Fair and Square has a special place in my heart because it was in the first group of patterns I designed. I've learned a lot since then and ended up completely rewriting the instructions. This quilt continues to be a learning experience for me!

I made a revision to the design from the original quilt. I wanted to show this quilt with a soft, buttery yellow background to go with my big bright sunflowers. Sometimes with a pale color mixed with prints needs a little more defining contrast. I loved how a thin white border gave a little additional crispness to the block centers. I decided to carry that thin white sashing around the border to define the space. 

The first time I made this quilt I thought the process of making half square triangles went on FOREVER! Now I just enjoy seeing those big blocks come together from a fun mix of little triangles. This quilt can be a fun way to use up some of your extra half square triangles (I save all my extras for scrappy projects) or pieces at least 3" square. Yup, got a lot of those. This pattern specifies a layer cake but can also be made with scrappy pieces approximately 3 x 5" with background fabric added.

Part of my learning experience this time on the quilt was doing the longarm quilting. My system is computerized and I put the sewing designs into the individual blocks vs going with a continual pantograph that is edge to edge. I did a different border design and two designs rotating between the two types of block styles. Aligning the design, staying centered, working out what looked right with the blocks...I did numerous tests on scraps first. I can say I have SO much respect for the amazing longarm quilters out there that I see doing incredible custom work. It's not easy and requires patience and expertise, even when its guided by the computer. I'm glad I pushed myself to try this. It's not perfect, but I think I gave up the quest for perfection a long time ago! I quite enjoy seeing the areas that have mistakes because it records learning and improving for me. 

The back of this quilt has the print from Solana of little ladybugs. I just couldn't wait to try this on a backing since it is such a fun little print and I love ladybugs! They seem like good luck and fond wishes coming from busy little bright ladies. This print is great for a backing since the ladybugs have little dashed lines of curvy walking paths in a subtle texture in the background so its very forgiving if you make mistakes while quilting. Yes, I know that from personal experience.

In case you were wondering what yellow this is, its Moda Bella Solids Baby Yellow 31. I paired it with Bella White Bleached 98. This is the original Fair and Square quilt I made with Poppy Mae, my first Moda Fabrics line. It was quilted by Gina Siembieda.

If you want to check out other quilts made with Solana, visit these posts:
https://www.robinpickens.com/blog/simple-solstice-on-a-sunny-day
​https://www.robinpickens.com/blog/solana-patterns-here-comes-backslash
or visit my shop! Have a sunny, happy sewing day!

 The other new pattern I've released to go with the Solana fabric group is Simple Solstice. This quilt can be done with a Layer Cake or Charm Pack for a small or large quilt! I love the cheery sunshines in sunflower Solana warmth.

The original plan was just the larger quilt, but when I tried blocks in the smaller, Charm Pack, size, I fell in love with the scale of the sunshines. It makes a lovely wall quilt or baby quilt and can have another row nicely added to make it a square. 

This quilt pattern uses a mix of stitch and flip corners to make snowball blocks, with rays from half square triangles and flying geese. Because the HST and flying geese are spaced apart, there is minimal corner and point matching to do, so this is really a very forgiving quilt if you don't like having to match lots of points and seams exactly.

I also like the combination of using the scenic print from Solana for the back of the quilt against the white of the front background fabric. For the small version I used the white on white print of the sunflower seeds and it gives the quilt a slightly lacy feel.

Fun fact: this Windsor chair was my Grandmother's. It has traveled with me from home to home and almost always lives in the corner of my bedroom or a guest bedroom. There is something comforting about having a quilt draped over the arm of this chair and I love the smooth wood of the well worn chair arms. 

My little visitor friend seems to like these quilt blocks quite a lot. On two separate visits, she claimed them as the place she needed to sit. She knows what she likes!

Simple Solstice will be shipping to shops and the Solana fabric will be shipping in October. If you want to check out this and the other patterns shown with Solana, visit my previous post or my shop. Happy sewing and enjoy the sunshine!

I'm looking forward to 2021 and hanging this colorful calendar tea towel in my kitchen! This design is exclusive to Moda Fabrics and will be sold through quilt shops. I've used colorful quilt block motifs mixed with some of my florals from Abby Rose, Painted Meadow and Solana. A couple of the ladybugs from Solana are bringing some good luck into the day too.

I have heard some people say they will add a calendar tea towel to a back of a quilt to mark the month and year the quilt was made. I think that is such a fun idea! I like to just collect them as a memento from each year and vary the designs. I also hang them for some time in the kitchen from a skirt hanger and I can then switch them out easily. 

If you are interested in getting one of these, let your local quilt shop know you want them to order some. Along with this tea towel (which will be shipped to shops in November), Moda is also making some tote products! They have the same floral and quilt design but instead of a calendar they say SEW HAPPY. I was so excited to see the samples and did this video that shows them more on my youtube channel. 

And this fun fast one to get a feel for HOW MUCH fits into this large project tote! 

The totes have fun red handles and the regular sized tote and large project one have inside zippered pockets to hold those little things that so easily get lost. Or you can pop a zipper pouch inside the tote that holds rotary cutter, scissors, threads, etc. The zipper pouch has a nice strap handle to the side so you can loop it over your wrist. Another lovely feature in the large project tote is a pocket that runs along the width of the tote on the back side. It has a center seam so it doesn't flop open and its a great spot for some of your rulers, books, and patterns. 

This is an example of the types of things I have if I'm taking a class or workshop for quilting, including fabric (did I mention it fits whole bolts of fabric?), cutting mats, rulers, sewing notions, rotating mats, and patterns and quilt blocks or tops. I am forever fighting the long rulers and mats and trying to keep them from sliding out of my arms and piles of stuff as I travel from car to class. I like to have my 24" long rulers and a mat that is at least that wide as well. All this stuff fits in the tote! Of if I'm going to see a longarm quilter, I have my quilt top, quilt back and possibly batting. Or my big embroidery/quilting hoop. 

The totes and zipper pouches will be shipping to shops in December. Wouldn't this be a great gift for a sewing friend? I'm making up my list (and sorry Mom, you now know one thing you'll be getting for Christmas!)

Want to see more videos with fabrics and quilts and fun stuff for sewing? Pop on over to my youtube channel!  https://www.youtube.com/c/robinpickens

Thank you to Lisa Bongean for a wonderful block for this week's Moda Blockheads. You can access the block pattern on her blog at this link:

This week I was making the first of my blocks for my BROWN row in my rainbow row quilt. I don't work with brown a whole lot so this is a good exercise for stretching myself beyond my go-to colors. AND I decided to work in some of my new SOLANA fabric to the mixed prints block so it made it even more fun. But first...a little color/contrast study with the block...

I love the illusion of a square on point made from those flying geese when you keep the same color on all the flying geese and the small corner squares in the center. I also liked keeping a little shading difference between the center square and the star points surrounding it. But its interesting to see how playing with the outside half square triangles and making them a different color from the flying geese can give the block an overall octagonal feeling. And if you play with different colors for the flying geese on the larger and smaller blocks, it separates the inner square vs the illusion of the square on point. The example with the darkest corners on the large flying geese emphasizes a giant plus sign behind the on-point square. And in the bottom row I started playing with adding some orange, thinking a scrappier mix of colors and I like how the white corners and flying geese centers work together as a band of on-point border. The one with orange one might be my favorite of the color studies. But I think that is partly because I really like orange as a color.

My all-Thatched version is using the Cocoa and Oatmeal brown Thatched with a center square of Cream. The star points around the center are the Oatmeal from the back side for subtle difference.

For my version with prints, I am using the scenic print from the group in the corners with the criss cross ratan plaid, sunflower seeds on yellow and varietals on cream in the center. Solana doesn't have brown as a colorway but I think these browns from Thatched go with it quite well since the whole group has a warm, earthy feel. Makes me want to get out in the garden and start planting.

I love how perfectly these blocks go with my latest vintage Singer acquisition- this two tone 301. When I saw the two-tone colors I fell in love with this one. I just got it at Road to California in January from Aspire Sewing from Anaheim. She is lovely. I haven't named her yet (keep thinking "Mabel").

Please stop by the other Moda Blockheads designers' blogs and check out what they are all up to. I'm happy to be back to posting on time this week! Still catching up with a few so stay tuned for more to come this week! Want to follow me on Bloglovin'? If so, click this link! https://www.bloglovin.com/blogs/robin-pickens-blog-20472215

At the time Corey Yoder's Starry Eyed block was released for Moda Blockheads, I was deep in Quilt Market sewing. Finally this weeked I've had a little time to do the blocks! Here is Corey's post if you want to get the pattern:
​https://corianderquilts.com/moda-block-heads-block-15-giveaway/

Blue, blue, lovely blue! The main blues here used from Thatched Basics are Royal 96 (corners and background) and Sky 93 (bright medium light blue). For the lightest blue I flipped Sky and used the backside. I wanted the effect of shading or dimension, so even though the pattern used a single square in the middle top, bottom and sides, I used triangles.

The dark center is Navy 94 and the white is Cream 36 in Thatched. I did some color studies on the computer the week of the block release and if you didn't get a chance to see those, it is at this link:
​https://www.robinpickens.com/blog/moda-blockheads3-starry-eyed-by-corey-yoder-and-giveaway

For my block made with prints, I decided to use my NEW Solana line that is shipping to shops in October! The blue here is a more tealish blue with green undertones. I switched up the dark center this time for a lighter center with my happy ladybugs!

In Solana, there are two blues- Pond, the lighter medium blue and Horizon, the deeper darker blue. I love how the yellow sunflowers really pop on that Horizon Blue. The other prints in the Starry Eyed block are the Criss Cross print based on Ratan and Varietals, which are linear illustrations celebrating the varieties of Sunflowers.

I'm so glad we add in more Thatched blenders with each group to have more color range to play with. As for whether or not they stay on as basics depends on the popularity of the color and if it is different enough from the other basics of Thatched. I like how the Solana colors work really well with Marine and Turquoise and Peacock in the Thatched Basics.

Really hoping to get another set of blocks done tomorrow and get closer to catching up. Happy sewing, have a wonderful Memorial Day and stay safe and well!

Today I get to share my newest fabric line for Moda Fabrics, SOLANA. It is based on sunflowers and warm, happy colors. When I designed this fabric, I had no idea how much I would need and enjoy working with this optimistic group of fabrics at this particular time. 

Solana is a Spanish word for "the sunny side" of a mount or valley. This seemed like a perfect name for a group about sunflowers because they are always looking to the sunny side, always reaching up to that sunshine.

This collection feels like it celebrates simple pleasures. Ladybugs crawling on leaves, tall blooms looking pretty yet bold, linear illustrations of fanciful sunflower centers... It does remind me of being on family vacations in the summer, driving across country with the windows down and the warm air rushing at my face. I've included a painting of a rural scene in this collection that reminds me of those car trips and seeing miles of farmland and fields.

Solana includes 4 main colorways of cream/buttercup, green, peach/clementine, and pond and horizon blues. The large florals are accompanied by a criss cross ratan pattern, tall stalks, ladybugs, varietals illustrations, sunflower seeds, and of course more Thatched blenders. This collection will be shipping to quilt shops in October 2020.

A very exciting addition to the line this time are two PANELS! Each of these panels have a quote in the center and are a yard in width. Want to have some fun with free-motion quilting? Or add blocks for borders and make these the center of a bigger quilt? I can't wait to experiment more with these and share my progress with them!

The quotes are "Wherever life plants you, Bloom with Grace" (French Proverb) and "Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadows. It's what Sunflowers do." by Helen Keller.

It's been a different experience to prepare for Quilt Market in a virtual way. Today I would have been back home, just arriving from a late night flight after seeing all you wonderful quilty peeps at Market. I miss that experience. It's like reuniting with family. ​But I am learning new ways of connecting with people over the internet and video. Speaking of video...this is what my dining room ended up looking like to make my market video! I'm still cleaning up...

I've had requests to show my sewing space and I've shown it in bits and pieces before but thought it was time for a better tour! My daughter was home this past weekend and she spent a day helping me clean it up so it was presentable to share. We made a video and posted it to youtube and I'm sharing that here. I'm also giving a little more info on some specifics of my setup and things I use.

This space has gone through a lot of changes and rearranging. When we first moved into this house this room was carpeted and had wood paneling on the walls that had been painted a peachy color and turquoise formica cupboards and counter built into the end wall.  Those came out. We put in drywall and wood floors, but after water damage downstairs, years later, we moved everything out and the room was tiled. I've rearranged this room many times and at one point it had 5 large desks in it, along with numerous bookcases, chairs, boxes of samples, etc. My husband has commented that I couldn't possibly get more furniture into the room. Of course that is when I decided to add a longarm. I was determined. I can make it fit. That whole plan and journey is really deserving of it's own blog post, so I'll just say here that this is the new and improved layout with more things moved to the walls (and my daughter's room since she is at college), leaving space in the center for the longarm. Welcome!

I spend a lot of time at this desk. It is actually a dining table from Ikea. It is the "TORSBY" table and I see they have it now with a high gloss white top. My table has a glass top which is painted white on the underside. I like having a larger desk surface by using a dining table, plus I like the clean modern look of this. This table measures 53" x 33 1/2" so I can spread out. I like the fact that the top surface is glass because sometimes I do watercolor painting here (or in the kitchen) and when I do, I can clean off the surface of the glass easily. I tucked a Ikea Alex drawer unit under the table/desk. This holds my pens, envelopes for orders, postage, packing tape, plastic bags for kits, office supplies, etc. It fits really nicely. I also have some holders on the desk top for my notebooks, calculators, business cards and clip boards. The magnet boards are also from Ikea. Just so you know now- I have a LOT from Ikea. I love their creative solutions with furniture and all the options they have.

In the corner I have an antique chest that was my Aunt Doris'. She was the only relative living out here when I moved to California so it seems appropriate that I use it to house things that feel like sentimental treasures to me. I've got the fat quarter bundles and jelly rolls for each of my collections with Moda. I also keep some Christmas giftware little critter figurines I did for One Hundred 80 degrees and lovely pincushions. I like to hunt for vintage sewing things so old thimbles, spools, rulers, sewing machine oil and parts, along with buttons and some vintage cameras live here. When you close the glass door it makes a creaking noise, like the chest is talking to you. I covered the shelves with some removable peel and stick wall covering in white with gold metallic animal spots because it felt fun and fresh (by Valspar and found at Target). I also rotate the vintage sewing machines I display on the chest. The brown one is my newest and I got that from Aspire Sewing in Anaheim at the Road to California show. I love the two-tone tan. Under the sewing machine cover I have a beautiful hand crank Singer that my husband gave me as a gift. How great that I can machine sew even if the power goes out!! Add in some artwork on the wall from Crafted Moon and a sewing notions clock from Moda and I'd have to say this is a really happy corner of the room for me! By the way, the quilt on the wall is STARLET in the medium size, made in Dear Mum fabrics. And the sewing machine cover is a pattern in Jenelle Kent's FARMHOUSE FRESH book using her toweling fabric.

When planning out the rearranging to fit the longarm, I knew a priority to me was to have a longer cutting space. I used two desk tops from previous desks with a cupboard that was left over from our kitchen renovation (I mentioned water damage...well, it started in the kitchen and we had to redo that too) and  a Kallax shelf unit from Ikea as an end support. This gives me storage and cutting table support and is a good height. I can measure out over 2 1/2 yards at once from a bolt on this surface and that is a great help when I am making kits or doing backings for quilts. Having a longer cutting table is a great thing to have in a quilting work space! Since my longarm is right behind me when I am working at this cutting table, I can always turn and use it as a counter space for compiling kits too. This area has become a very efficient work space. 

On my cutting matts, I have acrylic stands that hold my numerous rulers. They are from A. T. Enterprises and I found them at Road to California. The grooves make the rulers stand up straight. I have a lot of Creative Grids Rulers. No matter what others I try, these seem to be my favorites that I use the most. I use Bloc Loc for trimming my half square triangles and flying geese units, but Creative Grids has become my GO-TO rulers for cutting. When I have blocks that need eighth measures, I use the Primitive Gatherings Creative Grids Itty Bitty Eighths Square and for most of my general cutting, I use the Creative Grids stripology ruler (designed by Gudrun Erla) and 3 1/2" x 12 1/2" ruler, 4 1/2" x 8 1/2" ruler and the big 8 1/2" x 24" ruler for cutting width-of-fabric cuts. So I keep these handy and at the cutting table, vs the other specialty ones that I keep on the wall shelf. I have the perfect 10 ruler too and use that for layer cake projects, but the ones I just mentioned are my normal daily rulers ( the 3 1/2", 4, 1/2" and 8 1/2" long one). For rotary cutters, I usually use Olfa Splash or Martelli Ergonomic (Ergo 2000 which is kinder to my wrist) rotary cutter.

I also keep my scraps for projects in some tubs and containers I can easily access as I'm doing sewalongs and other scrappy projects. These Variera containers from Ikea provide a nice space to fold up and store my Thatched Basics fabrics in scraps as I work on numerous projects. I keep some of these on shelves or on rolling carts, where they are easily accessed. I put the colors in according to the rainbow ramp of colors I have used. It is easy to pull out a bin, use scraps, put the remaining back, and keep some order to the studio.

This Raskog cart holds the bins of fabric scraps well and I like how it can roll over to the table or cutting surface easily. I have another cart for other sewing notions but I keep this one for fabrics near the cutting table. I can take the tubs of fabric out and replace them as needed and roll it to where I am working. This is where I pull most of my fabrics for my Moda Blockheads3 blocks each week. Since I am doing a quilt with rainbow bands of color for this sew-along, keeping the scraps in color groupings makes this very easy to assemble and play with the options. One of my quilts will be made in all Thatched basics and the other in Thatched plus prints so I like to keep that Thatched bin very handy. 

Speaking of Moda Blockheads, I am making 8" blocks (with occasional smaller blocks for other projects) and I found these great project boxes at Target to store my blocks. I love them because they are 11.8" x 11.8" so if you are making any blocks that are 10" or smaller, the pieces and finished blocks fit really well! These boxes are only about $2 or $3 a piece so they are very affordable and I stack them on top of bookcases with other projects in progress. I've got about 9 or 10 of these boxes for my different WIP. The box to the left of the Blockheads blocks above has my Moda Village #modavillage blocks for Christmas and Abby Rose versions. This pattern is from Miss Rosie's Quilt Company by Carrie Nelson and is lots of fun! Want to read more about that? Check out my blog post on my Christmas village.

I think as the Moda Blockheads progresses, I'll need to get the taller versions of this box. There is also a 10" high one and I just might have to go for that taller size to hold my growing blocks!

In the corner I have a lovely corner for sewing and piecing. Some nights, when things are dark in the rest of the house, this little corner is glowing and humming with the activities of late night sewing. The cupboards along the wall hold various cans of spray basting, paint brushes, stationery, and color swatches. The shelf below holds containers for strip piecing, extra rulers, magazines and works in progress. My sewing corner is lit up by a light from Costco with multiple brightness settings and a little fan to blow cool air on me on hot summer days. The corner desk is from (again) Ikea with a curved side that gives me extra space for a desktop ironing board, my Oliso iron, a bulletin board, and my peg board with notions is on the wall in front of me as I sew.  I love sewing at my trusty sewing machine, my Juki TL2200. This straight-stitch machine is my daily helper and workhorse. I also have a Bernina 125 for classes and a Juki HZL-F600 for other fancy stitches. But this Juki  TL2200 is my bestie in the sewing room.

I got this machine at the Quiltcon in Savanah from SewingMachinesPlus.com and it has run like a dream. I recently ordered more bobbins and needles from them and have had excellent customer service from Sewingmachinesplus.com. I've also faced this machine perpendicular to me and put an extended table on the desk and done free motion quilting on this machine with great results. I love my Juki!

This is the Skadis pegboard system from Ikea that holds a lot of my sewing notions. I have pegs for embroidery hoops, rulers and things I want to hang. The little slide-in containers hold my push pins, safety pins, measuring tapes, bias tape makers, pins, thimbles, needles, clips and marking chalks. I find it is so easy to have these things get lost and mixed in with other things that having this wall system really puts some order and structure to my organization. The shelves hold large threads, bobbin buddies, pins, starches and other notions. The cups hold pens, markers, needles, rulers, pliers, and snips. I've got two boards stacked one on top of the other and there is a little extra room. I think if I had one it would have not been enough so I'm happy to have some higher space that I don't use as much to have that extra storage.

The shelf on the wall holds some of my scraps as well as the cart. I use the smaller Samla bins from Ikea for strips that measure 1/2", 1", 1 1/2", 2", 2 1/2" and so on so I can easily pull down containers and access leftover strips for projects. I print out the size labels on my computer and slide a printout into the front side to easily identify my organization bins.

When I'm at the longarm, this is my view. I can see my sewing space and my window. I've got a Daylight Company floor light that also helps to light up my longarm space as well as can lights in the ceiling. Good lighting is important. I'm still learning the Bernina Q24 but it's coming along!

To the side and behind the longarm I have Billy Bookcases that work really well for bolts of fabric. I have overflow of fabric bolts upstairs (as well as bagged and unbagged patterns and other supplies). Most of the fabrics I use for daily sewing and cutting kits are down here in this space. The Billy Bookcases work well in the tall size for two shelves of standing bolts with some middle sections of sample fabric yardage placed horizontally. I store totes and project boxes on the tops of the shelves. My husband also converted a tv nook in the wall into shelving storage for my art supplies and extra quilts. We close it off with curtains to keep the room looking a little neater. When we added the shelving for bolts to the perimeter of the two walls of the room I lost my design wall for quilt blocks. Something has to give, right? I now use the floor of the foyer as a "design wall" and I walk up the stairs and look over at the blocks in their arrangements from above. It works.

This is my space and I love it. It is a work in progress. It continues to evolve and change. If you have questions, let me know. I'm including link below to some of the items here in case you are interested in them. They don't pay me, although sometimes a company will give me something to try. I'm sharing what I use on a regular basis. If you want a walk through of the space, watch my youtube video below and check out more videos on my youtube channel. If you want to be notified when new videos come out, select the "subscribe" button on youtube.

​I hope you have a space that brings you as much joy as my space brings me! Keep creating and sewing!

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNFGL95Mw4YSj98_k5RakqQ/featured

​Ikea Items:
Torsby Dining Table
https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/torsby-table-chrome-plated-high-gloss-white-s39931845/
Ikea Alex Drawer Unit
https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/alex-drawer-unit-white-10192824/
Kallax shelving cubes
https://www.ikea.com/us/en/search/products/?q=kallax
​Variera storage box
https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/variera-box-high-gloss-white-70177255/ 
Skadis pegboard for wall organization
https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/skadis-pegboard-combination-white-s29217377/
Samla plastic storage boxes with lids for scraps
https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/samla-box-with-lid-clear-s49871676/
Raskog rolling cart
https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/raskog-utility-cart-white-20382932/
Billy Bookcases
https://www.ikea.com/us/en/search/products/?q=billy%20bookcase

Sewing Machine Cover in book Farmhouse Fresh by Jenelle Kent of Pieces to Treasure 
https://www.piecestotreasure.com/product-page/farmhouse-fresh

Acrylic Ruler Stands
https://www.atenterprises.com/rudi.html

Target project boxes (11.8 x 11.8" square) with lids
https://www.target.com/p/6-3qt-small-modular-storage-bin-room-essentials/-/A-53927402?preselect=53885131#lnk=sametab

https://www.target.com/p/9-1qt-medium-modular-storage-bin-room-essentials/-/A-53927400?preselect=53885134#lnk=sametab

Juki TL2200 QVP Mini
https://www.sewingmachinesplus.com/juki-tl-2200qvp-mini-sewing-machine.php

Oliso Iron
https://www.oliso.com/smartiron/

Bernina Q24 Longarm
​https://www.bernina.com/en-US/Longarm-Quilting-US/BERNINA-Q-20-Q-24-on-Frame
​
Starlet quilt pattern
https://robinpickensinc.com/products/quilt-pattern-of-starlet-digital-downloadable-pdf-by-robin-pickens-in-3-sizes-for-wall-or-lap-quilts-51-38-or-26-square

​Robin Pickens youtube channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNFGL95Mw4YSj98_k5RakqQ/featured

Stop by Janet Clare's blog for this week's Moda Blockheads pattern, Hampshire Star. I still have a few green blocks left to go in my green row so I'm working in that color family, towards the lighter end of my row (I'm going from darker to lighter in my blocks).

I made my blocks similar to the layout of lights and darks that Janet showed in her pattern. But what would it look like if we played with those half square triangles with our color and light/dark placement?

The first image follows the Hampshire Star layout. The second image treats the top, bottom, right and left middles like ribbons or banners with blue and green sides and triangles that play with sparkly light and dark. I emphasized an additional triangle within the inside corners with a darker olive color. The light and dark variations within the colors reminds me of cut crystal. On the bottom row I played with a darker color being in some of the background pieces. This can define the space with more of a suggested diamond center and more shapes created on the outer parts of the block. These blocks might not be considered Hampshire Stars anymore because of how the pieces are colored but I sure think they are interesting. I especially like how the image on the lower left reminds me of petals or interlocking oval rings. Wouldn't that be fun as a really large block? 

These layouts played with the half square triangles...but when I planned out my block I thought I could make a few less pieces (as well as less seams and points to match) if I used some flying geese pieces for some of the block. I still pieced my block in rows but used more flying geese and rectangles.

If you want to use flying geese I provided some sizes of pieces. This uses the one-at-a-time method with stitch and flip corners to make each flying geese unit.

These are my blocks- one of all Thatched. One of Thatched and other prints. I used three coordinates from the Abby Rose collection for the scrappier version. Since I am working on the lighter end of the row of green blocks I thought this would be a good time to try some Thatched fabrics flipped to the back. This shows the lighter range of color. From the back side the colors have a soft, light, chambray look.

I also enjoyed a subtle change in the background on some of the flying geese in the Abby Rose version so I see a hint of a plus sign surrounding the center (the curvy pollen dance lines on the 4 sides).

Check out the other Moda Blockhead designers to see their Hampshire Stars! Thanks Janet!
​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/

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!
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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/
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Jenelle Kent has a charming new book out with Martingale, Farmhouse Fresh. The projects are absolutely lovely! They use 16" wide toweling, which Jenelle has with Moda Fabrics.

This Rock Pool Toweling in the seafoam color is such a fun combination with Abby Rose! The modern farmhouse look of the toweling works so well with the cabbage roses and pink, green, orange and seafoam colors in Abby Rose.

The ends are made with patchwork squares that add such a nice mixture of colors. My friend Susan, the Felted Pear (@thefeltedpear on IG), had the lovely idea to add some applique and a label and I think it is such a nice touch! Jenelle has numerous applique projects in the book and her needle-turn work looks so good on the toweling. I usually do fusible raw edge applique and I think that works well on this fabric as well.

This cover ends up being a perfect size for my Juki TL2200 sewing machine! Its my main piecing machine so its always out and definitely deserves a pretty cover.

I also like the way this side patchwork looks from the end of my work space.

If you are interested in winning a digital copy of Farmhouse Fresh by Jenelle Kent, head over to my instagram feed and enter! I'll be drawing a winner from people who follow me @robinpickens, Jenelle @piecestotreasure and Martingale @martingaletpp on Instagram and enter on my IG sweepstakes post in my feed. Jenelle will notify winners on February 25th of the IG book tour!

Other IG posting peeps to check out for the IG book tour:
@piecestotreasure
@martingaletpp
@modalissa
@gailpandesigns
@robinpickens
@quiltedmoose
@karenatsomerset
@janeteclare
@helen_stubbings
@debbie_maddy
@justcarrieintexas
@corianderquilts  

​Happy sewing!!