Graphite Courthouse Steps

Graphite Courthouse Steps is a queen quilt of Courthouse Steps blocks, finished at 93 by 107 inches. Forty-two twelve-inch blocks sit six across and seven down, each separated by a two-inch pewter sash so the unit stays legible as its own stepped plus rather than melting into a field. Warm Ivory and Near Black logs build out from a Graphite square: ivory on two opposite sides, near-black on the other two, the logs widening as they leave the centre. Blocks alternate orientation through the grid, so a dark horizontal bar in one cell meets a dark vertical bar in the next, and the surface becomes a lattice of light and dark steps. Cut the logs as strips and sew them in pairs around the centre, pressing each pair of seams away from the hearth so the next round lies flat. A two-inch Pale Stone inner border and a three-and-a-half-inch Near Black outer border finish the edge. It suits a quilter making a tailored queen who wants that lattice without any triangles. The download includes yardage for the five solids, a strip-cutting chart, the assembly order and the layout.