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We’ve made it to Week 8 of Sewcialites 3, and this week’s block is the Beacon Block, designed by Amy Smart of Diary of a Quilter. This block has a lovely, slightly traditional feel and comes together with a combination of half square triangles and flying geese. It’s a fun mix of techniques that keeps things interesting while still being very approachable even when the tiny HSTs in the 3" blocks finish at just 3/4" square!  For this block, I chose to use more of the Burgundy Thatched fabric as the background - similar to how I approached the color placement for last week’s block, keeping in mind where it will sit in the overall quilt layout. The block has to blend in while still being noticeable, a subtle balance when playing with color placement.  This week’s colors are Pink Grapefruit, Burgundy, Cranberry, Sugar Rose, and Fuchsia. Keeping the background really dark allows the other rich berry tones to stand out in such a striking way, almost like a Beacon!  I really enjoyed how this one came together—the shapes create such a statement, and it feels like a little classic tucked into the quilt. More next week!
Happy Sewing, Robin
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Week 7 of Sewcialites 3 brings us a fresh and cheerful design with the Flower block by Elizabeth Hartmann @elizabethagh. This block has a clean, modern feel while still capturing the simple beauty of a classic floral motif. With her unique and highly recognizable style, Elizabeth Hartmann gives this design a distinctive charm.  A combination of stitch-and-flip corners and straight piecing allows this adorable block to come together with ease. The layout is approachable and fun to piece, offering a great opportunity to play with color placement. Whether you choose soft, subtle tones or something more vibrant, the design truly comes to life through your fabric choices.  This week’s color choices, from left to right, are Masala Spice, Caramel, Sugar Rose, Fuchsia, Cranberry, and Burgundy. I’ve placed this block in the darker section of my quilt layout, which is why I’ve chosen Burgundy as the background— the colors pop beautifully against the surrounding blocks.  Playing with these rich, warm colors inspires so many new ideas. The contrast you can create allows each element of the block to really express itself, bringing depth and personality to the design.
I hope you’ve enjoyed exploring the Flower block as much as I have and that it inspires your own color experiments for this block. Happy sewing! Robin The Sewcialites 3 sew along continues to bring all the creative joy, and Block 5 - Little Love block - designed by Vanessa Goertzen is such a sweet addition to the series. This heart design feels like a celebration of all things cozy and handmade, and it’s quickly become one of my favorite blocks so far. What I love most about the Little Love block is how simple shapes come together to create something so expressive. The heart design is classic, but the layout gives it a fresh, modern feel. It’s a great opportunity to play with color placement—whether you go for soft, romantic tones or something bold and eye-catching, the result is always charming.  The fabrics I chose for the block this week are Fuchsia, Primrose, Early Dawn, Buttermilk, and Caramel—together, they feel as delicious as raspberry milk chocolate! The combination brings a warm, sweet palette to the heart design, adding just the right balance of softness and richness.  I played with fabric placement, mixing hues to give the heart some depth and dimension. It’s amazing how even subtle shifts in color can completely transform the look of the block.  If you haven’t started yet, it’s definitely not too late to join in. The Sewcialites 3 sew along is all about enjoying the process, building skills, and creating something beautiful one block at a time.
See you next week. Happy Sewing! Robin I love it when a color palette comes together and sparks endless ideas. That's exactly how I feel about this palette. We're at week 4, and block 4 is designed by Minki Kim. It's called Spring Wind Block and this block is such a fun one to sew. It includes plenty of bias edges and points that need careful matching, which makes it both a little challenging and really satisfying when everything lines up right. Taking your time with the cutting and pressing really helps keep those points crisp and the block nice and flat.  The colors I chose for this block are Smoked Paprika, Pink Grapefruit, Primrose, and Fuchsia. When these colors come together in this design, something really special happens. The block suddenly feels full of vibrancy and movement—almost like the shapes are spinning.  It’s always encouraging to lay out the blocks sewn so far and see the progress!  These blocks are sewn up in the colors that match the layout shown in the first blog post. Seeing that gentle color progression start to appear really gives a sneak peek to the overall design and makes me even more excited for the weeks ahead.
Happy Sewing, Robin Why can't a log cabin block REALLY be a cabin? Well, this little cabin in the woods has a roof and chimney to top those log strips to finish off a cheery home! This weeks block is MY block CABIN LIFE!  I thought the Darling Peony fabrics would be great to try in this "Cabin Life" block for Sewcialtes3 since there are little houses on some prints and words to share that loving home feeling. These blocks show off the 9", 6" and littlest 3" log cabins in peony pinks and reds.  For my own quilt, I'm using an all Thatched palette and liked using the darkest burgundy for the roof and smoked paprika for the "brick" chimney.  Want more info on my quilt plan for this sewalong? Last week I shared my layout using 3" blocks to make a wall hanging in this spicy pink/red/cream/caramel palette. Many thanks to the Fat Quarter Shop for providing this fun sewalong!
Happy Sewing, Robin I’m so excited to be one of the 25 designers participating in Sewcialites 3 hosted by Fat Quarter Shop! This sew along is always such a highlight of the year. All of the instructions and patterns are available on the JollyJabber Blog https://blog.fatquartershop.com/category/sewcialites-qal/ This week, I’m sharing two 3" blocks — and a little bonus moment! I wasn’t able to post last week because I was at QuiltCon soaking up all the creative inspiration and fun, meeting friends old & new. Wow, was it worth it! So instead of catching up quietly, I'm celebrating with two blocks at once!   I'm working with the Thatched Basics collection in the colorway shown above. From left to right the colors are: Smoked Paprika, Masala Spice, Carmel, Buttermilk, Early Dawn, Primrose, Sugar Rose, Pink Grapefruit, Fuchsia, Cranberry & Burgundy. Fabric requirements are as follows and they are approximate:
 Block 1 is designed by Chelsi Stratton and it's called Idyllic. The colors used for this block are Smoked Paprika and Carmel for the HSTs, Burgundy and Fuchsia for the hourglass blocks, Sugar Rose and Primrose for the teeny tiny 1" finished four patch. Precision is key when working with 3" blocks and a little spray starch helps!  Block 2 is designed by Susan Ache and it's called Twinkie's. I made little strip sets of Sugar Rose and Primrose for the center four patch and stripe blocks. The corners are Fuchsia and Early Dawn. This block has much lighter colors as it sits in the light section of the layout featured below.  This layout leans fully modern — clean, graphic, and bold with a fun cluster center of all the 25 blocks set together. I’m working in rich burgundy and berry tones, grounded with Buttermilk and some more neutral or less bold fabrics for contrast. The saturated palette gives these petite 3" blocks a lot of presence, and a strong cohesive composition.
The finished quilt measures 27.5" x 27.5", making it the perfect size for a statement wall hanging. Happy Sewing - until next week, Robin 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  This weeks block is block 24 and it is designed by Sarah Thomas and it's called Mod Water Wheel. I did not include this block in my quilt layout and therefore don't have any pictures to show. It is, however, a pinwheel variation block made up of half square triangles and stitch-n-flip corners. What I am working on this week is assembly and for that I have quite a few pictures to share. The intersection block sections for both the Popsicle and the Snuggly palettes are finished and photographed. These additional blocks measurements were listed during MY block 6 week. Here is the link to the blog post: https://www.robinpickens.com/blog/moda-blockheads6-week-6-is-my-block  These intersection blocks are made up of one of the Moda Blockheads 6 blocks, the HST intersection of the stars, and rectangles pieces. All the measurements to construct this block is in the Blog post for block 6. This includes cutting diagram and cut sizes. Shown here is Moda Blockheads 6, Block 9, Polaris, with my HST sides, in the Popsicle palette.  The two intersection blocks shown above have the same color placements for the rectangles and the HST patchwork but this group will be rotated in placement for the other end of the quilt. The Moda Blockheads 6 block used here is Block 12, Flight Path.  These intersection blocks are used as a divide for the colors to change drastically. Here the Moda Blockheads 6, block 3 is Sunday Best. I've got more contrast between the red and orange background colors.  The Moda Blockheads block used here is block 1, Regatta.  The Snuggly quilt is made with rectangles in Thatched Oatmeal and Cranberry. The same construction of these Intersection block sections as with the Popsicle palette quilt.  Two section blocks with Thatched Cranberry to the right, Oatmeal to the left. The patchwork above is identical for the two block sections.  Two section blocks with Thatched Cranberry to the left and Oatmeal to the right. The Moda Blockheads 6 blocks are the same as were used for the Popsicle palette.  The rest of the section pieces have been sewn together and are ready for final assembly. Oh, what fun! To see all of these blocks jointed together for one giant beautiful Moda Blockheads 6 quilt, tune in next week! I'm excited to see everyones interpretation of this challenge.
Happy sewing for one more week! Stacy Iest Hsu designed block 22 and named it, Lucky Charm. This block is a combination of the Cat's Cradle block with a nine patch center. This configuration can take many forms as the color studies show, anywhere from a Windmill block to a Daisy-in-a-square on point block. I like how the center can pop out as an individual diamond more or look like part of the background. Each week the color studies uncover new and unexpected modern designs. It's a way for me to get acquainted with a design.  The construction of the Lucky Charm block is shown here in greyscale for clarity. See the third block in the first row, in this version a Friendship Star appears with a nine patch in the center. A unique block unto itself! The guiding lines here help highlight the core structure of the block.  The Dotty Thatched Turquoise and Lime fabrics compliment each other beautifully. The calming element here is the light blue half square triangles in the Cat's Cradle. The turquoise Dotty Thatched reminds me of the ocean in the summer. A wave that ripples and curls under itself, causing small bubbles underwater. I just want to dive in.  I've sized up the Lucky Charm block to fit it into my quilt layout. At 18" finished it's twice the size of the pattern provided. To size up a square block you subtract 1/2" from the original size = (original size - 1/2"). Multiply with how big the new square should be, in this case x2, then add 1/2" back in. The center nine patch square in the original size is 1 1/2". To size that up (original size: 1 1/2" - 1/2") = (1"). (1") x2 =2” then add 1/2"= 2 1/2" square - each center nine patch square for the 18" block is 2 1/2" square. Use this formula for the other squares.  To size up a half square triangle the formula is the same in principle but the value of the seam allowance is different. The formula is as follows: the original size - 7/8" then multiply with the size you want, for this block x2, then add 7/8".   In the Snuggly palette, this block looks softer and quieter than the popsicle palette. It is a big difference this week! Thatched in Mocha, seen in the center nine patch, has a lot of contrast to the lighter colors. It has a slightly reddish cast which compliments the Pink Grapefruit and Petal colors in the quilt.  I must admit assembly is underway! (That is why I sized up this block- so I could fill one of my larger corners.) Check out the first square in my 9 patch layout! I love seeing this come together!!  This is a 27" block. My overall quilt top layout will be 9 large 27" square sections assembled as a giant 9 patch. This is one of those sections and will be set in the lower right hand corner of the quilt. See the layout below.   We're almost there.
Happy Sewing, friends! Vanessa Goertzen designed this weeks block called, Bowtie Ballet. Bowtie Ballet is made up of four patches and half square triangles. Seems simple enough but take a closer look at the complexity. Focusing here on the precise color placements of the block makes it not only striking but intentional, making new designs emerge in a fresh and modern way. Take a look at the bottom row, middle block revealing its double plus sign configuration, it's definitely a modern look to a fairly traditional construction. The block to the right of this is another modern take with the half arrows going up and down in light and dark color hues of red.  The grayscale lines highlights the structure of the designs. It reveals the underlying construction which brings us right back to the original Bowtie Ballet design. First block in the first row, the OG, The Bowtie Ballet block! Imagine the color placement of the light and dark hues reversed. Wouldn't it also be interesting set on point?  The Bowtie Ballet here in the Popsicle palette is quite bold in color giving both charm and personality to the block. Made up in my two basics collections Thatched and Dotty Thatched. The texture of these fabrics compliment each other so well creating the movement needed for an interesting quilt block.   Once the Bowtie Ballet block is set into the quilt layout it has enough punch to stand out against the other blocks. It's surrounded by bright Fuchsia after all and still shows up as a solid contender.   The Snuggly palette is a little quieter than the Popsicle palette however still quite bold. Thatched in Pink Grapefruit and Cranberry show off the Navajo Star variation design within the Bowtie Ballet block. I can't wait to see this quilt come together.  The background fabric used in the Snuggly palette is Thatched in Buttermilk. This background fabric brings warmth to the overall design, a unifying element that anchor the colors together.  It's getting close to assembly, friends!
Happy Sewing! |
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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