Sunday is for Scraps -- and a New Season

I know it's a cliche' to say "Wow, where did the Summer go?"  But what with the fires and evacuations and subsequent recovery, here in Colorado, we really didn't get to do the outdoorsy stuff we usually do in Summer.

The Old Farmer's Almanac says "Winter will bring higher temperatures and more rain but less snow than normal. Spring and summer will be cooler and wetter than normal" for the High Plains (which includes the Eastern Slope of Colorado.)  I hope that begins with Fall!

The first day of Autumn also brings a new "Block a Day" project from Anna Lena Land.  For the 90 days of Autumn, we'll make one Tessellating Cross block each day.  This is a perfect scrap quilt to use 2 1/2" strips.  I'm making mine from my collection of black and white strips.  I may add a third color -- maybe yellow?  orange?  purple? as the project goes on.

I took some photos of my first block, but if you want more detailed instructions, here is a link to Karen's tutorial.

This is going to be an easy -- and fast -- block a day.  First, sew together a dark and a light strip.  Press to the dark.

Cross-cut the sewn strips into 4 1/2" squares.  You'll get 8 squares (enough for two blocks) from each two strata:

There will be some left over at the end of the strata.  You can either cross-cut those into 2 1/2" by 4 1/2" strips, or save them to make more blocks. 

I only have two blocks made, but already you can see how the light and dark fabrics will interlock, or "tessellate" when the quilt is put together.

The Braid in a Day Quilt-a-Long kicks off Tuesday.  Tomorrow is the last day to enter the giveaway for a copy of Eleanor Burns' pattern "Braid in a Day."

Click on Thursday's post to comment and enter.



From the desk of your