Sticks + Stones

Now aren't those cute?  These "sticks and stones" blocks are my contribution to the Love Circle's June bee quilt.

The Love circle is a group of 10 quilters which is part of a much bigger movement called do. Good Stitches.  All do. Good circles make collaborative quilts for good, benefiting a large variety of charities for women, children and those who are ill.  Last time I mentioned our need for new members, you certainly responded!  Our wait list is now filled up again.  I'll be contacting folks bit by bit as openings come up!

Anyhoo, the blocks.  This month one of our fab new members is leading her first do. Good quilt.  She called for a variation of the pick up sticks block, with a small square added in to the mix.  The squares were to be aqua, the background low volume and the "sticks" nice and bright.  These blocks are refreshingly low-pressure.  Here's a quick overview of how I put them together:



First sew an aqua "stone" into background fabric.  These stones were rescued from my fabric crumb bins.  Yay!



Choose two fabric strips or "sticks" to insert into the block.  Then, just cut a diagonal slash somewhere.  Yep, willy nilly - cut!  Sew in your fabric strip and press seams.  Then do it again, this time making your diagonal cut over the top of the first one.  When you sew in the second fabric strip, try to keep the first "stick" aligned as much as possible.



After using this slice and insert technique to insert both fabric strips, trim the block to size.  It's really nice to have a square ruler in the size you want and trim right around it.



Thanks, Kirianth, for a fun, scrap-friendly little project.  This block is a bit of visual tease.  It definitely looks harder than it is!  I'm sure it's going to make a fun, kid-friendly quilt!