I can’t believe this is the last scrappy critter block of the Broom Cupboard quilt. I’m pretty happy with how these turned out! After the scrappy mice mishap, I trusted my original, scrappy vision for the bats. And! I broke my rule about unique colors in each block. I’ve already used these oranges in a star block. In my other bat block, I used fuchsias that I’ve previously used in an owl block. I only made two bat blocks (more on that later) so I didn’t bother with a third color way. The bonus scrappy cutting guide still has information for all three blocks.
Once I decided on my fabrics, I could move on to cutting. Like all the other blocks with eye units, I changed the size of the units.
There are no changes to the stitch and flip units. Make the below quantity of each stitch and flip unit for each unique block:
3: B4/A4/B4
1: Left A5/B5
1: Right A5/B5
2: A5/B5/A5
1: Left B4/A3
1: Right B4/A3
Doing the math on the number of stitch and flip units to make is probably the hardest part of the scrappy approach. But I just did the math for you, so you’re all set. The second hardest part is sewing together the units in the correct orientation. Always check the pattern before and after you sew two units together. It may feel like you’re moving slowly, but it’s better than seam ripping your blocks after the whole thing is sewn up. Ask me how I know!
I mentioned above that I only made two bat blocks. I haven’t gone out of my way to point this out, but since all the owl, bat and will o’ the wisp blocks finish at 12" x 12", you can swap them out for any other block that finishes at the same size. The same for the stars or mice blocks - any block that finishes at 12" x 10" can be swapped in.
To that end, I designed this Block Widow spider to take the place of one of the bats! I may or may not be working my mouse tail off to get the Block Widow pattern ready for release soon. It will include four sizes:
a 12" x 12" block
a 24" x 24" pillow
a 36" x 36" baby
a 60" x 60" throw
EDIT: Since I wrote this, I’ve updated the pattern to be so.much.better. The only downside is the proportions of the design have changed and the block and pillow sizes don’t work any more. More details to come on the final version!
I need to figure out how to make scrappy versions of the broom handles and the negative space. I don’t know if I want to make the broom handles out of 2½" x 2½" squares or 12½" x 2½" lengths. Once I figure out what I want to do, I’ll be sure to write up one last blog post and share my final decision with you!