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Whirlybird is block 23 designed by Laura Muir. It's a very unique looking block, a windmill, a pinwheel, and arrows spinning block! So much is happening in a small area but it's so fun! I love the movement in it and how different it looks in the color studies. The darker colors seem to create more depth and space with parts of the background creating more 3D layers. The very first block looks almost minimalist in comparison.  This Whirlybird block can be made to look quite layered. Depending on the color placement in this block, the illusion can consist of a background snowball square with a large x over it, a smaller x over that and then a pinwheel at the forefront. Quite intricate with a lot of movement in one square however big or small.  The block is still bright and bold with a calming center block. I've chosen to use fewer but bright colors in the Popsicle palette. The center has a contrast color, here it's Thatched in Grapefruit.  The white background in Thatched Blizzard makes these brighter colors standout.  The section of the quilt where the Whirlybird I set is made of Dotty Thatched in Turquoise, Lime, and Indigo. The regular Thatched colors are Navy, Grass, Mist, Grapefruit and small stitch-n-flip corners in Cornflower.    Just like last week, the difference between the Popsicle and the Snuggly palette is big! The snuggly palette is much calmer and softer but the center pinwheel is a bold contrast to the calm block.  These natural tones create a foundation against the bold Fuchsia. Such a pleasant combination of colors. This is the Whirlybird block set into the upper left section of the quilt layout.   This weeks block was the last one for my layout. I can devote my efforts fully to assembly, as you know I got a head start already! Happy sewing!
Stacy Iest Hsu designed block 22 and named it, Lucky Charm. This block is a combination of the Cat's Cradle block with a nine patch center. This configuration can take many forms as the color studies show, anywhere from a Windmill block to a Daisy-in-a-square on point block. I like how the center can pop out as an individual diamond more or look like part of the background. Each week the color studies uncover new and unexpected modern designs. It's a way for me to get acquainted with a design.  The construction of the Lucky Charm block is shown here in greyscale for clarity. See the third block in the first row, in this version a Friendship Star appears with a nine patch in the center. A unique block unto itself! The guiding lines here help highlight the core structure of the block.  The Dotty Thatched Turquoise and Lime fabrics compliment each other beautifully. The calming element here is the light blue half square triangles in the Cat's Cradle. The turquoise Dotty Thatched reminds me of the ocean in the summer. A wave that ripples and curls under itself, causing small bubbles underwater. I just want to dive in.  I've sized up the Lucky Charm block to fit it into my quilt layout. At 18" finished it's twice the size of the pattern provided. To size up a square block you subtract 1/2" from the original size = (original size - 1/2"). Multiply with how big the new square should be, in this case x2, then add 1/2" back in. The center nine patch square in the original size is 1 1/2". To size that up (original size: 1 1/2" - 1/2") = (1"). (1") x2 =2” then add 1/2"= 2 1/2" square - each center nine patch square for the 18" block is 2 1/2" square. Use this formula for the other squares.  To size up a half square triangle the formula is the same in principle but the value of the seam allowance is different. The formula is as follows: the original size - 7/8" then multiply with the size you want, for this block x2, then add 7/8".   In the Snuggly palette, this block looks softer and quieter than the popsicle palette. It is a big difference this week! Thatched in Mocha, seen in the center nine patch, has a lot of contrast to the lighter colors. It has a slightly reddish cast which compliments the Pink Grapefruit and Petal colors in the quilt.  I must admit assembly is underway! (That is why I sized up this block- so I could fill one of my larger corners.) Check out the first square in my 9 patch layout! I love seeing this come together!!  This is a 27" block. My overall quilt top layout will be 9 large 27" square sections assembled as a giant 9 patch. This is one of those sections and will be set in the lower right hand corner of the quilt. See the layout below.   We're almost there.
Happy Sewing, friends! Vanessa Goertzen designed this weeks block called, Bowtie Ballet. Bowtie Ballet is made up of four patches and half square triangles. Seems simple enough but take a closer look at the complexity. Focusing here on the precise color placements of the block makes it not only striking but intentional, making new designs emerge in a fresh and modern way. Take a look at the bottom row, middle block revealing its double plus sign configuration, it's definitely a modern look to a fairly traditional construction. The block to the right of this is another modern take with the half arrows going up and down in light and dark color hues of red.  The grayscale lines highlights the structure of the designs. It reveals the underlying construction which brings us right back to the original Bowtie Ballet design. First block in the first row, the OG, The Bowtie Ballet block! Imagine the color placement of the light and dark hues reversed. Wouldn't it also be interesting set on point?  The Bowtie Ballet here in the Popsicle palette is quite bold in color giving both charm and personality to the block. Made up in my two basics collections Thatched and Dotty Thatched. The texture of these fabrics compliment each other so well creating the movement needed for an interesting quilt block.   Once the Bowtie Ballet block is set into the quilt layout it has enough punch to stand out against the other blocks. It's surrounded by bright Fuchsia after all and still shows up as a solid contender.   The Snuggly palette is a little quieter than the Popsicle palette however still quite bold. Thatched in Pink Grapefruit and Cranberry show off the Navajo Star variation design within the Bowtie Ballet block. I can't wait to see this quilt come together.  The background fabric used in the Snuggly palette is Thatched in Buttermilk. This background fabric brings warmth to the overall design, a unifying element that anchor the colors together.  It's getting close to assembly, friends!
Happy Sewing! Cross Training by Jenelle Kent brings cheery Xs to our weekly Moda Blockheads sew along! It is also fun to play with those background triangles and see what develops.  You can treat the blocks as four quadrant Xs or play with the middle triangles to make it appear as one main image, like the ones in the middle row. Don't the center ones remind you of Granny Squares in crochet? I like seeing the center as more of a focal point or light spot. On the top row, the middle image starts to suggest Xs and Os just by flipping the light and dark of background triangles. The bottom row plays with one section reversed, traveling shades from light to dark, and emphasizing the patchwork diamonds in the center.  Here is the block with grayscale and construction lines. I often figure out my quilt plan and colors before I do the color studies. As you can see, my sewn blocks follow the original plan for the Xs in a nice stacked formation. I was thinking about a little pop of color accent with the Dotty green for the popsicle palette.  I like how it plays against the darker, more serious red and burgundy. I'm including the updated image on my quilt layout so far.   Here are the warm, snuggly colors for my other quilt. It is raining and a bit cold here today so the thought of curling up under the snuggly palette quilt is especially enticing!   My Cross Training Xs are in the upper right quadrant. One more smaller block then I'm filling in those big corner blocks! Till then, happy sewing!  Block 19 is here, and it's bringing the love! Wholehearted is designed by Jackie MacDonald and it is ready to steal your heart. There's just something extra special about a heart block, this is no exception.  Dotty Thatched in Tangerine and Thatched in Petal compliment each other like a perfect pair. This duo gives the Wholehearted block its movement. Talk about sew in love!  This heart block is all about the classics, constructed entirely from half square triangles and of course the four corner blocks. Wholehearted proves that simple shapes can lead to lovely results and a great block for practicing and perfecting technique. So how about a little color play on this block and lets see what we get!  I completely stayed with the heart this week for my sewn version of the block. But we can see other shapes evolve when we incorporate colors into the corners and segment the color families into bands. High contrast of black and white emphasizes those sharp corners of triangles and can make a line of a saw blade or very abstract shapes. With orange, pinkish and purple colors joining the black and white, it is a graphic bold statement.  Here are separations of the blocks in black and white as well. But back to sewn ones...  The Thatched Snuggly palette is bursting with color, it's proof that softness and vibrance can absolutely go hand in hand. This two tone block is subtle, yet it packs a punch. Soft, sweet and totally striking!  Happy sewing, Friends!
Heather Briggs worked her magic and came up with Sweet Pea. Sweet Pea is such a charming little block, so full of personality and surprise. You never quite know how it's going to show up next, and that's part of the fun.  Let's dive into this color study, take the bottom row, first design where Sweet Pea is showing up as a Friendship Star. But it doesn't stop there, the first row, first design it's taking a twirl as a Churn Dash variation. A twist and a spin and it shows up as a whole new design.  Using greyscale with lines really brings out the bones of the blocks. The blueprint behind the beauty, now the construction becomes much clearer. My brain starts firing off new ideas. "What if I rotated this or added color there?"  The green and turquoise version here adds a new layer of depth to this block as if the star is about to burst out of its frame.  The combination of Thatched basics and Dotty Thatched in this configuration is so vibrant, it's almost a feeling! Sew anything in these colors and the overall feeling will be the same. I call this happiness!  The Snuggly palette really lives up to its name. It's just so easy on the eyes. Even when Thatched is flying solo it's making a statement. Soft brown hues with a pop of color.  These colors are perfect for fall. Not loud, but warm and grounded.  We've been stitching our way through this Moda Blockheads 6 challenge and while the finish line isn't in sight just yet, there is something satisfying about seeing progress stacked up.  Two weeks ago I missed getting my color study up! It has been and still is a little busy around here...Quilt Market is coming up and we have had a LOT of sewing to do. I'm so excited to share the projects for my new line soon. I've already shared pictures of Coven on social media. Here is what I meant to share two weeks ago for Block 17's color study! A simple block but we can still see it in other ways!  Happy Sewing!
What is it about a row of flying geese that makes me love it so much? I don't even know but I love the lineup of triangles and especially a block like this that travels around in a square. Those geese are really giving DIRECTION! GO THIS WAY. So let's take a look at this block "Cloud Nine" from Debbie Maddy.  One thing that is always fun to play with on flying geese that are lined up this way, is to alternate the corner colors to be the same color as the center before it. The last row, right image, shows this "extending" of the arrow point. This gives it a more super-graphic kind of look. On this particular block I feel like it is wavy and 70s! I also played with the color that way on the bottom center block to get that middle row of wavy lines pointing to either side. Some other ways of heightening direction with these blocks is with shading. The right image on top row has a gradation of dark to light triangles so it has that feeling of trailing off.... The middle row emphasizes some of the other corners within the geese units, to form more center blocks from those sides. Make a checkerboard with the center or blend it right into those sides to make a jaggety middle. The right middle image also forms a whole new corner shape by pulling in more of the white.  Grayscale, with and without block lines.   This week's sewn blocks show a happy dance of blue and green, plain and dotty. Navy with turquoise and grass green and dotty lime. Lively and fresh!  And here is my snuggly calm warm tones of buttermilk, washed linen, oatmeal and cocoa.  Sometimes it is just really nice to have a monochromatic palette. With do much direction and contrast in this block, the monotone palette is very pleasing.  My flying geese have flown to the lower right corner- on the middle bottom of the cool corner. So many blocks!  Hello Petal Pusher! This is a cheery block from Crystal Manning. Here are a few color studies to play with those half square triangles and foundation paper pieced triangles.  It is fun to try a couple shades of lighter and darker colors within the petal sides to see how they can look more 3-dimensional. The middle top image is a good example of 3-d, almost looking like it is folded origami paper. The very center image draws me in with the contrast of light and dark. The bottom left seems like a twinkling star and the one to the right of it is a plus sign if you squint or fancy bow with cut ribbon ends. A beam of light from an open door down a dark corridor for the last one? What else can you see?  Black and white and grayscale for envisioning your own colors and patterns. The plus sign stands out more on these. And then there are the sewn blocks:  Dancing dots of Dotty Thatched and an accent corner of orange...just because it felt fun! It is almost like a little cap.  And the Snuggly palette:  Warm and comforting with little subtle shifts of background and petals.  Where do the blocks go this week?? There it is in the lowest right corner!  Happy September everyone! Keep on sewing and making quilt blocks!
Camille Roskelley designed this weeks block and named it Carousel Waltz. For this block you don't need to squint your eyes to see it's already waltzing carousel-style! Colorstudy play makes simple fan blades, a small pinwheel within the center, emphasizing the plus shape, more focus on the diamond background, making it look 3d with shading and a mirrored reflection of... perhaps a sewing needle? The ones with little pinwheels in the center remind me of a bow on the top of a box.   greyscale to imagine your own colors...  For the Popsicle block I'm working with the blue and green colors, mixing regular Thatched and Dotty Thatched. The light blue corners gives more depth to this block.  It's an interesting block having the pinwheel blades extend to the edge.  The Snuggly colorway is much more pronounced with the dark mocha brown blades. The colorway itself is much softer but this is a good example of the power of color.  My Carousel Walz is living on the upper left and lower right outer sides. I love seeing how this fills in!  Happy sewing my fellow Blockheads!
Betsy Chutchian is the designer for this weeks block 13 called Toadstool Twist. It's such a fun and different block, I can see why it's named with T's. And I had some fun with the color studies this week!  I love working with color. It really is such a powerful component in this blocks construction. So much variety. On the second row, second block, I see an X with petals around it! The second row, first block has more of a reversed bearpaw look to it or perhaps an arrow. And the first row, second block also has a pretty floral element to it. What a fun block to work with!  This grayscale study of the block looks very floral to me and yes, I do see the x'es, too. I hope the grayscale makes it easier to picture your own palette in. If only there was time to sew all the quilts!  This grayscale study has the fine lines around the seams for better understanding the construction of this block. Sometimes I squint my eyes to just see the contrast and shapes vs the seams as defining the spaces.  I'm still working on two colorways, the Popsicle- and the Snuggly palettes. First up we have the Popsicle palette, I'm using Dotty Thatched and regular Thatched in this block. These blues and greens are so vibrant with the light blue corner squares framing the block.  This block looks quite intricate to construct but it's essentially using the stitch and flip method, flying geese and squares. I like to use the stitch and flip method a lot, you'll see this method in quite a few of my patterns. Don't be afraid to try new things, once you break it down it's achievable!  The Snuggly palette always gets me, it's calm and inviting in these neutrals but with some fun peachy corners it lifts the look of the block.  The four neutral browns compliment each other so well. The reddish undertone of the darker browns pick up the Thatched Petal used for the corner squares just perfectly!
I'm getting excited for the assembly of these quilts. We have passed the halfway mark and it's game on! Have a good week sewing! Robin |
About ROBINDesigner of colorful florals and Thatched basics for Moda Fabrics . Modern to transitional quilt designer, cross stitch designer, sewist, crafter. I am proud to be a designer for Moda Fabrics!
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