My blocks are proving fun to piece, and I'm deliberately trying to make them all look different, even though they are all the same block. The technique I'm using is one I teach in my Colour Sampler workshop.

I choose a block that can be coloured in a variety of ways, and select a FQ for each block I want to make. Then I cut all the peices for that block from each FQ. The whole quilt is cut out at once, which makes it ideal to do as a kit. Then I can sit down at my leisure and play with all the pieces like a giant jigsaw puzzle, deciding what will go where. I've made 6 or 7 of these, and it's still one of my favourite ways to build a quilt.

It is such an effort to make this sort of quilt without a system, there are so many decisions about what to put where and then you have to cut the fabric after you've decided where to use it. With this method all the fabric choices are made at the start, there are no decisions to make about what to cut, and the blocks are built once all the hard preparation work is done.

Another thing I like is that I end up making blocks that are far removed from my usual safe choices, purely because I've used up all the safe variations and I have to do something else with the remaning bits. Each fabric will only show up in the same place in a block once, which adds lots of variety. Currently my favourite block is the bright pink one in the lower row; I'm not brave enough on my own to place those fabric like that. However, once I got to playing around with the pieces I decided I liked it a lot!

We always have great fun when I teach this; everyone is surprised by the possibilities and the different blocks they can make. The hardest thing is choosing the fabrics at the start.

My problem now is that I want to finish them all straight away, and that wasn't the idea at all. What about my kits! Next time.....