ModBox QAL – Week #3 – Piece the Block

Hello, hello! Welcome back to Week #3 of the ModBox QuiltAlong! Finally – the week we’ve been working for – this week we start to piece the blocks together and let me tell you, they go together in a breeze!

By now, you should have decided upon the colour order of your fabrics, precut the fabrics and then grouped the colour combinations together. If you are need to refresh or are just joining in, check out Week #2’s blog post right here!

As always there is a short companion video tutorial as well. You can view the video here!

STITCH YOUR FIRST BLOCK –
Grab your first set of Fabric “A” blocks combined with Fabric “B” strips. Remember: All seams are scant 1/4″ (which is a hair less than a full 1/4″ seam). Following the directions on pages 3 of the ModBox pattern, stitch the Fabric “B” short strips to the top and bottom edges of the Fabric “A” block. Press the seams towards Fabric “B” – then stitch the remaining Fabric “B” longer strip to the left edge of the unit. Be sure to measure the block and trim it to match the benchmark measurements included in the pattern on page 3.

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That’s it! Super easy! Now continue on piecing blocks in this manner until you have pieced all the blocks and strips together. Make sure you keep the fabric combinations together of blocks and strips you created in Week #2!

LAYOUT FIRST VERTICAL ROW FOR PREPARATION OF WEEK #4 –
In preparation for Week #4 (where we put the whole quilt together), begin to layout the first vertical row of blocks. Follow the diagrams on page 5 of the ModBox pattern.

Once you have the blocks for the first vertical row in place, begin to place the background fabric strips in place between the colored blocks. This can get a bit confusing because if you are like me, I am using (2) purple fabrics for my background and the pattern diagrams show the background fabrics in black and white.

To make it easier to follow the diagram and avoid confusion – I code my background fabrics and label one white and the other black.

Then I can place the correct background fabric around each colored block like so!

ALSO AN IMPORTANT NOTE ON FIGURE 12 IN THE PATTERN –
There is an updated Figure 12 for page 6. Especially for those of you doing the ModBox Large Lap and using half yards, please be sure to download the new Fig 12 (file PDF below for you to print) – this revised Fig 12 gives you the correct color sequence and block layout – again, especially if you are using half yards and making the Large Lap. You can retrieve the updated diagram here.

That’s it – we are ready for Week #4 where we will put it all together! See ya next week and until then, happy colouricious quilting! XX00 L&C

ModBox QAL – Week #1 – Get Your Pattern and Gather Your Materials

Hello!  And welcome to the ‘first week’ of our eighth Colourwerx QAL (quilt along) where we’ll be making the bold and graphic super fabulous and oh – so – easy “ModBox”. This is a super fun quilt to make, and it’s a great project for half yards, fat quarters or even fat eighths (depending upon which size you make).

JOIN THE COLOURWERX FACEBOOK GROUP: First, I want to thank you so much for joining us here.   If you want to meet with other Colourwerx quilty friends and aren’t yet a member of our Facebook group, I  invite you to join our free QAL Facebook group where you can ask questions, share your progress and of course, post pictures of your finished projects so everyone can share in the fun!  Also feel free to share this invite and any other QAL news with quilty buddies and invite them to join along in the fun!

JOIN THE COLOURWERX QUILTALONG FACEBOOK GROUP HERE

COMPANION VIDEOS: Each week of the quiltalong, also look for a companion video to be posted within the blog post like this one below.   If you’d like to receive alerts to when the videos are posted and other neat tutorials and replays of our Fab Friday Live broadcasts, then subscribe to our Colourwerx YouTube channel right here!

If you’d like to view this week’s companion video to Week #1 of the ModBox QAL, view it here:

So this is Week#1 of the ModBox QAL – 
First let’s review our super fast 4-week schedule!
• Week 1 (this week) we’ll gather our pattern and our fabrics together…
• Week 2 is all about deciding the color order and precutting your fabrics….
• Week 3 is all about piecing the blocks….
• …and Week 4 we’ll be putting it all together.

Super fun!!

Week #1 – GATHER YOUR PATTERN & MATERIALS —
Here’s what you’ll need to join in on the stitchin’ fun –
• The ModBox Pattern! You can purchase it in either paper or PDF formats buy clicking the links below….

Purchase the ModBox Paper Pattern here!

Purchase the ModBox PDF Pattern here!

WHICH SIZE WILL YOU MAKE??
Once you get the pattern home, check out the back cover and determine which size ModBox you’d like to make. There are three versions to choose from:

1. The Large Lap Size – measures 72″ x 84″ and requires (10) half yards (or 20 Fat Quarters) plus (2) background fabrics – 1 yard and 1-1/4 yards each;

The Baby Size quilt – measures 36″ x 45″ and requires (18) Fat Eighths (or 9 Fat Quarters) plus (2) background fabrics – 1/2 yard each fabric.

• The Table Runner Size – measures 18″ x 63″ and requires (13) Fat Eighths (or 7 Fat Quarters) plus (2) background fabrics – 1/2 yard each fabric.

DIFFERENT VERSIONS
Let’s look at some different versions of the ModBox quilt that we’ve either made or rendered for different fabric companies in a variety of color motifs. This may give you an idea of what colors you might want to use for your ModBox Quilt. Click the arrows to view each version.

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WHAT FABRICS AM I USING??
I always like to stitch up a new sample along side you while we do QuiltAlongs and this time, will be no exception. I’ll be making the Large Lap version out of the Kaffe Fassett Collective February 2021 fabrics that just arrived into shops! Here’s a rendering of the quilt we made up in Electric Quilt Software 8.

And here’s a close up of the gorgeous new Kaffe Fassett Collective fabrics – I just love these hot tropical colors and patterns in this new collection: fucshias, magentas, peachy oranges and deep burnt apricot!

My background fabrics will be these two deep dark plum fabrics and the binding will be my new fave Kaffe Fassett fabric – this fiery orange button fabric! I think it’s going to be really spectacular!

So go forth and choose fabrics and be sure to get your ModBox pattern from the Colourwerx Shop! Once your fabrics are selected, you might want to start thinking about the order for your fabrics. We’ll talk more about this next week in Week #2!

That’s it for Week #1 – that was fun! And I can’t wait to see all of your fabric selections! Week #2 we’ll decide fabric and color orders and then precut all of our fabric !

Until then, please be sure to email us at colourwerx@yahoo.com if you have any questions.  Or feel free to post questions or progress pictures on our Colourwerx QAL Facebook Group.

Until your next colour fix and next week’s QAL post ~  happy and bright quilting always!   

L&C xxoo

We’ll Be on the ‘Inspired by Free Spirit’ Broadcast – Join Us!

Hey Guys! Just a quick announcement!!

Make a date for Thursday September 24th at 12pm PT or 3pm ET on the Free Spirit Facebook Page – Carl and I will be chatting with our good friend, Sharon – Inspiration Manager for Free Spirit Fabrics – about everything Kaffetastic!

Click here for the link to the video invite on the Free Spirit Facebook page!

And check out what Carl and I get to play with this week….
Yup- brand new #kaffetastic , #kaffelicious Kaffe Fassett Fabric that is arriving to your local shops in February 2021! You’ll need to tune in to the broadcast on Thursday to see what we created! .

So be sure to join us Thursday, September 24th at 12pm PT (3pm ET) for our live chat on the Free Spirit Facebook Page !! See ya there! Woo hoo!

Splendor QAL: Week #2 – Appliqué the Small Flower Blocks

Welcome back!   It’s Week #2 of our Splendor QuiltAlong and it’s time to start appliquéing our small flower petal blocks!

But first — If you’re just joining us this week, be sure to review Week #1’s Blog Post to find out how to purchase the pattern and what fabrics and materials you’ll need to gather –

READ THE SPLENDOR QAL WEEK #1 POST BY CLICKING HERE

Also, just a friendly reminder!   If you want to join with other quilty friends and aren’t yet a member of our Facebook group, I invite you to join our free QAL Facebook group where you can ask questions, share your progress and of course, post pictures of your finished projects so everyone can share in the fun!  Also feel free to share this invite and any other QAL news with quilty buddies and invite them to join along in the fun!

You can also subscribe to our Colourwerx You Tube channel right here!

JOIN THE COLOURWERX QAL FACEBOOK GROUP HERE

SUBSCRIBE TO THE COLOURWERX YOU TUBE CHANNEL RIGHT HERE

On to Week #2 of Splendor!
I do love to do fusible machine appliqué – it is so fast and fun and you can use a variety of stitches like the zigzag, buttonhole (or also known as the blanket) or decorative stitches to embellish and texturize your shapes.  Remember there are no quilt police lurking so experiment and have fun!

Also, if you’d like a video – you can view Week #2’s companion video tutorial right here!

View Week #2’s Splendor Companion Video Tutorial

But first things first….
Arrange Your Background Blocks for Value and Pattern Placement —
1. You should have precut your background fabrics in Week #1 – if not, please find the cutting directions in page 1 of the Splendor pattern and do so before proceeding.

2. Assuming you are using (12) 1/3 yard cuts or a variety of scraps for your background, refer to Page 2  in the pattern for the diagram, and arrange the background units on your design board or floor making sure you have evenly balanced the value and pattern placement (if there are patterns in the fabrics) across the quilt top.  Do not stitch the units together yet.

Once satisfied, be sure to snap a photo of your arrangement for future use and then remove from your design board or floor the (12)  background blocks that will have the small flowers on them.  Here’s my background units arranged on my design board.

Prepare your Small Flower Petal Shapes —
You’ll be cutting out (12) sets of the small flower shapes.  (If you are following along and making the Mini Splendor pattern with us, you’ll make (6) sets of small flower shapes).

1.  First, gather the pattern page (included in the Splendor pattern) and following the directions on your adhesive fusible web, trace (12) complete sets of the small flower petal shapes on the smooth side of the fusible web. Use a #2 pencil for tracing.

Rough cut these shapes out at least 1/4″ beyond the drawn line.

Again, I like to use the adhesive fusible web Heat ‘n Bond Lite.

2. Next select your small flower fabrics for your first block, and fuse the shapes onto the wrong side of those fabrics.

Cut the shapes out neatly on the drawn line and be as exact as possible.  Use a sharp pair of scissors for this step.

3. Continue on and create (12) sets of small flower shapes.  (Again, if you are following along and making the Mini Splendor pattern with us, you’ll make (6) small flowers).

As a sidenote, if you own a desktop cutting machine like a Silhouette Cameo or Cricut, you can scan the applique patterns into your machine.  First back each of your fabric pieces with fusible web and then laser cut the shapes.  This will require extra fabric, a tacky cutting mat for your machine,  alot of patience and some time for experimentation to get your machine to work ‘just right’. 

4.  Once you have all (12) sets of small flower shapes cut out, you are ready to appliqué.

What did Linda do?
I want to share what I did on my Splendor quilt for the small flower blocks – I chose to use the new Tula Pink True Colors 10″ stack.

1. First I decided on (12) different colors for each of the smaller flowers and from there, I chose (3) 10″ squares to be grouped together to make each of the (12) colorways to create the flower petals. Here are the 10″ square fabrics I chose to use for my yellow/orange colored flower:

Now I’ll share my little formula below for which flower shapes I cut from each of the three fabrics to create variety and movement across ta single flower block.  I could have used just one fabric for each small flower block but sometimes that can make a quilt stagnate:  so the my motto is more fabrics = more movement and more texture which =’s  way more interesting quilt!

My Formula  — Notice on the master pattern page that each of the petals on the small flower are numbered #1-#8 plus the center so that really makes (9) pieces for each small flower block.  So again since I am using (3) fabrics for each small flower block, I’ll cut three petals from each fabric BUT I want to make sure that the fabrics are alternating from petal to petal so here is my formula – feel free to copy this if you’d like  🙂

Fabric #1 – Cut Small Flower Shapes #1, #4, #7
Fabric #2 – Cut Small Flower Shapes #2, #5, #8
Fabric #3 – Cut Small Flower Shapes #3, #6 & Center

You can really see the texture, value and movement you get across the quilt top by simply combining a few fabrics of the same colorway for each smaller flower block.

Fuse (or Iron) Your Small Flower Petals to Your Background Squares —
1. Before fusing your small flower petals to the background squares, create an overlay sheet to assist you in placing each of the (8) petals plus the center in exactly the right place before finally ironing them to the background block. Trace the small flower exactly as it appears on your pattern page including the numbers.

Although this is an easy pattern shape, without the overlay you might place the petal shapes slightly askew which will throw off the look of this little fab flower!   This can be simply a piece of tracing paper or a nonfusible dressmaking interfacing like Pattern-Ease.

2. Taking your first background block and first set of small flower shapes, peel the release paper off the backside of each shape and iron the shapes into place using your overlay sheet to assist you in the exact placement.

3.  Also place a piece of stitching stabilizer (like Sulky Totally Stable Iron On Tear Away Stabilizer) on the WRONG side of the Small Flower Petal Block.   The stabilizer will help to “stabilize” your stitching especially if you are using a zigzag, satin stitch or decorative titch around each of your shapes.

Any digitized embroidery machine stabilizer will work for this purpose, but my favorite is the Sulky Totally Stable Iron On Tear Away Stabilizer pictured below.

Let the block cool after ironing and then get ready for some fun machine appliqué.

Machine Appliqué Around the Petal Shapes —
1. Set your machine up for appliqué stitching by changing your presser foot to an open toe foot and choosing some fabulous matching thread for your first flower fabrics.

2. Set your machine to your desired appliqué stitch.  I usually like to choose the Zig Zag and set my Bernina to stitch width 2.5-3.0 and stitch length to just below 1.0 .

Test, test, test before you begin.  Once satisfied, applique stitch around each of the petals and the center on your first small flower block. If you need additional reference for setting your machine up for appliqué and appliqué, please view my video from our Wonky Piecing and Easy Appliqué- Week #4 QuiltAlong here.

3. Repeat these steps above until you have created and appliquéd the (12) small flower blocks (you can also save some of these for Week #3  if you run out of time this week).   Once stitching is complete, be sure to tear away the stabilizer from the backside and lightly press each block.

That’s it for Week #2!!  Next week – Week #3: we’ll be appliquéing the Large Flower Shapes onto the Center background blocks – woohoo!

Until then, please be sure to email us at colourwerx@yahoo.com if you have any questions.  Or feel free to post questions or progress pictures on our Colourwerx QAL Facebook Group.

Until your next colour fix and next week’s QAL post ~  happy and bright quilting always!    L&C xxoo

Wonky Piecing & Easy Applique QAL – Week 2 -Wonky Piecing Made Simple & Cutting Out Your Animal Shapes!

Welcome back!   It’s Week #2 of our Wonky Piecing & Easy Appliqué QuiltAlong !  This week we’ll be creating our Wonky Piecing Strip Sets, fusing your animal shapes onto those strips sets and then cutting out the animal shapes.

If you’re just joining us this week, be sure to review Week #1’s Blog Post to find out how to purchase the pattern and what fabrics and materials you’ll need to gather –

READ WEEK #1’S POST BY CLICKING HERE

Also, just a friendly reminder!   If you want to join with other quilty friends and aren’t yet a member of our Facebook group, I invite you to join our free QAL Facebook group where you can ask questions, share your progress and of course, post pictures of your finished projects so everyone can share in the fun!  Also feel free to share this invite and any other QAL news with quilty buddies and invite them to join along in the fun!

JOIN THE COLOURWERX QAL FACEBOOK GROUP HERE

Let’s get started! —
I love ‘wonky piecing’!  It’s liberating, easy to do and best of all you don’t need to have an exact or even perfect 1/4″ seam.   First, gather your strips.

Lay out the strips near your sewing machine in a pleasing manner.  This can be in whatever order you think looks good and there is no right or wrong. I’ll be making a ModCat with you while we quilt along together so here are my strips laid out on the cutting board in what looks like to me a very pleasing manner.

Follow the directions for wonky piecing in your patterns:  MiniModDog – Page 1; ModCat – pages 3-4; ModFish – pages 4-5.  In the pattern you’ll find fully illustrated diagrams to assist you.

But first I want to share a little trick that I like to do.  I like to “audition” the wonky angle before stitching 2 strips together. Begin your wonky piecing with the two bottom strips.

Here’s what I do to “audition” the angle before stitching:  I place the top strip Right Side Up on the other strip, slanting it at an angle or in the case below, slanting from top left to bottom right  – this allows you to “audition” the wonky angle before stitching it.

Once satisfied with your “slant”, just flip the the top strip over on top of the bottom strip mimicking that angle so the strips are now Right Sides Together.

Next just stitch the strips together and cut away the extra fabric beyond the stitching line as per your pattern instructions.

To add the next strip, just take the third strip in sequence, place it Right Side Together slanting in the opposite direction and “audition” the angle.  Looks good!  Ok – Flip that strip over so the strips are now Right Sides Together mimicking the angle and stitch to the second strip.

Then just continue on until your wonky pieced strip set is large enough for your animal shape.  Here are my (2) Wonky Pieced Strip Sets for my ModCat – one for the body and one for the head .

And here’s an example of what some Wonky Strip Pieced Sets might look like for a ModDog or ModFish:

ModDog

ModFish

Now you’re done with your Wonky Piecing and the real fun begins…fusing your animal shapes onto the wrong side of the strips sets and cutting out your animal shapes out!!

First, Rough Cut Out Your Shapes From the Fusible Web —
This step seems to confuse some people. 

Simply put, it means to cut out your animal shapes from the fusible web 1/4″-1/2″ BEYOND THE DRAWN LINE NOT ON THE DRAWN LINE like so…

Next, fuse your shapes to the WRONG side of your wonky pieced strip sets.  Also fuse the other shapes to the your selected fabrics at this time:  for example, the dog collar, or let’s say the fish faces or cat eyelids, etc…

With a sharp pair of scissors, cut out the shapes on the drawn line – take your time here and be exact.   Here’s my ModCat shapes all cut out.

Here’s what your ModDog or ModFish shapes might look like after being cut out:

Just a word on scissors — I love these Karen Kay Buckley Precision Tip scissors pictured below.  These are about 5″ long, easy and comfortable to grip and are the perfect little pair of scissors for precision cutting of applique shapes of any size.  There are my go-to scissors for just this kind of work and I highly recommend them!

You can purchase them at your local quilt shop or any online retailer.

Look for a little companion video on Week #2 – Wonky Piecing to be posted in a few days!

Yay!  🙂  That’s it for Week #2!!  Next week – Week #3: we’ll be machine quilting up the background fabric and I’ll show you a few different ideas that you can incorporate into your quilting!!

Until then, please be sure to email us at colourwerx@yahoo.com if you have any questions.  Or feel free to post progress pictures on our Colourwerx QAL Facebook Group.

Until your next colour fix and next week’s QAL post ~  happy and bright quilting always!    L&C xxoo

PaintBox QAL – Week #2 – Sorting Your Strips into Groups & Cutting

Welcome back to Week #2 of the Colourwerx Paint Box QuiltAlong!  This week is all about sorting your strips into color groups and cutting.

Also, just a friendly reminder!   If you want to join with other quilty friends and aren’t yet a member of our Facebook group, I  invite you to join our free QAL Facebook group where you can ask questions, share your progress and of course, post pictures of your finished projects so everyone can share in the fun!  Also feel free to share this invite and any other QAL news with quilty buddies and invite them to join along in the fun!

JOIN THE COLOURWERX QAL FACEBOOK GROUP HERE

GATHER YOUR MATERIALS:   By now you should have selected your materials, purchased your pattern and gathered the speciality triangle ruler and other sewing notions if needed.  But just in case, we’ll review what you need super quick:

•  The PaintBox pattern by Colourwerx (CW-124) – you can purchase this at our shop and choose either a paper edition or electronic PDF edition;

PURCHASE THE PAINTBOX PATTERN – PAPER VERSION
PURCHASE THE PAINTBOX PATTERN – PDF VERSION

•  A strip roll (or jelly roll) – choose a strip roll containing (40) precut 2-1/2″ wide strips.  If you’d like to “bust your stash” – Cut (40) 2″ wide x 41-43″ long strips from your stash;

•  Sashing Triangles & Binding  – choose two coordinating fabrics that match or compliment your strips – these fabrics make up the “sashing triangles” – You’ll need a 1-yard cut of each fabric.

•  A Speciality 90 Degree Ruler  for Cutting the Triangles – the Creative Grids Quarter Square Triangle Ruler CGRT90.  I really like the Creative Grids brand of rulers! We also have these available for purchase in our Colourwerx shop!

PURCHASE THE CREATIVE GRIDS TRIANGLE RULER HERE

WHAT DID I CHOOSE TO USE?  Last week you might recall I was alternating between two different jelly rolls I had in my stash.  I finally settled on the Laundry Basket Linen Texture roll and added two 1-yard cuts of Edyta’s gorgeous linen fabrics for the sashing triangles.  The coordinating colors I chose were Linen and a Dark Teal.   Thanks to the good peeps at Fat Quarter Shop my added yardage I had to order arrived this afternoon just in time for me to write this blog!

SORT YOUR STRIPS INTO COLOUR GROUPS –
This task is probably the hardest step in making this quilt.  There are so many choices and none of them are wrong. You’ll first need to come up with 5 color groups – each group containing 8 strips. Each grouping will then be subdivided into (2)  subgroups containing (4) strips each.

Last week I provided a link to this  handy black and white diagram below  to assist you in planning your colour placement for your Paint Box quilt.  You can use crayons, colored pencils or markers – whatever works for you.  Here’s the link again just in case you missed it:

DOWNLOAD AND PRINT THE PAINT BOX LINE ART HERE

If your strip roll contains duplicate strips or as often is the case – 20 different fabrics with 2 strips of each fabric – this task is a bit easier for you.  Just divide the strips into 5 color groups selecting 4 different fabrics for each group.  If the fabric strips are duplicated, then you would place (2) strips from each of the 4 fabrics selected in that group to total the (8) strips assigned to each group.

If your strip roll has (40) different colored strips – the task is a little harder. You will need to come up first with five color groups – then subdivide each group into two sub groups and place 4 strips in each subgroup.

My Laundry Basket Linen strip roll had (40) strips but the strip colors, hues  and variations were very subtle. Here’s an example of the some of the color variations I found across the amber /green spectrums.

I settled to make (10) distinct color groups with (4) strips in each group. Whenever I start a new PaintBox quilt, I like to lay out the strips in their color groups on my floor to audition what that center square might look like and also ensure that all that fabrics are “playing nicely” in their individual color groups  as well as across the quilt top. Here’s what mine looked like:

I also found coloring in the B&W line art drawing most helpful and used the subtle variances in the color groupings to make an almost rotating pinwheel of changing colors around the  quilt top. I think this might look neat but I won’t really  know until I get the quilt top together and that’s the fun of it!   Here’s what my B&W line art quilt top looked like after I colored it in:

CUTTING THE STRIP ROLL STRIPS TO 2″ WIDE –
Once you’ve placed the strips in color groupings, you’re ready to cut each strip down to 2″ wide (unless of course you have cut from your stash and then hopefully you have already cut them at 2″ wide).  That’s right each strip needs to be 2″ wide before we start stitching them together.  Take your time in doing this and be accurate!

BUT WAIT!!!  I must confess that often times I cut the strips down to this width after I have stitched pairs of strips together.  I’ll talk more about this step next week, but here’s an example : I’ve stitched  (2) 2-1/2″ wide strips together with a scant 1/4″ seam allowance.  Before pressing the strips open, I place them (still Right Sides Together) on the cutting board, line up the 2″ mark of the ruler on the stitched side and then cut the width to 2″ wide. Easy Peezy!  However if that makes you nervous, then by all means, trim each of your strips to 2″ wide.

CUTTING THE COORDINATING FABRICS INTO STRIPS –
Next gather the (2) coordinating fabric.  Choose one to also be your biding fabric.  Follow the cutting instructions and dimensions on page 1 of the pattern and cut your coordinating fabrics into strips.

That’s it!  You are now ready for Week #3 – Stitching the Strips together!  See ya then! 

Until then, please be sure to email us at colourwerx@yahoo.com if you have any questions.  Or feel free to post progress pictures on our Colourwerx QAL Facebook Group.

Until your next colour fix and next week’s QAL post ~  happy and bright quilting always!    L&C xxoo

 

 

Get Your Colour Game on with Prismatic!

I’m catching up on new pattern blog posts – so let’s talk about one of our newest patterns – Prismatic!.  Boldly go where no colour has gone before!  – It’s  a terrific pattern for batiks, prints or solids! And good news, it may look complicated, but it’s not.

Prismatic! is a fun, easy to piece quilt.   All the blocks are pieced exactly in the same fashion..the only difference is how the fabrics are combined and in what order they appear in each block.  Luckily, we gave you a handy reference chart in the pattern, and if you follow that and a few additional tips below – you’ll be on your way to creating this gorgeous quilt.  Click here to purchase the pattern in either a paper pattern or PDF download pattern.

This new pattern from Colourwerx was designed by Carl on a whim….he was playing around in EQ7 designing quilt block patterns while watching TV one night and happened to switch the channel over to CBS…the logo appeared….this was the result —- see the similarity? Kinda like a cat’s eye, right….    Sometimes it takes just a little inspiration to light a creative fire; and yes, that old saying that ‘inspiration is everywhere’ is absolutely true.

Since the quilt is entirely pieced (and not foundation or paper pieced as many think), a good 1/4″ seam is imperative,  so you’ll need to whip out that 1/4″ patchwork presser foot for your sewing machine.  Mine is the #97 for my Bernina 750QE – it comes with this handy metal guide that keeps my 1/4″ seams perfect and I love it!

Fabric selection for Prismatic! is super easy too – you just need twelve coordinating fabrics plus three neutrals for the backgrounds.  The pattern includes two sizes: a Large Lap with a 6″ finished block – and measures 72″ x 84″ – which uses just twelve half yards; and a Small Lap Size with a 4″ finished block  – and measures 48″ x 56″ – which uses just twelve fat quarters. Refer to the Material List at your right  for further information on yardage requirements.

So if you’ve been lusting after half yard bundles or fat quarter bundles this may be the perfect pattern!  I selected to use one of our personally curated bundles of gorgeous batik fabrics from Island Batiks.  This is now available for purchase in Fat Quarter or Half Yard bundles in our Colourwerx shop – click here for more information.

It of course follows colour wheel order (….and I always love a good colour wheel order quilt…), but the depth of saturation and gorgeous texture of the Island Batik Basics really call out to me.  This colour palette may also look familiar to you as I chose this exact same bundle to use for the Big Kahuna version of my ModTiki quilt – this pattern is also available on on our Colourwerx website here.  For the background fabrics, I used my favorite Island Batik neutrals in the colors of Smoke (dark gray), Tin (light gray) and White. Once your fabrics are selected, creating a fabric color key is paramount – just snip a 1″ square from each fabric, staple the fabric squares to a piece of paper and label them accordingly.  This key will aid you continually in keeping your fabrics coordinated and in the order needed to make the pattern work.

Cutting your fabrics is also pretty easy too – using the pattern templates provided and following the cutting chart provided in the pattern,  each fabric has exactly the same quantity of shapes cut – it’s just a matter of cutting the correct template shape from each fabric.   Once the fabrics are cut, the most challenging part is to separate and combine the the fabric shapes into the different block combinations, following the color coded block combination chart provided in the pattern.    There are thirty three different block combinations, so getting the right shape in right color in the correct combination is important – check and double check!.

Once my block combos were separated, I placed each of them into ziplock bag and labelled how many blocks I needed to make for that combo –  all I needed to do was select a bag and sew the units together in that bag.    Eazy peazy, right?

Once all thirty three combinations were completed, I laid out the blocks on my design  board and began to sew the blocks together. I then quilted it on my APQS Lucey longarm with an all over pantograph pattern.  Voila!!

This pattern is so versatile and as mentioned above, choosing twelve coordinating fabrics will always create beautiful results…Here are a few other versions of Prismatic!

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Prismatic! is a super fun quilt  – so dive in and step up your colour game!    Thanks for your support and happy holidays!  Until your next colour fix~Linda & Carl

 

 

 

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And thank you to everyone who commented and played along!  So appreciate your support and continued kindness!  Woo hoo!

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Today is our day on the “Tie One On” blog hop – welcome!!

When designer Scott Hansen of Blue Nickel Studios, asked us to be part of his “Tie One On” blog hop, of course we said yes and were super excited.

First – There are giveaways so let’s get the very important ‘blog business’ on how to enter out of the way….Banyan Batiks is giving away an assortment of “Tie One On” batik bundles!  Yippee!  Also, Colourwerx will be sending our winner an assortment of our patterns, including our newest pattern called “Whirligig” which is featured here and will be debuting October 15th.

Here’s how to enter – just leave a comment below.  A winner will be randomly selected from the comment list below.  Hopefully you’ve been following along with my fellow bloggers each day since the blog hop started last Saturday.  If not,  be sure to go back and check their blogs (listed near the end of this blog post) because each stop on the blog hop is offering a giveaway, so that’s ten chances to win a prize, including on Scott’s blog!!   Now back to Scott and his debut batik fabric collection….

“Tie One On” is Scott’s new signature batik collection he designed for Banyan Batiks, a division of Northcott Fabrics.  Scott is the “mad color scientist” behind his company Blue Nickel Studios, and teaches each year at the famed Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show and Quilter’s Affaire in Sisters Oregon – a must see show each Summer for anyone who lives or is visiting the West Coast!   The motto of his company is “Urban Folk-Modern Design” – how could you not love that!  One of  my favorite patterns from Scott which is especially gorgeous in Kaffe Fassett fabrics and of course, on my bucket list,  is “Painted Forest”.  Love this!  You can purchase this pattern on his website here.

Carl and I met Scott last year near Spring Quilt Market when his new fabric collection was just debuting at Quilt Market to shop owners.  I made a few Mini Mod Dog samples for his booth that came out super cute! Here they are!   You can purchase the Mini ModDog Pattern here!     And you can read the inspiration behind Scott’s idea for designing “Tie One On” fabrics by clicking here – did you know it has nothing to do with drinking but with men’s neckties? – ha!

So it was decided – Whirligig named for the swirling offset quarter circles that look a bit unhinged, would be the perfect contemporary vehicle to showcase this color group and Scott’s new collection.  But which colors and which fabrics?? – so many good ones to choose from in his new collection. (click on the images below to see each colorway!)

Ventura

Sedona

Nashville

Manhattan

Ultimately I settled in on the Ventura color collection as it reminded of the candy “good and plenty’.  I love the fresh pearl and mint colors mixed with the bold blacks and bright magentas.  Very #colouricious indeed!!  And that black and magenta atomic starburst pattern is my absolute fave of all – it’s called ‘Stardust Hotel’. It’s a perfect match to our mid century modern Palm Springs vibe here in the desert!

Ventura

Once I received the eight fabrics from the very nice people at Northcott – I paired them into four groups and began cutting out my templates shapes.  First I needed to trace the template shapes using my trusty Frixion Iron Off Pen.   This makes tracing shapes so easy and guess what?  if you make a mistake, all you need to do is iron away your mistake – a win-win for me!

Next – the fun part – curvey quilting.  The key to sewing curves is to “hug the curve in order to love your curve!” Really!  Scant 1/4″ seams are where it’s at and hug the edge of the curve with the edge of your presser foot! And neato! – no pins needed with our pattern templates as the curve is gentle and we designed in extra seam allowance so you don’t have to be ‘Patty Perfect’.  (You’ll trim and square down after a block is assembled – yippee!)

Once all curved units were sewn, they were once again paired with their counterparts and sewn together to form blocks.  Blocks were squared and trimmed down and yes, you got it! sewn together to form half of the whirligig.  Two halves go together and with the designed offset to create that rather “unhinged” look –  you get a one big beautiful Whirligig block!   By switching the placements of the fabrics you get a totally different block…hence block “A” and block “B” !

Once you make six each of these block variations you are ready to assemble the top.  I quilted this on my APQS Lucey long arm using King Tut Variagated Thread in the Canaan color and the pantograph pattern Chinook by Urban Threads –  I think both the thread and the pantograph pattern are a perfect match to the Whirligig pattern and Scott’s “Tie One On” fabrics!  I love the way it came out.

“Whirligig” is a super fun pattern and a contemporary take on the traditional Drunkard’s Path block.  It’s also so easy to select fabrics for – just eight 1-yard cuts is all you need….first choose 4 distinct colors and then choose 2 fabrics in each colourway!  Eazy Peazy!  🙂 The pattern will be available shortly and if you like what you see (and we hope you do) you can preorder the pattern here on our Colourwerx website and save $2.00 – it will be ship on October 15th!

As for “Tie One On” fabrics, those are coming to a shop near you in October!  So start looking for them! Yea!!!

Tomorrow’s stop is Sheri Cifaldi-Morrill at Whole Circle Studio and I can’t wait to see what she has created!    And by the way –  here’s the list of my fellow bloggers….remember even though their day on the blog hop may have passed, the giveaway is still open, so go visit them and enter! And of course, be sure to visit Scott’s site at Blue Nickel Studios for giveaways too!

Saturday 9/22 – Teri Lucas                https://terificreations.com/
Sunday 9/23 – Robin Long              http://robinruthdesign.com/blog/
Monday 9/24 – Sue O’Very              https://sueoverydesigns.com/blog/
Tuesday 9/25 – Cheryl Arkison         http://www.cherylarkison.com/diningroomempire/
Wednesday 9/26 – Linda Sullivan (Me!!)          https://colourwerx.wordpress.com/
(tomorrow….)
Thursday 9/27 – Sheri Cifaldi-Morrill  http://blog.wholecirclestudio.com/
Friday 9/28 – Debby Brown          http://higheredhands.blogspot.com/
Saturday 9/29 – Blair Stocker           https://wisecrafthandmade.com/blog/
Sunday 9/30 – Kim Niedzwiecki       http://www.gogokim.com/

As for our giveaway, be sure to leave a comment below.  We’ll leave the contest open until Monday, October 1st and Molly, our office manager, will pick a winner on Tuesday, October 2nd.

Thanks for stopping by and until your next colour fix~
Linda & Carl

 

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