This week's block was supposed to be one called "Picnic Table", but it wasn't my cup of tea. In my opinion, that block has too many seams and just doesn't fit in as well with the overall aesthetic of the quilt. Luckily I discovered an additional bonus block which was left off the FAQ page for the Summer in the Country sew-along (oops). This one is called "Grandma" and was submitted by  Anne Wiens of Sweetgrass Creative.

I have made this block before with success and decided to use the method I employed previously. I made the 12 1/2" unfinished "Great Granny" block from Lori Holt's book "Great Granny Squared". In the book, Lori gives instructions for the block in both a 6-inch and 12-inch finished size. The block is made oversized and is then trimmed down to perfection. I wish I could give you all the details, but I don't want to be in copyright violation. If you have Lori's book, by all means make it her way. If not, the Moda Bakeshop pattern instructions indicate that their version is a bit oversized as well to allow for trimming.

Lori's method directs you to assemble the block units in strips. Instead of using triangles for the background fabric, you use rectangles, which gives you more wiggle room for trimming down. 

In this photo, you can see that I have all my strip rows sewn together. Next, I will even up the left and right sides of the block because I need to attach additional background rectangles to the two sides and the top and bottom.

Here is my block with those additional rectangles attached. Now it's time to trim the block down to 12 1/2".

There are better trim-up rulers nowadays, but I used what I had on hand, which was an old Omnigrid 12 1/2-inch square ruler. I rigged up a strip of narrow tape diagonally to help me position the ruler just perfectly.

This block came out great and I think it is a fitting addition to the country vibe of the other blocks in the quilt. 

Patt sent me a couple of photos of how her quilt is coming along, which I will share below. Thanks for sending these to me Patt! Your blocks are beautiful.

Summer Basket

Cherry Pie, the other bonus block.