Ode to the 1930’s-blocks #14 & #15

Block #14 is another 9×9″ block called Kansas Star that is all pieced. We deviated radically from the pattern to bring in more black and orange. I love the contrasts in this block and the way the on point white square in the middle really stands out. We had some angst about the direction of the black stripes in the squares. ShaRee & Terry opted to make them all face the same direction, but I am characteristically rebellious and opted to have them all face the center. Does it matter? No, but fun to notice our minor differences.

For future planning, we laid out all our finished blocks on the floor to get a sense of  which colors we need more of and where in the quilt we need them. My partners felt a little stressed about this block and were worried that it might not fit as well with other blocks because it is so bold. There was talk about re-doing it, but my vote was to make a couple others bold to offset this one because I really like the contrasting orange star and white block, plus all the black. Keep reading to see how that turns out.

Block by ShaReeBlock by Sue

Block by Terry

Block #15 is also 9×9″, pieced, and called New Four Patch. When we looked at the pattern we felt the plain squares were all you saw and not the hourglasses. We wanted to showcase the four hourglass blocks and tried to play down the squares. Do you think we succeeded? This block had quick-sew directions for making the four-patch units, which is a wild deviation from the normal directions, so the block went together quickly. And both blocks have our signature polka dots in some form. #consistent

Block by ShaRee

Block by Sue

Block by Terry