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Cross Training by Jenelle Kent brings cheery Xs to our weekly Moda Blockheads sew along! It is also fun to play with those background triangles and see what develops.  You can treat the blocks as four quadrant Xs or play with the middle triangles to make it appear as one main image, like the ones in the middle row. Don't the center ones remind you of Granny Squares in crochet? I like seeing the center as more of a focal point or light spot. On the top row, the middle image starts to suggest Xs and Os just by flipping the light and dark of background triangles. The bottom row plays with one section reversed, traveling shades from light to dark, and emphasizing the patchwork diamonds in the center.  Here is the block with grayscale and construction lines. I often figure out my quilt plan and colors before I do the color studies. As you can see, my sewn blocks follow the original plan for the Xs in a nice stacked formation. I was thinking about a little pop of color accent with the Dotty green for the popsicle palette.  I like how it plays against the darker, more serious red and burgundy. I'm including the updated image on my quilt layout so far.   Here are the warm, snuggly colors for my other quilt. It is raining and a bit cold here today so the thought of curling up under the snuggly palette quilt is especially enticing!   My Cross Training Xs are in the upper right quadrant. One more smaller block then I'm filling in those big corner blocks! Till then, happy sewing! 
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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  It's here! Moda Blockheads 6 has begun with our first week of block patterns. This is "Regatta" by Vanessa Christenson of V & Co.  Here is the black and white version. It can be easier to envision your colors and fabric pull into this image of complete neutrals. And I thought it might help to have an image with the block lines to see exactly where these block pieces fall.  So how about some actual sewn blocks?? Well I've got TWO palettes I'm working with this year: "Popsicle" and "Snuggly". The Popsicle palette combines both regular and Dotty Thatched. I love how the Dotty fabrics give a little extra sparkly look. My specific colors are Navy, Royal, Surf, Grass and Lime for cool colors and warm colors of Burgundy, Ruby, Scarlet, Tangerine, Fuchsia, Pink Grapefruit and Petal. The background is Thatched Blizzard.  The "Snuggly" palette is all regular Thatched in a calm, sophisticated and warmly soothing way. Mocha, Cocoa, Oatmeal, Washed Linen play with Burgundy, Cranberry, Fuchsia, Pink Grapefruit and Petal, on a Buttermilk background. Although there is similarity in the warm colors between the two groups, the feeling is decidedly different for the overall colors.  With the Regatta block in Popsicle I have two different background colors. I like how the dotty looks like little sparkles or fizzy pops!   Snuggly still has two background colors (Mocha and Burgundy) but the corner squares are also a different accent color. The light and dark of the half square triangles is reversed on horizontal vs vertical rows. Can't say for sure yet but I think this palette will be my favorite.   My setting idea will be shared in the weeks to come. But for now, happy sewing and making of your Moda Blockheads blocks!
 I am often a "transitional" quilter (or you could call it modern traditionalism)- relating to sewing between traditional quilters and modern quilters. I love to make more traditional quilts, but I also enjoy how modern quilts can allow you to express your creativity in a different way! For some people, modern design can be a bit intimidating. They may only know of more improvisational modern quilting and not have comfort with improv. However, modern quilting doesn't have to be difficult or intimidating. You also don't have to use a complicated pattern to get that modern look. To help you embrace the modern quilter that is within you, I am sharing one of my easy modern quilt patterns which creates a stunning quilt with tools that you have on hand and no matter what fabric you choose to use!  I enjoy a modern quilt design that is not overly complicated. In fact, I often feel a simpler, pared down design will have a more modern feel. I wanted to come up with a modern quilt that would allow you to easily create with fabrics you may have on hand, utilizing scraps, yardage, or even precuts (and precuts as small as a 5" square Charm Pack). I combined curves and squares into striking modern blooms in this geometric garden. This is Mod Flower Box, ready to bloom upon your wall! I'm showing two versions of this modern quilt in these photos. You can see how it still has a striking composition whether done in all solid fabrics or a combination of prints. This version on the chair is made with Carolina Lilies. This collection is scheduled to ship to shops in November 2021 and features spotted lilies, paisley prints, vines and ferns. Rich teal and green colors mix with spicy reds and peach tones reminiscent of my Painted Meadow collection. I chose to keep the background a dark soft black so there is high contrast with the colors and they really pop! I like to see the different ways that light and dark colors change up a quilt (keep reading for a lighter version below).  The wall/lap quilt in Carolina Lilies uses Thatched Soft Black 152 for the background and borders in Thatched Lagoon 199 (the teal color) and Dashed lines 48705-21 in Teal. The flowers and leaves are made from one Charm Pack of 5" squares. You can also use a Layer Cake of 10" precut squares and cut them in half both, horizontally and vertically.  Another option for making this quilt is using Fat Eighths. My favorite version of this modern quilt is the one that looks like solid fabrics. It is actually using Thatched basics for the fabric. I've paired a use of bold colors with this subtle textured fabric to make the hues really stand out in a dramatic way. With the floral groupings all in the center, the outer borders create balance with a more expansive negative space that can be good for specific border quilting or just a breathing space and strong framing device. To get the look of these graphic areas of solid color, I've used a mix of 14 Fat Eighths, with 9 for flowers and 5 for leaves. For this version, I wanted to emphasize the corners and really play with the spaces left from the curved blocks by "boxing in" the flowers. That is where the name Mod Flower BOX comes in (plus the extra outer border).  The background is made with Thatched Chalkboard Scribbles 187 with curves and inner border using Soft Black 152. The flower and leaf blocks use a mixture of Blizzard 150, Washed Linen 158, Toast 156, Gray 85, Early Dawn 122, Sugar Rose 127, Citrus 123, Clementine 138, Fuchsia 62, Green Curry 177, Sunlit 142, Grass 197, Dewdrop 143 and Brook 198.  There are two different sizes of Mod Flower Box. The wall/lap size is 51" square with borders. If you choose to not have borders for a smaller wall quilt, the inner part is 34 x 34". The large quilt sized 78" square, uses 4 units of the rotated Mod Flower Boxes. Depending on which quilt size you choose, the Mod Flower Box pattern can be made with a Charm Pack or Fat Eighths for the wall/lap size or with a Layer Cake (or 4 Charm Packs) or Fat Quarters for the large size.  I am planning on starting this lighter color version of Mod Flower Box, probably with a Washed Linen background or maybe Sandcastle 157 flipped to the backside and accent corners for curves in Blizzard 150. Speaking of colorways, this is actually one of my favorite things about this quilt design! You could create your own quilt top in almost any color scheme! For instance, you could use solid colors, different styles of fabric within a particular color palette, ombre fabrics, or simply your favorite colors. Color always gives me a new way to look at modern quilt designs. Needless to say, the color choices you have are absolutely endless!  I've made lots of quilts with curved corners and I DO include a paper template you can work from in the pattern (or pattern downloads if you buy the pdf file version). I do prefer to use a specialty ruler for doing curves and know of a number of them. I usually go to my trusty Creative Grids Circle Savvy Ruler since it has every size I want and I know I will get a really good result cutting with these! I note which slots in the pattern if you have this ruler too.  Since we are talking about curved corners, many beginner quilters stay away from modern quilts due to ''sewing curves''. I took this fact into consideration, so if you are new to curves, this is a great pattern to try since it only uses quarter circles vs half or full circles! Quarter circle curves are not very hard and I'd suggest making a practice quilt block or two first and then go for it! I love the look of curved blocks- so soft and curvy and gentle. They are a fun thing to experiment, plus, it will make you more confident in your quilting skills!  So, if you are ready to take a break from traditional quilts and want to create your very first modern style quilt, then the Mod Flower Box is a great place to start! Above I have included additional information on quilting materials and specifications. However, since this is only a blog post, I highly recommend that you check out my shop to learn more about this fun quilt pattern! If you are interested in the pattern, it is up in my shop at RobinPickensInc.com!   With Project Jelly Roll approaching, I decided to take a look at my Jelly Roll-friendly patterns to figure out what I am going to work on and perhaps share some ideas. One of my Jelly Roll patterns is Definite Plus.  My original Definite Plus quilt is made in Thatched basics. I loved playing with the color families and having a "ghost block" image in the center of just sashings and background. And I made this in both the large size on cream and the small size (using a Honey Bun or 1 1/2" strips) on Heather.  I wanted to see what this would look like made up in a Jelly Roll of print fabrics from a collection. I decided to make one that had no outer borders and no ghost block for the center. Full quarter log cabin blocks without an accent. If you make the large size without the outer border, it goes from being an 82" square quilt to 69 x 69", which makes a lovely large lap or can fit on a twin bed as a nice extra quilt.  How does this impact yardage and cutting? I have only made it this way in the Large size, so I don't have the specifications for the Small at this point. For Large quilt with no outer border and no ghosted center block or accent rectangles: Sashing: 1 2/3 Yards for sashing instead of 2 1/8 Yards. When you are cutting, you will cut a total of (56) WOF strips. (4) of those will be cut to 34 3/4" and joined end to end to make the long sashings horizontally between the rows. Instead of (44) 6 1/2 x 1" pieces, you will need (36). Background: You need 1 1/4 Yards for background instead of 3 Yards. You will only be cutting the centers of the Quarter Log Cabin blocks and need (36) of them.  For my print version, I decided to use Abby Rose for my strips. I made all my centers with Zen Chic Modern Paper for a pretty, romantic feel. My sashings are Moda Bella Off White 200. I still kept my groupings of 4 that make a plus sign in color families.  I like seeing the contrast of prints vs a more solid look for this quilt. I am very excited to try it again with upcoming lines and try other versions of background and sashing colors.   And just one more idea, since I'm playing around with it...what if the placement of colors were more improvisational and the background squares also had some pops of color? I decided to take a look in the suggestion of my Hygge Happy color theme direction (with Washed Linen, Toast, Cocoa, Sugar Rose, etc). What do you think? Playful or too random?  Looking for more Jelly Roll-friendly quilt patterns? Hop on over to my shop and check out Showering Stars, Ring Around the Posies, Equalizer, and Blockstep. And please join in the fun on September 18th 2021 as we sew those Jelly Rolls!  I've compiled blocks into groups to share the updates of blocks 11-30 for the Kinship Fusion Sampler on the 100 Days 100 Blocks sewalong with GnomeAngel. My palette is the Hygge Happy Dance colorway of Thatched fabrics. Missed the post? Check it out here: Kinship in Thatched palettes.  I've had so much fun finding the little photo props to go with my blocks for this project! They remind me of so many special people in my life. My husband gave me those lovely mugs and I think he hit that surprise gift out of the park! And the lovely girl ceramic planter face...I also got one for my mom. She just makes me smile! I'm showing Smoked Paprika, Pink Grapefruit, Green Curry as the warm and spicy color here.  The calmness of the creams and tans has been lovely to sew with. Washed Linen, Toast, Cream and Cocoa. Little squares of cocoa make wonderful pops of contrast.  And pink, pretty pink in soft light shades (Early Dawn) or vibrant energy (Fucshia). These are the moments of girl power and contrast of both bold and soft.  We are a third of the way...keep sewing and enjoy the kinship!
July has been a busy sewing month! The other sew along I am participating in is the #100days100blocks with Gnome Angel using the Kinship Fusion Sampler pattern. My hygge happy dance color palette is enjoyable to sew with. I'm usually not a brown color kind of quilt person but I love the light Washed Linen color and find the colors feel calming to sew with. These blocks celebrate a modern, natural and simple style and I have had so much fun finding things around my space to photograph with the blocks.   I have to smile at how many times my little items were a gift from someone special or remind me of a specific time or friend. This little person with the plant hair was a treat from my daughter. She is always coming up with sweet ideas and is so thoughtful.  Pinks add some lively pops of color in Early Dawn light pink and Fuchsia vibrant pink. More warm colors of Smoked Paprika, Pink Grapefruit, Green Curry and Olive add spicy color flavor.   Ellie the elephant is another treat from my daughter and the rounded wood cutting board is from my son. They know me well.   Here is the Pink Grapefruit mixed in. Yummy!  These little friends remind me of my dear Roxy and our visitor friend Stevie the cat. She does like to sleep a lot so the expression is fitting.   First 10. Even if it is 100 degrees outside, these make me feel like a cup of cocoa and a snuggle with my dog. Next week I'll share the group of the next 10 or you can watch every day on instagram. Check out the hashtag #100days100blocks to see the great fussy cutting and fun fabric choices others are making.
Cheers!  It's almost here...the 2021 Kinship sew along with Gnome Angel and I thought I'd share a bit of past projects and my plans for this year's quilt! Make sure you scroll down to see the new color combinations!!  I originally did the #100days100blocks in 2017 when we were using Tula Pink's 100 Modern Blocks book. That was lots of fun. I was really excited to see Ange release her own 100 blocks quilt "Kinship Fusion Sampler" for the 2019 sew along and I knew I had to do it! My Thatched basics fabrics were coming out with Moda and it was a great opportunity to play with them. If you are not familiar with Thatched, it can function like a solid or a blender with subtle drawn, nubby lines. It gives the colors a nice rich feel and a little more depth to the look than a plain solid.  My goal was fairly simple- use a limited color palette of white and 3 grays and add in pops of color with pairs of orange, green and teal/turquoise. I really enjoyed making my blocks because the cutting schemes were so logical and efficient and I knew that if I cut a width of fabric strip in a 4.5" size, I'd be using that whole strip in the variety of blocks we were making. 2.5, 4.5, 6.5, 1.5"...it was consistent with a nice amount of play and experimentation. A block a day. I can do that when they are no too hard yet have the right mix of variation. I bought my pattern directly from gnomeangel.com as a download but shops also have a printed pattern. I just saw them at Cozy Creative in San Diego this last week! Links to Ange's shop are at the end of this post.  I used Ange's Kitchen Sink version of laying out the blocks with 1" finished sashing in between the blocks (1.5" cut width). I decided to "frame" my quilt top by adding a thin strip of scraps of the colors I had used (1" cut width for 1/2" finished size) and surround that with a 3" cut border.  I really like the balance of white and color and clean modern look of this quilt.  Even though I pieced the top in 2019, I didn't get around to quilting it till mid way through 2020. I purchased a used longarm Bernina Q24 and had some pandemic self-training using YouTube videos to figure out what I was doing. That is a whole other blog post...but it was tremendously gratifying to get this quilted and bound! The pantograph is Swirl Out Jr by Mike Fountain, purchased from IntelligentQuilting.com.  This is sized to be a twin quilt but with the sashing and border, I can put it across the bed and cover my king bed! I started this sew along again last year, doing a scrappy version of blocks, and started making 2 of each block to made a king quilt. Now I'm rethinking that plan since I probably don't need two of all the blocks if I add sashing. I got busy with other projects so might rejoin with some of those scrappy blocks this year as well (or save them for 2022?)  That brings me to THIS YEAR and what my plans are. I like the layout, the idea of a limited palette with some accents, the distribution of accent colors, and the border additions. So I'm calling this Kitchen Sink Renovation (Ange's layout with a little reno). And since some NEW Thatched colors launched at the beginning of this year, I'm keen to try it with some of those.  This is Hygge Happy Dance because I think of that Danish soothing comfort vibe with these soft neutral warm colors and a little coral to red to pink warmth. This is the version I am making this year. I am currently very smitten with the new background color, Washed Linen, Thatched 158. Since I'm making this color combination, I'm gathering the fabrics to get ready for July 1st. The other colors in this quilt will be 62 Fuchsia, 122 Early Dawn, 185 Olive, 177 Green Curry, 156 Toast, 72 Cocoa, 183 Smoked Paprika, 181 Pink Grapefruit and 36 Cream.  This next mockup is called Midnight Jazz and you could make it with a dark blue Thatched, like Midnight (which is in the new Cottage Bleu line) or Dark Wash Indigo. But Pam at Serendipity Woods, and I decided a Nautical Blue Bella Solid was a great background fabric for this. The Thatched colors are 173 Bluebell, 144 Ocean, 125 Seafoam, 124 Greenery, 103 Apricot, 82 Tangerine, Cream 36, Washed Linen 158 and Toast 156.  Changing the background to White (Bella 200) brings a light and sparkly look to this same color combination in Morning Blues.  And my original, which I'm calling "Winter Turns to Spring" is Bella 200 Off White pared with Grays of 117 Shadow, 24 Pebble, 85 Gray, oranges 103 Apricot, 82 Tangerine, and greens of Chartreuse 75, Sprig 14, Peacock 77 and Turquoise 101.   If you are looking for these kitted and ready to go, then check out SerendipityWoods.com for some kits of each of these color ways. I believe Pam will be sewing along with us. I'll also be meeting with Quilt Emporium in Woodland Hills CA to go over the colors and they usually have all the Thatched colors! I'm happy to share any information of shops with Kinship/Thatched kits so let me know. I hope you are joining in the #100days100blocks sew along with GnomeAngel using her Kinship quilt pattern. See you posting in July!   Visit Gnome Angel's website/blog for more info on the sew along and answers to questions you might have at https://www.gnomeangel.com/100days100blocks-event-information/ or purchase a pattern in her shop https://shopau.gnomeangel.com/collections/books-patterns/products/pattern-kinship-100-block-fusion-sampler My dear Roxy has decided she likes this quilt. It's her colors. She must be touching it and making sure it is hers...at all times.   56 Weeks of sewing fun. I've been busy adding blocks together to make my rainbow colored rows. But one block was missing...that final block. Joanna Figueroa from Fig Tree & Co. is our final blockheads designer to wrap it all up. Thank you Joanna for your lovely "Star Dance" block! To get to Joanna's blog with the free pattern, click on the gray bar below. But keep reading if you want to see my color study and how my TWO quilts have come together!  Flying geese and squares to make sparkly stars. A number of my patterns such as Showering Stars, Little Star Shower, and Constance, use stars like this. I liked how Joanna's version also played with the very center square in the overall composition in a color or print too. Let's take a look at a couple of color studies.  My last block belonged in my blue row so that was my starting place. Light, medium and dark blues with subtle variations between the stars. It could be fun to play with black for the background (or starting rectangle of the flying geese) and I love how the white really pops in contrast. The white and black backgrounds make new shapes within the block. The left middle image uses a mix of medium and dark blues on some of the geese corners, positioned so it looks like the colors run diagonally through the block. And the last image creates arrows pointing to a glowing center.  After designing Cottage Bleu (shipping in April) and adding new Thatched colors, I have more blues in my Thatched range now. I have used a few from Cottage Bleu and used back sides as well for lighter shades. When making my print blocks, I used blue prints from Abby Rose. The plaid fit nicely into the centers of the four stars and I decided to use a different print for the center with my light background and roses.  If I were to make another one of these blocks, I would try the blue hydrangeas from Cottage Bleu. For this particular print quilt, I felt the warmer blues from Abby Rose were a cohesive color group with the other surrounding blue blocks. Here is an image of the rows joined together on my mixed prints/scrappy version. For the sashings on this print/scrappy version, I've used Modern Background Paper from Zen Chic. It is one of my favorite low volume fabrics to use.  On my print version quilt, I chose to do applique on the weeks that Jan Patek and Jen Kingwell had their sweet designs. Last year I did all pieced blocks so this was a change for me. I still seem to resist doing turned edge applique and find my happy place is with the fusible raw edge applique.  I think my favorite of the appliques is the bird on the upper left, dark blue. I added and extra flower or two and more white dots. They make me think of little white baby's breath in a bouquet. And for the "rose" applique week, I chose to cut out one of my Abby Rose blooms instead of the template shapes.  How perfect is it, that the block that says LOVE was actually pieced by my mother? She was visiting a year ago January when it was the week for that block and she helped me out. Then the pandemic and quarantines started and I have not been able to see her in person since then. So I am especially happy to have a little bit of her in this quilt!  The little bird in the middle gray block is one I had not shown yet. It was a block I did late, catching up one weekend. It is the Fixer Upper block from Vanessa Goertzen and I liked it as a framework around my birdie friend.  I love to see how the light comes through when a quilt top is hanging on the frame, before it is quilted. It looks like stained glass and the colors almost glow! I started this project with a few design parameters I set: 1. Horizontal rows of color (rainbow-like rows), separated by a simple white line. 2. Each of the rows would use gradations of the color to go from darker shades on the left to lighter shades on the right. 3. I would make TWO quilts, one with all Thatched basics and one with a mix of Thatched and colored prints from my collections (with some other designer's goodies added in there too) for a scrappier look. This was to see how different or how similar the quilts ended up looking by the change in prints. So how about that all-Thatched one?  I must admit the vibrancy and saturation of all that color was surprising to me when I got it all joined together. I was glad I graduated color to the lighter right side so it was not too overpowering. I used the Thatched Cream 36 for my sashings.  Instead of the applique blocks, I used pieced alternatives from Joanna Figueroa. The upper left has the tulip block, house block and another flower posie. I did keep two applique blocks- the Bachelor Buttons from Jen Kingwell since it felt so graphic, and the Bee Skep from Jan Patek. My sister likes bees and having this block reminds me of her. So now I have a mom remembrance and a sister remembrance in my quilt.  Its hard for me to say if I like one version of the quilt better than the other. I will keep some things different as I finish these, using different pantographs for quilting them, and I'm also thinking about adding an additional little decorative border around the scrappy/print one. I like the Thatched one being simpler with no outer border.  I am happy to come to this finishing phase of Moda Blockheads, but I'm also sad that it is ending. I know the connection and sewing along is so important during these strange and unpredictable times. So I made the decision to join in on sewing along with "My Favorite Color is Moda" because of course I need another project! I think the quilt design and colors they have suggested are beautiful! I hope to see you while sewing along with that! The resource link to all the free block patterns from this Moda Blockheads sew along- archived at the Moda website: Thank you for the lovely comments that you have shared each week on the block posts and color studies. You are the best! And thank you Moda for this wonderful sew along and all the organizing, writing, planning, giveaways and support. It is a BIG project and you do it with expertise, grace and style.
Let's finish up some quilts, right? Hugs to you all, Robin Wine Not! from Jen Kingwell is an easy block this week with a lovely diamond shape. This block looks great square or set on point. This is the very light end of my brown row and the soft warm colors look calm and comfortable.  In playing with the color studies, I liked how the shapes can have a strong arrow form or emphasize the outer diagonals or the inner quarter square triangle center. The last one feels a little dimensional with the center having light and shadow as if it were a pointed pyramid triangle.  For my pieced all-Thatched version block, I used a couple of my new shades that are shipping at the beginning of February. The center dark brown is 164 Chocolate Bar and the light tans are 156 Toast with the lighter 158 Washed Linen.  My print version uses a fabric that has been quite prevalent in my brown row, Ombre Confetti from V&Co. The ombre gradations make it easy to find the light and dark levels you want within a block while keeping the colors harmonious. I love those little pops of confetti!  Pop on over to Jen's blog for her Wine Not! pattern. And since I'm sharing brown blocks this week, here is one I did last weekend to catch up on a missed week. It is Intersection from Stacy Iest Hsu in Thatched and Solana.  Next week is the last block and then it is time for joining and finishing. I love seeing what you all are piecing together on the facebook page. Keep 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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