This is the first of our simple blocks which has Mary’s Triangles units and, as with most blocks with these units, they are in the corners.
You can download the free pattern for this block here, along with a few ideas for quilts.
Just because the block has the triangles on the outside doesn’t mean that you can’t turn the units around and make a completely different block.
Notice that the colours have been reversed as well. If you mix these two colourings in a quilt you get something far more interesting than just the blocks on their own.
Or you can put the blocks on point; all the same block but with a dark background –
– it looks far more dramatic than the light background.
But what happens if we turn those corner units so the triangles point outwards?
And then set into a quilt, with alternate colourings –
Its a very different quilt to the one we started out with.
The colouring (placement of lights and darks) of the block as well as the orientation of the corner units can have quite a dramatic effect on the appearance of the block and the quilts. Here’s a slide show of a few ideas –
First of all we have a basket – which is actually a pocket on the front of the cushion. The original hand-written pattern says for keeping a book or small toy, these days it is more likely to be a phone or tablet perhaps. You can 
The other pattern I found was a Snowball block turned into an animal – we apparently had dogs, cats, pigs and even hens, but the one I have chosen to do the ear templates for you today is the rabbit. Once you have made this one you might like to let your imagination run riot as our Young Quilters did on the day and see what you come up with. You could even add an appropriate tail to the back of your cushion or quilt.
This little unit crops up in a number of blocks but is also a block in its own right. It has a variety of names including Jewel Box (or Block), Squared Triangles, Square and Triangles and the one I’ve picked – Mary’s Triangles.
