Which TWO of These Blocks Are Not Like The Others?

I have some new-found b-friends (that's what my WH calls my blog friends) that are into scrap quilts as much as I am, or so it appears! I have spent much of my sewing time recently thinking about why I make the quilts I do. Why not just pick out 3 or 4 fabrics and sew a quilt from them?? Several well-used cliches come to mind..."There's no accounting for taste." "To each his own." "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." We all have our favorite colors, designs, styles. That doesn't mean if I like my quilt better than yours that you're not a good person or I don't like YOU!! I digress.

I'm not sure I would enjoy making a completely planned quilt at all. After one block, the excitement would be gone. I wouldn't be seeing "old friends" (aka former favorite fabrics that I only have one 2" square left from)...

Last night after church I was putting together a few of the units from my Plan B quilt. I was musing over the generosity of the ladies who are selflessly sending me Thimbleberries scraps for my apple core quilt. I have only had contact 2 of the 7 before this. And I think Lisa is moving to the mainland so she can buy Thimbleberries just so she can say she participated in my quilt (LOL--I'll know when Lisa reads this!). Well, there I was, mindlessly connecting block units into the "big block".

I looked in a little drawer where I keep leftover small block units that I have marinating for a better day, and what did I see? SEVEN centers for the very block I was making...well, sort of. Look at the picture below and see how long it takes you to see "which TWO of these blocks are not like the others"...

Well, you either spotted them right off, or scrolled down out of desperation. You know I wouldn't leave you hanging! The top left and bottom right blocks are my "found" blocks that sort of looked like the blocks I was piecing. I was trying to sort through my quilt memory and remember when I made them. I think it was when I had seen the "Plan B" quilt originally, but didn't have the book yet, so was guessing at the block construction.

I was struck with inspiration for a NEW name for this quilt. It will be "Plan B...and C". The alternate 7 blocks will not stand out in the finished quilt. That's the glory of the scrap quilt. If you're close enough, anything goes!

Here is the way the block is SUPPOSED to be made...notice the corner units are two 2" squares (a color and a light) with a 2" x 3-1/2" rectangle of light beside them?

When I pieced the one below, I didn't know about the easier corner, so I pieced the center. Well, I just added a cream sashing around and put a 2" colored corner on so from a little distance (please scroll up to first picture if you forget) it appears the same as the REAL block.

I love it when a plan comes together, even if it is Plan C. Or Plan B and C!!

I had laid out a few blocks from the units I have been stockpiling. I just wanted to see how they would look. So I pieced and ironed 20 of them! That is very exciting because I only need 40 of the light background blocks. At this point in time, everyone else in my family was asleep. Translate that: no interruptions. So I thought, "Hey, the night is young, even if I'm not." I sewed up as many blocks as I had units for, and ended up with 35 blocks!! Whoo hoo--only 5 more of these to make, then I can concentrate on the light stars with the dark backgrounds. Zooming along.

More on the creative scrap process later...

~Joan