Racetrack versus Drunkard's Path

Quilt blocks with quarter circles in one or more corners are usually called Drunkard's Path. Arranging the quarter circles to point in different directions creates a variety of patterns.  And the quarter circle can be any radius up to the side length of the block.

Drunkard's Path quilt block

A variation of this pattern uses two stacked quarter circles, one larger than the other, to create a pattern. I used four blocks for each design below and rotated one of the circles to show the offset of the circles. The one on the right makes great Racetracks for matchbox cars because the dark arc is centered around the midpoint of one side. Any arc width is fine as long as the center line is that midpoint. On the left the outside arc of that path is the midpoint of the side. This makes a smaller circle than the one on the left and means that if you rotate a single block, the racetrack won't form.

Fair Play and Racetrack variations of Drunkard's Path

Smaller circles wouldn't touch anywhere when rotated. The smaller the circle-and-arc, the more background in each block.

There are more ways to alter this block. The two above have inner circles with the same radius while the outer circles differ. That causes the arc widths to differ. If the inner circle was really small, the arc might look like a CD.

Freddy Moran's variation is called Polka Dots and incorporates arced quarter circles in two opposite corners of the block. She has an excellent template for rotary tools but I had a very similar set from a class I'd taken years ago. Not quite the same but similar.

Sixteen blocks from Freddy Dot Com class
using a different template

So I decided to use what I had. There's a bit too much background for me. And who's fault is that?

Enjoy the day, Ann