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I am headed off to Nashville Needlework Market and I'm so excited to be going for the first time! I can't wait to see all those materials and flosses and cross stitch goodies! But before I go, I must post these color studies that I did for the MOONBEAMS quilt that the Fat Quarter Shop is doing as their fundraiser for Make-A-Wish! The sew along starts this Friday, March 1st!!  When I saw the design for this year's charity quilt, I thought it was SO pretty and elegant! I love the birds in the corners and the trees especially. This is designed by the Fat Quarter Shop and I will be sewing along, making my version in my Dandi Duo fabric from Moda Fabrics. The first mockup I did was on white and I must admit, I LOVE how light, springy and fresh it looks with the pinks, corals, yellows and greens on a nice white background. Since Dandi Duo also have soft grays I wanted to try that. Although it is also a soft look, I don't think the gray gives the quilt the energy it deserves.  So how about something more vibrant?? This is Thatched Passion 58. It is not a Thatched color that comes in a bundle of Dandi Duo, but it coordinates really well and is a little darker shade to let those lighter pinks and corals pop out. I am definitely liking the Passion color more than the gray. I think it is lively, fresh and very playful.  The last version I tried is on Shadow, a nice dark charcoal-ish gray. I was inspired by seeing the Fat Quarter Version with Strawberry and Lemonade from Sherri and Chelsea, which has a dark blue for the background. The dark color really lets all the block elements sparkle and stand out. It is dramatic and sophisticated.  Which one to make?? I really came down to the Passion or white and decided on the white since it felt so happy and cheery to me and I think that works really well with this quilt. My quilt will be auctioned off at the end to help raise money for the charity. Stay tuned for sharing some blocks and get ready to sew.  Read more details about the sew along. THere is also a stitch along for a matching cross stitch design that is so lovely! The Jolly Jabber blog from Fat Quarter Shop has all the details on quilt and cross stitch! blog.fatquartershop.com/lets-get-ready-for-moonbeams/  Join in and support a great charity! I'm so excited to make the beautiful quilt! If you post images, use the hashtag #MoonbeamsQAL so we can see your work.
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 Another quilt to go with the Dandi Duo group is Sliding Shoji Screens. This quilt is revised from an earlier version. It was one of the first patterns I had created and was released with my first collection for Moda, Poppy Mae. Since then I've learned a lot!   Some revision were in order and I also wanted to give more sizes. I have eliminated the companion piece made with leftover strips and have changed the cutting directions to fit better within 40" width of fabric (vs 42" so allowing for shrinkage of prewashed fabric). There are three sizes. Lap 63 1/2 x 74 1/2", Full/Double 80 1/2 x 90 1/2" and Queen 96 1/2 x 90 1/2". The lap is actually the closest to what the original Sliding Shoji Screens sizing was.  I love the crisp white sashings with the soft grays. For the queen size I've added in the cross stitch stripe and dandelions on green. I enjoyed making this sample in the Full/Double size and for a larger bed, I will place it with the stripes running vertically if I need that wider size.  The pantograph I used when quilting this is Rondelle by Jessica Schick. I got it from Urban Elementz online shop. I placed the ovals perpendicular to the horizontal stripes of the quilt.  The fabrics used on this Gray/White version is listed below, plus another colorway that is a springy palette.  I think the cross stitch stripe would be a very fun sashing to run through the whole quilt.  The original inspiration for Sliding Shoji Screens came from the desire to have larger panels to showcase bigger prints/fabric designs. There is a shifting balance between the larger rows and thinner rows and little moments of sashing separating within the bands.   Sliding Shoji Screens uses HALF YARDS of prints. Lap needs (7) fabrics in half yard cuts plus 2 yards of sashing fabric. Full/Double needs (8) fabrics in half yard cuts plus 3 yards of sashing fabric. Queen needs (10) fabrics in half yard cuts plus 3 1/2 yards of sashing fabric. You can find the pattern at RobinPickensINC.com SLIDING SHOJI SCREENS Still two more patterns to share for Dandi Duo...Partial Eclipse and Posies Table Runner and Placemats!   I revisited my pattern "FRINGE" with Dandi Duo. The original Fringe pattern was released with Dandi Annie for it felt fitting to give it an update with my dandelions, Version 2. Fringe uses a Layer Cake of 10" squares and a background fabric and sashing fabric.  I made minimal changes to the quilt pattern but did eliminate the asymmetrical layout option that was in the first pattern and now included the specs and instructions to make the large square. There is also an option for a smaller 53 1/2" square lap size.  I've made Fringe in two colorways, both using a Layer Cake for the centers and different fabric for thin sashings and borders. The twin size (on wall below) has the Maize Dandi Toile for borders with Thatched Blizzard sashings. The large square size (on wall above) has the Graphite Dandi Toile for borders with Gray Thatched sashing.   You can find the Fringe pattern in both print and pdf versions at RobinPickensINC.com. My etsy shop only has pdfs, so print versions for US and Canada mailing can be found at my online shop powered by shopify (www.robinpickensINC.com). click here: FRINGE PATTERN Other than the main dandelion print, I think the Dandi Toile, in the borders and especially this dark Graphite version) are my favorite print from this group. I love the 2 shades of background and linear drawings of the simplified dandelions.  I also like how the "Cross Stitch Stripe" makes a lovely striped binding, as shown on the yellow version.   This is from the pattern back, showing the dimensions of the three sizes:   Keep reading on to see another "revamp" with Sliding Shoji Screens for Dandi Duo!  Dandi Duo fabrics arrived in December and with all the rush and excitement of the holidays, I didn't share much about it. Wow, how did THAT happen? So this is a little late, but Dandi Duo is still in shops now. I'm sharing some pictures for you to get a closer look.  Dandi Duo is the sister collection to Dandi Annie, one of my favorite groups with big white dandelion seed puffs and lots of childhood memories. The beautiful and dreamy weeds are still growing strong and back for another season of blowing wishes to the wind. The main print in Dandi Duo features the big dancing seed puffs along with golden blooms that have yet to turn to seed, backed by big pink circles and flowing leaves. A simpler illustrated “Dandi Toile” and dandelion paisley coordinate with the group, as well as “Little Bitties” of simply sketched blooms and a “Cross Stitch Stripe” for a linear companion. “Flyaway Seeds” is a delicate print of seedlings in flight.  The existing colors of Thatched create the palette of Dandi Duo: Maize, Gray, Shadow, Greenery, Sugar Rose, Peach and Blizzard. These light and happy colors are balanced with the calm, serene nature of the grays and cool white. Don’t forget to add some Thatched 108” wideback fabric in Gray 85 or Blizzard 150 and Thatched premade Bias Binding in Gray or Soft Black to coordinate for easy finishing of your quilts. Here are some images of the color groupings:      One part of finishing up a collection is finding some fun quote or thoughts you'd like to share on the selvage. For Dandi Duo I just had a simple thought, "Make a wish and blow! Let the seeds of dreams scatter and grow." Isn't that what we all believed as children? I still love the magic of blowing those seeds to the wind!  The Dandi Duo collection has 31 SKUs (which includes the 7 Thatched colors of Maize, Gray, Shadow, Greenery, Sugar Rose, Peach and Blizzard) and has precuts of fat quarter bundles, Jelly Roll 2 1/2" strips, 10" Layer Cake squares, 5" Charm Pack squares and 2 1/2" Mini Charm squares.    Dandi Duo feels happy and free. I hope it makes you as happy as it makes me! Read on to see more of Dandi Duo made up into some new quilts.
Happy sewing! |
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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