Five Squares

Patchwork piecing and quilting are popular hobbies all over the world, and in different quarters they tend to take on a distinctive cultural flavor. In the American Midwest, reproduction prints from the 1800's and 1930's are all the rage. In the Baltic we saw several simple block patterns using solid primary colors. Australian quilters are fond of large bold prints, and traditional Hawaiian quilts are elaborate two-color appliques based on botanical designs. The blue-and-white blocks that I’m working on right now were drafted from traditional Japanese patterns. In Susan Briscoe’s book “Japanese Quilt Blocks to Mix and Match” this block is called Kurume Kasuri Goku Masu, which she says means Five Squares. As I only know a handful of words in Japanese, I guess I’ll just have to take her word for it.