 I usually start the Moda Blockheads posts with my color studies. But today I want to share a time-sensitive thing first...a giveaway! Yes, in honor of 2021 starting in a couple of days, I am doing a calendar giveaway on instagram @robinpickens. Just comment in the giveaway post and I'll be selecting 2 winners on January 2nd (just in case some of you are already celebrating and haven't seen the post yet!)  Vanessa's SPARK PLUG block this week is a fun one and I wanted cheery energy with some yellows. They are yellow fabrics from my SOLANA collection that is in shops now. I used the white on white tonal sunflower seeds as my background fabric in the print block and I love the subtleness of the hinted texture. I really enjoy the "varietals" coordinate in this collection and used that for the center rectangles.  It was perfect timing to have the cover of this next year's Seize the Day wall calendar be the same cheery sunflowers that I used in the SOLANA main prints! I really hope this year brings more sunshine and happy days in a spirit of optimism and progress. And, just in case you are wondering, the Seize the Day calendars come in wall, daily and checkbook sized formats. I just saw some recently at my neighborhood Barnes and Noble.  But back to quilt blocks...for the Thatched version I used the Maize color and got that lovely soft light yellow in the corners by flipping and using the back side. Stay tuned for some news very very soon about Thatched (hint, hint, I hope 2021 will be more colorful)  And now...COLOR STUDIES! I stayed pretty true to Vanessa's layout when making my blocks. But when playing on the computer, I had a little fun playing with a variety of shades of color. I find it especially interesting how the shape looks almost flower like on that middle left one. Or I notice the surrounding box shape on the one to the right of it. And I like all the color gradations on the last one and having some different color families in the corners. Hop on over to Vanessa's blog for the SPARK PLUG pattern and enter her layer cake giveaway on facebook in the Moda Blockheads group.  And a Happy New Year to you all and may 2021 be filled with fun sewing projects!
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 Within the structure of "Night and Day" the inside grid can be a simple checkerboard or gradation of colors. I like how the little squares can form a new perimeter around the center or can work with the middle triangles to make arrows. The outer triangles can frame the diamond or play with colors dancing around the shape.  For my blocks I used Thatched in grays, using the backsides as well to get those lighter shades and subtle gradations. I wanted the effect of the checkerboard squares in the center to be very whispery and to highlight the structure of the box surrounding it more.  Dandi Annie became my fabric choice for prints. I forgot how much I love working with these big puff balls of dandelion seeds! I kept the structure of the center box outline and the darker corners on two opposite sides. I'm still debating if I need to rip out and line up those medium gray squares better, but honestly, it is the week of Christmas and I think I'd rather be baking cookies over ripping out seams. So it is staying I think. Sometimes we need to say "it is good enough" and allow ourselves to love the imperfections.  Hop on over to Laurie Simpson's blog for the pattern! And she is doing a layer cake giveaway on instagram! Happy sewing and happy Moda Blockheads day!
X Marks the spot by Lissa Alexander! I wondered what it would look like with a different color on the bar ends? Like little white cat's paws?  How fun to play with switching corner colors and making the background "disappear" by using the same color for some corners as the big background. I think the one on the lower left looks like it is twisting. And the very last one makes the corner squares almost float. Can you see the white arrow in that one?  Looking for the pattern? Hop over to Lissa's blog and see what she has as a giveaway too!
There is something so satisfying about finishing a quilt. But there is something REALLY REALLY satisfying about finishing the largest quilt you've made to date, in my case a king size quilt!  I am a designer for Moda but I didn't know about Moda Blockheads from the first round. I was a little newer to sewalongs and I had not participated in any on facebook, rather only on instagram. So when one of the sales folks invited me to join the facebook group and play along, I happily joined in.  I wanted to use my first lines of Poppy Mae, Blushing Peonies and Dear Mum for my fabrics, along with some solids mixed in. My colors focused on pinks, reds, greens and teal/turquoise colors. I find as I make my blocks each week, a few stand out as my favorites. I really love this pretty block with the peony in the center and then the one with the crowns and the little pineapple!   One of the big benefits of doing a sewalong like this is it really helps to build your skills. I did not know about triangle paper until I read Corey Yoder's blog post about it. And I learned a variety of other tips and tricks. But most importantly, the practice of making new blocks, week after week, makes you better at what you are doing.  Since I wanted to make my quilt for my kind sized bed, I made additonal borders on the right and left sides of the quilt. The half square triangles are 3 x 6" finished size and the square blocks were made with leftover pieces from my other blocks in the quilt top. The small HST in those are 1 1/2" finished with a 3" square center piece. Making two rows of repeating elements of these made the quilt wide enough for me mattress.  I saw another person post about their layout with blocks arranged into larger squares with sashing between those and I loved that! So I combined the smaller blocks into units and some of the sections were one of the largest blocks. I liked the structure of this and the balance. I longarm quilted this using the Whirlwind pantograph by Karen Farnsworth at Wildflower Quilting. And now, I am happily sleeping under my Moda Blockheads2 quilt!   Lisa Bongean blocks usually have lots of options for what to do with those half square triangles. This week did not disappoint! I love to see how the larger half square triangles on the inner corners make an octagon shape or a chunky plus sign on point. You can treat the outer HST as a fringe or a bears paw entire unit. Play with the corners in different contrast of light and dark? And what a fun V shape in the centers of the perimeter on the last one! Visit Lisa's blog for this week's pattern:  Each week I take stock of where I have spaces left in my overall layout and look at balancing the more intricate blocks with the simpler blocks. This block will end close to middle/ middle dark on my gray row.  My print pattern block is using Sweet Pea & Lily grays. The Heather in Thatched is a cooler gray is works nicely with the stronger prints here. On the all-Thatched block, I am using slightly warmer grays. In both my blocks I have used triangle paper to make the half square triangles more efficient and reduce trimming time.  Enjoy this lovely block and happy sewing this week!
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About ROBINDesigner of colorful florals for Moda fabrics. Modern to transitional quilt designer. Illustrator, sewist, crafter. 
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