½”) squares and the two red 5 ½” (3 ½”) squares. Referring to the image below, follow the steps 1-4 to make four half-square triangles.

1. Draw a line corner-to-corner on the wrong side of the two white 5 ½” (3 ½”) squares.
2. Pair a white square right sides together with a red 5 ½” (3 ½”) square. Sew two seams, each 1/4″ away from the drawn line.
3. Cut the pieces apart on the drawn line.
4. Press the seams open.

Repeat with the second red and white square combination to make a total of four half-square triangles.

Draw a line from corner-to-corner on the wrong side of two of the half-square triangles (HSTs). The line should run perpendicular to the seam as shown in the photo below. Place the HSTs with the lines drawn, right sides together on top of the other two HSTs, so the seams are right on top of each other, as shown.

Make sure the seams are lined up as close as possible. It's okay if the outer edges of the HSTs aren't quite matched up--the important part is that those seams are right on top of each other.

Sew two lines, each 1/4" away from the drawn line, then cut the pieces apart on the drawn line. Press the seam open to yield two hourglass blocks. Repeat with second pair of HSTs to yield a total of four hourglass blocks.

The hourglass units were made slightly oversized so we can trim them down to the exact size we need. For the 12" Night Divine block, we will trim the hourglass units down to 4 ½" squares and for the 6" Night Divine Block, the hourglass units will need to be trimmed to 2 ½" squares.

You'll want the center point of the hourglass blocks where the seams meet to be as close as possible to the center of the trimmed block. The easiest way to do this is to get a square ruler and line up the center point of the hourglass unit at 2 1/4" (1 1/4") on the diagonal. Then trim the top and right sides of the hourglass unit. Turn the hourglass unit 180 degrees so the last two untrimmed edges are now at the top and right sides. Line up the center point as close to 2 1/4" (1 1/4") as possible while trimming the hourglass unit to 4 ½" x 4 ½" square (2 ½" x 2 ½" square). The center seam might be slightly off on that last positioning, but it's okay! We did our best to get it centered. :)

Trim the remaining hourglass units to yield four 4 ½" x 4 ½" square (2 ½" x 2 ½" square) hourglass units.

Lay out the hourglass units with the 4 ½"  ( 2 ½") white and red squares as shown below.

Assemble each row, pressing the seams away from the hourglass units. Sew the rows together and press the seams open.

This block finishes at 6" or 12" square.

Aren't the blocks striking in a simple red and white color combination? I've loved following along with all of your Countdown to Christmas blocks and would love to see your Night Divine blocks, too. Please use the hashtag #centerstreetquilts on instagram so I can find your blocks! Wishing you a happy holiday and a new year filled with lots of sewing time. :)

Kristina Brinkerhoff

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