I wrote this block pattern for The Modern Quilt Guild's site, several years ago and wanted to bring the pattern back here, along with photos of this beautiful quilt that I made using it. The original inspiration for this block was a pillow designed by Heather Bostic. I just fixed the math so that it would work as a quilt block.
Octagonal orb blocks use plenty of scraps, and they're perfect for color blocking groups of monochromatic scraps, as I did in this quilt. The background is Essex yarn-dyed linen blend in Steel.