I've got a Stack N Whack on my couch right now - it's my fall throw.  I really liked the process, although trying to explain what I did to make them and why it is so cool was kind of useless.  I made two or three more for gifts and I would point out the border, "see, this is what I started with, then I found the repeat, then I cut . . . ".  Their eyes glazed over - only another quilter would understand!!

Mary in Michigan

That's a very good idea .... to find the theme fabric and make a border out of it.

Once I have the kit in hand I will try to search for more of the theme fabric and see if I can find it to use for a border.

The first time I did a Stack-n-Whack, the fabric looked like Swiss Cheese.  I was making it on my own, not in a class.  I didn't understand that it **didn't matter* where you cut your shapes.  Just establish a straight line and cut all the shapes from that straight edge.  Since you are cutting through all the carefully aligned layers at once (4 or 5 or 6 or whatever), you **do not** have to fussy cut them!  They will all *automatically* be "fussy cut".

I didn't realize that, so I was fussy cutting.  A total waste of fabric and I was annoyed.

But by the 2nd Stack-n-Whack, I had been educated and the fabric usage was much better.  :-)

judyinohio said:

to find the theme fabric and make a border out of it.

If I remember correctly, that was one of the main points of the original Stack-n-Whack quilts ... part of the pattern was to use long strips of the feature fabric for the border.  That way the border would automatically coordinate with the Stack-n-Whack blocks in the interior.

That's what I was thinking - the One-Block Wonder.  I have seen some really wonderful quilts.  I would love to make something like that, but I think I would rather start out with a 4-Patch Posey instead.  Same concept, just with 4 squares instead of 6 triangles.  What intrigues me is how different you can make the blocks look by turning the squares in different ways.  I am really looking forward to making the 4-Patch Posey quilt with the fabric I have.  

Dang, I can think of lots of things to do with odd shaped scraps.  That's one thing that makes them scraps.  LOL  But I do realize you are not a very big scrap person.  

Interesting.  I look forward to seeing how yours goes together.  My first thought was it is like a one block wonder.  I haven't done one of those

The more I look at the photo of that pattern, it looks more like a "4-Patch Posey" rather than the usual 6-piece (most common) or 8-piece "one-block wonder."  I like the 4-patch posey because it is simpler to cut (just squares), easier to piece (ditto), and looks just as complex as the ones with more pieces.  And the great thing about the 4-patches is that there are FOUR different ways you can rotate each block, so lots of variety in the design and layout.

(There is also a way you can do it where you cut your squares into four triangles (instead of just using your original four squares).  Just another variation on the same type of design.)  

I'm plodding along and sometimes I wonder if I will stick with it.

Each four-triangle block is a surprise as I stitch the four pieces together; however, I have never liked butting seams together and so I am uncomfortable using that technique and not getting a perfectly flat block. But I don't think this quilt is going to be worth the fiddly precision of pressing each and every seam open flat and carefully pinning matching seams so I wedge the halves together and stitch away ....

That IS a interesting pattern and idea.  The fabric for the kit is not as traditional as some would think for Christmas but is delightful nonetheless.  Keep us updated on your progress!