Moving on with the Six Inch Block of the Week we’re now in the third week and I am impressed with my current momentum. This week I am sharing with you a block with a name given by me The Open Window Block.

Up until now I’ve used more traditional blocks that can be traced back hundreds of years in the Churn Dash and the Jacobs Ladder. This block however is a modern block with a lovely “Window” feature that led me to naming it The Open Window.

The source of the block comes from Tula Pinks City Sampler 100 block book. One which I bought back in 2018 to help me complete the 100 Days 100 Blocks challenge. I’ve not really revisited the book until now because I still have my quilt top to baste and quilt! Some of the blocks however really interested me.

All of the blocks in Tula Pinks book have no name. The idea being that you write in the book as bit of a journalling experience as you create all the blocks. I didn’t do this with my quilt so this block lay unamed until today. The Open Window Block it became. In the book it is block 77 and I’ve slightly adapted it to fit my fabric.

The Open Window Block

First up it’s my Alison Glass fabric and fabric from my stash. The one thing that I am starting to realise is that working from my stash, sticking with the same set fabrics doesn’t work.

To work from my stash I think each block will need to be curated with a better eye. For example, in this block the centre window is ornately beautiful but the border and bunnies just look wrong. The Yellow however would work with the centre if the other elements were right!

This was always going to be a learning curve though and if I was making a Tula Pink City Sampler again, this block would just go in to it anwyay!!

In contrast the Alison Glass block sings to me. Even though I have used a few different Alison Glass Lines in the block all the colours work with each other. Bold and beautiful, framed in black. So far in this journey Alison Glass has been my favourite!

My Second Set of blocks are Avery from Ruby Star Collective and from my Liberty Fabric collection. Again, this week they are both very different from above and they are subtly beautiful.

Focusing on blues in my Liberty block, the pale frame and the bold picture are extra special. I also adore the little strip of pink running through it.

The Avery block makes me feel like I am in a voluptuous summer greenhouse, looking out over an orchard at the birds nestled in bushes! The Green and orange surround the window so nicely and I think this is one of my favourite blocks so far!

As I go through this six inch block of the week project I am enjoying seeing how the different fabrics reveal themselves. I’ve certainly liked this more modern block for accentuating the different fabrics.

I hope you’re enjoying my process and following along. It certainly is a learning curve for me and I can’t wait to see what next week brings. I think I’m going back to Old School.