100 Blocks Blog Tour

Today is my day on the Quiltmaker 100 Blocks volume 12 Blog Tour, and I am so excited to welcome you all to my blog!  

A little background, then on to the block!  Late last year, I submitted an application to be a member of the Quiltmaker Scrap Squad. I wasn't accepted (sad face), but I was offered a position on a new venture called the Scrap Addicts! (happy dance!)   Since then, I have designed and completed three quilts based on blocks in Bonnie Hunter's Addicted to Scraps column in Quiltmaker Magazine. I made quilts from the Criss Cross block, the Rainbow Love block and the Pinwheel Fancy block. Each quilt has been featured in a blog post on Quilty Pleasures, and one was used as an example in Bonnie's online course "Scrap Quilts with Bonnie Hunter".  I've discovered that I really like designing scrap quilts, and I will be doing a lot more of that in the future! Check back here regularly, as I will be posting scrap quilt ideas and maybe even some patterns!

During a break in my Scrap Addicts projects, I was playing around with what I call double triangle blocks.  I've been on a "Brights" fabric kick lately, so I was using brights and blacks, switching color placement and twisting and turning the units.  

One of the arrangements made a really cool graphic design.  I didn't recall seeing it anywhere before, so I thought it might be worth submitting for consideration for the 100 Blocks series.  To my utter amazement, it was accepted!  This is the first time I have had a block in the magazine, and I am really humbled to be featured alongside some of the best designers in the quilting world!

Overlapped, Block #1180

Speaking of best designers... When I received my advance copy of the magazine, I quickly scanned through it to find my block.  There it was on page 48, right next to Bonnie Hunter's block! What more could a Scrap Addict ask for? ;->

Here are a couple of setting ideas for my block.  The first one is three blocks by four blocks and uses three inch sashings and cornerstones.  I like the little Shoofly block that form at the intersections in this setting. 

Another idea is to set the blocks side by side, without any sashing.  Doing that make the secondary pattern look like Square-in-a-Square blocks, but without any of the complicated math involved with those blocks.  

If you are like me, and are always looking at the secondary patterns, you will see that this layout also has overlapping stars that form when the blocks meet. That isn't where the name of the block came from, but isn't it a nice coincidence?

If you want the stars to be completed on the edges, add a row of partial blocks all the way around.  A 2 by 2 layout, with the addition of the partial blocks would look like this:

So many ideas, so little time! 

Be sure to check out my Bitty Block, which is also posted today on Quilty Pleasures.  Being asked to design a Bitty Block was a pleasant surprise, and I had a great time coming up with ideas before deciding on a Snail's Trail variation. 

The nice people at Quilty Pleasures are giving away copies of the magazine and other goodies on their blog, so be sure to visit and leave a comment there. Also, make sure to visit the rest of the designers on the blog tour today and tomorrow for other chances to win. To win a copy from me, leave me a comment below, and I will use Mr. Random Number Generator to pick a lucky comment-er at the end of the day today (around 9 p.m. EST.)  Make sure that your email address is visible, so that I can contact you for your physical address.  Otherwise, Quiltmaker won't be able to mail you your copy! If you are concerned about spammers, use words instead of symbols when typing in your email address (e.g. yourname at domain dot com)

If you don't want to trust Mr. Random Number Generator to get a copy for you, you can always click the 100 Blocks Volume 12 link on the top right hand side of this page and buy an issue directly from the Quilt and Sew store.  Or, if you want it immediately, you can click the 100 Blocks Digital Download link and download it. 

Good luck to all of you, and thanks for visiting!