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
Colourwerx 