Wooden Toy Blocks Quilt Block

We're wrapping up toys this month for Quilt Block Mania, and we have a collection of free* blocks for you to put under the Christmas tree, or remind you of your own childhood.

One of my favourite toys both to play with when I was a kid, and to give to little kids (my own included), are wooden blocks. They're so versatile, nearly indestructible, perfect for little hands to hold, and they let kids give their creativity free reign. 

I've designed a foundation paper pieced block featuring a few of the classic shapes - cubes, rectangular blocks and a triangle. This block is suitable for advanced beginners, but don't let that put you off if you're just starting out. Practice on a few simpler pattern or two (such as my Festive Forest, Mini Flocks, or September's Twisted Log Cabin) and then dive into toy making.

I used this month's colour scheme of classic primary and secondary colours for my own sample. This is how I remember my own set of blocks looking from when I was a child.

My FPP patterns all include a colouring page so you can try out your own colour combinations before cutting into your fabrics. If these classic block colours aren't your thing, grab your box of crayons or coloured pencils and let the creative side of your brain do the work. Here are a few other ideas you could try out:

My own kids had a set of the classic blocks, but also one in just natural wood tones, so I thought I'd give this colouring a try, too.

How about a set of blue and orange blocks for a bit of zing in a quilt design?

Even tone on tone can work well.

The big trick with this block is to use a different shade of the same colour for the three sides of each block, to make sure they look three-dimensional. Choose your main colour for the front (that is the side facing you), a lighter shade for the top where it is visible, and a darker shade for the right side of the blocks.

The Wooden Toys FPP block pattern is available in my pattern shop.

Don't forget to check out all of this month's quilt blocks!

Puzzle Cube Quilt Block by Carolina Moore
Swirlybirds by Scrapdash
Rocking Horse by Appliques Quilts and More
Old-fashioned toy by Blockofthemo.com
Wooden Toy Blocks by Penny Spool Quilts
Xylophone by QuiltFabrication
Stacked Rings at Patti's Patchwork
Toy Truck at Blue Bear Quilts
Bullseye at Pretty Piney Quilts
Toy Plane by Mom and Me Quilting Co
Nutcracker by Inquiring Quilter
Water Colors at Perkins Dry Goods
How to Theread a Book by Craft Towards Joy
Sling Shot by Faith and Fabric
Candyland at EvaPaige Quilt Designs
Shape Sorter Block at Patchwork Breeze
Colorku at Love to Color My World
Toy Wagon by Cristy Fincher
Baboushka dolls by Duck Creek Mountain Quilting
Baseball by Masterpiece Quilting

*my QBM blocks are free for the duration of the month they were designed for. After that they will be available in the pattern shop.