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This is Kiley Ferons' block, Cat's Cradle, for week 4 of Moda Blockheads. I like the soft angles of the outer shape that is created from the half rectangle triangles. For my color studies I kept thinking that center block would be great for some fussy cutting! So keep that in mind with any of these as borders around a fussy cut image.  Keep the outer sides all background white or split them into black and white high contrast sections. More white in the top right brings propeller motion. In the middle row, the middle middle image just pulls me in to that center and I like the various shades of colors surrounding in each quadrant. Those borders feel 3d to me, like faceted cuts of a gemstone. The bottom row plays with more white pieces to highlight an angled view. The middle one started to whisper "spool" to me so I had to try that with a striped center. I love the spool of thread!  Here is another view in black and white and with the line divisions. On any of these color studies, to actually make these versions you need to read through your directions and assign different fabrics and more varieties to the pieces. But that is part of the skill-building and fun of starting with a pattern and making decisions to get the look you want.  Here are the actual sewn blocks from Melina. I am so glad she was busy sewing while I was away at the ModaVation retreat. She did mention that you should make sure you read the directions on this block. We have a tendency to look at pictures and the written instructions can be very important any time you do half rectangle triangles to get your trimming of pieces correct for proper seam allowances.  Here is the Popsicle palette. Having a little bit of dots sprinkled into parts of my blocks adds a bit of whimsy. My overall background on this palette is Thatched cream 36. It is interesting to see how the feeling changes subtly with the snuggly palette with the Buttermilk Thatched background that is shown after these images.  Snuggly palette with Buttermilk background:   Four weeks in and I've got 5 blocks that are starting to tell a color story of their own. My block is week 6 so I will try to have my setting idea ready to share with you then.  Snuggly palette. The Dotty Thatched is only in the popsicle one so I'll be interested to see how much influence those dots have on the feeling of the quilt. Don't these groups look pretty?  I'm happy to have a fun project like Blockheads for summer and fall sewing. Baby steps each week really adds up. Happy sewing everyone!
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it's week 3! Anne Sutton of Bunny Hill Designs is bringing us "Sunday Best". This is a fairly straightforward block but sometimes I like to carry through a band of light or dark to define the space in ways you may not have thought of. Or, like the first one on second row shows, accentuating the propeller/pinwheel potential. On the last row, the first two make me think of a flashlight or security light shining down.  Black and white and grayscale...but this week I don't have the version with outlines since my computer seemed to go on strike and was not going to cooperate with the added outline. I decided to not fight it. Some weeks are like that. Know when to walk away from the computer...  As for the sewn blocks, I'm using more color and more Dotty Thatched for this block. I like how the little dots almost look like raindrops on a stained glass window.  The mix of regular Thatched and Dotty Thatched creates depth to this block. I like to "sprinkle" the placement around in the overall quilt so most blocks will have some elements but not be fully dotty.  I'm making one block per colorway this week. The Snuggly palette stays all regular Thatched. I've got 8 different colors in this block but the colors are so harmonious that it still looks cohesive and calm.   I'm at ModaVation this week so I don't have time to show you my layout yet but I promise to share it soon! In the meantime, have fun sewing and continue to post your blocks on the facebook group. I love to see what people come up with! Happy sewing!
Week 2 of Moda Blockheads 6 and we have a beautiful block from Lynne Hagmeier of Kansas Troubles. Meet "Crossroads."  Summery June brings out those warm sunny colors in my mind. I worked with yellow to orange to red and burgundy. Is the center a bowtie? Or points on arrows? A turning point for a ribbon or line? With the first block I notice the corner triangles on the block a lot. The right one on the top row reminds me of a twist tie or the twisted ends of a wrapped candy. The right one on the second row has 4 arrows meeting in the center. The third row left is almost like horseshoe magnets. It can be a fun play of negative/positive with those horseshoe magnets in the next one. With only two colors, the next one is a strong silhouette. My bottom row uses 4 colors in the quarter square triangle center with more shades of the colors. In a case like this, if I were sewing one of these in Thatched, I'd flip my fabric to the back to get the lighter shade of a color.  Black and white and grayscale to see them without the color influence. And with the lines, below, to be clear on the piecing. I know with color studies like these, if you want to use them as inspiration, you may have to make some extra pieces to get the color and value differences in the pieces.  How about the sewn blocks? Well lets add a little Dotty Thatched to some corners in my Popsicle palette.  I'm using 2 blocks in the quilt this week, for each of the two quilts...so that is 4 blocks.   And same color vibe happening in the Snuggly palette too. Instead of Dotty, I've got the fuchsia in regular Thatched.  I stayed with a more traditional use of color arrangement in the Crossroads block. I'm excited to already have a total of 6 blocks made to be used in my two quilts!  How about you? Are you making multiple blocks? Or one a week is perfect for you? Some weeks are busier in life than others so go at your own pace, be good to yourself, and enjoy the process. Happy sewing my Blockhead friends!  It's here! Moda Blockheads 6 has begun with our first week of block patterns. This is "Regatta" by Vanessa Christenson of V & Co.  Here is the black and white version. It can be easier to envision your colors and fabric pull into this image of complete neutrals. And I thought it might help to have an image with the block lines to see exactly where these block pieces fall.  So how about some actual sewn blocks?? Well I've got TWO palettes I'm working with this year: "Popsicle" and "Snuggly". The Popsicle palette combines both regular and Dotty Thatched. I love how the Dotty fabrics give a little extra sparkly look. My specific colors are Navy, Royal, Surf, Grass and Lime for cool colors and warm colors of Burgundy, Ruby, Scarlet, Tangerine, Fuchsia, Pink Grapefruit and Petal. The background is Thatched Blizzard.  The "Snuggly" palette is all regular Thatched in a calm, sophisticated and warmly soothing way. Mocha, Cocoa, Oatmeal, Washed Linen play with Burgundy, Cranberry, Fuchsia, Pink Grapefruit and Petal, on a Buttermilk background. Although there is similarity in the warm colors between the two groups, the feeling is decidedly different for the overall colors.  With the Regatta block in Popsicle I have two different background colors. I like how the dotty looks like little sparkles or fizzy pops!   Snuggly still has two background colors (Mocha and Burgundy) but the corner squares are also a different accent color. The light and dark of the half square triangles is reversed on horizontal vs vertical rows. Can't say for sure yet but I think this palette will be my favorite.   My setting idea will be shared in the weeks to come. But for now, happy sewing and making of your Moda Blockheads blocks!
  My week for Moda Blockheads! Yay! I am newly back from Quilt Market in Houston (just arrived home late Monday night) and woke up Tuesday morning with the thought of "BLOCKHEADS!!" When I am getting ready for Market, a lot of other things get pushed to the side and making my block became the task of the day. Seriously, I made my block instead of unpacking my quilts and clothes from the trip!  I knew I had to make my star block in my new WINTERLY fabrics that I was just showing at Market! I'm going to be making a holiday quilt to go along with the line and that is why a lot of my color studies have been skewing towards the greens in color...my brain has been piecing Christmas quilts for months. The 12" block I made has a mixture of Crimson Thatched AND Dotty Thatched (which we mix into a line from time to time and reminded me of snowfall for this winter group) and a cheery striped print and some of my whimsical flying birds. I used the Dotty Thatched Cream for the background of the smaller 6" block with greenery and pine stripes for the side stars and a red bird in the center. My concept for "Community Star" is the idea that one star is in the center and the community of others is surrounding, supporting and reaching out to it. There are 4 partial stars that show half their star-bodies and reach out with points to touch the center star. So very often in quilting, we are reaching out and supporting and connecting with each other. It is really an activity that thrives with strong community. And Blockheads is an active and fun community so it seemed fitting.    As I read through the directions for my designed block, I realized I needed to share another version of construction for anyone who uses stripes like I am to allow the stripes to be horizontal and vertical. The way the directions are written would split the H and I squares diagonally and sew them to the G square, but the lines would be going diagonally in my final piece. So I did a variation that does take a little more fabric but uses a simple "stitch and flip" with corner squares to achieve the triangles. Using this method allowed me to position my stripes so they always looked like they were coming straight from the sides of the edge stars. If you would like to use this method, these are my changes:  Instead of 4 squares of H and I, you will need 8 of each. Sew them to the corners and flip open and trim, similar to how you make traditional flying geese. After pressing open the opposite corners, add the other 2 corners. Just make sure to press open first (or am I the only one who has forgotten to press open a flying geese side before adding the other square?) Whichever method you choose, I hope you have fun making these star friends! Of course I had to share some color studies with you for this block too...  Like I mentioned, I'm thinking Christmas, but you can imagine any colors you like in here. Just substitute and think about those light and dark spaces. Stars can be the same colors in the centers as the points or multiple values of light and dark. The top two probably best illustrate the idea of stars reaching out in community to the center best. It is also fun to look at those outer star shapes as bowties or the center blending into a big X. How about a lighter outer border or a suggested churn dash relative in the white background shapes? Emphasize dots or lines...have fun! You can download the pattern here from the blue DOWNLOAD FILE below. Or visit the facebook page or Moda's blog. 
 I'll be making some of the other blocks and sharing them in Winterly fabrics. Winterly will be shipping in May of 2024. It features Amaryllis lilies, birds flying in swirly breezes, hillside landscapes of trees, dotty Thatched, greenery, stripes and a triangle print with holiday motifs. There is also a panel with 4 square bird blocks and two horizontal treescapes. I'll share more pictures and the quilt projects in the next blog post. I've got new Christmas cross stitch to coordinate and it was very fun to share it all at Quilt Market! If you are new to my world, I hope you will consider joining in on the Oak Grove Square sew along. I delayed October due to Quilt Market but just started in September on a monthly sew along. Want to sew some mushrooms? That is the first month! Check out my Facebook group "Robin Pickens Sew Happy Community" where you can share your projects with my fabrics and patterns or ask questions and be in community with other quilters. Hope to see you there! You can also find me on instagram and pinterest @robinpickens Happy sewing!     Last week Joanna Figueroa gave us "Invigorate" for the Sewcialites weekly quilt block. I like seeing a bloom with little leaves blowing around it, a posie with ribbons, plaid zig zags or a rainbow burst.  I liked the first one and will have it live in the yellow section of the rainbow print.  This week Sherri McConnell's "Fascinate" block shows off some green fun for Saint Patrick's Day. Plus sign, arrow heads, variations on a churn dash and stair steps all play in the color studies.  My block has some purple and pink and I like the variations on the corner shapes based on the lights and darks in the little patchwork. So many options!  It is so fun to see the little blocks in with their friends and soon the joining into a long row for my runner will begin. Till then, four more weeks of sweet little blocks!   Well yippeeeee yahhooooo it is my week for Sewcialites 2 with Fat Quarter Shop! Meet my "spellbound" block. A quarter triangle block is surrounded by little patchwork squares and then framed by another outer row with squares on the ends. The free pattern is available at the Fat Quarter Shop. All patterns are listed here when released: https://www.fatquartershop.com/sewcialites First I'm sharing my color studies but please also keep reading to see my plans for using my blocks in a colorful table runner.  The first one focuses on each row as its own mix of light and dark blues in squares. The next one reminded me of arrows pointing in with shaded 3d arrow bases. The third one makes me think of an hour glass with white sand running from top to bottom ("the sands of time..."). On the bottom row, the outer blues make another chunky plus sign to surround the inner arrows. Then a couple of rainbow spectrum experiments moving around the color wheel, either in the center or in the rows of small squares.  For this sewalong, they asked for blocks that make us crazy. I find that matching up little patchwork square seams can be one of my crazy-making things. Pressing seams in opposite directions, then nesting the seams when joining rows helps. Another thing that helps is when the little squares line up against a sashing or other rectangle, like the little blocks here. As for nesting seams, this is a picture of the back of the blocks. The arrows show some of the places where I have pressed seams to nest.  Another thing I will do with little patchwork and small block piecing is starching. I generally don't starch much but with small sized blocks, the starch will help for handling the fabric better and it keeping its shape as you sew and press. If I am doing patchwork squares I will see if I can make some longer pieces and subcut them and I tend to press to one side on my seams instead of pressing open so they don't pull apart easily when I handle them. These things seem to help with small patchwork squares. For my block, I've a little blue 3" block for my project using all my blocks in Wild Blossoms. And then I wanted to make a rainbow square Thatched version. I have some leftover Thatched blocks from Moda Blockheads that I have quilted as little minis for the wall so I might add this to the mix.   Want to know WHAT I am going to do with those little 3" blocks? The Wild Blossoms fabrics (which are shipping to shops at the end of this month) has a big Width-of-Fabric print that runs selvage to selvage in a big rainbow print of multiple wild flowers. I've been making my blocks in the different colors with the intention of lining them up with the colors in the WOF print.  I want to add in a 1" wide sashing strip between the blocks (for a finished sashing size of 1/2") and make a table runner. These are some mock ups of the versions I've been considering, with sold squares left for the blocks that are released in the weeks ahead. The 42" wide runner has two rows of blocks, either in the center, with a center print running through, or placed on the long sides. The top one has cream sashings surrounding the blocks and the second one only has sashings between the blocks and the rainbow print running up to the blocks on top and bottom. For the third one above I tried the Greenery light chartreuse fabric for sashing since it looks really springy.  It is a good idea to get a little extra of the rainbow print so you can position the fabric appropriately to show off the little bees. The above ideas would need either 1/3 or 1/2 yard of the WOF print, 1/8 or 1/4 yard for sashing and 1/3 yard for binding (indicated under each image). The CUT sizes of the rainbow print are listed to the right of the images. Another idea is to make a longer runner with a single line of blocks and two pieces of the WOF rainbow print. When wanting to blend the color ramp continuously, I flip the print upside down to continue the flow of color. My table is sized to handle this long version well so I think this is what I will make. I've mocked it up with either the lighter colors/yellows to the center or the darker blues to the center of the runner.  The longer runners need 3/4 yard of WOF print, 1/4 yard sashing, 1/2 yard binding. For binding I'm not sure what I'm using yet but it might be the new Thatched bias binding that Moda makes which is sold by the yard. That makes it SO easy!!  This sewalong has been lots of fun! I've really enjoyed seeing the various blocks people share in the Sewcialites Lounge on facebook. Because I want to keep the sewing joy going, I'm participating in the Bountiful sew along with Fat Quarter Shop with the quilt pattern Corey Yoder designed. I'm using the Wild Blossoms fabric for that one too and you can see the mockup and fabric requirements for the Bountiful quilt on the previous post at https://www.robinpickens.com/blog/2023-bountiful-quilt-along-with-the-fat-quarter-shop-to-benefit-make-a-wish. I hope you will join us. Happy sewing everyone!  Ah, "Simplicity" for a nice happy week on the Sewcialites sampler. This block is from Vanessa Goertzen of Lella Boutique. Vanessa can make simplicity so very charming and elegant! Lets take a look at some color play!  As I was experimenting with the angles and center vertical band, a nose started to appear to me. I could not resist adding a couple more triangles for ears and bringing a little lioness friend for a visit! For my sewn block I stayed with the more geometric play and I liked how the lower left one resembled a plus symbol or cross with interesting faceted bands from the quarter square triangles. Here is my sewn version:  Next week is my block and I'm excited to share! Stop back to see what I'm planning for my little 3" blocks. Till then, happy sewing!   Block 16 from Corey Yoder of Coriander Quilts has lots of pieces to play with. I enjoyed trying the center as a white bloom (like a white Poinsettia) with green leaves or red package ribbons cut with pretty ends. Play up the diamonds by using more background white or emphasize the X angles. This block is similar to Flourish from a couple weeks ago with an added twist on the inner flying geese to make that extra little square. I did my color studies in red and green to go with Corey's Christmas name and it is lively in those combinations.  I've used some spicy warmer reds and orange for my block instead of red, based on where I want this to coordinate with my rainbow WOF print of Wild Blossoms. I find that making the 3" blocks can be a challenge for getting my seams to lay flat when pressing. I like to use a tailors clapper of wood to help after pressing. I'll let this sit overnight to reinforce the flat pressed-open seams.  These tiny little scissors are just the most precious! They are made by Cohana and are a pretty little treat for snipping threads. And they are a sweet size to go with these little blocks! Hope you are all having a wonderful time with your Sewcialites blocks through the Fat Quarter Shop!   Brighten up your day with a little sewing! Here is "Brighten" from Minki Kim for this week's Sewcialites free block from the Fat Quarter Shop. What an interesting interlocking shape of rectangles. I love it! For color studies, the suggested layout then playing with those squares and rectangles a little to make a geometric layering of transparent squares in the center. Emphasize across the diagonal, have a pixelated "H" or a cut out rectangle that our eye is drawn into with it's dark center.  I stayed with the recommended layout since I liked the simplicity and movement of the shapes. I love this little red print in Wild Blossoms. It has all kinds of little blooming things with tiny bees buzzing about. It still shows some of the images in these small 3" blocks. I also had one more block to do to catch up..."Interwoven" from Shereece Nicole of Sew Hooked on Treasures.  This block took some concentration and careful following of directions. I love the outcome and how the ribbons have a continuous woven interlocking look.  If you are also catching up, here are a couple ideas in the color studies for the Interwoven block. The outer flying geese background can fill in more of a large "plus" shape. Center triangles can pop out as a pinwheel. The star points can be emphasized as their own element and we can also create a large X shape with fun motion.   Now I am all caught up and can go back to one block a week! My block will be coming up next month and I'm so excited to share! I hope you all have a fun Valentines (or Galentines) Day next week! Happy sewing!  |
About ROBINDesigner of colorful florals for Moda fabrics. Modern to transitional quilt designer. Illustrator, sewist, crafter. I am proud to be a designer for Moda Fabrics!
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