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What a ride it has been - both educational and wonderfully fun! The Moda Blockheads 6 final week is here and I'm excited to share the two quilts I've been working on. Both the Popsicle palette and the Snuggly palette quilt tops are officially complete, one playfully bold and the other oh-so-comfy sophisticated. It has been a pleasure watching these two colorways take shape stitch by stitch.  Here's the Popsicle palette quilt top. This project has been quite the journey, full of small victories, a few challenges and lots of hours with fabric scattered everywhere. Seeing the two colorways come together, identical in design yet each with its own personality has made every effort worth it.  These bright colors came together even better than I imagined, creating a design that feels lively and full of energy.  And here's the Snuggly colorway. I'm struck by how calm and serene it feels. There is a softness to these colors that has spoken to me throughout this entire project, encouraged me to slow down and enjoy the process.  Thank you to Moda Fabrics for hosting yet another inspiring Moda Blockheads designer sampler challenge. I have thoroughly enjoyed watching this community sew along, experiment with colors, fabrics, and layouts, and share their progress but most of all cheer each other on week after week. It's been a joy to be part of this creative adventure and I'm grateful for the friendships and inspiration that continue to grow here. I know you will miss Moda Blockheads, just like I will. So, why not get ready for another sew along sampler with the Fat Quarter Shop's SEWCIALITES 3!! Yes, I am one of the designers for that quilt and am now thinking about what I want to do with my Sewcialites plan....hmmmmm. Want more info? This is the Jolly Jabber Blog with dates and specifics: blog.fatquartershop.com/join-us-for-the-free-sewcialites-3-quilt-along/ The Sewcialites sew along will run February 20th through August, 2026 with new free blocks released on Fridays. I hope you will join us! Till then, happy sewing! Robin 
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This weeks block is block 24 and it is designed by Sarah Thomas and it's called Mod Water Wheel. I did not include this block in my quilt layout and therefore don't have any pictures to show. It is, however, a pinwheel variation block made up of half square triangles and stitch-n-flip corners. What I am working on this week is assembly and for that I have quite a few pictures to share. The intersection block sections for both the Popsicle and the Snuggly palettes are finished and photographed. These additional blocks measurements were listed during MY block 6 week. Here is the link to the blog post: https://www.robinpickens.com/blog/moda-blockheads6-week-6-is-my-block  These intersection blocks are made up of one of the Moda Blockheads 6 blocks, the HST intersection of the stars, and rectangles pieces. All the measurements to construct this block is in the Blog post for block 6. This includes cutting diagram and cut sizes. Shown here is Moda Blockheads 6, Block 9, Polaris, with my HST sides, in the Popsicle palette.  The two intersection blocks shown above have the same color placements for the rectangles and the HST patchwork but this group will be rotated in placement for the other end of the quilt. The Moda Blockheads 6 block used here is Block 12, Flight Path.  These intersection blocks are used as a divide for the colors to change drastically. Here the Moda Blockheads 6, block 3 is Sunday Best. I've got more contrast between the red and orange background colors.  The Moda Blockheads block used here is block 1, Regatta.  The Snuggly quilt is made with rectangles in Thatched Oatmeal and Cranberry. The same construction of these Intersection block sections as with the Popsicle palette quilt.  Two section blocks with Thatched Cranberry to the right, Oatmeal to the left. The patchwork above is identical for the two block sections.  Two section blocks with Thatched Cranberry to the left and Oatmeal to the right. The Moda Blockheads 6 blocks are the same as were used for the Popsicle palette.  The rest of the section pieces have been sewn together and are ready for final assembly. Oh, what fun! To see all of these blocks jointed together for one giant beautiful Moda Blockheads 6 quilt, tune in next week! I'm excited to see everyones interpretation of this challenge.
Happy sewing for one more week! 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!  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!
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!
Happy week 6 of Moda Blockheads! This is an especially fun week for me since it is MY block this week AND I am sharing my SETTING PLAN for my quilt. Just a couple quick things about me, in case you are new to Moda Blockheads or new to me: 1. I try to do a weekly "color study" for the new blocks and I play with color and light and dark placement to see how those factors influence how the final block looks. I post them each week on my blog and in the facebook group and on my instagram account. 2. I've been designing fabric for Moda, going on 10 years! I started working with them after winning the Fabric8 competition on spoonflower.com, which Moda sponsored. It has been a wonderful experience working with them and I am happy to design floral inspired lines and have basics collections of Thatched and Dotty Thatched too. 3. I design quilt patterns and a lot of my patterns span a modern-to-transitional feel. I am a very spacial/visual learner so I try to diagram my patterns a lot with visuals. 4. A common question I get is about what computer program I use to create my color studies. I use Adobe Illustrator. I have EQ8 but am most comfortable on Illustrator so that is what I always go back to. So let's get on to this week's block!  MOONBEAM. Can you see the arrows of light as they shoot off into space? Whether you see this as a moon or flower, I think the directionality of the corners and potential for layered light in the center nine-patch offer lots of interesting elements to play with. I love the simplicity of stitch and flip corners and each of the four snowball units use those. If you struggle with getting those to be even, have no fears here, since this block does not require the angled corners on those snowballs to match other seams precisely. If they did, sometimes using a little glue to hold pieces in place is helpful to getting accurate snowball corners. For those instances I put the glue on the two pieces facing right sides together, on the part I will be cutting off , just a little bit away from the seam I am sewing.  Color studies for Moonbeam. The last one feels the most moon-like to me with glowing white against a dark inky sky. My other experiments feel like flowers, plaid explosions, double sided arrows or arrows that change direction and now point IN vs OUT. This block can be busy and complex or simplified down to mostly arrows, like the middle one shows. After all this experimenting with color studies...I still went with a sewn block that is most like the first one. Here is the color study done in black and white, without the color influence:  When working in color, I did not see how much the white corners stood out until I saw it in black and white. It is very helpful to take photos of your pieces when you lay them out and then make the photo black and white to see what your contrast levels are. And with the dividing lines of the actual block construction:  The quilt block pattern for this block as well as the past week's blocks are on the Moda blog at: https://my.modafabrics.com/inspiration-resources/blockheads-6-archive Sewn blocks in my two color palettes: Popsicle and Snuggly. Keep reading to see the full plan I have for these blocks and how I will be laying them out. If you want previous information about these two palettes, I've posted about them at the start of the sew along at www.robinpickens.com/blog/moda-blockheads-6-begins  Here is the block done for both the Popsicle and Snuggle palettes.  I wanted to share my layout idea for my quilt. There are a few sizes for this sew along. I decided to make the biggest block the center, focus on next largest as four corners, and surround those corners with smaller blocks. By adding additional half square triangle units I am making a giant star-like or X block.  I also wanted cohesive color groupings within the quadrants so I focused families of warm or cool in corners for Popsicle. For Snuggly palette I separated pinks or browns.  In order to differentiate between an area of color that is the quilt setting and the colors that will have a quilt block in them, I shaded down the block areas with white. The full color areas are the quilt setting additional pieces I am creating.   Each side will have star points created from half square triangles. I'm making 4 1/2" finished HST so starting with 5 1/2" squares, trimming to 5" and then assembling into the bigger triangle edges. The bigger blocks face each othr to make the overall star points for the quilt body layout.  The background cutting to get these side pieces requires 26" of fabric. I'd get 7/8ths of a yard to have some room for error. Or you may have lots of extra background fabric already from the blocks you are making and will not need to supplement as much extra fabric. From background material, you will need (8) 9 1/2" x 5" rectangles, (8) 5" x 5" squares and (12) 5 1/2" x 5 1/2" squares. You will also need a total of (6) 5 1/2" squares each of A/B/C and D/E/F to make the half square triangles. I've used different combinations on my color quadrant sides so I am using a variety of colors to make up my A/B/C and D/E/F squares.  I've used a simple two-at-a-time construction for making my HST, with a line diagonally, corner to corner and sewing 1/4" to each side of the line. I press to dark side and trim to 5". Then I assemble my rows or columns as shown below:  This is what my sewn sides look like in Snuggly and Popsicle:     This 27 1/2" x 14" block will be the center of the four sides of the quilt top. I also have rectangles and squares of colors that run up to the star points. A quilt block will be in that smaller square area within the side of color bands. For the color bands, cut 14" x 9 1/2" rectangles in colors that match with your star HST ends. You will also need either (2) 5" x 5" squares or (1) 9 1/2" x 5" rectangle per side to be at the base of the quilt block from the sew along. Because my colors are split into quadrants, I'm mixing those colors in to the blocks that go in those spaces to continue the color split.  I hope this makes sense! You can simplify by using all one palette. I just decided to switch it up a little and do multiple color groupings, because more color is something I usually like! The other twist for me is mixing regular Thatched and Dotty Thatched. Same colors but there is a lot of interest to me in having that subtle change of dots or no dots, sort of like another layer of depth and texture. The Snuggle palette looks like there might be some dotty in those mocked up spaces but that quilt will be all regular Thatched. I think it will be interesting to see how much difference there is between the two quilts when they are all done. Here is a peek of how my layout looks with the blocks we have done so far.   And here are the groups of sewn blocks so far!! Many thanks to Melina for working on these. Otherwise I'd still be doing some catch-up!   Please feel free to pop back over here to see any new blog posts or color studies. I also have a facebook group "Robin Pickens Sew Happy Community" where we will be doing a little sewing together in July of my Bar Hop quilt pattern. And you can find me on Pinterest, instagram as @RobinPickens or on my youtube channel youtube.com/c/robinpickens. Thanks for sewing along and being a part of this wonderful Moda Blockheads experience! Robin  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!
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!
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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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