Day 7

Today's block was fun... just sew two strips together, sub-cut to the proper size, and rotate two of those sub-cuts to sew together as a 4 patch.   If you stop to think about patterns, you can make these blocks in almost any size you want.  Your finished block doesn't have to be 3", you can make it 4", or 5" or even larger.  You just have to figure out what size you want to end up with, then figure out what size strips you need to start.   Or an easier way, what size strips do you already have, and what is the size block you can get from those once finished, in your desired pattern.  This particular block might not play well as a 5" block because of the size strips you would need to start with, so it would be easier to make it another size, but if you want to do the cutting for the odd sized strips, there is nothing that says you can't do that.

Once you start thinking about the sizes of blocks and sub units, you can start looking at creating different size blocks using what you have in your stash, at a given size.  I could make this block using 2.5" strips from jelly rolls,  and end up with an block that finishes at 8".   It wouldn't take many 8" blocks to make a lap sized quilt. You could keep one strip constant, such as the dark in this block, and have many colors for the strip that is purple.  That could result in a very fun and colorful quilt.  Some of the previous blocks for this 365 Challenge could also be made using 2.5" strips to get a larger block.  How many different ways can you think of using just the 7 blocks we have made so far to create your own, one of a kind quilt using different size blocks?

If nothing else, I hope this 365 Challenge starts you thinking about different blocks, and how you can use them for other quilt projects.

Until tomorrow... happy crafting!!!