Note to web searchers: This post is about Y blocks, a Quarter Square triangle block variation. This is not about Y seams. That's a completely different topic.

It's become a tradition for a group of us to get together on New Year's Day to sew. Each of us makes our own quilt but we use same quilt pattern. Truth be told, we do as much chatting and eating as we do sewing!! It's a fun day! I highly recommend it!

Sometimes I design project and sometimes we choose one from the internet. This year we chose the Merry Mayhem NYD Mystery.

At least that's what we started to do! Of the 3 of us sewing together, none of us ended up using the final quilt layout! One friend, who was sewing at home but came over to chat, ended up using using the design but turned it 90 degrees. So much for following directions!! The major blocks in the project were Y blocks, a Quarter Square Triangle Variation, shown above.

I loved the blocks made in these fabrics. Once I saw them I decided not to go further with the Mystery Quilt directions. I wasn't sure what I was going to use as for layout, but I knew these blocks would work well together.

I ended up designing 2 very different quilt tops with my blocks. The 4 of us worked out the layouts for one of the quilts at the New Year's Day party and the other I created on my design wall.

Here's a sneak peak from the party!

Thinking about possible layouts using the Y blocks

I'm just finishing both quilts up and will post them over the next couple weeks.

In the meantime, here's a link to a tutorial on Craftsy.com for making Quarter Square triangle blocks so you can make some for yourself. How to Sew a Perfect Quarter Square Triangle.

The Quarter Square Triangle block and it's variations are very versatile and can create lots of exciting patterns. So much fun!