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Bible Blocks: Corner Stone

For those of us who come to God, justified by Faith and saved by Grace, the history of God's relationship with His chosen people is clear proof that He has always remained the loving compassionate Father, ready to forgive the repentant sinner.
How fitting, then, that we should tie together the Bible Blocks we have made in this series with a block which reminds us of God's ultimate gift of love: Jesus Christ. Ephesians 2 tells us that, through Christ, we are members of God's household: built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Himself as the chief corner stone.
For early builders, the corner stone was an essential part of a building's foundation, holding together the rest of the building. So, Christ Himself is the essential foundation stone of His Church. As we work on these blocks to finish our quilt tops, let's rejoice together that we can trust the Rock of our Salvation, that "stone the builders rejected." (1 Peter 2:7)

How fitting that the final block we are offering in Quilter' s Neighbourhood is Corner Stone! For almost 20 years, Christ has been the cornerstone of our ministry as we looked to Him and to the Word of God for inspiration and direction. Over the years, many of you have written to share your experience of the Word in your patchwork. We are grateful to all of those who have supported the ministry by purchasing our books and PDFs: we trust you will continue to find comfort and encouragement as you combine your enjoyment of patchwork with a love for God's word in Quilter's Neighbourhood patterns. Thank you for your prayers and support as we look to a new direction in God's service.

Step #1: Plan:

If you're making enough of these blocks for setting blocks for a sampler quilt, you might choose to use the same prints for all the blocks, or you may choose to use scraps left over from your other blocks. The scrappy version on the right above would give a more casual, country look to the finished quilt, while two-toned version on the left makes a fresh, bold look.

Be sure to have enough contrast between your B fabrics and the others you use so that the diagonal "chain" effect is evident when the blocks are set together. It works best if you use background fabrics which blend well with the backgrounds you used in your other blocks, "blurring" the lines between the sampler and the setting blocks.

The cutting directions in the charts below refer to the fabrics by the letters in the blank drawing. Cutting directions are for strip piecing a single block. If you use scraps, you will need to cut and sew patches individually, rather than strip piecing and cutting segments.

If you are cutting and sewing enough blocks for a sampler quilt, make one "test" block first, then cut enough individual patches or width-of-fabric strips to make the number of blocks needed. See the full size sample quilt for cutting directions for the blocks needed to complete that version

FABRIC		12"	6"
Medium/Dark	A	4 1/2" square	2 1/2" square
Background	B	4 1/2" x 11"	2 1/2"x 7"
	C	8 1/2" x 11"	4 1/2 x 7"
Medium/Dark	D	2 1/2" x 20 1/2" OR 8 scrap squares 2 1/2" each*	1 1/2" x 12 1/2" OR 8 squares 1 1/2" each*

Step #2: Cut

• Cut the B strip twice at 2 1/2"[1 1/2"] intervals: you will have 2 rectangles 2 1/2" x 4 1/2" [1 1/2" x 2 1/2"]
• Cut the C strip twice at 2 1/2"[1 1/2"] intervals: you will have 2 rectangles 2 1/2" x 8 1/2" [1 1/2"x x 4 1/2"]
• Set these aside until later.

* If you are making a scrap version, continue to cut the strips at 2 1/2" [1 1/2"] intervals - you will need 4 rectangles of each size. * if you are making a scrap version, skip step #4

Step #3 Sew stripsets

• Cut the D strip at 5" [3"] intervals you will have 4 rectangles 5" x 2 1/2" [3"x1 1/2"]
• Using the remainder of the B and C strips, sew one D strip to either side of each background strip
• Press seams toward the D strips
• Cross cut both stripsets at 2 1/2"[1 1/2"] intervals.
• You will have two D/B/D strips and two D/C/D strips

Step #4 Assemble block centre

• Sew the B strips from step 3 to either side of the A square. Press seams toward the A square
• Butting seams, sew a D/B/D strip to either side of this unit to complete the unequal 9-patch centre.
  

Step 5: Assemble the block

• Sew the C strips from step 2 to either side of the centre unit. Press seams toward the centre.
• Butting seams, sew a D/C/D strip to either side of this unit to complete the block. Press seams toward the outside.

These are such simple blocks to piece, you'll have enough blocks to complete your quilt in no time!

If you've been following this series, check out our quilt sketches and instructions for half-blocks to complete your own spectacular Bible block quilt.