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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! 
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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!
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!
Janet Clare brings us a lovely lovely block this week with "What a Lark!" There is so much fun to have with this block, treating the center as arrows or a plus sign. I also like how we can line up colors within the half square triangles to let them be little triangles or form into bands of color. The bottom center and right show how those lines can be in gradations of color to almost look like the center is radiating light or it is a supergraphic.  I also think it is interesting to see how those corners can change looks when I see the right one on the top row. I notice the elements of the squares more prominently  Here is our black and white, with and without lines.  This week the sewn blocks really have more difference between the two palettes. The popsicle one is springy and fresh with Dotty Thatched in Lime. I love that fizzy look of the dots and how the green looks with a variety of blues. A little pop of orange is a fun accent.   Here is the popsicle palette plan so far! My blocks are planned for the upper left corner and lower right side.  The snuggly palette is soothing and warm with Buttermilk Thatched background. I kept these blocks simpler with fewer colors.   That top corner felt ignored before! Now it's starting to get some action.  Melina made 4 blocks for this week. We still go back and forth each week on what color palette we prefer! I can't wait to see how this looks at the end. But for now, keep sewing!! Happy summer and hope you are staying cool.
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  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!
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!
Week 2 of Moda Blockheads 6 and we have a beautiful block from Lynne Hagmeier of Kansas Troubles. Meet "Crossroads."  Summery June brings out those warm sunny colors in my mind. I worked with yellow to orange to red and burgundy. Is the center a bowtie? Or points on arrows? A turning point for a ribbon or line? With the first block I notice the corner triangles on the block a lot. The right one on the top row reminds me of a twist tie or the twisted ends of a wrapped candy. The right one on the second row has 4 arrows meeting in the center. The third row left is almost like horseshoe magnets. It can be a fun play of negative/positive with those horseshoe magnets in the next one. With only two colors, the next one is a strong silhouette. My bottom row uses 4 colors in the quarter square triangle center with more shades of the colors. In a case like this, if I were sewing one of these in Thatched, I'd flip my fabric to the back to get the lighter shade of a color.  Black and white and grayscale to see them without the color influence. And with the lines, below, to be clear on the piecing. I know with color studies like these, if you want to use them as inspiration, you may have to make some extra pieces to get the color and value differences in the pieces.  How about the sewn blocks? Well lets add a little Dotty Thatched to some corners in my Popsicle palette.  I'm using 2 blocks in the quilt this week, for each of the two quilts...so that is 4 blocks.   And same color vibe happening in the Snuggly palette too. Instead of Dotty, I've got the fuchsia in regular Thatched.  I stayed with a more traditional use of color arrangement in the Crossroads block. I'm excited to already have a total of 6 blocks made to be used in my two quilts!  How about you? Are you making multiple blocks? Or one a week is perfect for you? Some weeks are busier in life than others so go at your own pace, be good to yourself, and enjoy the process. Happy sewing my Blockhead friends!  |
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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