Tennessee Intersections: new block design for charity quilts

Last year, there was preliminary discussion in my guild, the Choo Choo Quilters, about supporting our community service organization with a number of bed size quilts. Through my efforts organizing the fabric stash, I pulled a handful of bright, fun prints for experimentation on a block design that could be used for the charity quilts. 

Using scraps and strips to design a new block.

Block Design Parameters
The attributes I kept in mind while creating the block:

• easy to piece (a beginner skill level) 
• quick assembly 
• minimum number of pieces
• ideal for fabric scraps (various colors, various prints)
• no fussy points or seams to match
• a "gender friendly" design

Designing the block

The design process began with miscellaneous 2.5" pre-cut strips in various lengths. These were from the scrap stash. The "plus sign" or "cross" seemed to fit the requirements. The first version looked like this...

Version 1: Pluses or crosses.

Changing the placement of one strip resulted in Version 2. I'm calling the block "Tennessee Intersections" since there are so many roads in this area the have crazy jogs in them.

Version 2 of the block design.

Auditioning layouts
After making several blocks, it was time to see what they looked like in a setting. This layout uses a block rotation.

Block rotation layout.

Consistent block orientation with a half drop between columns.

Half drop layout option. Blocks set solid.

I settled on this layout—easy and forgiving with no seams to match. Borders were added to get an appropriate bed size.

3/4 drop layout with an alternate block.

I'll be taking the quilt top for Show and Tell at the guild meeting this week.