Okay, Anne and Nava have asked how did I do the centre block. It is made up of four blocks with careful placement of the stripped pieces. Each block is made up of a centre square and four pieces made of strips sewn together. I made two of each stripped piece - actually I made one twice the length and cut it in half - and then laid everything out before sewing each of the four blocks together. I've taken these pictures from the design in EQ6 so that's why the fabrics don't match what I eventually used. They are just approximations of the colour I had in mind.
I'm sure you know how to put that block together but in case anyone wants to know here is a little tutorial: start with the centre square and one stripped piece. Sew a partial seam stopping half an inch from the edge of the centre square. Go around the block adding stripped pieces as you would a log cabin and end by finishing the first seam you started.
Anne has since emailed and told me that she is a beginner quilter and asked if I would tell her the sizes of the pieces I had used to make the block. Here is my reply to her:
The blocks are 8" finished. [As you are new to quilting I'll make this comment (someone told me once and its something that really helped me designing my own stuff): ALWAYS work in finished sizes. Work out finished block sizes, finished piece sizes, THEN add your half inch for seams (1/4 inch for each edge).]
ok, so the blocks are 8" finished. The centre squares are 1.5 x 1.5" finished so the stripped blocks are 3.25 inch x 4.75 FINISHED = 3.75 x 5.25 before sewing together. I just sewed strips together in random widths to make a piece at least 11" x 4" then cut that back to 10.5 x 3.75 than cut that in half lengthwise. Make sure the first strip you sew in each one is the dark background strip.
If you want to make it easy on yourself, use 2 x 2" (2.5" before sewing) centre blocks and then the stripped blocks are 3 x 5 finished, 3.5 x 5.5 before sewing.
