Another stack of blocks! It’s like an indoor version of rock stacking (aka: cairns). I know this is considered nature’s graffiti now but, I can do it with these in my home!
ZEN BLOCKS for EVERYTHING
A fun game in my home these days is what else can we use these Zen Blocks for? Beds for tiny mice is my least favorite idea, as I don’t want to lure tiny mice anywhere near me. Adding a loop to the center seam and using them to weigh down balloons… now that is a good idea! And making a black and white set for tic-tac-toe games is also a winner!
So, I moved all of my “sewcial distancing” sewing out of the way and started looking for a couple of coordinating black and white fat quarters. After a quick unscientific family poll about how many Xs and Os are used in the game, I know, I know… five and four, but which goes first… X or O? And which should be black/white? I chose two Libs Elliott fat quarters from her Tattooed North Collection in “Ripples” and set to cutting out nine blocks. When I think about black and white checkerboard, Libs is a perfect fit!
***EDITED TO ADD*** See Parting Notes at the bottom of the page. Research does not always yield results that you can count on in the real world. Ten blocks are a must.
Black and White Zen Blocks
I flipped on Repair Shop on Netflix, which I call Fix-It Shop because I can’t seem to remember the proper name for anything these days. It is a charming BBC show available on Netflix. If you love Great British Baking Challenge for the charming British chit-chat and enjoy seeing true craftsmen (and craftswomen!) repairing family heirlooms, it’s a great show to run behind the whir of your sewing machine. In addition, this quaint little show evens me out from all of the My Favorite Murder Podcasting and Ozark binge-ing that I do. This show is much better than Tiger King, I’m not sure why it’s not getting more attention! But I digress…
Once the blocks were cut, I got distracted making my once-a-week Pandemic grocery list. After getting another week’s worth of fresh food in the house, I got back to it!
After cutting and stitching the center seam on all the blocks I momentarily thought about appliqueing Xs and Os on the blocks. That will have to be the nest set. I Want these to be basic black and white and pure Libs.
Nine blocks sewed up super quickly. I switched Netflix over to my favorite auto-pilot show… Arrested Development. I can listen to this show without a glance and picture what’s going on. These characters are such fools and this is my kind of comedy! I filled the blocks with a new filler this time because I didn’t want to use 6 cups of rice for a game and I knew I would not be heating these up in the microwave for snuggles and squeezing. I purchased some plastic beads from Amazon last week to try in the blocks. They worked like a charm for this application.
Here are the PROS and CONS of plastic filler beds over Jasmine rice:
PROS:
Plastic beads are generally less expensive than rice.
Does not reduce your food supply
CONS:
Slightly more difficult to fill because the beads are slick and shift around more than rice
Beads are not quite as heavy as rice, which is not ideal for pattern weights
Beads do not hold heat from the microwave for comfort blocks like rice does
With the black and white blocks finished, I got to work sketching out the tic tac toe board. I love the Whitelines grid paper for pattern design. I originally intended to use super sturdy Pelon 72F for inside the board, but when it was time to insert it, I decided to use fusible fleece between my layers instead. I may revisit the stiff board on the next set, but I wanted to do a little bit of quilting on this one and make it look like a mini quilt, with binding and all. I just got some black and white striped fabric form Stitch Supply Co. and wanted to cut into it!!
Sketching out my ideas for the TTT game board.
I quickly cut my pieces and stitched them together!! It turned out just like I wanted! I’ll write up a quick tutorial for the game board and post it as soon as I can. The pattern for the blocks is in my shop in the Patterns For Sale tab.
PARTING NOTES:
After playing a bunch of rounds of TTT with my younger daughter last night, I have decided that we need 10 blocks. The game simply MUST be played with each player starting with five blocks. That way you can alternate who goes first without having to switch blocks after each round. So, I’m making one more white block and all will be right in the world of tic-tac-toe.