April Block lotto: X marks the spot
More improv! And tricky looking sizes that are not-so-tricky. Take a look and make a few blocks.
Our colour inspiration was this scrap:
The block inspiration was this quilt:
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| Cheryl Arkison’s wedding quilt. |
The colour palette is this:
Materials and quantities:
You need squares or rectangles of the coloured fabrics (oranges, bright pinks, reds). Info about sizes follows. You also need strips of white prints. Yes, prints, not solids. PRINTS for everything. No solids!
Block sizes are variable. Finished, they should be 12×12, 6×12, 6×6, 12×18, or even 6×18. Multiples of 6 is what you’re going for with this one. (The unfinished sizes are therefore 12.5×12.5, 6.5×12.5, 12.5×18.5, etc.)
Your coloured print fabrics should be 1-2 inches larger than your intended finished size.
Your white print strip should be between 1.25″ and 2″ wide. WOF is a good length as you’ll definitely have enough for even the largest blocks but length is up to you.
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| My first block was 6×12, so I started with 7.5×14. |
Make a diagonal cut. Do NOT cut from corner to corner. We want the X to be either on the top of the block or the sides of the block, NOT the corners of the block.
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Add your white strip and sew it to one side. Your coloured fabric has a bias edge, so don’t pull or stretch it.
Press to the white.
Attach the other side to the white strip.
Make a cut going the other way. Note that you are making a definite X shape, not a plus or a cross.
Not pictured: inserting the other white strip.
Finished and untrimmed X block.
Some variations and notes for you:
I started with 7.5×8 for this block.
Careful about lining up the arms of your X. This is improv, so variation is fine, but not as much as you see above.
This is much better.
About trimming: aim roughly for the halfway mark to be centred in your X. This is a 6×6 block, which is 6.5×6.5 unfinished. I lined up the 3.25 at both the vertical and horizontal parts of the X.
This is how the variable sizes will all fit together.
It’s the block lotto, so as always make one, make two, make lots!
One block nets you one ticket.
press towards the white!! what kind of craziness is this? 😉