Modern Irish {Scrappy} Bee Blocks: April

Happy April Fools' Day!

I contemplated all sorts of sewing-related mischief for my first day of being Queen Bee for April, but I'd be easily identified as the quilty party (groan lol) ;)

At this stage, we've had three really different blocks to create, I'm really looking forward to seeing the resulting quilts, they're going to look FAB! I have spent ages thinking about what I wanted from my month, and I've changed my mind a number of times. Then it hit me, something that reflects me and my reason for quilting: crazy, happy, fun, sharing, variety.... What suits that better than a collaborative quilt made up of improv blocks! My inspiration comes from these blocks:

As you can see I love bright, bold colours, and neutrals/low volumes that make them pop. Aneela Hoey has a great tutorial to give you an idea of how to approach it. It's simple, you start with a fussy cut piece with 5 sides, and clockwise stitch on pieces of fabric longer than the sides. Every so often, whip a chunk off a corner to take away the 'straight lines' of the blocks. The tutorial can be found on Aneela's blog, Comfort Stitching, the only difference is I don't want the blocks colour-coordinated.
For my blocks:

Two 12.5" square blocks - for these, just keep going until you reach a size you can trim to 12.5" square :)

No batiks or heavy, dark florals

Please use cotton or cotton-linen blends.  No poly cottons.

Fussy cut centre piece and positioned off-centre

If you really felt inclined, the centre piece could be Kona Ash, with an embroidered motif or applique, but it's not a requirement.

I hope you enjoy these blocks, I know I loved making mine, and can't wait to get them all together into one quilt that will make me smile whenever I see it/snuggle up in it! One thing's for sure, this is a truly scrap-busting block!

Anna