Hello and happy Wednesday! I hope you are all having a good time sewing with Moda Blockheads. I know for me, the sewing has been a really therapeutic time of my day with all that is going on. The hum of the machine, the focus on creating something, the calming energy of sewing and quilting...these have been a needed thing lately. Therefore I am especially happy to be providing a NEW BLOCK this week! UPDATE: I apologize that we've had an issue with connecting with the server for the pattern. Its back up now! Click the link in the gray box to get it from Moda. OR I've uploaded a PDF directly to my site and that is the BLUE "DOWNLOAD FILE" directly below this paragraph. I'm sorry for any problems you've had with getting the pattern (and keep reading for some color ideas):
Meet BLOOMING LOVE. This block can be done in so many ways. We just had Saint Patrick's Day and couldn't you see this as a four leaf clover? Or a simple pinwheel? This block was born from my Picket quilt and the 18" block I designed "Full Bloom." I had a great time using the simple stitch and flip corners to make the picket fence or pointed ends to the sections. More info about stitch and flip is below. But for now, lets talk about how you can play with the block. Half square triangles point to the center of the block with stitch and flip pointed ends extending from each one. A square is in each corner. These are some studies of how the block could look with different color play. For my block I was sewing I wanted to separate one section with a darker red to emphasize the heart within the pieces. I enjoy how it can look like both a flower and a heart, thus the name Blooming Love. Or what if you had two hearts, reflecting each other? In my mind, I originally thought of the pieces showing slight variations of color, either in scrappy mixes or light and dark hues. In the second row above, the 4 hearts meet at their points. Or, If you keep one side of the heart as a solid color and break the other side into two colors, and repeat and rotate that arrangement, it makes a pinwheel. The first two images on the third row show a gradation of colors that move around a wheel from light to dark. This could be really fun to try with some ombre fabrics. In fact, I'm updating this post to add some new pictures of one that I DID try with Ombre Confetti just today (Wednesday)! I made this one in the smaller, 6" size and used Thatched Burgundy for the background. On the last row you can see how it looks if you play with the corner blocks too or create some optical illusion with white center sides and dark corners. Once you have decided what you are doing with your arrangement, its time to get started on those pieces... If you haven't made stitch and flip blocks before, its pretty easy. A smaller square is added on a corner (right sides together) with a line drawn corner to corner, diagonally. Sew on that line. I sometimes just do a finger-press to crease the line into the fabric vs drawing it. After sewing, trim the corner off. I like to save those corners if they are big enough to use as half square triangles on other projects. If I'm saving them I will sew an additional seam 1/2" away from the first one (parallel the first seam), and then cut the corner off, leaving me with my little extra HSTs, already sewn. Since I'm making the 8" blocks for this project, the small stitch and flip corners are too little for me to make those extra blocks. I just throw the cut corners away or put them into my fabric cuttings that get donated for pet beds. After cutting the corner off, make sure you press the flipped corner open before adding the other corner, just as you would when making flying geese. I've forgotten and had to rip out the top part before. For the half square triangles in the center part of this block (the D pieces on the instructions) I increase the measurement 1/8th of an inch over what the directions say so my blocks are a little bigger when I make them, then I trim up my blocks. I like to use Bloc-Loc rulers to trim my half square triangles. I press the seam of my half square triangle to the dark side. Then the Bloc-Loc ruler ridge nestles up to the seam when you have the logo on the light side of the fabric. The ridge in the ruler helps it stay in place and aligned for you to trim the block. You also might need to trim up corners on the stitch and flip pieces. Any ruler works fine for this. After trimming all the pieces up you can join into rows, then join the rows and TA DA...your Blooming Love block is ready to share some cheer! If you've been following me these weeks, you have seen I've been making my blocks in both all Thatched fabrics for a more modern, solid look, and in Thatched mixed with scrappier mixes of fabrics. I've used fabrics from Abby Rose on this one to bring in my pink tones. Here is the Picket quilt that was my original inspiration! It was lots of fun to design! Thanks so much for the community and the energy of sewing along! I hope you have a great time with this block! Visit the other Moda designers to see their approach to this block:
Corey Yoder - https://corianderquilts.com/ Sherri McConnell - https://www.aquiltinglife.com/ Betsy Chutchian - http://betsysbestquiltsandmore.blogspot.com/ Jan Patek - http://janpatek.blogspot.com/ Brigitte Heitland - https://www.brigitteheitland.de/blog Lisa Bongean - https://lisabongean.com/ Lissa Alexander - http://modalissa.com/ Laurie Simpson - http://minickandsimpson.blogspot.com/ Vanessa Goertzen - https://lellaboutique.blogspot.com/ Stacy Iest Hsu - https://www.stacyiesthsu.com/blog/ (Me) Robin Pickens - https://www.robinpickens.com/ Janet Clare - http://janetclare.co.uk/blog/ Jen Kingwell - www.jenkingwelldesigns.com/blog Joanna Figueroa - https://blog.figtreeandcompany.com/ Thanks so much and happy sewing! Robin
44 Comments
The Taos pattern by Vannesa Goertzen can be found on her blog at https://lellaboutique.blogspot.com/ It is a fun mix of half square triangles and blocks, with a nice patchwork center that can emphasize the structure or provide a strong chained diagonal through the block. Instead of using all squares in the center, I decided to eliminate a few seams and use some rectangles in the square perimeter within the center. That is one of the things I like about this design. You can do a diagonal line of squares going through the center or play with the lights and darks to make other shapes within the patchwork. I decided I wanted a dark green Pine Thatched square to really emphasize that center. Don't you love that green Aurifil thread? I love that color of green! It is Aurifil's Light Leaf Green #1147 in Mako 50 weight. And it blends so well with my scrappy/Abby Rose version of the block. I've combined Thatched Chartreuse and Peacock with a small Pine corner square on the inner perimeter with Abby Rose fabrics in green. I think if I were choosing fabrics again, I might select something that separates that inner square perimeter more. I used some of the leaves from the roses and the colors are good but I'd like it to have a little more consistency to the overall print. However, I'm very happy with the "tin leaves" on the outer corner and having my little simple bee friend from Painted Meadow on the most center squares. I think its interesting to notice how the block looks different with the darker green to the inside of the half square triangles vs the outside (like the all-Thatched version). I hope you are having fun with this Taos block and doing your own experimenting with the blocks, squares and half square triangles! Follow along on facebook and with the other Blockhead designers:
1.15 - Corey Yoder - https://corianderquilts.com/ 1.22 - Sherri McConnell - https://www.aquiltinglife.com/ 1.29 - Betsy Chutchian - http://betsysbestquiltsandmore.blogspot.com/ 2.5 - Jan Patek - http://janpatek.blogspot.com/ 2.12 - Brigitte Heitland - https://www.brigitteheitland.de/blog 2.19 - Lisa Bongean - https://lisabongean.com/ 2.26 - Lissa Alexander - http://modalissa.com/ 3.4 - Laurie Simpson - http://minickandsimpson.blogspot.com/ 3.11 - Vanessa Goertzen - https://lellaboutique.blogspot.com/ 3.18 - Stacy Iest Hsu - https://www.stacyiesthsu.com/blog/ 3.25 - Robin Pickens - https://www.robinpickens.com/ 4.1 - Janet Clare - http://janetclare.co.uk/blog/ 4.8 - Jen Kingwell - www.jenkingwelldesigns.com/blog 4.15 - Joanna Figueroa - https://blog.figtreeandcompany.com/ Happy Wednesday and Moda Blockheads day!! Laurie Simpson gave us the pattern to a lovely 9 Patch block this week! Check out Laurie's blog post for the pattern or check back with the facebook group on Friday for the pattern. http://minickandsimpson.blogspot.com/2020/03/blockheads-3-week-8.html Since the original pattern was for a 6" or 12" block I made an alteration so mine would fit with my other 8" blocks. For the Abby Rose scrappy version of my block, I made the nine patch in the 6" size and then added a 1" border around the block (1 1/2" cut pieces to make 1" finished size when sewn with other blocks). I wanted to continue the look for the darker squares creating an "x" shape so I finished the corners on the outside border with pink squares. If you want to add a border like this, I used the 6" Nine Patch block and added (4) 1 1/2" squares in each corner with (4) 1 1/2" x 6 1/2" rectangles, with one to each side of the block. I love putting the little rose bud in the center of this tiny block. The little leaves, curving lines and rose bud are all from my Abby Rose collection which should be shipping the middle of this month!! The burgundy oval squares are from my Painted Meadow collection. For the all-Thatched version I made the corners with tiny blocks, the same size as the 4 squares surrounding the center piece. For each of my four outer corners, I assembled (4) 1" squares so they will be 1/2" finished size. I used the same 1 1/2" x 6 1/2" rectangles I specified above for the outer sides. I like how the little outer squares will mimic those inner squares. They seem so cute! I showed the scale with the thimble below for these squares in the center. I like to see how the simple block made up with just Thatched looks compared to the one with the Abby Rose fabrics. The Abby Rose material with soft flowing curved lines added into the top, bottom and side squares makes a subtle plus sign within the block. I'm feeling some rosy love for this block this week! Can you believe we are on block 8 already so that means we are two months in! Follow along on facebook and with the other Blockhead designers:
1.15 - Corey Yoder - https://corianderquilts.com/ 1.22 - Sherri McConnell - https://www.aquiltinglife.com/ 1.29 - Betsy Chutchian - http://betsysbestquiltsandmore.blogspot.com/ 2.5 - Jan Patek - http://janpatek.blogspot.com/ 2.12 - Brigitte Heitland - https://www.brigitteheitland.de/blog 2.19 - Lisa Bongean - https://lisabongean.com/ 2.26 - Lissa Alexander - http://modalissa.com/ 3.4 - Laurie Simpson - http://minickandsimpson.blogspot.com/ 3.11 - Vanessa Goertzen - https://lellaboutique.blogspot.com/ 3.18 - Stacy Iest Hsu - https://www.stacyiesthsu.com/blog/ 3.25 - Robin Pickens - https://www.robinpickens.com/ 4.1 - Janet Clare - http://janetclare.co.uk/blog/ 4.8 - Jen Kingwell - www.jenkingwelldesigns.com/blog 4.15 - Joanna Figueroa - https://blog.figtreeandcompany.com/ Do you have a feeling of ZEST or a ZESTFUL approach to life? What is zest? I found this in Wikipedia, with Zest described in positive psychology: "Zest is a positive trait reflecting a person's approach to life with anticipation, energy, enthusiasm and excitement." (Peterson, C.; Park, N.; Hall, N.; Seligman, M. E. P. (2009). "Zest and work". Journal of Organizational Behavior. 30 (2): 161–172). That sounds pretty great to me! How perfect to have a heart to describe this feeling of excitement, energy and positive attitude! I liked the simplicity of this block and thought it would be perfect to add a little patchwork mix of colors into the shape. With Thatched basics I used crimson, fuschia, tangerine, rose and one of the pinks from Abby Rose in 2 1/2" squares (2" finished size). I made the patchwork sides, then added the stitch and flip corners, then joined them together. The scrappy version has the same Thatched crimson, fuschia, and rose fabrics plus cranberry. I wanted one of the darker shades to offset the dark red in the houndstooth check. And I loved putting in some of this Bonnie and Camille measuring tape fabric. What a fun way to "measure my love" of sewing! The curving lines in the background corner pieces is one of the coordinates of Abby Rose. Between Brigitte's (zen chic) LOVE block and this ZEST heart, I'm really feeling the the warmth of good feelings lately! You can get the pattern from Lissa Alexander at http://modalissa.com/2020/02/blockheads-zest.html/ . She also has some sweet pictures of little combinations of the block plus plans for a heart within a heart block. Its precious! Oh, yes, also Lissa is doing a giveaway on her blog so check it out!
Visit other Moda Blockheads designers for their take on this week's block! 1.15 - Corey Yoder - https://corianderquilts.com/ 1.22 - Sherri McConnell - https://www.aquiltinglife.com/ 1.29 - Betsy Chutchian - http://betsysbestquiltsandmore.blogspot.com/ 2.5 - Jan Patek - http://janpatek.blogspot.com/ 2.12 - Brigitte Heitland - https://www.brigitteheitland.de/blog 2.19 - Lisa Bongean - https://lisabongean.com/ 2.26 - Lissa Alexander - http://modalissa.com/ 3.4 - Laurie Simpson - http://minickandsimpson.blogspot.com/ 3.11 - Vanessa Goertzen - https://lellaboutique.blogspot.com/ 3.18 - Stacy Iest Hsu - https://www.stacyiesthsu.com/blog/ 3.25 - Robin Pickens - https://www.robinpickens.com/ 4.1 - Janet Clare - http://janetclare.co.uk/blog/ 4.8 - Jen Kingwell - www.jenkingwelldesigns.com/blog 4.15 - Joanna Figueroa - https://blog.figtreeandcompany.com/ Are you ready to celebrate Valentines Day and LOVE? Well, Brigitte Heitland's LOVE block is a perfect fun way to spread some cheery feeling. Here is the Thatched and Abby Rose version. Abby Rose will be shipping to shops at the beginning of March! Those roses are perfect for a love theme. I am fortunate to have my mother visiting this week. Talk about LOVE. She has been my biggest cheerleader and is a wonderful example of love. Not only that, but she made this weeks blocks for me!! Yes, when Mom visits, she gets right into the mix of fabric fun and sews along. She is also sewing along in Blockheads this time to make a quilt. Foundation paper piecing is a newer thing for me. I've done a few blocks with it and I know the tip to shorten the stitch length is very important. I know because I've forgotten to do that in the past and it is a lot harder to rip the paper out and not tear seams. With a shorter stitch length its SO much easier! I also like that I can mark the colors of the fabrics on the back paper so I can follow my plan as adding the pieces. Just a thought...these L O V E pieces would look good added side by side into a rectangle as well as in the stacked square. Thank you, Brigitte, for this fun and happy block of love! Visit Zen Chic for the pattern with template sizes at https://www.brigitteheitland.de/blog
and check out the other Moda Blockheads 3 designers to see their progress: 1.15 - Corey Yoder - https://corianderquilts.com/ 1.22 - Sherri McConnell - https://www.aquiltinglife.com/ 1.29 - Betsy Chutchian - http://betsysbestquiltsandmore.blogspot.com/ 2.5 - Jan Patek - http://janpatek.blogspot.com/ 2.12 - Brigitte Heitland - https://www.brigitteheitland.de/blog 2.19 - Lisa Bongean - https://lisabongean.com/ 2.26 - Lissa Alexander - http://modalissa.com/ 3.4 - Laurie Simpson - http://minickandsimpson.blogspot.com/ 3.11 - Vanessa Goertzen - https://lellaboutique.blogspot.com/ 3.18 - Stacy Iest Hsu - https://www.stacyiesthsu.com/blog/ 3.25 - Robin Pickens - https://www.robinpickens.com/ 4.1 - Janet Clare - http://janetclare.co.uk/blog/ 4.8 - Jen Kingwell - www.jenkingwelldesigns.com/blog 4.15 - Joanna Figueroa - https://blog.figtreeandcompany.com/ Jan Patek's BIRDHOUSE block this week for Moda Blockheads 3 is an appliqué design. Last year I did the pieced blocks instead of any appliqué but this year I thought I'd jump into the appliqué spirit! I'm really a patchwork piecing kind of person but it's good to stretch yourself. I've tried to do needle turn appliqué but I'm not very good at it (I know, I know...I'd get better with practice). But fusible raw edge appliqué is a little more my speed. I'm still a bit rough at it but it IS fun to do something completely different and out of my norm. One thing I enjoy while doing this is getting out one of my other sewing machines. My daily machine is a straight stitch Juki so anytime I need to do decorative stitches, overlock, blanket stitch, zig zag, etc, I bring out my little Bernina or my Juki HZL computerized machine. For the first block, I did my ALL Thatched. But this birdie wanted a fancier house, something with birdhouse wallpaper and and a polka dot roof. I like how Thatched still plays well as a background when other prints are showing off. Leaves, leaves and more leaves in this one. I guess I can call the birdhouse a GREENHOUSE BIRDHOUSE. As for fusible appliqué tips, I've got two suggestions. One is to let that iron get really hot and really press your fusible or it sometimes peels unevenly. I often don't press it enough to get that good bond. The other tip is one I learned from Anna Maria Horner in a class I took from her. Take a pin and run it over the paper backing to score a little cut line in the paper before you tear it off. You can separate it more easily and peel from that cut line to remove the paper. I had been struggling with the edges of fusible on fabric to separate them and the pin line works much better than my fingernails to start it! The other thing that always surprises me about appliqué...the mess on my desk! They are happy little cuttings and pieces though. Thank you, Jan, for this fun block and for stretching me to do new things! Visit Jan Patek for the pattern at http://janpatek.blogspot.com/
and check out the other Moda Blockheads 3 designers to see their progress: 1.15 - Corey Yoder - https://corianderquilts.com/ 1.22 - Sherri McConnell - https://www.aquiltinglife.com/ 1.29 - Betsy Chutchian - http://betsysbestquiltsandmore.blogspot.com/ 2.5 - Jan Patek - http://janpatek.blogspot.com/ 2.12 - Brigitte Heitland - https://www.brigitteheitland.de/blog 2.19 - Lisa Bongean - https://lisabongean.com/ 2.26 - Lissa Alexander - http://modalissa.com/ 3.4 - Laurie Simpson - http://minickandsimpson.blogspot.com/ 3.11 - Vanessa Goertzen - https://lellaboutique.blogspot.com/ 3.18 - Stacy Iest Hsu - https://www.stacyiesthsu.com/blog/ 3.25 - Robin Pickens - https://www.robinpickens.com/ 4.1 - Janet Clare - http://janetclare.co.uk/blog/ 4.8 - Jen Kingwell - www.jenkingwelldesigns.com/blog 4.15 - Joanna Figueroa - https://blog.figtreeandcompany.com/ Betsy Chutchian's block this week, Crown and Star, reminds me of arms reaching out with spread hands, bursting with joy. You can get it on her blog at http://betsysbestquiltsandmore.blogspot.com/. I've decided to make my center with a dark pine square, surrounded by white star points on peacock for more contrast. The outer perimeter uses the chartreuse and sprig colors, similar to last week's block HSTs. This is another one for the green row in my quilt top layout plan. This block falls on the darker range and uses more color and less white/cream. From the instructions, I deviated a tiny bit and made my flying geese units using a stitch and flip method, trimming off the corner after sewing, instead of cutting the side squares into triangles first. There is more waste with the fabric this way but the pieces are not that large so I don't feel bad throwing those cut pieces away. I'm making the 8" blocks, so my flying geese are made with 1 1/2" x 2 1/2" rectangles for the base and 1 1/2" squares for the geese triangle sides. My print/scrappier version of the block keeps the Sprig color as my background fabric but I'm using the Stem Plaid from Dandi Annie in green for the outer crowns. The teal color is from Dear Mum and the center is a mistletoe branch from Splendid. I like a little pop of red to tie in with some of the red blocks. In my overall scheme, I have three blocks made that make up two greens and one red in my rainbow grid. I'm looking forward to getting more filled in and working out the progression to more white or cream as the blocks progress to the right. Happy sewing and share your progress on the facebook Moda Blockheads 3 page or tag your blocks on Instagram. Thanks Betsy for a wonderful block! Check out the other designers and their progress too:
Corey Yoder - https://corianderquilts.com/ Sherri McConnell - https://www.aquiltinglife.com/ Betsy Chutchian - http://betsysbestquiltsandmore.blogspot.com/ Jan Patek - http://janpatek.blogspot.com/ Brigitte Heitland - https://www.brigitteheitland.de/blog Lisa Bongean - https://lisabongean.com/ Lissa Alexander - http://modalissa.com/ Laurie Simpson - http://minickandsimpson.blogspot.com/ Vanessa Goertzen - https://lellaboutique.blogspot.com/ Stacy Iest Hsu - https://www.stacyiesthsu.com/blog/ Janet Clare - http://janetclare.co.uk/blog/ Jen Kingwell - www.jenkingwelldesigns.com/blog Joanna Figueroa - https://blog.figtreeandcompany.com/ Week 2 with Moda Blockheads 3 and its a fun block from Sherri McConnell! This is SUNSHINE STAR and I'm continuing my all-Thatched and Thatched-scrappy prints blocks. Sherri will have the quilt block instructions at her blog: A Quilting Life - https://www.aquiltinglife.com/ This week I'm working with greens and teals. My Thatched colors are peacock, sprig, chartreuse and seafoam (seafoam is in Abby Rose). The pattern specifies cutting triangles and then joining them (one at a time HST method) but since I was making two blocks and keeping my colors the same through numerous pieces, I decided to use a 4-at-a-time method. I used 3 HST in a color in a quarter of the block then used the extra fourth HST in the second block, making my center a copy of the Thatched grouping from the other block. For my block mixed with prints I've got a few from Abby Rose which ships to shops in March. The flowing lines in the background fabric, the little leaves on green and seafoam and the line drawings from the cabbage roses are all from this new collection. The teal graphic leaves are from Dear Mum and I like how the teal/aqua shades from that group work with Abby Rose. Thanks to Sherri for such a cheery star block! I love star blocks. Next week we will have a block from Betsy Chutchian. Thanks for stopping by! Check in with the other Moda Blockheads designers to see their versions of Sunshine Star:
Corey Yoder - https://corianderquilts.com/ Sherri McConnell - https://www.aquiltinglife.com/ Betsy Chutchian - http://betsysbestquiltsandmore.blogspot.com/ Jan Patek - http://janpatek.blogspot.com/ Brigitte Heitland - https://www.brigitteheitland.de/blog Lisa Bongean - https://lisabongean.com/ Lissa Alexander - http://modalissa.com/ Laurie Simpson - http://minickandsimpson.blogspot.com/ Vanessa Goertzen - https://lellaboutique.blogspot.com/ Stacy Iest Hsu - https://www.stacyiesthsu.com/blog/ Janet Clare - http://janetclare.co.uk/blog/ Jen Kingwell - www.jenkingwelldesigns.com/blog Joanna Figueroa - https://blog.figtreeandcompany.com/ Lets get started with Moda Blockheads 3! Our first block is designed by Corey Yoder and is called "Star Chain." I mentioned in my posts before that I was going to use Thatched basics for making my blocks. This first block is using Crimson 43 for the background red. Outer center triangles are Rose 13. Dark pieces are Cranberry 118 and the light pink is the Thatched print that went with Dandi Annie. I'm trying to do my blocks in both Thatched-only and in Thatched mixed with prints from some of my collections. The first block I made was the purely Thatched one and I had a few stumbles along the way. For the second block with the prints I READ THE DIRECTIONS and was able to make a more accurate block. I found it hard to know where to line up my triangles for the center point when adding them onto the diamond square. I have to admit I often like to take the short route and I don't pin much. My "guesses" on mid point when adding the second triangle sometimes left me with uneven pieces and sides for sewing seams. Perhaps I could have found some tips by googling it or something, but I resolved my issue by finger pressing two sides of the square in half, and the long end of the triangle in half, before joining either. That way, once the first triangle was added, I already knew where the triangle and square center point was to line up the next piece accurately. AND since I ended up ironing out the finger presssed crease after attaching the first triangle, I decided making a pencil mark was a better way to mark the square. This gave me a MUCH better result with even edges. With the second block I also followed Corey's arrows to show which direction to press the block pieces. The entire block lined up well when I finally followed those instructions! However, I still added one whole row to the top upside down and had to rip that out and flip it to the correct side. I figure I'll make all my errors on the first blocks, right? Somehow I have a feeling I will be friends with my seam ripper numerous times as I embark on this journey. But that also means I am learning and stretching my skill set to new levels. I think it a universal understanding of quilters that mistakes, um, I mean "opportunities" help to make us better quilters. Check back next Wednesday for my Thatched and Thatched/scrappy blocks for week 2. If you want more info on my colors and my overall plan, check out yesterday's post My Plan for Moda Blockheads 3. And visit the other Blockheads 3 designers to see their blocks and progress too! Corey Yoder - https://corianderquilts.com/
Sherri McConnell - https://www.aquiltinglife.com/ Betsy Chutchian - http://betsysbestquiltsandmore.blogspot.com/ Jan Patek - http://janpatek.blogspot.com/ Brigitte Heitland - https://www.brigitteheitland.de/blog Lisa Bongean - https://lisabongean.com/ Lissa Alexander - http://modalissa.com/ Laurie Simpson - http://minickandsimpson.blogspot.com/ Vanessa Goertzen - https://lellaboutique.blogspot.com/ Stacy Iest Hsu - https://www.stacyiesthsu.com/blog/ Janet Clare - http://janetclare.co.uk/blog/ Jen Kingwell - www.jenkingwelldesigns.com/blog Joanna Figueroa - https://blog.figtreeandcompany.com/ Moda Blockheads 3 has a variety of options for you. Options on the size of blocks you are making. Options on layouts for overall quilt. Of course, options of whatever fabric you decide to use for it. Sometimes I find giving myself boundaries and a plan will make it easier for me to move ahead on a project. With that in mind, I decided to make a plan for how I was going to approach the mystery blocks ahead. Since I am using THATCHED basics for my fabrics, I have a color palette mapped out. I could limit my choices down to a specific color family or a small group of colors, like blues and greens. But I want to have some fun color exploration with this whole rainbow of colors that Thatched provides. I am using 28 colors for my color map and I'll be including some of the colors that are in other collections, like Abby Rose with the seafoam blue and warmer light pink that are in the Thatched texture. I am hoping a few of those make it into the basics group that gets reprinted. If we are doing 56 blocks, that divides nicely into rows of 8 blocks. Seven rows of 8 blocks each. I am making my rows by color families- purples, warm gold and orange, reds, grays, etc. I am planning on separating the rows horizontally with a white sashing strip so it really reads as a row of color. The image below shows a lot of white lines to the right. No, I'm not piecing a bunch of white strips in. But I am showing this to try to illustrate the idea I have in my head. I'd like to make the blocks go from dark to light by using dark to light colors in the block pieces. Once the blocks get halfway over, I plan on incorporating more white/cream background into the blocks to lighten them even more as they progress towards the right end of the row. So the lines below represent blocks that have more white pieces with less color pieces. I don't know if it will work the way I envision it in my mind, but that is the fun of blocks. You can always rearrange it later, as long as you haven't joined them together, block to block, yet. I will be making 8" blocks. I thought it was easiest for me to pick a size and work in just that size. I loved the look of the varied sizes last year, but since my plan is so based on rainbow lines, I thought a consistent size would be easier to organize. If I were to make the 12" blocks I'd have a nice bed sized quilt. With the 8" blocks I'll have a nice wall or lap quilt, approximately 64" wide and 62" tall (depending on how big those sashings are and if I add an outer border). I'm thinking this would be nice on my foyer wall and this seems like a good size. One other thing in my plan...I am going to try to make two quilts as an exercise in the color study of Thatched. One will be completely Thatched. The other will follow the same color scheme but mix the Thatched as background fabric with some of the prints from my collections. That way I can have a better idea of how Thatched plays as a support for prints vs as a "solids" quilt. That's it for the parameters I have given myself and what my method is. I hope this helps you to plan your own course of attack.
Its starting tomorrow! Are you ready to play with fabric in Moda Blockheads 3?! |
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!
Shop Robin's DesignsI am an affiliate for Fat Quarter Shop and may earn a small commission through my links. Thank you for your support!
Categories
All
Archives
November 2023
© Robin Pickens Inc. All rights reserved. No images may be reproduced without permission.
|