Welcome to Casa P!  A few weeks ago I promised Rachael a house block. She’s making a friendship quilt with house blocks from her friends. It’s a great idea and I was looking forward to participating in her project. I just had no clue what I would do or when I would find time to work on it. With a little unexpected free time this weekend, I managed, not only to make the block, but to make a pattern for you as well.

As you can see, I got a little carried away.  This is my first house block. And by first, I mean I have never made a house block of any kind before. They don’t do a lot to excite me. But this was special. This was for Rachael. I wanted to have fun doing it and I wanted her to have fun working it into her quilt.  After hauling out my Amy Butler and Parson Gray (David Butler) scraps, the magic started.

I began with the foreground. Amy’s Gypsy from the Lark collection has all the movement built in.  So does her River Shine print.  They make the perfect front garden and walkway for my little house. I knew that David’s fabrics with their subtler design lines would give it great bones.  They also play well with Amy’s colorful prints without competing for attention. A few more pieces of Soul Blossoms rounded out the shrubbery next to the house as well as adding movement to the sky. Fussy cut pieces went on the front stoop in applique form once the block was put together.

Now, this block was done on the fly, without pattern pieces or paper piecing.  I’m a bit crazy like that. I know most of you are not. You are perfectly sane people who like a bit of order in your life and prefer to know how things are going to turn out. The only way for me to entice you to try this block was to make a pattern.  It requires knowledge of paper piecing but it’s not too complicated.Here it is paper pieced in Jane Sassaman’s fabric. Totally different look with this one, like Midnight in the Garden. But you’ll notice how I used the fabric designs themselves to create movement and a story, just like I did with the other block.  Waving vines, starry skies, bugs…everything placed carefully and with a purpose. 

I’ve called this block “Casa P” and you can access the pdf pattern by clicking here. In the next few days, I’ll be adding it to the Freebies section so you’ll be able to find it easily in the future.  If you do make a block, I’d love to see it. Feel free to send pictures.

On a housekeeping note, I’ve also worked furiously on the email subscription problem this weekend. I believe I have solved it. We’ll know with this post. Email subscriptions will be done through MailChimp and not Feedburner.  Just in case you were wondering. Feedburner apparently dumped some of you so if you haven’t been getting emails, sign up in the box on the right just above my profile.  And know that I do not share your email with anyone.  I value your privacy as well as your time and attention here on the blog.  As always, if you have any problem with your feed reader or your email blog updates, let me know. 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and have a great week!