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Ready to show some love? Well, Vanessa Goertzen's HEART quilt block will help you do just that! Visit Vanessa at https://blog.lellaboutique.com for the pattern and follow all her pretty Lellaboutique images on instagram https://www.instagram.com/lellaboutique/  This week's block just seemed to scream out for some pop-inspired colors with some super-graphics 70s vibe. I think of the roller skating rink with Donna Summers singing "I feel love" with those star points beaming out light around the heart. This would make the cutest tshirts!  My block for my sampler is in the large pink row and I've used a Mix of a print from Abby Rose with corners using broken lines from Painted Meadow. Four colors of Thatched (fuchsia, primrose, cranberry and sugar rose) mix in with the other pink blocks in the row.    Four spaces left to go! Based on what I have sewn so far, I have one big block left to go and 3 small ones (two orange and one green corner). When we get near the end of a sewalong I am so happy to finish, but also sad since the journey and sharing is so fun. Guess that means it will be time to start thinking about another one, right? 
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A little late here with my Blockheads post but I do have a legit excuse. Blame it on the Covid I contracted and my needing lots of naps. Doing better now and thought sharing late was better than never! Last week's block was Outtakes from Vanessa Christenson of V&Co. Vanessa creates those beautiful ombre fabrics with luscious colors! I think her fabrics would be so pretty in the block she designed. Visit Vanessa at https://vanessachristenson.com/blog/ or check out her feed on instagram https://www.instagram.com/vchristenson/  I like to squint my eyes to see what is popping out as the strongest element or is an overall feel in each of these. That all white center star really pops to me. I also like how it can also look like a visual illusion of corners zooming out at you. Such a fun block!  My Outtakes block will be the last of the four for my yellow center! I did not have the specialty ruler so I used the paper piecing for the star points, which worked well. I thought a little Dandi Annie puff ball was a fun center to use for this!   Here are my 4 yellow blocks together. I'm looking forward to getting this all joined!  Brenda Riddle brings us Gentleman's Fancy this week. Click the gray bar to be taken to her blog to see her lovely fabrics and designs! Gentleman's Fancy has numerous angles, which is always lots of fun for color play. I can think of it like petals of a flower or have one dark and one light on the flying geese units to make more of a spinning/pinwheel look. Number 4 just draws you in to that dark center. And the last row plays with switching it up in the triangle corners to get a diagonal look or one that looks like a mouth open with teeth and tongue to me!  I usually don't sew blocks that I divide corner to corner first then sew on a side. I seem to be a little challenged when I do this with getting my corners lined up. This is probably one of my more wonky blocks but since it is the SECOND time I made it...I figured I'd live with the imperfections.  That's right...second time. The first time I made my orange block in a 9" size. Hmmmm. My orange row is all 4.5" sized blocks. So I thought, I'll just use it in the 9" row. Nope, those are pink/red/cranberry. So making the block again was the answer. Here's my duo:   Sherri McConnell brings us STAR PATCH for block #22 for Moda Blockheads. Visit Sherri's blog for the pattern and see all her wonderful tips and quilts. The little 9-patch center can be a cute little checkerboards, a cross, radiating center. Corners look interesting in background white or carrying color out to the points. Emphasize the star points or the corners. I love the options on this block.  Another 9" block for the red/pink row with a little orange in the center to tie in with the orange row next to it. Painted Meadoww paisley makes the star points with fuchsia corner points.  I like combining the soft pinks with those stronger cranberry and fuchsia colors. A little print, a little Thatched and some Solana in the center.    Baubles, ornaments, pretty shiny things that twirl and spin...hello week 21 with "Shiny Bauble" from Janet Clare! Some paper piecing helps to make the top and bottom angles. Get the pattern through Janet. I just played a little with the bauble this week and tried different colors for corners of interior blocks or making them the color of the top and bottom. Maybe a dark light combo like the last ones to look like a shadow is cast.  Red row for me with a 9" block. I went for scrappy happy energetic reds.   Will you make holiday ornaments? Or a court jester's playful object? Or colorful kid's top? Have fun with Shiny Bauble. We are nearing the end...keep on sewing!
Table runners are such fun projects to do. I love the smaller scale of the project and doing things that have a seasonal feeling or specific color theme. When I heard Doug Leko was releasing his Tabletastic 3 book, I knew it was a good time to have a little fun with my upcoming Pansy's Posies fabric in rich purples.  With large florals, I often like some larger panels in quilts to show them off. I felt like this Mansfield runner did exactly that by having the larger rectangle spaces and sections divided almost like windows and window panes. I played around with placement on the smaller blocks by mixing them but decided I liked the order of two similar fabrics together. This runner finishes at 17 x 49".  The pantograph I used to longarm this runner is called "Groove" and is from Jess Zeigler at Longarm League. I love the gentle curves and retro-modern feel this texture has. I kept my binding the same color as the sashings since they already seemed to have a structured feel to the whole piece.  The fabric I used is Pansy's Posies which should be shipping in Oct/Nov 2022. The sashings are made from Bella Solids Prune. This pattern went together easily and was fun to make. It was just hard to pick which one of all the great designs from Doug's book to make. And speaking of Doug's book...he has some to give away! So if you would like to enter to win a free copy of Tabletastic 3, head over to my instagram page https://www.instagram.com/robinpickens/ and enter on my post. I'll be randomly selecting a winner by Wednesday, August 10th. Check your local quilt shop for Tabletastic 3 by Doug Leko!
"Stop Go" from Stacy Iest Hsu for this week's Moda Blockheads. This block feels so playful and fun. I love the little extra squares in the middle of some of the stop signs. Switching up some of the corner colors starts to make some star-like corners or checkerboard QuarterSquare Triangles where they meet. Play with colors in rows or make all the color play about the little corners with a random mix of party colors.  My block this week is for my large pink/red row. Those squares are a great place for using a scrappy mix of pinks from Abby Rose, Dandi Annie, and Painted Meadow. Since my theme is garden inspired, little yellow centers felt like the centers of flowers.   Need the pattern? Visit Stacy's blog: https://my.modafabrics.com/webfiles/bh4_20_stacy-iest-hsu_stop-go.pdf Or visit the Moda PDF page here: Here is the plan so far! I've been making my blocks and might rearrange once I see them together but this is probably pretty close to the arrangement. Have a fabulous week with sewing fun!  Yippeee! My week is here! Since I like working with garden themes it seems appropriate that I should make something growing. "Clover" started out when I was playing with blocks for my Pansy Face quilt to go with Pansy’s Posies. I had a group of four petals with a contrasting pansy face interior and I found some of the versions I was exploring looked more like leaves that formed a 4 leaf clover. By extending some sashing through the middle, my clover was standing up so a lucky person could find it.  I’ve made my small block as a green clover leaf and I like how the scrappy mix of fabrics makes a cheery little leaf. I imagine the sun shining down on the top leaves and shadow in the folds of the leaves on the lower ones. That larger block in the back ground is made with all Thatched and is based off one of my color studies.  The block can also be done as a clover with no stem...or playing with the greens and whites in the background and variation on the shades in the leaves. The lower left has a white, gray and orange band creating a strong horizontal element in the composition. Or simply make more of a star with white centers and dark corners in the layout in pink/red in a slightly more traditional look.  I love to play with rainbow colors in the corners and sides. Pair them with light and dark centers, corners and pluses. I loved that last one in the serene green and teal colors and wanted to sew one.   Sometimes I like to just make some single blocks in Thatched from the color studies and use them for some individual throw pillows. I have a couple from Moda Blockheads 3 with my "Little Bear Cubs Round the Campfire" block that I think this would pair well with.  To access your pattern for CLOVER, please click the gray bar below for the website link: If you are looking for my blog post I did for Moda on COLOR, please check that out here: https://my.modafabrics.com/inspiration-resources/playing-color If you are looking for my blog post on my quilt setting and corner blocks, the blog post is here: https://www.robinpickens.com/blog/robins-setting-for-moda-blockheads-4-surrounded-square-garden Whatever you decide to do for your block this week, I hope you have the luck of finding a four-leaf clover and lots of fun playing with the options. Check out my weekly color studies at robinpickens.com and shop for patterns at robinpickensINC.com. If you want a peek at the quilt that started this clover inspiration, here is “Pansy Face” using Pansy’s Posies. This fabric ships to quilt shops this October.  One more note for this week. I'd like to express my gratitude for all the nice comments people have with my color studies. I love to play with color and have a great time exploring them each week. It warms my heart to get nice messages and I'm pleased many of you have enjoyed them. Thank you for the sweet and supportive notes and comments. They really warm my heart!
Happy sewing this week and be sure to post your blocks in the facebook group. I can't wait to see them! Last week was a visit with my lovely Mom for her birthday! So the blog didn't get done right on time. Sometimes life is like that, right? CROWNING GLORY is from Betsy Chutchian and can be found at her blog (https://betsysbestquiltsandmore.blogspot.com/) or through Moda's archives. I did my color studies for the facebook group and got to posting here today!  My sewn block uses Painted Meadow, Abby Rose, Tulip Tango and Thatched. I love a good scrappy mix!   The NEXT block will be from me! So tune back in on Wednesday July 27th for more sewing fun.
Camille Roskelley of Thimble Blossoms brings us block 17 for Moda Blockheads. It is called SHORELINE and uses half square triangles and stitch and flip corners to make a beautiful block. You can visit Camille's blog with the link below to get the free block pattern: I like the star in the center and seeing it with color or reversed to background white. Corner squares can blend into a triangle shape for the block edges or the corners can stand out as contrasting squares. The darker pink can outline the center like a ribbon defining it or be mixed with gold to have a sparkly, almost kaleidoscope look. When we break up the colors by quadrant or sides it emphasizes the kaleidoscope feeling even more. Don't the last two look like light coming through a faceted or beveled glass window?  I used Thatched and Abby Rose for a rosy block that feels like it is a blooming pink flower. I'm tying in some of that Fuchsia that goes with the corner bud blocks for my quilt setting and keeping the Cranberry darker red to go with the background on those outer rows.  I love seeing the blocks on the Moda Blockheads facebook page as they pop up each week. One of the most interesting things about sewalongs is the sharing of our blocks and the fun fabric and color combinations we get to see from others. I hope you are enjoying it as much as I am!  |
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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