Hello Enchant! I breathed a sigh of relief for a slightly easier block this week since I'm also continuing my catching up on past blocks. I enjoyed this charming block from April Rosenthal of Prairie Grass Patterns on the Sewcialites Sewalong from the Fat Quarter Shop. How about a color study? Yep! Outside half square triangles in background white or a color? I liked how the third one looks to me like corners folded in, like a galette with a lemon center. The second one plays on the idea of a churn dash block. Fourth uses background white to create a diagonal twisted candy and the last one is a color wheel of sides that draws your eye into the dark center. I used number 3 as my inspiration. I think it was the idea of a lemony pastry that got me, and no, I don't have any lemon danishes or pastries here. Sigh. It is not till I look at the photos that I see I have a seam not quite matching but since it is a 3" block, I'm leaving it as is. I did use my seam ripper quite a bit on some of the other blocks I made so this seems minor in comparison to some of the other matching issues I encountered. Speaking of the other blocks, I made Flourish by Lori Holt of Bee in My Bonnet. I used my seam ripper on this one a lot. Keep in mind this is a 3" block so each of those sections is only 1/2" finished. I am liking the blue/green combination and look for my smaller prints to use on these tiny-pieces blocks. For color studies, I played with these ideas: Lots of pieces means lots of options to pull out the X shape (jumping jacks!), think of corner ribbon ends, play up the sides, or treat the rows like different colored bands. I used number two as my inspiration but it was a toss-up with number three. Next was Nuture from Lissa Alexander. Wheels, pointers, plaids and, again, lots of options! This one was really structured for lots of color play. And again, my seam ripper was used a lot on this 3" block. The last of the catch up blocks for the week was Butterfly Garden by Pat Sloan of The Voice of Quilting. I did not do a color study for this one since I had no desire to see it as anything but a butterfly. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing this butterfly come into full formation. Here is the group of this week's blocks, all done in different colors and fabrics from the Wild Blossoms collection, which should be shipping in March from Moda Fabrics! Just a reminder, if you want to see past color studies, go to the COLOR STUDIES page listed in the menu and click on an image to go to that blog post. Next week I'll add in the block Interwoven from Shereece Nicole and I think I will be all caught up with past blocks! Last week I mentioned I will be doing the Bountiful quilt along (Bountiful quilt from Corey Yoder) with the Fat Quarter Shop, raising money for Make a Wish! Here is a mock up of the quilt in WILD BLOSSOMS. Since Wild Blossoms is shipping in March, it might be a tiny bit behind on the first block but should be available to catch up and sew on the second in time. For more information about the Bountiful sewalong, and to see the fantastic bundles of Corey's fabric line, coordinating threads and a very charming matching CROSS STITCH, visit the Fat Quarter Shop's Bountiful blog post. See you next week and until then, happy sewing!!
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2022 is about ready to exit and I've got so much to share from the end of 2022! At the end of October, we finally had a Quilt Market in person again! I loved the time with folks at the Moda booth and being able to see shop owners in person again filled my soul with happiness! I do really look forward to Quilt Market every year. Nothing else really compares to in-person time with other designers, shops, and Moda. This year I also took some business seminars so there was good learning too! I was excited to show my new line of Wild Blossoms, which features wild flowers of poppies, daisies, clover, Queen Anne's Lace, Bluebonnets and more. The line has a main print which spans the width of fabric, selvage to selvage, in a rainbow display of the flowers. I revamped Jubilant Song with enough changes to retire it and rename the new version Joyful Trio. The one behind me has the width-of-fabric print going through the middle to make 3 columns of color. You can also use fat quarters of big prints in those sections. To the right is Bar Hop with long panels from the rainbow print and a Layer Cake or Charm Packs to make the smaller bars. On the chair are the NEW bias binding tapes made with Thatched fabrics! They come on a roll and are sold by the yard. A great way to have fast binding that matches with the Thatched widebacks (plus a few more colors). What a surprise to see Josh Dunn in a shirt made up in Wild Blossoms (with the bees on the ends of the collars) and Jenny Brodeski in a fantastic swing skirt! Those Moda people do it up in style! I also love to see the fantastic women from the mill in Korea. They make magic happen with the fabric. Many thanks to all who stopped by. I was delighted to see so many shop owners from other countries and reconnect with many friendly faces. Speaking of friendly faces, I enjoyed time with my roommate Pam Selkirk AND her sweet Sophie bunny! Wild Blossoms will be shipping to shops in March 2023. Look for the selection of yardage, precuts and new patterns!
Hello Patchy Days with little squares and flying geese from Jackie McDonald! I just got to see Jackie in person at Quilt Market in Houston and it was SO nice. We have connected through phone calls and zoom so this was the next step...an actual meeting! I have enjoyed making Jackie's block this month AND I caught up with last week's Tussy Mussy sewing. But first, color studies! You can emphasize the diamond made from flying geese or the square in the center or make the flying geese and their joining rectangles into arrows pointing out. Those 4-patch corners can be one color plus background or play with gradations and place the lightest parts to the inside or outside. I like the arrow idea and decided to apply that to my sewn block. I'm using blues from my new Wild Blossoms collection (the one showing at Quilt Market last weekend). The arrows are out of the blue bonnet floral print with corners in the diagonal sketchy plaid. Mist Thatched flipped to the back side for a lighter shade makes the center square. I am thinking about combining these blocks in a variety of colors with the big width-of-fabric rainbow print of all the wildflowers. Perhaps in a tote...I'm working on my plan and will share when it is solid. For my Tussy Mussy block, I used the pink Queen Anne's Lace print with a butterfly in the center part of the block, fluttering towards those outer dark petals. These small blocks are so much fun to make. Last year I did all the small 3" ones and fell in love with doing this sweet small size. Now I've got a red, pink and blue block and have got to plan out next week's color. Orange, yellow, green? Sewing with the range of colors in Wild Blossoms has so many possibilities. Check out the Fat Quarter Shop blog and shop for the free weekly patterns for this Sewcialites 2 Quilt Along!
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About ROBINDesigner of colorful florals for Moda fabrics. Modern to transitional quilt designer. Illustrator, sewist, crafter. I am proud to be a designer for Moda Fabrics!
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