This week’s photo challenge from Nancy Merrill Photography is the word “colorful.”  She says, “I’m looking for the most colorful thing you can find to photograph.”

The most colorful thing in my house is a quilt currently under construction.

Every block is made with scraps from other quilts.  There are 35 blocks, each one will finish at 12″ square; the sashing between blocks is 2″ wide.

The idea for the quilt goes back to when I was playing with the number of squares needed to make a square block.  A 6″ block (finished size) easily made with

• thirty-six 1″ squares (6×6) or
• sixteen 1.5″ squares (4×4) or
• nine 2″ squares (3×3) or
• four 3″ blocks (2×2).

The squares in on the outside edges of the blocks pictured above began square and will be square once the blocks are completely sewn into a quilt top.  Quilters know you need an extra 1/4 inch on each side for the seam allowance – so an unfinished 6″ block measures 6.5″ square.

Here’s my first 144-patch 12.5″ unfinished block; it may be my last.