When conceptual genes were passed out, I didn’t get enough of them–which is why I like to work on a design wall.
I thought this “XO” block, seen on Rachael LaBour’s blog “Stitched in Color” (one of my very favorite blogs), would be two separate blocks: an X block and an O block. Nope, putting two X blocks side by side makes the O block in between–and once your eye “sees” the O block, it travels down the row of O blocks.
I was happy to see when I showed this quilt at a recent quilt meeting that many people had trouble seeing the O block as well–until I pointed it out.
So, this quilt has a little “magic” involved.
This quilt is 60 3/4 inches square–a nice size for a donation quilt. The block is easy to make: cut a 6.5 square, lay a 3.5 inch square on two diagonal corners (after marking a sewing line from corner to corner), and sew with a scant seam. Trim and press. Sew four of your blocks together to make a 12-inch X block.
The backing and binding is Rashida Coleman Hale’s “Metallic Turquoise” (Ruby Star) 752106503175. (I guess I do like one fabric for the backing in a scrappy quilt, most of the time.) The thread is Signature 40 wt cotton “Misty Jade.” And the pantograph I is Hermione Agee’s “Check and Chase.”
As I posted earlier, I couldn’t throw out the larger half-square triangles that landed when I trimmed the small squares. And as I had TWO of each combination, I sewed them together and made this little table topper–which I think is just so, so cute. I love it! But I’m a sucker for flying geese.
This little piece lives on my dining room table at the moment.
The backing is a VERY very old print from my stash that finally found a home.
I quilted it with straight lines on my domestic machine.
Louisa Enright's Blog 