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 #2 – Decide Your Fabric Order and Precut

Hello!  And welcome back to the second week of our super fun new quiltalong: ModBox!

This week is all about deciding the order of your fabrics and then precutting.

By now you should have your fabrics selected for the color blocks, and also chosen (2) fabrics for your background. If you are just joining us this week, please refer back to Week #1’s ModBox Up QAL blog Post right here.

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COMPANION VIDEO –
Each week of the quiltalong, I always post a companion video and this week is no exception….If you’d like to view this week’s companion video to Week #2 of the ModBox QAL, view it here:

DECIDE YOUR COLOR ORDER:
Before you can begin precutting you need to decide what order you want the fabric within the colored blocks to appear. This will be the order they appear going down the first vertical row, and the order will repeat over and over again as you make the blocks. See page 1 of the ModBox pattern for more information.

There are no hard and fast rules here – anything goes and it’s whatever looks pleasing to your eye.

Keep in mind that the border strips around each colored block will be the next fabric in the order…meaning Fabric A’s block will be bordered with Fabric B’s strips and so on….

Here’s a couple hints to help you decide your order:

You could go in color wheel order – that ALWAYS works and is so harmonious! You don’t need to start with yellow either – can start from any color on the color wheel and just go round!

You could start with your lightest value fabric and then place others fabrics in order of value from lightest, to medium to darkest;

You could randomly select your first fabric and then look for the largest or strongest color in Fabric A and select that color for Fabric B and so on….That’s what I did when deciding upon my order!

If you are using a prepackaged fat quarter bundle, you could simply use the order in which the fat quarters are in the bundle. Fabric companies spend a lot of time and effort deciding upon the order of the fat quarter bundles to create the most pleasing arrangement and most of the time, it works perfectly!

Regardless, once you have decided upon the order of your fabrics, label the fabrics in order starting with A, B, C D and so on…..

You should also create a color key for yourself by snipping off a 1″ square of each fabric and stapling it to a piece of paper and writing the letter next to it. You will not need to label your background fabrics….

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PRECUT YOUR FABRICS:
Following the cutting directions for the size of quilt you are making on pages 1-2 in the pattern, precut your colored block fabrics and your background fabrics.

ORGANIZE YOUR BLOCK FABRICS:
The last step for Week #2 is to pair up colored blocks with border strips – refer to page 2 for more information. Simply though, take all of Fabric A’s blocks and place them with Fabric’s B border strips, Fabric B’s Blocks are placed with Fabric C’s border strips and so on….

Once complete, you are ready for Week #3 where we piece the block!

That is it for Week #2! I’ll be back next week for Week #3 – where we will begin piecing the blocks together !

Thank you for following along and until then, happy colouricious quilting! L&C xxoo

All Stacked Up QuiltAlong: Week 1 – Gather and Pair Up Fabrics and Precut

Hello!  And welcome to the ‘first week’ of our seventh Colourwerx QAL (quilt along) where we’ll be making our super fabulous and oh – so – easy “All Stacked Up”. This is a super fun quilt to make, is a great stash buster and is also very easy to piece. It’s a great way to start the new year!

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 All Stacked Up QAL, view it here:

So this is Week#1 of the All Stacked Up QAL – 
First let’s review our super fast 3-week schedule!
• Week 1 (this week) we’ll gather our fabrics and precut…..
• Week 2 is all about piecing the blocks…..
• And Week 3 we’ll be putting it all together.

Week #1 – GATHER YOUR PATTERN & MATERIALS —
Here’s what you’ll need to join in on the stitchin’ fun –
• The All Stacked Up Pattern!

Purchase the All Stacked Up Paper Pattern here!
Purchase the All Stacked Up PDF Pattern here!

WHICH SIZE WILL YOU MAKE??
Once you get the pattern home, check out the back cover and determine which size All Stacked Up you’d like to make. There are five sizes to choose from: Baby through King Size. You’ll also see on the back cover under each size the number of fabrics you’ll need to gather – look under the row heading “Block Fabrics”.

I’ll be making the Baby Size quilt along with you, so if you look under the Baby Size for example, it says for the Baby Size needs a total of (12) Block Fabrics – 1/3 yard cuts of each fabric (or 12″ x WOF).

Now you can also use Fat Quarters or 6″ Design Strips instead of the 1/3 yard cuts. You’ll need the same amount of fabrics listed under the row heading “Block Fabrics”. So for example, the Baby Size version requires (12) fabrics so you would need either (12) Fat Quarters or (12) 6″ x WOF design strips. (Take note!! The pattern does not provide a cutting diagram for Fat Quarters or 6″ Design Strips so if you do use them instead of 1/3 yard cuts, just plan out on paper ahead of cutting the total units that need to be cut (found under the “If using 1/3 yard cuts” on page 1-2) before you cut your fabric!)

Another option is to make a scrappy version (like you see here and like what is pictured on the front cover). This is the ultimate stash buster! Refer again to the back cover of the pattern and look under the paragraph: “For a More Scrappy Look”. In a nutshell – simply select which size quilt you’d like to make, then look to how many fabrics you will need to gather under “Block Fabrics” and then double the number. Taking the example of the Baby Size again, if I wanted to make a scrappy version, I see that (12) fabrics are needed….I would double that number and need to gather (24) fabrics total, in 1/4 yard and 1/8 yard cuts. I would gather (12) 1/4 yard cuts and (12) 1/8 yard cuts.

HOW MANY BLOCKS WILL EACH FABRIC COMBINATION MAKE ??
The All Stacked Up quilt is based on pairing up fabrics and each pair of fabrics will yield 1-2 ‘blocks.’ For clarification, each ‘block’ is comprised of (3) smaller identical quadrants.

If you are using 1/3 yard cuts, Fat Quarters or 6″ Design Strips, each pair of fabrics will yield (2) complete ‘blocks’ – one ‘block’ will be the mirrored image of the other.

If you are using 1/4 yard and 1/8 yard cuts (for a more scrappy look), one 1/4 yard cut plus 1/8 yard cut pairing will yield only (1) ‘block’ or (3) identical quadrants – hence why you need to double the fabrics listed for a more scrappy look.

PLAN COLOR PLACEMENT —
If you’d like to preplan color placement, you can download the Small Lap or Large Lap black & white line art diagrams from the links below.

Sometimes this really helps with color placement and also pairing of fabrics. I’ll be using a beautiful new collection of fat quarters from a new fabric collection called “Favorite Things” designed by our friend, Shayla Wolf of Sassafras Lane Designs.

Here’s an example of my colored-in Baby Size diagram using the fabrics above. I just mimicked the fabric colors and colored in the diagram so I could pair up my colors and also evenly disburse the colors across the quilt for value and balance. Now I have a plan!! The links are below if you want to download the B&W line art and do what I did!

DOWNLOAD THE SMALL LAP SIZE B&W DIAGRAM

DOWNLOAD THE LARGE LAP SIZE B&W DIAGRAM

PAIR UP FABRICS & PRECUT –
Once you’ve gathered your fabrics and perhaps decided on color placement with the diagram above, it’s time to pair up your fabrics. Pair up the fabrics according to the chart below and keep the pairs together as you begin to precut and for piecing in Week #2.

Here’s how I paired up my ‘Favorite Things’ Fat Quarters after working out the color placement.

Now you are ready to precut your fabrics!! Again keeping pairs together, precut each pair of fabrics referring to the precut directions on pages 1-2. (Again if using Fat Quarters or 6″ Design Strips plan out on paper the total units that need to be cut (found under the “If using 1/3 yard cuts” on pages 1-2) before you cut your fabric!)

Once all of your fabrics plus the background yardage is precut, you are done and ready to go for 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 will begin to piece all of the blocks together! 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

Paint Box – New Pattern Preview

It’s time to once again start highlighting each of our new patterns that were just released at the Houston International Fall Quilt Market 2019.  First on the list is Paint Box.  You can purchase the pattern in paper or PDF format right here in our Colourwerx shop!

Paint Box  was designed by Carl and the first version was specially made for Island Batik using our second signature batik collection with them called ‘Jewel Box’ designed for us by Kathy Brett Engle! As we preview more new patterns in the coming weeks, you’ll see this gorgeous collection of batiks used with each of our new designs!  You can view the whole ‘Jewel Box” fabric collection by clicking here!

This little ‘Paint Box’ quilt has quickly become an all time favorite of mine to piece from beginning to end.  Let me explain why….

First off – gathering the materials is so – so – so simple – all you need is  (1) 2-1/2″ strip roll with at least 40 strips and two 1-yard cuts of coordinating fabrics – that’s it!  From those materials, you’ll be able to make the 48″ x 48″ quilt top plus your binding.  Throw in 3-1/4 yards backing materials and you are set!  (This pattern is also a great stash buster so you could choose to cut the forty strips from your stash!)  I used for my second ‘Paint Box’ version the fabulously rich jewel toned Me+You Rainbow assortment of batik strips pictured above!

You will also need the Creative Grids 90˙ Quarter Square Triangle Ruler (CGRT90).  You can purchase the ruler from your favorite quilt shop or right here in our Colourwerx shop!
Next sort the strips from your roll into groups – here’s where the fun begins 🙂  – you can sort by color, design, or just because – anything looks great!

Once you’ve cut and sorted your fabrics, its easy strip piecing and lots of it – but it goes fast!   I love this step in the process – although I still have to concentrate on my 1/4″ seam, I find strip piecing of this nature very relaxing and easy going.

Next a little pressing and some fun cutting of triangles using the Creative Grids 90˙ Quarter Square Triangle Ruler.   And voila!

Lay out the triangles according to the pattern, sew triangles units together to form blocks, sew blocks together to form rows,  sew rows together and you’re done!   It really is that simple!

To date, I have made five versions of our Paint Box pattern, including the two versions mentioned above.

Here’s another version and this one graces the pattern cover because it truly came out so #colouricious!  This version uses Christa Watson’s newest fabric collection from Bernartex Contempo Fabrics called ‘Grid Work’.  You can view  the whole collection by clicking here and purchase these fabrics in Christa’s shop by clicking here.

Christa’s new fabrics are full of pure color and fun geometric designs so the combination of her “GridWork’ fabrics and the Paint Box pattern created a dynamic and fun quilt for sure!

We also made two versions for our friends at Free Spirit Fabrics, using of course, the new Kaffe Fassett Collective also coming to your local quilt shops and available in February 2020.

So go ahead and give it a try -it’s really so much fun!
Purchase the Paper Paint Box Pattern here!  Purchase the PDF Paint Box Pattern here!

And also be sure to check back into our Colourwerx shop as we will have kits for most of these versions coming real soon!

And of course, by all means – please do send us a picture of your completed Paint Box quilts – we always love to see and share all of your beautiful creations made using our Colourwerx patterns!

Carl and I are so thankful for your support and wish you happy and bright quilting always!  Until your next colour fix~ L&C xxoo

 

 

 

 

 

Fall Quilt Market Fun!

It’s been a whirlwind these last few weeks (in fact the whole year!) but I  finally found time to sit down and share with you our experience at the recent International Quilt Market in Houston, Texas.  The International Quilt Market took place October 26th-28th (always over my birthday wouldn’t you know it!) and is THE PLACE to see all the new fabrics, patterns and products by shop owners and industry professionals before they arrive in the shops some six months later.

We didn’t have a booth this time around but rather chose to “be free” and able to roam the show floor – this was a first for us and very liberating!  As always, Market is full of seeing old friends, meeting new ones , super fun antics and just an all around generally inspiring, terrific quilty experience!

We debuted six new patterns for Quilt Market – You can see them below in the slide show, and we’ll highlight each of these new patterns  in future blog posts, but all are available for order in our Colourwerx shop right now!

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We had several versions of our new quilts displayed with various companies throughout the quilt market floor.

First, we collaborated again with our good friends at Island Batiks and five of our quilts were displayed in a special preview window at the front of the Island Batiks Booth (slideshow below).  All of these quilts were made using the new and super gorgeous Jewel Box Batik Collection designed by Kathy Brett Engle for Island Batiks and coming to a shop near you in February 2020.   Check out the fabrics in the link above! Just lovely!!

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We also collaborated again with our  partners at Free Spirit Fabrics and always welcome opportunities to make our new patterns using Kaffe Fassett’s newest fabrics or other beautiful collections coming soon.  Here’s our PaintBox pattern in both the Warm and Cool colorway of Kaffe’s new fabrics- arriving in shops in February 2020 and we will also have kits available too.

We  also made our new Waterfall pattern in Martha Negley’s newsest fabric collection called Veggies – I am super in love with the rich jewel tones of Martha’s newest collection and the vegetable designs of carrots, beets and cabbage are to die for – it partners super well with all things Kaffe and I just love it .

Continuing on with our collaboration and great friendship with Christa Watson of Christa Quilts.com – I was thrilled when she asked if I would make our new Paint Box pattern in her new fabric collection called GridWork.  Of course I would!  Here’s the finished version and of course a cute picture of Christa & I in her colorful booth at Quilt Market. Her new fabrics, GridWork will be coming to your local quilt shop in February!

We also formed a new relationship with Windham Fabrics and their popular fabric designer, Carrie Bloomston.  You all know Carrie by her popular fabric design, Love Newsprint that we sell in our Colourwerx shop right here!

Carrie’s fabric collections are always full of whimsical motifs and adventures and mostly have a collage look with super beautiful color palettes of magentas, turquoises and golds.  Her newest collection “Wish” was fabulous and fun and we were thrilled to make our ModBlossom quilt for display in her booth!  Carl and  loved meeting Carrie and also love her new Wish fabric collection which will be coming to shops in the Spring!

Last but not least and perhaps most exciting, because we were free to roam the show floor, we were finally able to share our fabric design portfolio with many of the fabric companies’ design directors.   We can’t say anything just yet, but Carl and I were super pleased by the positive feedback we received regarding our fabric designs and are excited to explore this additional design avenue in our business! Look for more news on this in the very near future! 🙂

Until your next colour fix – thanks as always for following along and Happy Fall!  L&C xxoo

 

ColourMaze QAL -Week #4 – Assembly & Borders

Welcome back!  We’re in the last week of our amazing ColourMaze QuiltAlong!  This week is all about stitching the ColourMaze Blocks together to form vertical rows and then completing your quilt top by sewing those rows together!  If you’re doing placemats or a table runner – just refer back to the pattern on pages 5 & 6 for sashing and border directions!

As always, there is a fun short companion video to this post.  So if you’re more of a ‘visual’ person, then hop on on over to our Colourwerx You Tube Channel and subscribe to view the video!

Let’s get stitchin’!!  Once your ColourMaze blocks are complete, you’ll then stitch the remaining  1″ strips to the top edge of each block.  For tips and trick on sewing those thin little strips to your blocks, check out Week #3’s ColourMaze QAL here.  If you’re making the Lap Quilt – you should have (3) 1″ strips left – set those aside.

While you’re at the machine – just go ahead and stitch the sashing and outer border strips together too.  All of the directions are on pages 5 & 6 of the ColourMaze Pattern.

Next the fun begins – lay out on your design wall or floor the blocks in the order you prefer!  Notice that I bolded the words “you prefer” – that’s because there is no right or wrong way to do this.  I usually just choose a layout because I’m either pleased with how the order and colors flow from one block to another such as the Violet Craft Modern Classics sample below:

….Or I follow color wheel order like the Kaffe Fassett sample below….

Kaffe Fassett Rainbow on Black (Purchase the kit on Colourwerx.com)

Anything goes!  Once you’ve decided your order, stitch those remaining (3) 1″ strips to the bottom edge of the the bottom block in each row.   Now you’re ready to start stitching block to block to block to form vertical rows.   On my Violet Craft Modern Classics sample, here’s Row #1….

And Row #2….

And Row #3….

Next, stitch the sashing strips on to one side of each vertical row!  Now  you”re ready to stitch the rows together to complete your quilt top.

Geo Pop on Black (purchase a kit from christaquilts.com)

But wait – I have a tip!  Sometimes when stitching these long vertical rows together, the top row may creep ahead of the bottom row thus causing those strong horizontal lines (which were/are the 1″ strips in each block) to look off kilter.  Part of the illusion of the ColourMaze design is that when all those little horizontal strips are lined up parallel across the vertical rows, it looks like a maze.  So wouldn’t it be rather maddening after all your work  to have them unparallel across the rows once the top is done? I think so!

So here’s what I do…. first, I place my two rows Right Sides Together.  I then pin as usual but when I come to a place in the pinning where the thin strips need to stay aligned and parallel to each other from block to block – I “sneak, peek and pin” –  🙂  yes,  a very technical term.  But here it is a nutshell:  I peel back the top row just enough so I can sneak a peek and realign the strips so that they are directly on top of each other.  I then fold back the top layer to match to up the edges and pin in place.  Works like a dream and almost always those thin little strips are aligned and parallel from each other from row to row!

Once you have the three rows stitched together – just finish off your ColourMaze quilt top by stitching the last outer border strip onto the remaining edge!  And now you are complete and ready for the big reveal to family and friends!  Great job!  Go celebrate!

And what to do with all of the offcuts from the strips – how about make some scrappy binding!  Here’s mine…I just sewed all the scrap strips together and made more than enough binding for my lap quilt!

This now concludes our ColourMaze QuiltAlong!  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

 

 

 

 

ColourMaze QAL – Week #1 – Choosing Your Strip Roll and Different Combinations

Hello!  And welcome to the ‘first week’ of the ‘first ever’ Colourwerx QAL (quilt along) where we’ll be making our super fun ColourMaze quilt!

First, I want to thank you so much for joining us for our first QAL.  Whether you’ll be sewing up the pattern along side us or just observing from afar, we welcome you and are overwhelmed by your enthusiasm so far – so thank you, thank you, thank you!

Also, we 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 QAL news with other quilty buddies and invite them to join along in the fun!

JOIN THE COLOURWERX QAL FACEBOOK GROUP HERE

I also have a companion video on or Colourwerx UTube channel so if you’d like to watch me ‘yak on’ instead of reading this post – you’ll find that video here…

So this is Week#1 of the Colourmaze QAL –  First let’s review the schedule!
As you can see it’s a 4-week QAL but 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 social media pages throughout the year.  It’s free to join and you can choose to make the 50″x70″ lap quilt, or just a few blocks for a table runner or placemats, or just even one block – it’s all your choice!   So feel free to hop in anytime!

Here’s what you’ll need though to join in on the stitchin’ fun –
• The ColourMaze pattern by Colourwerx

PURCHASE THE COLOURMAZE PATTERN – PAPER VERSION
PURCHASE THE COLOURMAZE PATTERN – PDF VERSION

•  Background Fabric – 1-3/4 yards – choose a coordinating fabric to the strip roll or a neutral color with perhaps a tone on tone texture;

•  A strip roll (or jelly roll) – choose a strip roll containing (40) precut 2-1/2″ wide strips.  If you’d like you can choose these other options as well:

— Bust Your Stash – Cut (40-42) 2-1/2″ wide x 41-43″ long strips from your stash;
— 6″ Design Roll – this is a roll containing 20 fabrics all cut at 6″ x WOF – you would need to cut (2) 2-1/2″ strips from each of the (20) strips to make (40) 2-1/2″ strips for the project;
— Fat Quarter Bundle – a Fat Quarter is (18″ x 22″).  Choose a bundle that has at least (21) fat quarters and you would need to cut (4) 2-1/2″ x 21″ strips from each of the Fat Quarters.

•  Optional for the QAL – Binding : 5/8 yard and Backing Fabric : 4-1/2 yards

I always think that seeing different color combinations with a new quilt pattern is helpful when choosing fabrics so here a few different color combinations we have designed using some of our favorite fabric designers’ collections…

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You can purchase fabric kits for most of these combinations here:

PURCHASE THE KAFFE FASSETT RAINBOW FABRIC KITS
PURCHASE THE VIOLET CRAFT MODERN BASICS FABRIC KIT
PURCHASE THE GEO POP FABRIC KIT FROM CHRISTAQUILTS.COM

Preparing Your Fabrics for Week #2:
1.  Once you’ve selected your fabrics, be sure to measure the precut 2-1/2″ strips for accuracy.  Flash – flash – not all strip rolls are cut exactly alike or are accurately cut by the fabric factories! Yup – it’s just the way the ball bounces here in the quilting world and there are inconsistencies on these precuts from fabric company to fabric company.

So go ahead and unroll that strip roll and measure the width of the strip.  You may find as I did, that some need a little tiny trim off the width to make them a perfect 2-1/2″ wide.  (And remember if your strip roll has a pinked edge, you would measure from the outer tip of the pinked edge).

2.  Next, feel free to starch your background fabric and the 2-1/2″ strips if needed.  However – warning – DO NOT PREWASH YOUR STRIPS.  The strips are pretty fragile and if you wash and dry them, there will be tears (literally) – The strips will shrivel up and be unsable – trust me on this one!

3.  Lastly, each ColourMaze block is made using (2) different 2-1/2″ strips plus some background fabric.  So to prepare for Week #2 and cutting, pair up your strips for each block you will be making.  If you are making (1) block, then you will need (2) 2-1/2″ x WOF strips; if you are making the 50″x70″ Lap Size, then  you will need  (20) pairs of strips….

….which brings us to a burning question where the 50″x70″ Lap Quilt is concerned….There are actually (21) blocks to make and you might be asking yourself “Where do I get the extra 2 strips for that 21st block if I am using a strip roll that only contains 40 strips?”  Well I have the answer below…  As you group your strips together this week, start thinking about which option you might like to choose:

 OPTION #1:  If your strips measure aprox. 42-43″ long, there is a way to cut your pieces more efficiently from each strip in order to have the necessary fabric left over to create the 21st block.  In next week’s blog post and tutorial video, I will demo this for you so wait for the answer before cutting;

OPTION #2:  Once we cut the strips next week, there will be generous offcuts of each strip left over…so you could choose to cut your 21st block from these offcuts and create a scrappy block that goes in the center or off to one side of your quilt.  You can also use these offcuts to make your binding strips (which is what I’m going to do) or to make scrappy placemats or a table runner at a later date.

OPTION #3:  If you wish to purchase your binding fabric this week, purchase as the pattern states 5/8 yard.  This 5/8 yard is more than enough fabric to create your binding strips and also allows you extra yardage to cut the extra (2)  2-1/2″ wide strips to add to your (40) strips to make the (21) blocks total.

Next week – Week #2: we’ll be Cutting Your Strips and Background Fabric – woohoo!

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

The ModTiki – and why not?

Does any one recall Disneyland’s Enchanted Tiki Room?  I do!   It was quite simply a most magical experience and is still a Disney classic to this day.    Located in Adventureland, it debuted in 1963, and entertains its guests with a colorful cast of animated talking toucans, birds, tropical flowers, tiki drummers and best of all, talking tiki totem poles – all singing a variety of catchy Polynesian tunes.  It is just fabulous!

So when we moved back to Southern California and decided to finally settle in Palm Springs, little did we know that we were moving into a mecca of what might be termed upscale, but rather touristy Polynesian playlands.   Around every corner in Palm Springs and the surrounding communities, you’ll find tiki themed hotels and cocktail lounges, serving exotic rum-laced cocktails from their own enchanted tiki rooms adorned with of course, Tiki statues.

Within a few months of moving here, I was quickly becoming Tiki obsessed. One morning to Carl’s chagrin, we even ventured out in triple digit temps to take photos of our Cosmos quilt draped over a favorite Tiki.  This guy greets visitors daily at the  entrance to the famed Club Trinidad and Purple Room (where Frank, Dean and Sammy used to hang out in the 60’s).    I just love the way the Tiki and the quilt  become one piece  – elevating both to new level of art.

So it was only a matter of time that I ‘needed’ to design a ModTiki – and hey, why not?  I started sketching this guy out about 12 months ago but didn’t really make him a reality until a few weeks ago when I made the samples and wrote the pattern.

Warning — These ModTikis are fun and can be quite addictive….I had a great time looking through scraps of batiks and fabrics testing out which fabric prints might look great as the tiki body  – like these two made from Island Batiks or the Kaffe Fassett Artisan Collection…

….or this one made with Banyan Batiks, which would reflect more of  traditional hand carved look to the ModTiki…

As always, my preferred method of applique stitching the shapes was on on my trusty Bernina 750QE sewing machine, using Stitch #2 and an open toe applique foot (#20 for Bernina lovers) using Aurifil 50 wt thread in the top and in the bobbin. My preferred zigzag setting is stitch length 0.5 and stitch width 3.0 – for me, this creates a nice tight stitch that resembles a satin stitch without being too tight,  and nicely outlines the shapes without overwhelming them.

What’s terrific too is that the shapes on the ModTiki provide many opportunities where you can “stitch into and out of the points”  – this is a fabulous look and really adds a “high end” look to your applique stitching.

When you approach the point of an applique shape, as you are stitching,  reduce your stitch width so the zigzag stitch becomes smaller and smaller – this is stitching ‘into the point’, if you will  – then after turning the corner, enlarge your stitch width to stitch ‘out of the point’.   It’s a little like patting your head and rubbing your stomach at the same time and takes practice, but once you get the hang of it, it really does create a fabulous touch to your appliqués.

The ModTiki pattern includes both the small wallhanging size – which is fat quarter friendly and measures 11″ x 22 (or 16″x 22″ when adding the optional flower appliqués), but also the Kon Tiki larger size – measuring 44″ x 66″ – 12 half yards is all you need for this bigger version and that includes the background fabric and all the fabrics for the 12 Tikis.

I’m finding that almost any fabric can make a great Tiki!  Solids, batiks, florals, geometrics, you name it!

So are you feeling a little ModTiki?  Then go ahead and give our happy little guy a try!  It’s guaranteed to bring a smile to your face and makes an excellent gift for that guy in your life!  You can purchase the pattern on our website here.

Mahalo and Aloha! Until your next colour fix~
Linda & Carl

 

 

 

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