Easy Street - Part 1

On Friday Bonnie Hunter revealed the first clue in her new mystery, Easy Street:  192 four-patches in gray and black-on-white.  The units were simple to make, but that's quite a lot of them!  This is my first Bonnie Hunter mystery.  I am new to quilting and made my very first quilt for my husband's birthday just 3 months ago.  I had been collecting fabrics for several years, but didn't actually start any quilting until I had retired.

The first assignment for the Easy Street mystery is to construct 192 4-patch blocks, made from the gray and black-on-white fabrics, using 2" strips.   I started by sewing 2" strip sets together.

  I then cut them into 2" segments and sewed the 2" segment together to form the block.  In order to make the block lay flat and reduce thickness in the center, you press the seams clockwise and open up the center.  I had never used this twirling technique before but it reduces the excess bulk in the middle of each block.  It makes pressing take longer, but it's worth it.

As I finished the blocks, I pinned them together in groups of ten so I wasn't recounting over & over.

So now I am ready for the next clue that Bonnie will give us on Friday.  I am very excited about getting to the next step and can't wait to dig into some of the other colors for this quilt!