Stash Busters Quilt Along Week 6

I assume everyone survived the paper pieced block.  I heard a little, (actually a lot) of stories of how long it took to piece.  To make it up to you, this weeks block is REALLY simple.

Oops, forgot to crop.  Oh well!  The cartwheel block first came to my attention one day when I was cruising the Moda Bake shop and saw this quilt.  I loved the overall effect of several blocks piece scrappy.  The original pattern used a jelly roll, so the strips were 2 1/2".  I downsized the pattern so that we would end up with a 12 1/2" unfinished block.

Pick four feature fabric strips that are 2" wide by at least 15".  Piece each strip to a background piece that is the same size.  Press the seams towards the background for two strips and towards the feature fabric for the other two strips.  If you think ahead, the colours that are diagonal to each other have to be pressed the same.  This will give you seams that are going opposite ways when you are piecing the block.

Cut each strip set into four pieces that are 3 1/2" long.  At this point they should be 3 1/2" squares.  Lay your pieces out as shown above and piece together.

You will probably take longer to pick your fabrics than to piece your block.  Have fun!