Photo tutorial of making the Turnstile block

The April 21 bock for the 365 Block of the Day Challenge was the Turnstile block.  As always, the instructions were there for making this block.  And as what almost always happens, the fabric I decide to use for this 3 1/2" square is not the right size.  So I improvise.

Several friends asked for some photos to explain how I made this block.  Here it is.

First 8 HSTs (half square triangles) are made.  Mine were approximately 3 1/2" square.  Don't worry if they are not perfect.  They are going to be cut down:

Cut the HSTs on the diagonal:

Make sure the lines on the ruler are on the seam.  If the HST is larger than you need, you have no need to worry about cutting exactly through the corners.  You will be fixing that when you square up the 2" blocks soon.

Next sew to a strip of fabric.  No waste as you can sew these triangles on both sides of the strip.  The photo shows the sewing on one side only, but you can see the large green space where a triangle could be sewn on the opposite side (which I did):

After cutting to separate the blocks, press open.  Then trim to 2" square.  Diagonal mark on the ruler is at the 1" mark on the seam - clear as mud?  Sorry, forgot to take a photo of the ruler on top of the block.  But you can see the seam where the two purples meet the green.  Lay the diagonal line of your ruler along that seam, with the 1" mark where the purples meet each other. 

Before trimming:

 After trimming there is one inch of purple on each side - darn 1 it would have been so much easier to just show a photo instead of explaining:

Paying close attention to the layout you will be sure to get at least one of these blocks.

And if there was no "oops" when squaring up to 2" squares, you will have four finished 3 1/2" blocks like these:

I've been asked why make four blocks.  Well I am making two quilts and there are a few of the Blocks of the day I do not like.  So when I find a block I like I make extra to take the place of the ones that will be set aside for another project.