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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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Block 19 is here, and it's bringing the love! Wholehearted is designed by Jackie MacDonald and it is ready to steal your heart. There's just something extra special about a heart block, this is no exception.  Dotty Thatched in Tangerine and Thatched in Petal compliment each other like a perfect pair. This duo gives the Wholehearted block its movement. Talk about sew in love!  This heart block is all about the classics, constructed entirely from half square triangles and of course the four corner blocks. Wholehearted proves that simple shapes can lead to lovely results and a great block for practicing and perfecting technique. So how about a little color play on this block and lets see what we get!  I completely stayed with the heart this week for my sewn version of the block. But we can see other shapes evolve when we incorporate colors into the corners and segment the color families into bands. High contrast of black and white emphasizes those sharp corners of triangles and can make a line of a saw blade or very abstract shapes. With orange, pinkish and purple colors joining the black and white, it is a graphic bold statement.  Here are separations of the blocks in black and white as well. But back to sewn ones...  The Thatched Snuggly palette is bursting with color, it's proof that softness and vibrance can absolutely go hand in hand. This two tone block is subtle, yet it packs a punch. Soft, sweet and totally striking!  Happy sewing, Friends!
What is it about a row of flying geese that makes me love it so much? I don't even know but I love the lineup of triangles and especially a block like this that travels around in a square. Those geese are really giving DIRECTION! GO THIS WAY. So let's take a look at this block "Cloud Nine" from Debbie Maddy.  One thing that is always fun to play with on flying geese that are lined up this way, is to alternate the corner colors to be the same color as the center before it. The last row, right image, shows this "extending" of the arrow point. This gives it a more super-graphic kind of look. On this particular block I feel like it is wavy and 70s! I also played with the color that way on the bottom center block to get that middle row of wavy lines pointing to either side. Some other ways of heightening direction with these blocks is with shading. The right image on top row has a gradation of dark to light triangles so it has that feeling of trailing off.... The middle row emphasizes some of the other corners within the geese units, to form more center blocks from those sides. Make a checkerboard with the center or blend it right into those sides to make a jaggety middle. The right middle image also forms a whole new corner shape by pulling in more of the white.  Grayscale, with and without block lines.   This week's sewn blocks show a happy dance of blue and green, plain and dotty. Navy with turquoise and grass green and dotty lime. Lively and fresh!  And here is my snuggly calm warm tones of buttermilk, washed linen, oatmeal and cocoa.  Sometimes it is just really nice to have a monochromatic palette. With do much direction and contrast in this block, the monotone palette is very pleasing.  My flying geese have flown to the lower right corner- on the middle bottom of the cool corner. So many blocks!  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!
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!
Barb Groves is our designer this week with her "Polaris" block. Use the triangle backgrounds as stripes, accent colors or a band running through the block. Thanks for this simple, sweet block this week Barb!   It is nice to have a block without so many pieces this week!   I've got two blocks in my quilt this week for both the popsicle and snuggly palettes! My blocks are in the lower right and also the split color middle between the top two sides.   Loving those warm and snuggly colors!   Hope you are all staying cool and safe and are having a good summer. Keep on sewing and posting! Happy Blockheads!
Sherri McConnell brings us "Sandcastle" quilt block this week for Moda Blockheads. Quarter square triangles are a big part of this week's block and the little stitch-and-flip corners add a lovely little accent area. When my colors are side by side to visually extend a shape, you see squares on point or arrow heads or rows of diamonds. I like how the small triangles in the first two in the middle row look like little ears, or on the bottom row, when it looks like the tops of cats heads on the last two.  Gray scale for easier envisioning with other colors:  And with the lines for ease of seeing the actual pieces:  My sewn up blocks look fairly similar this week between the two palettes. The main difference is in the white vs buttermilk background and ruby vs cranberry in the middles.   My Sandcastle blocks will go in the upper right corner and in the lower left row of the quilt body. In the Popsicle palette it looks like this:  Here is the Snuggly palette:   We are two months in to our sew along! I hope you are having fun with the blocks and are sharing your progress in the facebook group. Happy sewing!
Week 5 of Moda Blockheads6 with Dew Drops from Chelsi Stratton of Sherri & Chelsi. So many options with this block! I hope these color studies help you see your way to stitching fun!  Red X in the middle? Bowties to the outer corners? Emphasize the star points or the overall X shape? Number 7 becomes a propeller. Number 8 makes a lovely shape with the cat-ear sides on point. The last row splits the color bands diagonally to make woven ribbons of color. I don't know which is my favorite this week but I am pretty partial to numbers 8 and 12.  Black and white and with the lines below. This week, with all the pieces, the lines can really make a difference in making sense of these color studies. As always, if you want to be inspired to try one of these, you may need to cut more pieces or differently than the directions tell you. But there are so many ways to experiment and play with the shapes and colors this week! Thanks Chelsi!  Sewn blocks...Melina has been busy sewing away on these. Thank you Melina! With this block, nesting seams works well for lining up quarter-square-triangles. And with the stitch and flip on three sides of the X for the center, it is important to have the angles lined up well. If you feel the pieces are difficult to keep straight for the stitch and flip, then try a little glue on the part you will be cutting off to hold them steady when sewing those seams.  These were Snuggly Palette!  And with the Dotty Thatched they are for the Popsicle Palette. Thought that little accent pop of green was fun and lively.   Next week is my block and I'll be sharing my idea for how I am doing the setting for this quilt. I'm so excited to show you my plans and color layouts. Till then...happy sewing!
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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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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