ModTV QAL: Week #1 – Gather the Pattern and Materials plus Precut for One Block

Hello!  And welcome to the ‘first week’ of our fourth Colourwerx QAL (quilt along) where we’ll be making our super fun ModTV block (and or quilt)!

First, I want to thank you so much for joining us here and on our Facebook Colourwerx QuiltAlong Page.  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, 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

Look for a companion video to be posted in a few days!  If you’d like to receive alerts to when the videos are posted and other neat tutorials, then subscribe to our Colourwerx UTube channel right here!

You can watch our ModTV Intro Video by clicking here!

So this is Week#1 of the ModTV QAL –  First let’s review the schedule!

As you can see it’s a 4-week QAL this time, 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 social media pages throughout the year.  My quilt alongs are always  free to join and I’ll be making a 12″ TV block along with you over the next 4 weeks.  I’ll also show you other ModTV quilts I have made and ways you can personalize your ModTV block by changing out the TV screen shape to a licensed fabric or a fabric photo.  But first things first….

GATHER YOUR PATTERN & MATERIALS —
Here’s what you’ll need to join in on the stitchin’ fun –
• The ModTV pattern by Colourwerx – and great news? – the ModTV pattern is now 20% off until May 31st!  Yippee!

PURCHASE THE MODTV PATTERN – PAPER VERSION
PURCHASE THE MODTV PATTERN – PDF VERSION

Fabrics —
•  To Make just (1) ModTV block –
— (2) Fat Quarters;
— 3″ x 6″ scrap for the TV Antenna;
— 5″ x 7″ Piece of Fusible Web to Fuse the TV screen in place (i.e.:  Heat n Bond Lite, Steam a Seam II Lite or Pellon Wonder Under;
**For each additional TV block you’d like to make just add a another pair of fat quarters and a fabric scrap for the TV Antenna.

•  To Make the Larger 48″ x 54″ Quilt (16 TV’s plus (4) Color Bar Blocks) – refer to the cover of the pattern –
— (16) Coordinating Fabrics – 3/8 yard each fabric;
— Dark Grey (or Black) plus a White (for color bars) – 1/6 yard each;
— (Optional for the quiltalong) Binding – 1/2 yard and Backing 3-1/2 yards;
— 1-1/2 yards of Fusible Web to Iron the TV screen in place (i.e.:  Heat n Bond Lite, Steam a Seam II Lite or Pellon Wonder Under

Also begin to think about whether you might like to personalize the TV screen with a piece of licensed fabric (like ‘I Love Lucy’ or ‘Star Wars’), or perhaps a fun zigzag print that looks like static, or a photo of a favorite person or family pet (photo should be sized to 4″ x 6″).

If you do want to use a photo, be sure to purchase some photo fabric from your local quilt shop or at a Joann’s Fabrics or Walmart.  I prefer the brands EQ Printables or June Tailor Computer Printer Fabric.  Make sure you select the type for your printer at home:  InkJet or Laser.

 

Precut to be ready for Week #2 —
First off, before cutting – I really, really, really  like to starch my fabric.  Mary Ellen’s Best Press is terrific stuff but it it’s too pricey to use on larger pieces…so when I need to starch several yards or a larger piece, I use the Faultless Gold Top Firm Finish Spray Starch. First you can’t beat the price at like $1.99 a can – available at Target, Walmart, the supermarket, etc….  Secondly, I just happen to love the way it makes my fabric feel.  It gives the fabric a firm hand but not too stiff and makes my cutting and piecing more precise.  Use a hot dry iron (no steam) and definitely starch the fabric before you make that first cut as the fabric may shrink ever so slightly after the starch is ironed dry.

Next,  precut your fabrics to make (1) TV block –
•  If just making a single TV block:  gather your (2) fat quarters, or;
•  If making the pattern cover Lap Size Quilt, select (2) fabrics – 3/8 yard each fabric.

Follow all of the cutting directions and dimensions in the ModTV  pattern on pages 1 & 2.  In the pattern there is also a handy insert page which details and diagrams how to cut your pieces from the 3/8 yard cut or the fat quarter to ensure that you get all of your pieces from the yardage.

And with all of these pieces, it can really get confusing so here’s my BIG TIP for the week!  –  be sure to label each of your pieces to keep them organized.  Each ModTV block is made from three sub units:  the TV unit,  the legs unit  & the antenna unit.  All three units come together on the final step to create one 12″ finished ModTV block.  The TV screen is ironed on after the TV block is together.

If I’m making just one block, I might just use post it notes or scrap pieces of paper to label each of my pieces.

But, if I’m making several blocks, I open up my word processing program (like MS Word) and choose the address label template …I type in all of my unit names and then copy those descriptions (X) however many blocks I am making.

I then peel these labels off and apply them to each unit.  This little tip keeps you super organized and ready to to start piecing for next week!

That’s it for Week #1!!  Next week – Week #2: we’ll begin slashing and sewing our TV sets 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

PaintBox QAL – Week #4 – Cutting the Triangles and Layout

Wow – can you believe we are already in Week #4 of our Colourwerx PaintBox QuiltAlong!  If you’re just joining us, you can catch up on Week #1-3’s blog posts right here:

Week 1 – Gather the Pattern and Materials
Week 2 – Sorting Your Strips Into Groups & Cutting
Week 3 – Stitching the Strips

This week is where all the magic happens and you begin to actually see your quilt top take shape!  First things first.  By now you should have stitched your strip sets together in groups as explained in detail in last week’s post – Week 3 – Stitching the Strips!

Now the fun begins where we cut the strips into the triangle shapes, and begin to play with our layout options.

Cutting the Triangles —
Gather together  the coloured strips sets and the Creative Grids Quarter Square Triangle Ruler CGRT90 .

First a word about why I love, love the Creative Grids Brand of rulers and no – they are not paying me to say this – I just happen to really like the brand. 🙂
1.  Each ruler has a firm non-slip surface so the ruler pretty much stays put on your fabric;
2. The markings on the ruler are clear and easy to read;
3. My favorite part:  each ruler has a QR code stamped on the ruler.

Yup, that little funny looking square is actually an informational code that when scanned with the QR Reader App (available for all smart devices through the App Store) will then automatically take you to a video of how to use the ruler, special tips and tricks and perhaps a free pattern or two to use with your new ruler.   This little QR code is on each and every Creative Grids ruler even the most basic straight rulers.  Just download the QR Reader app from onto your device…then open the application and your camera will appear on the screen – hover the screen of the camera over the QR code on the ruler and loike magic, you will be taken to the corresponding QR video!

Here’s a link to the tutorial from Creative Grids for the triangle ruler:

Now onto cutting your triangles!  Lay your first strip set across your cutting board and place the triangle ruler on top.  Place the top tip of the ruler aligned with the top edge of your strips – the bottom strip edge should align straight across the appropriate measurement of your ruler as diagrammed in the pattern on page 2.

Hold on though! – We can’t all be perfect piecers all the time so it’s ok if your strip set width is not measuring exactly to the desired size as specified in the pattern….a hair off here and there or a wobble in piecing between strips is perfectly ok.  You will need to cut (4) triangles from each strip set and you will find that you will have more than enough fabric to cut around your tiny imperfections in strip piecing.

TAKE NOTE THOUGH!! Next and probably the most important thing to remember about cutting the triangles is to keep the horizontal sewn seams from strip 1 to strip 2 to strip 3 to strip 4 running horizontally straight and true under the horizontal ruler lines – see page 2 Step 3 for detailed information on this step but the picture below also gives you a good idea of what to look for before making your first cut.   Cut your first triangle.

Rotate the ruler upside down and align the left diagonal edge of the ruler to the left diagonal cut edge of the strip set.  (Of course these instructions are for right handers – if you are left handed, you may be aligning on the right hand side of the strip set and then cutting from right to left).  Again before cutting make sure the horizontal seams of your strip set are running horizontally straight and true under the ruler measurement lines.

Many times you will find that after you line up the  horizontal seams of the strip set under the ruler, that the cut diagonal left edge of the strip set will not line up perfectly with the left diagonal edge of the ruler – that’s ok.  See the photo below for an exaggerated example…..

That’s ok – again, you have plenty of fabric to cut yourself a new diagonal edge.   Continue cutting the remaining (9) coloured strips sets into triangles.

Cutting the Sashing Triangles –
Gather the sashing strip sets and your triangle ruler.  Keeping the above notes in mind, follow along on page 3-4 and cut triangles from each of these strip sets.

Piece the Sashing Triangles – 
Gather the sashing triangles and following along in the pattern on page 4-Step 1-2, stitch (2) triangles together to form a larger triangle.   If you pressed each seam set in the same direction from seam to seam, you will find that when matching 2 triangles together that the seams will already go in opposite directions.

Sometimes you might have to toss a triangle in the pile to the side until a partner (with seams pressed in the opposite direction) appears in the pile.  Regardless, stitch the triangles together and press the seams in one direction.

Layout!
Now the fun begins!  It’s time to lay out all of the sashing triangles and coloured triangles in formation on your floor or design board – follow the Quilt Top Diagram on page 6.

If you colored in the B&W line art quilt top diagram from Week 1 , then this next step is easy.  If not, there’s still time and  you may want to download the line art below and have a little colouring session before  proceeding.  Believe me it makes a world of difference and at the very least give you a starting point when laying out your units.

DOWNLOAD AND PRINT THE PAINT BOX LINE ART HERE

Here’s my original drawing and my first layout….

LAYOUT #1

I think I might leave this up on my design wall for a few days and ponder the layout.  Things look different after you let them ferment for awhile if you know what I mean.  And I may want to play around with the subtle color changes from strip set to strip set to see if something different happens. You can also take a photo and look at your layout from there.  It’s amazing how the photo gives you a slightly different perspective than being up close and in person.

As a sidenote, you may be wondering what my design wall in the above photo is made of and what it is attached to.  It is actually (2) 4′ x 8′ pieces of  lightweight foam insulation board (available from Lowes or Home Depot) and then covered in batting.  They are then attached with 3M sticky tabs to the sliding glass closet doors in my sewing studio. Viola!  Instant design wall and storage space in the closet!

That’s it for this week!  Join us next week for Week #5 – Quilt Top Assembly.  I’ll report back if I changed anything in my Layout above and then how to stitch the rows together to finally assemble your quilt top.

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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