Design Wall / Table

It's been awhile since I had something new on my design wall/table. Each Monday - Judy from Patchwork Times hosts a Design Wall Monday - check out all the other design walls - inspirational. This weekend I worked on a Bento Block swap that I'm doing with my cyber friends. We are doing it in 2 different colorways - one is pink and brown, the other blue and brown. I finished 7 of the pink and brown before I ran out of the pink I was using, so while searching for another pink - it hit me that there was an easier way to do these blocks then by cutting them out one by one. One couldn't I make a cottage block - and cut it in 4's? Took a little math to figure out what size the first cuts should be - but I figured it out - and ended up with 8 inch mini-blocks which can be put together for 15.5 inch blocks, which will finish at 15" - just what I wanted! Anyway - here is the first blocks




And here is how I cut my second set of blocks which was much easier -

From the pink and brown
cut - 1 - 6" x 6"
4 - 3" x 11"
2 - 3" x 6'
2 - 3" x 16"

Take the 6" block and surrounded it by first the 3" X 6" on each side of the opposite color, and then the 3" x 11" of the same color - so they'll end up like this -



then put the next row on of the opposite colors -

Be careful when you put on the last 3 x 11 that it isn't right on top of the other 3 x 11 of the other color - you want to cover the 2 seams you had for a stronger block.

Then - simply cut them in 4's. Mine ended up at 8" square - but I sew with a less than 1/4" seam - so adjust as needed. AFter you cut in 4's you can rearrange just like a bento box pattern


Pretty neat - eh? And way much quicker then cutting out the bento blocks piece by piece. Tomorrow I'm going to work on the blue / brown colorway - but I think I may use a much darker brown ....

Gotta go check the stash.

found some stash I can use - finished the first 2 blocks - I think I'm going to like the blue/brown better then the pink/brown ... but maybe when all the different pinks are put together - it'll make an awesome quilt. Still debating on mixing the 2 colors in the same quilt.



Edited on Monday morning - had lots of fun with this block over the weekend - making it the way I posted was so much quicker - I ended up finishing all the blocks needed for the swap - A MONTH EARLY - imagine that !

I do like the combo blue/brown better then the pinks - but maybe once I receive back all the different pinks in the mix - it'll look better. Now back to a normal day of homeschooling ....sigh.