Octagonia Block

As Ali & I have been tweaking the plans for our picnic quilt (make it smaller, add more little blocks, get rid of some of the non-vibrant colors), we've also been trying to figure out the perfect center block for our quilt.  The Octagonia Block (which we originally found on Craftsy) has been in contention the whole time, and now that I committed to making a 16" version, the Octagonia will definitely be filling the middle of the quilt.

 

Though it does require paper piecing, the block is relatively simple.  There are three different segments to paper piece; once you're done making four copies of each segment, it's just a matter of sewing the segments into 4 rectangles and arranging those rectangles around a center square.  Shockingly, this only took me two sittings to make.  (I'm sure more competent seamstresses could finish a block in an hour or two.)

There are a ton of color variations that look great with the block, too.  I'll have to keep it in mind for later projects.