Barrister's Block quilt block

Barrister's Block quilt block

February 6, 1933-The Barrister's Block also known as Lawyer's Puzzle and Lawyer's Tangle was the quilt pattern of the day in Nancy Cabot's Chicago Tribune column.  She notes that this block was pieced in muslin and turkey red fabric in early colonial times and that most authorities agree it originated in Connecticut.

"Nowadays it probably would be done in quieter colors unless the added warmth and color contributed by flaming hues are desirable in your scheme of interior decoration" Nancy concludes.

I made this block 6" finished which made for some very small pieces.  The half square triangle blocks are 3/4" finished!



I used a combination of techniques to put it together.  I used paper piecing on the small half square triangles but not the large ones.  You can print the paper piecing patterns here.

 This photo at the right shows the 3 basic parts of  each quarter of the pattern-1 half square triangle that finishes at 2 3/4" and 2 paper piecing patterns.  The second photo shows the sewn pieces.  You need 4 of these.

The large half square triangle blocks can be made from 3 1/4" squares when using the draw the diagonal and sew down each side method.  It should be trimmed to 2 3/4" and finish at 2 1/4".

This block pattern can be found in Electric Quilt's BlockBase program as #1363.

Tomorrow-Star and Cross