I often make string blocks when I am between projects or if I just want to sew something but I am not interested in focusing.  Sometimes you just need to mindlessly sew to wind down after a stressful day at work.

I am always on the lookout for ways to use the string blocks once they are made.  This was a quilt that appeared in the July/August 2013 issue of Fons & Porter’s Love of Quilting.  The quilt is called Rock Island Campfires and was made by Marianne Fons.

Marianne’s blocks were pieced on paper foundations and measured 4.5″ square.  Four string blocks pieced together with a cornerstone and sashing measured 10.5″ square unfinished.  I pieced my blocks with a used dryer sheet as a foundation and trimmed them to 5.75″ which made my block larger at 13″ unfinished.

I found the perfect fabric for sashing my blocks – a tiny black and white houndstooth – First Crush by Sweetwater for Moda.

These are some of my blocks on the design wall.