Today I’m sharing one of my favorite traditional blocks: the bow tie quilt block.

I’ve been working on two projects that will eventually be gifts so I haven’t had a lot to share here. One of these projects is going well and one of them … well let’s just say if this is a “learning year” for me for quilting then it is a success so far. (One big lesson: really make sure a block is within reasonable reach of your skill level before you cut half of your fabric!)

Luckily this more challenging project doesn’t have a fixed deadline, so I’m setting it aside for now in the hopes that I’ll do better with it later in the year, once I’ve clocked more hours on quilting overall. Having made that decision it suddenly felt necessary to have a little fun with something small and low-pressure and unattached to any larger project. I’ve been watching the “Itty Bitty Blocks” quilt-along over at Quilty Pleasures, and am taken with the bow tie block in particular.

It’s a classic block popular in the 1920s and 30s, and apparently dates back to the late 1890s.

For the sake of my sanity, I sized up to make a larger, 5-inch (finished) block using these instructions from Dora Quilts. I also used these tips for stitch and flip as it’s something I was struggling with in my, ahem, problem project.

And voila! A relaxing-to-sew, cute little block that you can make with scraps. Not sure what I’ll do with them but I don’t even care!

Thanks for stopping by! This week I’m linking up with Quilt Story’s Fabric Tuesday, Sew Fresh Quilts’ Let’s Bee Social, and Freshly Pieced’s WIP Wednesday. If you have bow tie quilts or quilt blocks to share, please leave a link in the comments!