One of the things that I find difficult about putting together a quilt is "creating" a random look - somehow I always over-think placement of color and design and it takes me forever to make decisions. So you all can help me with this by doing some of that spontaneous creativity for me! This month's request is an exercise in a sort of "enforced randomization" - the block is a simple strip pieced 12.5" square, but there are a couple of rules and options to satisfy those rules.
Like Kim in February, I'm going with blues and white this time - and just a spot - or two or three - of red...
- FABRICS: Prints are OK, but please no holiday or novelty fabrics, and nothing with glitter, metallic or sparkles. Batiks OK, solids OK, tone on tone, floral, large or small print, text prints all are fine, as long as the primary color of the fabric is blue or white. Or the red accent piece (more about that below).
- For colors, have a look at the photos below. Only three colors -
- BLUE - think indigo, faded blue jeans, the blue and white china pattern that you see in antique shops
- WHITE - leaning toward bright white, but not cream or off white. White on white prints OK
- RED - think bright lipstick red, but not orange. Err to the side of cranberry or darker reds rather than pink or orange red.
- I got the idea for this block from these quilts that I found on Pinterest, but the block I'm requesting is a variation on these blocks:
- STEP BY STEP: The is a pretty straightforward strip block, with the variation of adding a square of red to one (or more) of the strips. It will end up looking something like this:
It would probably be best to read through all the directions below before deciding how you want to proceed with the block. - Choose 6 fabrics (you can repeat one or two fabrics if necessary) in different shades of blue, white, or blue and white. Cut 6 strips 2.5" wide and 13" long.
- If you have nothing that you can use to cut one strip piece 13" long by 2.5" wide, you can sew together similar fabrics to get your strips, but please aim for a uniform color look within each discrete strip.
- Plan your block so that contrasting fabrics are alternating (one lighter, one darker, etc.)
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| Auditioning fabric/deciding strip order |
- This is where you have a chance to be really random. You can do this step once, twice, or three times for your block. Choose one, two or three RED fabrics, and cut 2.5" X 2.5" squares (no more than 3)
- Choose one of your blue and/or white 13" strips, and randomly cut it into two new rectangles that are 2.5" wide. In the photo below, I've chosen 2 different strips to cut.
- Now choose one of your red 2.5" squares and sew it to one end of the strip you just cut.
Red square sewn to the shorter end of a blue strip - Sew the other piece of the cut strip onto the other side of the red square - you should now have one 15" X 2.5" strip.
Preparing to add the remaining blue cut strip 
Ready to sew longer blue strip onto left edge of red square - Press the seams toward the darker fabric and trim to 13" length.
Trim to 12.5" - Repeat the step of adding a red 2.5" square up to 3 times for your block. It could be on 3 separate strips, or 2 red blocks on one blue or white strip...all three red blocks could even be on one strip. Or they could be on 2 or 3 separate strips. Where you add the red square and how many (up to 3) red squares you add are choices that are up to you.
- Sew your 13" X 2.5" strips together lengthwise, using a quarter inch seam, and press toward the darker color in each instance.
One pair of strips ready to sew together 
Strips sewn into pairs. Two more seams to go! - Once you have all 6 strips sewn together, press the seams toward the darker color and you are done! I'll do a final trim once I have all the blocks.
Here are a few completed blocks:
Please let me know if you have questions about this block, since it's my first time explaining the process without a prior tutorial to rely on.
Susan
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