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

All Stacked Up QuiltAlong: Week 3 – Put It All Together

Welcome back to the last and final week of our All Stacked Up QuiltAlong!  This is the week where we put it all together – albeit some of you may have already finished your quilt top because quite frankly, once you’ve pieced the blocks in Week #2 it’s really hard not to just wanna finish off the top right away!

Here is this week’s companion video for you – enjoy!!

So by now all of your blocks should be pieced and complete – you should have (3) identical blocks from each individual pair of fabrics.

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If you’re just hopping into the QuiltAlong, you might want to review the previous week’s posts right here:

Week #1 – Gather Your Materials & Precut the Fabrics
Week #2 – Piece the Blocks

Lay Out Blocks According to the Quilt Top Diagram —
Once all of your blocks are pieced, you are ready to lay out the blocks according to one of the quilt top diagrams included in the pattern on pages 6-10…..and begin to stitch blocks together to form rows… and stitch rows together to complete the quilt top.

Let me take a moment to explain the diagrams you see there.  Each set of (3) identical blocks has a number – if you kept pairs of fabrics together during the cutting and piecing parts of the project, you would end up with (3) identical blocks of for example, Fabric A & Fabric B …..and (3) additional blocks of Fabric A & Fabric B that are the mirror image of the first three (meaning the positions of Fabric A & Fabric B are reversed in the second set of three identical blocks).

So when looking at for example, the Baby Quilt Size diagram on page 6, you’ll see that the #1 & #2 block sets are the mirrored image of each other. It was just our way when writing the pattern to give you a little extra help for color disbursement and laying out block combinations.

Here’s what my top looks like when laid out on the design board. Again I’m using Shayla Wolf’s from Sassafras Lane Designs newest collection called “Favorite Things”.

Be sure to check back next week here on the Colourwerx Blog and on Instagram to see my finished ‘All Stacked Up’ quilt and to take part in the “Favorite Things” Instagram tour – Shayla and Windham Fabrics will be giving away fat quarter bundles of the ‘Favorite Things’ collection too! Woo Hoo!

This concludes out All Stacked Up QuiltAlong – I hope you enjoyed it!

Thank you so much for following along and for your continued support!  Look for more Colourwerx QuiltAlongs on our Colourwerx Facebook page or on our website under QuiltAlongs!

Until your next colour fix – happy quilting!  Linda & Carl xxoo

Just My Type Digital Design Challenge Blog Hop

Hello Colourwerx Peeps! It’s time to meet another multi talented designer in our industry and one whose work I have admired ever since Carl and I started working with Island Batik.

Meet Tammy Silvers from Tamarinis – she is a multi talented quilt teacher, pattern designer and fabric designer for Island Batik. And today is our day on the “Just My Type” Digital Design Challenge Blog Hop – welcome everyone!

When Tammy asked us to digitally render one of our patterns from her new batik collection,“Just My Type”, we of course said yes!   Quilty pals are the best and it’s always a pleasure to help out a colleague and at the same time get to play with super gorgeous yet to be released fabrics.

Tammy’s new fabric collection, called “Just My Type” from Island Batik is oh-so-cute and filled with a delightful array of vintage typewriter keys, coffee mugs, swirls and other tone on tone designs. The colors are a gorgeous collection of jewel toned teals, turquoises, deep dark blues, sea greens and bright chartreuse (my favorite)! Here’s a sneak peek of all the fabrics in the collection.

Tammy decided to ask many of her colleagues and friends to digitally render one of their patterns in her new fabric collection. Carl and I chose one of our newest patterns called “All Stacked Up”.

“All Stacked Up” looks complicated but it’s not. Easy piecing makes this quilt go together in a flash! Twenty 1/3 yard cuts plus about 3/4 yard of a neutral background is all you need to whip up this Lap Size quilt! But the pattern give you four other size options in case you want a smaller or larger quilt!

You can purchase the All Stacked Up pattern in our Colourwerx Shop right here:

PURCHASE THE PAPER PATTERN – ALL STACKED UP

PURCHASE THE PDF PATTERN – ALL STACKED UP

Even though we are near the end of the digital challenge blog hop, a heap of other talented designers have created digital images for inspiration so I hope you’ll take a moment and hop over to Tammy of Tamarinis’ website and these other designer pages:

• Tamarinis – Tammy Silvers (she designed the fabric!)
• Sewing Room Shenanagins – Janellea Macbeth
• The Quilt Rambler – Karen Overton
• Fat Quarter Gypsy – Joanne Hillestad
• Slice of Pi Quilts – Laura Piland
• Poor House Quilt Designs – Kris Poor
• Inquiring Quilter – Jennifer Fulton
• Seams Like a Dream – Kate Colleran
• Swanamity – Swan Sheridan
• Colourwerx – Linda & Carl Sullivan (that’s us!!)

Be sure to ask your local quilt shops and online stores to order up Tammy’s new batik line “Just My Type” from Island Batik. It should hit the shops this month!

Until your next colour fix~

L&C xxoo

Feelin’ Groovy QAL – Week #4 – Paper Piecing (Technique #3)

Welcome back yet again!   It’s Week #4 of our Feelin’ Groovy QuiltAlong and it’s time to learn our last technique – Paper Piecing! This week we’ll be constructing the spikey outer border.

But first — If you’re just joining us this week or looking to catch up, be sure to catch last week’s blog post and video – it’s all about appliquéing the swirls to the background blocks.

READ THE FEELIN’ GROOVY WEEK #3 POST BY CLICKING HERE

Make Copies of the Spikey Outer Border Pattern —
First, you’ll need to make some copies of the spikey paper pieced pattern included in the Feelin’ Groovy pattern.

You can use a cheap thin copy paper to do so and your home printer.

Or you can use Carol Doak’s Foundation Paper sold at most quilt shops. This is a paper specifically made for paper piecing and can also be sent through your printer to make copies.

TAKE NOTE!! Make sure when you make a copy that you have your printer set to “print at 100%” or “actual size”. Make a test copy and refer to the 1″ scale in the bottom left hand corner of the pattern. If this scale doesn’t measure 1″ EXACTLY as it says you know something is off. Additionally measure around the dotted lines of the spikey paper pieced pattern…it should measure 6-1/2″ x 9-1/2″.

For the Lap Quilt size on the pattern cover, you’ll need to make a total (18) copies and for the Baby Size, you’ll need a total of (12) copies. Make yourself a few extra copies just in case!

Cutting Your Strips —
I found that for this particular pattern that if I cut all of my black and white scrap fabric into 3” X 8” strips, I could easily and speedily paper piece the spikey border pattern in no time. So cut a variety of black and white fabrics into 3″ x 8″ strips.

What is Paper Piecing?–
“Paper Piecing”, or also referred to as “Foundation Piecing”, simply means to assemble a unit piece by piece using a paper-printed pattern or muslin fabric pattern as the foundation for the fabric strips. Paper piecing is super fun, super easy and super accurate – you’ll never cut off another point that’s for sure.

First, you need to just wrap your brain around the fact that you are sewing backwards or somewhat in reverse. Before begininng let’s start off with some handy tips to help you along the way – these are also in the pattern on pages 3-4!

• Reduce your stitch length on your machine to 2 or a little smaller – this will help perforate the paper and make it easier to remove later;

• The printed side of the paper (with all of the patterns, marking and numbers) will be the side you sew on and therefore it will become the WRONG side of the unit when complete;

• The solid lines on the pattern denote the lines you sew on. Sew directly on all solid lines starting with “Sew 1”, – starting and ending your stitching several stitches before after the sew line;

• Note that each part of the unit has a number and a color – piece the unit together in the numerical order indicated starting with 1, then 2, 3, 4 and so on. Do not deviate from the numerical order listed;

• Cut a separate piece of fabric for each numbered section of the pattern. The fabric piece should completely cover the numbered section and extend at our over all the dashed lines of the section;

• For paper piecing, place fabric pieces on the unprinted side of the pattern over the appropriate numbered pattern section. For this step, you may need to hold the pattern up to the light to see the section lines or place pins along the lines to guide you in placing your fabric strip over the correct section.

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For exact paper piecing instructions, I always think a visual example is better – so here is my companion video for the week. You can also follow along in the pattern on pages 4-6 for detailed paper piecing instructions, more descriptions and diagrams.

Once your first unit is complete, trim the unit to 6-1/2″ x 9-1/2″ on the dashed lines. DO NOT REMOVE THE PAPER ! We will do that next week when we put the quilt top together.

That’s it for Week #4!!  Next week – Week #5 – our final week – we’ll be putting it all together – 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

Feelin’ Groovy QAL – Week #3 – Appliqué the Swirls (Technique 2)

Welcome back!   It’s Week #3 of our Feelin’ Groovy QuiltAlong and it’s time to start appliquéing the swirls to the slash ‘n sew background blocks.

But first — If you’re just joining us this week, be sure to review Week #2’s Blog Post to find out how to slash ‘n sew the background blocks..

READ THE FEELIN’ GROOOVY WEEK #2 POST BY CLICKING HERE

You can also refer to our Fab Friday Broadcast Episode #16 where I demo’d the same slash ‘n sew technique but used a charm pack to make a small pillow top!

VIEW FAB FRIDAY EPISODE #16 RIGHT HERE!

On to Week #3 of Feelin’ Groovy!
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 how to video – you can view Week #3’s companion video tutorial right here!

But first things first….
Prepare your Swirl Shapes —
You’ll be cutting out (20) swirls for the Lap Quilt (on the pattern cover) or if you are making the Baby Size version, you’ll only need (9).

1.  First, gather the pattern page (included in the pattern) and following the directions on your adhesive fusible web, trace (20) swirls (or (9) swirls for the baby size) on the smooth side of the fusible web. Use a #2 pencil for tracing.

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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 a 9″ x 9″ square of fabric for each swirl, and fuse the drawn paper shape onto the wrong side of each square.

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

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4.  Once you have all (20) shapes cut out (or (9) if making the Baby size), you are ready to appliqué.

Fuse (or Iron) Each Swirl to Your Slash ‘n Sew Background Squares —
1. Before fusing you may want to lay out all of your background squares and swirls shapes on your design board to make sure you have distributed the colors evenly across the quilt top and also have a nice balance of dark and light values.

2. Taking your first background block and first swirl, peel the release paper off the backside of each shape and iron the shape in the center of the background square.

3.  Also place a piece of stitching 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 swirl shapes. If you need some assistance in getting started with appliqué stitching, please watch the companion video above.

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3. Repeat these steps above until you have created and appliquéd the (20) swirls (or (9) if making the Baby Size version) to the Background Squares.   Once stitching is complete, be sure to tear away the stabilizer from the backside and lightly press each block.

Then trim and square each block to 9-1/2″ x 9-1/2″. Refer to the pattern – page 2 for more information.

That’s it for Week #3!!  Next week – Week #4: we’ll be learning Paper Piecing – Technique #4 – 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

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!

Feelin’ Groovy QAL: Week #2 – Slash ‘n Sew the Background Squares – (Technique 1)

Welcome back!   It’s Week #2 of our Feelin’ Groovy QuiltAlong and it’s time to learn our first technique – Slash ‘n Sew Squares.

This technique is also referred to as ‘Stack ‘n Whack’. Either way, it is super fun and super liberating – no need to be exact with cutting or 1/4″ seams! I know you will find a multitude of other uses for this technique (as I do) in your everyday quilting!

But first — If you’re just joining in 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 FEELIN’ GROOVY QAL WEEK #1 POST BY CLICKING HERE

Each week of the quiltalong, also look for a companion video – I hope you like these little videos (let me know your feedback with a comment 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 the Week #2 of the Feelin’ Groovy QuiltAlong, here it is:

Week #2 – Slash ‘n Sew the Background Squares for the Swirls —
By now, you should have selected (5) color groups, and placed (4) 11″ squares in each color group for a total of (20) squares.

Just as a reminder, I will be making along side you a smaller baby Size versions that will measure approximately 40″ x 40″ when complete.

For my smaller size, I’ve selected (4) color groups and placed (4) 11″ squares in each group for a total of (16) squares.

Let’s Start Slashin’ & Sewin’ —
1. Select your first color group of (4) squares. Place the squares Right Side Up evenly stacked on top of each other. Following the diagrams in the pattern on page 1, slap your ruler down on the stack and “slash” at an angle through all 4 layers (whoosh!).

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2. Without disturbing the stacks (very important!), make a second slash (whoosh!)….and then a third slash (whoosh!)… Be sure to use your ruler as an edge to cut against so you don’t slip and have an accident!

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You should now have (4) piles of fabric. Label each stack with a letter….A, B, C & D. Again refer back to the pattern on page 1 for guidance…however if you want to switch it up the angle to make these slashes ‘uniquely you’, go for it but be sure to make only 3 slashes so you have 4 unique piles.

3. Now the fun begins where we shuffle the piles and stitch them back together. Leave Pile A alone…

Take the top fabric from Pile B and place it on the bottom…Take the top 2 fabrics from Pile C and place them in order on the bottom of Pile C…Lastly, take the top 3 fabrics from Pile D and place them in order on the bottom of Pile D. You should now have a different fabric on the top of each pile.

3. Take the top fabrics from Piles C & D and stitch them together – do not worry about exact 1/4″ seams or evening up the top and bottom edges…just stitch them together as best you can! Press the seam to one side.

4. Next Stitch the top fabric on Pile B to the sides of Pile C/D. To finish the block, stitch the top fabric on Pile A to the edges of Pile B/C/D. And just like that – Wow! – you have your first square together.

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5. Set aside the first square and repeat on the remaining 3 sets of fabrics in the piles to complete (4) squares total for that color group!

6. Now repeat the above steps on the remaining color groups. Make a total of (20) squares in (5) color groups if you are making the Lap Quilt. If you are making the baby Size version like me, make (16) squares across (4) color groups!

NOTE: Try not to chain piece these squares. It’s very easy to get the piles mixed up. I make one square at a time. You know you’ve got it right when each section of a completed square has a different fabric in it!

6. Do not square up your blocks just yet! In Week #3, we’ll applique the swirls on and after we do, then we will square up each block after all the stitching is complete!

What Else Can I Do With This Slash ‘n Sew Technique??
Let’s talk for a moment about some other uses for this slash ‘n sew technique. It is so versatile! First, it’s a great stash or scrap buster. You can literally start with any size square you’d like as long as all the squares you start with are the same size – cut them at 11″, 10″, 9″ or even 3″ – you get the picture! Also why not grab an abandoned 10″ layer cake or a 5″ charm pack laying ion your stash.

Remember the golden rule! – (4) squares go in, get slashed ‘n sewed and (4) complete slash ‘n sew blocks will come out!

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So gather as many blocks as you think you might need (and more if you like to have choices like me!) and group them together in piles of (4) squares each and follow the steps above! Once your stitching is complete, just square each block down to a common denominator – for example, 10″ x 10″ or 3″ x 3″, etc….

So once you are done with all that slashing and sewing, what can you make?? Well here’s just a few ideas…how about make (20) 4″ finished blocks from a charm pack to make a 20″ fabulous wonky pillow?

How about making (20) 9″ finished blocks to make a scrappy lap quilt?

How about (14) 6″ finished blocks for a nice table runner?

Or use the blocks as a nifty border around another quilt!

Or like we’re doing, use them as a the background for an appliqué!

What’s great about this technique is that it’s easy, it’s fast and you don’t have to be exact! A win, win, win in my book!

That’s it for Week #2! Week #3 is all about appliquéing the swirls onto the slash ‘n sew blocks. To be ready for that, be sure to gather about 3 yards of a fusible adhesive web like Heat ‘n Bond Lite or Steam a Seam II Lite!

See ya next week! 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

Splendor QAL: Week #4 – Layout and Finish the Quilt Top

Whoop!  Whoop!  We are almost complete with our Splendor Quilt!  This is the final week of our quilt along and I do hope you all have been enjoying making these fab flower blocks!

This week – Week #4 – is all about laying out all the blocks and pieces and stitchin’ up that quilt top.  Relax and enjoy the process – it’s easy stitchin! 🙂

1. But first, just a reminder that all of your petals (large and small) should be appliqued stitched to their individual background blocks at this point. If you need reference, refer back to Week #2 & Week #3 of our Splendor QuiltAlong posts.

Read Splendor QAL Week #2 – Applique the Small Flower Blocks
Read Splendor QAL Week #3 – Applique the Large Flower Block

Also be sure to remove all of that stabilizer from the backside of your blocks.  I like to score mine with a straight pin and carefully tear away the stabilizer using tweezers if needed in the narrower sections between the petals. 

2. Next, following the Splendor Background Diagram on page 2 of the Splendor pattern, lay out all of your pieces on your design board or floor.  Take special note of which way some of the smaller flower blocks are orientated (look at the large petal on the small flower block – is it pointing  up, down to the right or to the left??  – these differences in orientation  give the circle of small flowers movement and rhythm around the large center flower block.

Once you are satisfied with your layout, stitch the background strips to each background corner block. Refer to the page 2 of the Splendor pattern again.

Next, stitch the single background  strip to its corresponding small flower block.

Not so hard right!?!

3.  And to finish your quilt top, refer to page 5 in the Splendor pattern and begin to stitch blocks together to form a row.  You’ll have a top row, a middle row (which will consist of the larger center flower block we created in Week #3) and a bottom row.

Watch the video below for how easy!!

Once all three rows are stitched together – your Splendor Quilt top is complete!

Great job and bravo! Now you’re ready to machine quilt some awesome designs in all of that negative space in the background or  send the top to your favorite machine quilter to do the same!

I’ll be sending this off to my favorite machine quilter, Teresa of Quilting is my Bliss who also machine quilted the first Splendor quilt! Below  are some up close photos of the fabulous quilting Teresa did on the first Splendor quilt!!  I’ll be sure to post the photos of the second Splendor quilt when she completes it!

This now concludes our Splendor QuiltAlong – send me your pictures so we can see your beautiful quilts!

Thank you so much for following along and for your continued support!  Look for more Colourwerx QuiltAlongs on our Colourwerx Facebook page or on our website under QuiltAlongs!

Until your next colour fix – happy quilting!  Linda & Carl xxoo

Splendor QAL: Week #1 – Gather the Pattern and Materials plus Precut the Background

Hello!  And welcome to the ‘first week’ of our fifth Colourwerx QAL (quilt along) where we’ll be making our super beautiful and modern, Splendor!

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 QAL FACEBOOK GROUP HERE

Each week of the quiltalong, also look for a companion video to be posted either on the ‘day’ or a few days later.   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 UTube channel right here!

So this is Week#1 of the Splendor QAL –  First let’s review the 4-week schedule!

As you can see it’s an easy going  4-week QAL, perfect for summer stitchin’, but please know that you can take it at your own pace and join in anytime.  All of the videos and blog posts will remain here, as well as be posted on our website and on the social media pages throughout the year. 

GATHER YOUR PATTERN & MATERIALS —
Here’s what you’ll need to join in on the stitchin’ fun –
• The Splendor pattern by Colourwerx
•. You can also choose to use the Mini Splendor Pattern if you’re looking for a smaller project! (see below for Mini Splendor quilts).

And great news? – both the Splendor & Mini Splendor patterns are now 20% off!

Purchase the Splendor Paper Pattern here!
Purchase the Mini Splendor Paper Pattern here!

Purchase the Splendor PDF pattern here!
Purchase the Mini Splendor PDF Pattern here!

Fabrics —
This is a really scrap friendly/10″ stack friendly quilt pattern whether you have chosen to make the Large Splendor or the Mini Splendor version.  Make sure to refer to the back of the pattern for the exact yardage requirements, but since I’ll be stitchin’ along side of you and be making the Larger Splendor pattern – here’s what you will need for that:

For the Large Splendor:
— Neutral Background Fabrics:  (12) 3/8 yard cuts of each fabric or scraps totaling about 4 yards;
— Large & Small Flower Appliqués: (1) Layer Cake (10″ Square Stack) or scraps totaling about 2-1/4 yards;
— (Optional for the quiltalong) Binding – 1/2 yard and Backing 3-1/2 yards;
— 3 yards of Adhesive Fusible Web for the Flower Appliqués  (i.e.:  Heat n Bond Lite, Steam a Seam II Lite or Pellon Wonder Under
— Stitching Stabilizer (i.e.:  Sulky Iron On Totally Stable Tear Away Stabilizer or any type of machine embroidery stabilizer) – This will help stabilize your zigzag or buttonhole stitches when appliqué stitching around the flower shapes;

 

Here’s what I chose for my background fabrics and flower appliqués:  the background fabrics will be cut from these (9) 1/2 yard cuts of dark gray/black fabrics and the flower appliqués will all be cut from this assortment of 10″ squares from the new Tula Pink True Colors collection.   (I just purchased this 10″ square stack from my good friend Deb who owns the Elkhorn Quilt Company – she has a fabulous assosrtment of #colouricious goodness!)

I think its  going to be epic!

Also for Week #1  – Cut your Background Fabrics —
Follow the cutting directions and dimensions on page 1 of the Splendor pattern and cut your background fabrics accordingly.

UPDATE! There is a minor cutting error in the pattern (but you will have plenty of fabric if you gather the recommended materials listed on the back of the pattern cover).  Also be sure to cut the total number of units listed below and also make a note on your pattern for future use:

Page 1 – Cutting:  For the background – You will need a total of:
•  (25) 10-1/2″ x 10-1/2″ squares;
•  (16) 2-1/2″ x 10-1/2″ strips;
•  (4) 2-1/2″ x 12-1/4″ strips (not 12-1/2″ long as the pattern states)

That’s it for Week #1!!  Next week – Week #2: we’ll begin appliquéing the Small Flower Shapes onto the background fabrics – 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 3 – Machine Quilt the Background

Welcome back!   It’s Week #3 of our Wonky Piecing & Easy Appliqué QuiltAlong !  This week we’ll be machine quilting the background fabric.

There are so many different ways you can machine quilt the background fabric and anything goes so don’t be afraid to use this little quilt along project to experiment:

•  you could practice your free motion quilting and simply stipple the background;

•  you could practice ‘matchstick quilting’ – this is simply stitching straight lines about 1/4″ apart up and down over the background fabric; or,

•  you could mark diagonal lines about 3″ apart, set your machine to a decorative stitch and stitch a crosshatch pattern.

Really – anything goes, so have fun ….

But I’d like to share with you three of my favorite machine quilting patterns that look “artsy”, are pretty easy to do and imho, make a great quilted background for smaller quilts like these.  I’ll do my best to explain how to do these patterns here in the blog but if you are more of a visual learner than I would encourage you to check out my companion video to this week’s quilt along which will be posted on our Colourwerx website and Colourwerx UTube channel in a few days.

These are the three patterns I use most often:
•  The Wonky Slanted Line pattern – you see this most often in my Mini ModDog pillows and quilts, and if you have the Mini ModDog pattern, you’ll find instructions on how to do this pattern on page 2;

•  The Curvaceous Quilting Pattern – easy to do and very relaxing!

•  The Wonky Chevron Pattern – this is fun and  is wonderfully forgiving.

Create the Quilting Sandwich —
First you’ll need to gather your Background Fabric (a fat quarter or a piece about 18″ x 21″) , and a scrap piece of batting or fusible batting of the same size.  If you’ve already decided to make your animal into a wallhanging, then you should also gather a fat quarter size of fabric to use as your backing fabric too. (If you are making a pillow, you don’t need to add a backing fabric unless of course you think you might wash the pillow in the future).

Place the batting on the WRONG side of the Background Fabric and secure.  You can do this by safety pinning the two layers together or using a fusible adhesive spray like 505 Temporary Spray Adhesive.  If you are making a wallhanging, go ahead and fuse (or safety pin)  your backing fabric to the other side of the batting as well.    You now have your quilting sandwich ready for machine quilting.

Let’s get started with the first quilting pattern –

#1 – The Wonky Slanted Line Pattern —
When I quilt this pattern, I like to use a chunky thread – like the Aurifil 12 weight – and a variety of different thread colors – usually I choose 5-6 different colors.  But this method also looks very nice with any variegated thread or even just a lovely solid thread.

Also just a tip – if you are using a a chunkier thread, make sure you change your sewing machine needle to a larger size.  I prefer to use the Schmetz 90/14 Quilting Needle.  This size accommodates a variety of different weight threads with no problems.

The first step is to draw a few wonky lines on your background fabric.  With a iron off marker (or water soluble pen), just drop your ruler at a slant and draw a line.  Slant the ruler in opposite direction and draw another line.  You can also use a Hera marker to make these lines as well.  Hera Markers are sold at all quilt shops and actually just crease your fabric with the rounded edge – so no fear of a marker staining the fabric or never coming off.

Start with about 3-4 lines and with your first thread color.  Set your machine to a straight stitch, leave the feed dogs up and put your walking foot on (or engage your even feed system).  Also set your stitch length to about 3.0 so the stitches are a bit longer.   Stitch directly across those drawn lines.

Mark another 3-4 lines.  Switch threads if you’d like, and stitch on those lines.

Continue adding wonky slanted lines and stitching until you have filled the background fabric.

Voila!  Done And it looks super especially behind your dog, cat or fish!

#2 – The Curvaceous Quilting Pattern —
I really love doing curvy quilting – it looks very artsy and I love the movement it provides to the background fabric.  I use this pattern alot when making the ModFish as it gives the feeling that the fish are swimming with the movement the curved lines create.

To start, again set your machine to a straight stitch, leave the feed dogs up and put your walking foot on (or engage your even feed system).  Also set your stitch length to about 3.0 so the stitches are a bit longer.  Start in the middle of the fat quarter and just stitch straight stitches from the top to the bottom, gently ‘ungulating’ from right to left creating a curved stitched line.  Think of driving down a country road – no sharp turns.

Move over about 2-3″ and stitch another curvy line.  Again move over another 2-3″ and stitch another curvy line.  Keep filling the background with curved stitched lines about 2-3″ apart.

To fill in the background, next begin to stitch in between the stitched lines with more curvy quilting.  How dense you make the curvy quilting is entirely up to you.  I find that it really depends upon my mood – some curvaceous quilting is quilted quite dense and some not so much…again, anything goes and stop when it looks good to you!

That’s it – doesn’t that look great!?!?

#3 – The Wonky Chevron Pattern —
This is a fun pattern, looks great with a variegated thread and one that I use alot on my little ModCat wallhangings .  Once again, set your machine to a straight stitch leave the feed dogs up and put your walking foot on (or engage your even feed system).

The first step is to draw a few chevron-like lines across the center portion of your background fabric.  With a iron off marker (or water soluable pen),  just drop your ruler slanting it right and left and draw wonky angles or chevrons. Don’t worry about making the chevrons too even or regimented – in fact the more uneven they are the better!

Stitch directly on the drawn line  (it’s ok if you are not directly on the drawn line – it’s more of a guide for you to start from…)  Now move down about an inch and “echo” the same chevron pattern but don’t try to be too perfect – in fact, adding little changes or additional little chevrons to “mix it up” as you stitch along makes it look more artsy.

Keep echoing and stitching  out from the middle drawn first chevron until you reach the edge.  Turn the background fabric around and start to do the same chevron echo stitching from the middle drawn line out to the other edge filling up the background fabric with wonky chevron lines.   Check that out!

What fun!  🙂  I can’t wait to see what you guys come up with!  be sure to chedk out the companion video to this week’s blog coming out in a few days on the Colourwerx website and Colourwerx UTube channel .

That’s it for Week #3!!  Next week – our final week – Week #4: we’ll be machine applique stitching our animal shapes onto the background fabric and I’ll be sharing some tips and tricks with you!

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