This is the picture from Quilters' Newsletter magazine that is the starting point of my latest project. I am stacking and slashing four patches. First I cut four repeats of my fabric and layer them. To line up exactly I insert pins through  convenient reference points and secure them with pieces of cut up eraser. This is the kit I hand out to students. I learnt this from Judy Johnson at a Sisters, Oregon, quilt class a decade ago or so ago.

The kit

The securing stitch

Then I place a pin on either side and remove the first pin. Now after a talk by Paula Doyle I then tie the spot with a stitch and remove all the pins. Now I am ready to cut my pieces. The four repeats yield sets of four identical squares and although the sewing is easy it's fun deciding which layout to use.

Two sets of four identical squares

Four Possibilities:

Set A1

Set A 2

Set A 3

Set A 4

SetB 1

Set B 2

Set B 3

Set B 4

And yet another block all sewn up: