Stash Bee: Hive #1: Wonky Cross or X Block for Beky

Hi All,

First of all, I would like to thank all of you for of the wonderful opportunities I've had in this bee to try new skills and new blocks that would have otherwise never crossed my path. I'm having a blast!

A little about myself. My name is Beky Branagan and I live with my grown niece and my dog in the middle of the state of North Carolina with the Great Smokey Mountains to the west of me and the Atlantic ocean to the east. In addition to quilting, I am an avid outdoor enthusiast. I love hiking and camping, and all things playing outside. This year I am the treasurer of our local Modern Quilt Guild (shameless promotion) and I love to see the fabulous and imaginative quilts that our members make.

I started quilting in the early 2000s when my grandmother gave me her Featherweight 221 Singer sewing machine. I took it to the shop to get the 200+ yards of thread unwound from underneath the needle plate and the mechanic read me the riot act for sitting on the case. (Gasp! Clutch Pearls!) During this lecture, he told me all about how quilters loved the 221, etcetera, etcetera, ad nauseam, and so I though I had better try this quilting thing since I had such a favored machine. I've been hooked ever since and the machine still runs smoothly at 65 yeas of age! (She now has an electronic younger sister that I use most of the time, but she is still used for "special" projects.)

A friend of mine has just moved into her first home and I though I would make her a quilt. Her favorite color is pink, and I have to admit, that I don't have very much pink in my stash at all! This block is a very simple block and should be a zip to make.

Wonky Cross or X Block

Please use a bright pink, fuchsia or magenta print fabric for the background and either Kona white or the brightest white you have in your stash for the cross or X.

I would like the blocks to be sized so that they are multiples of 3" with a 1/4 inch seam allowance with 6.5" as the smallest size. You can make 6.5", 9.5", 12.5" inch squares or even rectangles that are 6.5" X 9.5" or any other variable. I'm looking for variations in size in order to add visual interest since this is a relatively plain block. If you make a 6.5", please make 2.

Start with a piece of pink fabric that is 1" or more larger than the size you intend your finished block to be. Somehow, fabric always seems to disappear and you want to have a little extra so that you can square it up at the end. Cut two strips of white fabric that are at least 2 - 3 inches longer than the length/width of your block. You can vary the width of the strips as you wish. I cut these 1.5" wide.

Cut across your pink fabric on the diagonal and sew a white strip to one edge.

Press the seam to the white.

Line up the other half of the pink fabric so that the top corner (or bottom depending on the cut) overlaps the straight edge of the block by about .25 inch. This should make the top edge mostly straight once you've sewn it together and pressed it.

Sew and press to the white.

Cut the block again. I've chosen to cut from the same edge again (top to bottom) so this block will end up more of an X than a cross. If you cut across from left to right, it will be more of a cross than an X.