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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!
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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 Corey Yoder is bringing us Flight Path this week! A clever variation of the Dutchmans Puzzle block keeping with traditions but still making it fresh and new.  For this weeks color studies I wanted to bring out the look of a more cohesive block trying to define it in color, letting color dictate where the eye goes not the seams. Middle row, left block looks almost artsy like an abstract composition where the bottom left is more traditional with a plus sign (if you squint your eyes) within the more traditional block. The bottom right block has a "supergraphic" look to it. Doesn't this blend of colors make you think of sorbet?  The grayscale option gives a much more defined visual expression. A moodier look to the block. But this is also a guide to using your own color palette as this defines the light and dark perfectly. Assign a color-hue to an equal shade of gray - light to light, medium to medium, and dark to dark - the overall look will show up as the block chosen.  First up is my Popsicle palette. I'm using these two identical blocks in different ways. The placements in the quilt defines the colorway making one a blender or border block for seamless transition from one color of the quilt to the other.  The blue green block made with three of the new Dotty Thatched colors from the new collection available now! The mixing of Dotty Thatched and regular Thatched gives such movement.  And then there is the Snuggly palette - a much calmer and warmer feel. The neutral block is made up of four different shades of Thatched browns - Washed Linen, Oatmeal, Cocoa and Mocha.  The fuchsia block is my border block making the transition from one colorway to the next look intentional. How different the two backgrounds of both colorways are! Quite striking and such a fun play on color.   The middle rows of the stars including the center star have been completed. I have added squares and rectangles to the middle row blocks.
That's all for this week. Happy quilting, quilters! Robin Are you ready to go big or go home this week! It's time for our biggest block from Lisa Bongean of Primitive Gatherings. This is "Folk Star" in splendid 27" finished size! Yup, that is 72 HST of color fun.  I have a lot of ideas this week. With so many triangles, there are so many ways to play with those colors and what is filled in or reversed out to background. Feathers, stars, deconstructed feathers, Xs, more supergraphics, faceted lights like glints in a diamond, and a little dancing rainbow color play. I am not sure I could even pick a favorite this week since the individual personalities of some of these are so varied.  Black and white and with lines.  I mentioned the 72 half square triangles. Melina made these blocks and since we are doing two palettes, that means she actually made 148 HST blocks. Have I said "thank you" again Melina? You are appreciated! Here we are with our popsicle palette:  The backgrounds are two colors for these- a burgundy and navy blue Thatched. Just a little bit of Dotty adds some sparkle.  And all regular Thatched for Snuggly palette. The background plays with contrast for these with a Mocha or Buttermilk background. The colors within the reds/corals are similar to the other block.   I LOVE seeing the center block filled in on these diagrams of the overall layouts!   Happy August. Happy sewing!
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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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