I’m still using the same block as the past two Sunday sketches, but I’ve removed some parts this week. (This is easy to do when designing; I just make bits ‘disappear’ by colouring them the same as the background. Obviously if I were making these blocks, I’d revise the design so there were fewer pieces in the block to begin with.)

So how did I get here from there?

Last week, I ended on a layout in which the blocks were set on point. Both the rounded and the squared corners in each block were coloured the same as the background, and the block had a leaf shape (also in the same background colour) in the middle. I didn’t love those versions.So this week, I’ve removed that internal leaf shape and replaced it with the square that was there originally. I left the curved corners coloured in, but the squared corners are still gone (coloured as background). And then I mixed up the colouring to highlight a different set of shapes within the design. I really liked these retro Xs, with their arms separated by the sashing in between blocks.

The four ‘arms’ of each X come from four adjacent blocks; each block has two arms in two different colours.

It’s quite a busy design when it’s multicoloured, so I tried a two-colour, alternating layout instead.

I liked that one, but I felt that the retro nature of those Xs really cried out for a standard layout.

And then I added some more space just to let the shapes breathe a bit. This layout’s reminiscent of Sunday sketch #373, too – two grids of 3 × 3 overlapping.

As always, I kept iterating this design, although that first version is my favourite. I tried colouring the sashing between the blocks, which ends up creating a plaid-ish effect.

That added colour removes the retro feel and gives this a more traditional feel. I still like it though!

Like the past few weeks’ designs, this week’s sketch could be made using squares, rectangles and quarter-circles (or drunkard’s path units). The curves would need to be pretty small – something I still struggle to do well – but the rest of the piecing would be pretty straightforward.