Piecing Perfection – Here’s Your Invitation to Join the Party!

May 22, 2023Leave a comment

Piece together a good time with me and a few of my fellow quilting teachers!

Join me on June 29th at 9 am PT for the second installment of Piecing Palooza! I’ll be demoing my best tips and tricks for perfecting your 1/4″ seam!!

Piecing Palooza is a live, virtual event for learning quilt-piecing techniques and skills taught by expert instructors on Creative Spark, an online learning platform created by C&T Publishing. Get ready for playful piecing, exciting giveaways, and inspiration to fuel all your future projects!

Shelley Cavanna, owner of Cora’s Quilts, will be the opening keynote. Shelley has been a self-taught quilter since 2007 when she bought her first sewing machine. She has a lot of fun playing with classic quilt blocks and discovering how to use pre-cuts to make them! Shelley will set the stage for the event with her inspiring words and passion for quilting.

Here’s how the event works:

After Shelley’s keynote, choose your quilting adventure with workshop sessions by all of the expert instructors. In each session, you can choose from (3) 40-minute workshop options to learn various subjects, such as working with quilting technology, curved and improv piecing, modern quilt blocks, tips for accurate piecing — and so much more! Whether you’re looking for new skills and techniques, technologies to explore, or inspiration for your next project, there is something for every quilter at this event to level up your projects.

In total, the event has(9) 40-minute workshops — all of which you have unlimited access to after the event. Those who attend the live portion of the event get entered into a HUGE giveaway. Since Creative Spark thinks everyone is a winner (and so do we here at Colourwerx), everyone gets a virtual swag bag with goodies like patterns, coupons, and so much more!

Talk about a treasure trove of resources! With nine lessons to refer to over and over again, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a master of piecing! *Cue the compliments from quilting friends impressed with your leveled-up skills* :-).

Check out the fabulous list of wonderful instructors:

Keynote: Community Threads (Shelley Cavanna)
Piece Easy (Belle Brunner)
Improv Slabs- Using Fabric Scarps to Make Fabric (Cheryl Arkison)
Making Your Quilting Dreams a Reality: Designing in Electric Quilt 8 (Jenny Novinsky & Janice Frisch)
Three Ways to Fabric Foundation Piecing (Julia McLeod)
Tips & Tricks to Perfect Your ¼” Seam (Linda Sullivan)
Curvy Blocks (Lynn Rinehart)
Frustration-Free Sewing (Marci Baker)
Pinewheelers–Fun with Pieced Strips (Maria Shell)
Freezer Paper Magic – Meet Your Next Foundation Piecing Obsession (Rebecca Bryan)

So come unleash your inner quilter at our colorful event with expert instructors! Spots are limited, so sign up now and save $20 off enrollment with this link!

See ya there! Until your next color fix~ L&C

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

January 19, 2021January 18, 20212 Comments

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 LA P 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

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

July 22, 2020July 21, 2020Leave a comment

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 #3 – Appliqué the Large Center Flower Block

July 15, 20201 Comment

Welcome back!
It’s Week #3 of our Splendor QuiltAlong and it’s time to start to work on that bold, beautiful large center flower block! And this week can also be a make up week – if you need it – to finish off the (12) small flower blocks from Week #2! For more on that in case you’re joining us, check out Week#2’s Splendor QuiltAlong Blog Post right here!

I hope you are enjoying this quiltalong as much as I am! Please don’t forget to post pictures of your projects over on the Facebook Colourwerx QuiltAlong page or send me your pics at colourwerx@yahoo.com!

Also, to view this week’s companion video tutorial , click on the link below! Be sure to “Like” it and also drop us a comment on YouTube to let us know how we’re doing!!

View Week #3’s Splendor Companion Video Tutorial

On to Week #3 of Splendor —
1. First arrange those (9) center squares and start to stitch them together to form a 9-patch. Stitch blocks together to form (3) rows.

Then stitch the (3) rows together, pinning and matching the seams that butt together. Refer to Page 1, Step 2 in the Splendor Pattern.

Prepare your Large Flower Petals and the Small Flower Insets Appliqué Shapes–
You’ll be cutting out (1) each of the large flower shapes which also includes the center of the large flower plus (1) each the small flower insets shapes.

1. First, gather the pattern page (included in the Splendor pattern) and following the directions on your adhesive fusible web, trace the larger and smaller flower inset shapes plus the center separately and apart from each other on the smooth side of the fusible web. Be sure to transfer all the numbers and markings from the Master Pattern Page. Use a #2 pencil for tracing.

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

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

2. Next select your flower fabrics, and fuse the shapes onto the wrong side of each fabric.

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

3. Continue on and cut out all the shapes.

4. Once you have all (9) large (this includes the center) and (8) small inset shapes fused onto your fabrics and cut out, you are ready to appliqué.

Just a note on the center of the large flower — Sometimes I like to “fussy cut” this center flower shape from a fabric that contains all the colors of my flowers so that it really pulls together the petals of the large center flower. You could also choose a fabric that resembles the look of a flower center like a dark brown or black fabric that has little dots that might resemble the center of a sunflower. Just a thought!

Fuse (or Iron) Your Small Flower Petal Insets to Your Larger Flower petals and Stitch —

Whenever I have smaller shapes that are fused onto larger shapes (such as these small inset flowers onto the larger flower petals), I like to set those pieces up first and then appliqué stitch around just the smaller shapes BEFORE fusing that larger piece onto my background fabric. That way I am only having to deal with the petal shape under my needle and not having to wrestle with the background fabric as well while appliqué stitching. My appliqué stitching is much neater this way and of course, that makes me much happier!

So to begin – fuse the small flower insets onto their larger petal counterparts. Be sure to leave the release paper on the wrong side of the larger petals shapes when fusing the small shapes onto them.
Next get ready to appliqué stitch around the small flower insets. Prepare your machine up for appliqué stitching by changing your presser foot to an open toe foot and choosing some fabulous matching thread. Set your machine to your desired appliqué stitch. Again, I usually choose the Zig Zag stitch (#2) and set my Bernina to stitch width 2.5-3.0 and stitch length to just below 1.0 .

Test, test test! If needed refer to my previous Wonky Piecing QAL video for the how to’s on appliqué stitching right here at Wonky Piecing and Easy Appliqué- Week #4 QuiltAlong here.
Appliqué stitch around each small flower inset shapes. VERY IMPORTANT TIP AGAIN – Be sure to still leave the release paper on the wrong side of the larger petals shapes when you stitch around the small flower insets. The release paper will act as a stabilizer for your stitching and once you are complete you will just peel it off.

Fuse (or Iron) the Large Flower Petals to the Center Background 9-Patch —
1. Referring to the Quilt Top Diagram on page 5, ‘eyeball’ and place the large petal shapes and the large flower center in place. If needed, I have found that that the petal edges at the top, bottom, right and left are about 5-5-1/2″ in from the outside edge of the background. Peel off the release paper from the wrong side of each shape and fuse (or iron) the shapes onto the background 9-patch.

2. Place a piece of stitching stabilizer (like Sulky Totally Stable Iron On Tear Away Stabilizer) on the WRONG side of each of the Larger Flower Petal Shapes or over the entire background 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.

Test, test, test before you begin. Once satisfied, applique stitch around each of the larger petals and the center on your large center flower.

Once stitching is complete, be sure to tear away the stabilizer from the backside and lightly press the 9-patch Large Center Flower Block.

That’s it for Week #3!! Next week, our final week – Week #4: we’ll be stitching all of blocks together to complete our quilt top – 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

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

July 8, 2020July 7, 20202 Comments

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

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

READ THE SPLENDOR QAL WEEK #1 POST BY CLICKING HERE

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

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

JOIN THE COLOURWERX QAL FACEBOOK GROUP HERE

SUBSCRIBE TO THE COLOURWERX YOU TUBE CHANNEL RIGHT HERE

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

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

View Week #2’s Splendor Companion Video Tutorial

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

July 1, 2020June 30, 20202 Comments

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

New QuiltAlong Coming – Splendor! – Starting July 1st!

June 28, 2020Leave a comment

Are you ready for another quiltalong? Announcing the Splendor QuiltAlong!

By popular demand, I’ll be kicking off our newest quiltalong and I am so excited! Starting July 1st!

Join me in stitchin’ up this fresh and modern Splendor quilt! Easy to applique mod flowers set in a fresh modern setting! Also a great scrap buster project! The schedule is a 4-week QuiltAlong – You can follow along week to week or just take it at your own pace!

Make the whole quilt or just a few blocks here and there! Regardless – it’s sure to be super fun and filled with lots of tips and tricks!

The quilt along is free to join and weekly blog posts and companion videos will be delivered to you in the newsletter and also readily available here on the Colourwerx Blog, on our Colourwerx website and Colourwerx Facebook pages.

All you need to do to join the quiltalong is to purchase the Splendor pattern and gather your materials! In fact this is what Week #1 (starting on July 1st) is all about!

And great news! The Splendor Pattern (paper or PDF version) is now 20% off in the Colourwerx Shop! I’ve also discounted the Mini Splendor pattern at 20% off in case you’d like to work on a smaller project with me during the quiltalong!

You can also join the Colourwerx QuiltAlong Facebook Group where you can post your progress photos and ask questions!

So join me July 1st as we kick off another fun Colourwerx QuiltAlong….

Click the links below to find out more information and to purchase your Splendor pattern! Come join us for some #colouricious fun!

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!

To find out more information about the quiltalong
– jump over to our Colourwerx QuiltAlong Page!

Join the Colourwerx QuiltAlong Facebook Group here for more information!

Subscribe to our Colourwerx You Tube channel!

ModTV QAL: Week #4 – Personalize the Screen & Finish

June 10, 2020June 9, 2020Leave a comment

Wowee! We are almost complete with our ModTV’s!! This is the final week of our quilt along and I do hope you all have been enjoying making these cute retro TV blocks!

This week – Week #4 – is all about personalizing the TV screen and finishing off your block into a pillow, wallhanging or make even more TV blocks for a fabulous lap quilt! Here’s one of my customer’s ModTV quilt that she made for her husband. She printed all of his favorite TV shows on photo fabrics, added a pocket for the remote control in one of the color bar blocks and voila! – he loved it!

Ok – so by now you should have made at least one ModTV block and it should be trimmed to 12-1/2″ x 12-1/2″. If you need to catch up or need extra help, please refer back to the previous blog posts below. You can also find a weekly companion tutorial video for each week on our Colourwerx YouTube channel !

READ WEEK 1 – GATHER YOUR PATTERN & MATERIALS

READ WEEK 2 – PIECE THE TV & LEGS

READ WEEK 3 – PIECE THE ANTENNA UNITS & COLOR BAR BLOCKS

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR COLOURWERX YOU TUBE CHANNEL

So let’s get started and finish up those cute ModTV blocks!

Check out this week’s video!! You can view the companion You Tube video for this week right here!

Personalize the TV Screen —
The very last piece to go on your TV block is the TV screen. It is not pieced in but rather fused on with an adhesive fusible web (like Heat ‘n Bond Lite or Steam A Seam II Lite) and then appliqued stitched on.

There are several different ways you can choose to personalize your TV screen and therefore make it truly a unique creation. First know that whichever method you choose, you will need both a 5″ x7″ piece of the fabric (or photo fabric) and of the adhesive fusible web.

Once you decide what to do, iron the 5″ x 7″ piece of adhesive fusible web onto the WRONG side of the fabric (yes, even the photo fabric), and then trim the piece to 4″ x 6″. You can even follow along in the pattern on page 5 and use a thread spool to round the corners of the TV Screen.

When you are ready, peel the release paper off the backside of the screen, and using a pressing cloth, iron (or fuse) the screen in the center of the TV unit.

Zig Zag stitch around the edges of the screen to secure it to the block.

Here’s a few ideas for you to personalize your TV screens!

1. Use the same fabric as the background fabric or a similar fabric. The easiest and sometimes the most graphic looking! These blocks are totally fabulous and create the ultimate mid-mod statement!

2. Use a fun stripe or zig zag fabric. If you want to give the look of static running across your TV screen , a fun stripe or colorful zigzag will do the trick! I used this fun colorful wonky zig zag from the Kaffe Fassett Collective!

3. Fussy Cut a Motif from a Licensed Fabric. This is where I think most of us have a lot of fun – fussy cutting around a motif as if this scene is “playing” on the TV set! And there are so many great fabrics to choose from these days: Wizard of Oz!, Star Wars, I Love Lucy!, Star Trek, Cartoons, Cats, Dogs – you name it!

4. Use Photo Fabric for the Ultimate Personalization. I love this idea as it instantly creates a super fun memorial pillow. There are many brands of photo fabric out there – but for me, I find these two brands EQ Printables or June Tailor Computer Printer Fabric to be the most reliable and both are available at your local quilt shop or Joann’s Fabrics.

Here’s a block I made as a gift to Jenny Doan at the Missouri Star Quilt Company!

Here are a few tips when working with photo fabric:

— Resize your photo to a 5″ x 7″ – but make sure when you trim the photo to 4″ x 6″ that you have left ample head room to do so and you wont be cutting off someone’s head ! Also color correct it and “sharpen” it if needed with your photo app or photo program on your computer.

— Before printing on the photo fabric, print the image on a paper – waste a lot of paper until you are sure you have the image correctly sized and framed within the final 4″x6″ margins! Photo Fabric is very expensive and you usually only get 5 or so sheets in a packet.

— When you are ready to print the image on photo fabric, do not print your image using the fine or photo settings on your inkjet printer. This will lay down way too much ink on the photo fabric and your image will appear very dark and may even smudge as it comes through your printer. Just use the regular settings and the photo should print on the phot fabric just fine!

— To heat set the image so the block can be washed, follow the photo fabric manufacturer’s directions. Each company is slightly different! Full disclosure here – I don’t heat set my photo fabric as I don’t wash my blocks. Many of the projects I make are samples or for display only. There are ways though to heat set so you may want to print a test photo and try it first before your final photo printing!

Complete Your TV Block into a Wallhanging or Pillow —

To Make Into a Wallhanging – Once the TV screen has been fused and stitched in place, just add some batting and a backing fabric square that is 12-1/2″ x 12-1/2″. Then quilt the block as desired and bind to create a small wallhanging.

I like to use a straight stitch or even my serpentine stitch (#4 on the Bernina) to stitch lines about a 1/4″ apart. It looks like radio waves or TV signals!

If you did not want to bind your ModTV block, you could frame it using a 12″ x 12″ record album frame from Michael’s Arts & Crafts!

To Make Into a Pillow – As above, once the TV screen has been fused and stitched in place, just add some batting and 2 backing fabric rectangles that measure 9-1/2″ x 12-1/2″. Also purchase a 12″ x 12″ pillow form from your local shop. Place the batting on the wrong side of the block and machine quilt the block using a decorative stitch as described above or just stitch around the TV shape to give the block some texture.

For the backing of the pillow – Turn and press only one 9-1/2″ outer edge (not the 12-1/2” edge though) of each backing piece 1/4” over twice to the wrong side to encase the raw edge. Topstitch down the edge to secure.

Place the two backing fabric units RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER over the MODTV block and stitch around all sides. Turn the unit right side out and poke out the corners. Stuff with a 12” x 12” travel pillow form through the slit on the backside.

This now concludes our ModTV QuiltAlong – send me your pictures so we can see your cute and fun retro TV sets!

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

ModTV QAL: Week #3 – Piece the Antenna & Color Bar Blocks

June 3, 2020June 2, 20201 Comment

We are back again! I hope you’re enjoying our series of free quilt alongs! Again, if you are new here, I invite you to join or subscribe to either our Colourwerx QuiltAlong Facebook page or our Colourwerx YouTube channel so you don’t miss out on any of the fun! I always post a weekly companion video to each quilt along blog post and other tutorials on You Tube!

JOIN THE COLOURWERX QAL FACEBOOK GROUP HERE
SUBSCRIBE TO THE COLOURWERX YOU TUBE CHANNEL

It’s Week #3 of our ModTV QuiltAlong! ! This week we’ll be ‘slashin’ and sewin’ the TV Antenna Units together, and if you are making the Lap Size Quilt, piecing the Color Bar Blocks together.

Let’s get started….

Stitch the Antenna Unit —
Turn to page 4 in the ModTV pattern and gather all of the pieces needed to make your TV Antenna unit. First, as stated at the top of page 4, be sure to cut in half diagonally the (2) larger squares to make (4) triangles, and cut in half diagonally one of the smaller squares to create (2) triangles.

BIG HINT! I like to lay all of the pieces out on my cutting board like so. As I stitch these Antenna units together I do not disturb what is on my cutting board. When I take 2 pieces and stitch them together, I return them to their exact positions on the cutting board so as not to confuse myself about which pieces go where.

First fold the antenna strips in half lengthwise to create a center crease. Return to position.

Starting with the right antenna, flip the B/G triangle on the right side over and angle it from the bottom right corner to the center top edge of the antenna unit like so (the center crease on the antenna unit will guide you). See Fig 10 on page 4 of the pattern.

Stitch down the edge of the angled B/G triangle and trim the any excess fabric away to reduce the bulk leaving a 1/4″ seam allowance. Press the B/G triangle outward.

Return the right antenna unit back in position and flip the B/G triangle on the left side over and angle it from the bottom left corner to the center top edge of the antenna unit like so. Make sure that top edges of the B/G triangles are overlapping each other by about 1″ at the top and that there is at least an 1″ overhang of the B/G triangles on the bottom edge (see Fig 11 on page 4). Again, stitch down the edge of the angled B/G triangle and trim any excess fabric away to reduce the bulk leaving at least a 1/4″ seam allowance. Press the B/G triangle outward. Your antenna unit should somewhat resemble the below photo.

Next. rotate the unit 180 degrees, lay your ruler across the top slightly angling it and slash off the top edge of the Antenna unit .

Take the smaller triangle and place the long diagonal edge right sides together along the top edge of the Antenna unit and stitch it in place (see Fig 12-13 on page 4).

The antenna unit will now need to be trimmed and squared down. Before trimming the unit, place your square ruler on the Antenna unit and double check that you are leaving a 1/4″ seam allowance near the bottom tip of the unit. Trim the unit to a 4″ square (see Fig 14 in the pattern). Be sure to return the unit back in position on your cutting board!

Repeat the above to create a second Antenna unit.

Next referring to Fig 15 and adding the B/G Top Filler strip in place, stitch the (5) pieces together to create the Antenna Unit Strip. Press the seams according to Fig 15 in the ModTV Pattern.

Next gather your TV Set with Legs (created in Week #2) , place the Antenna Unit skewing it across the the top edge of the TV set at a wonky angle – you can tilt it from right to left or left to right. Stitch the two units Right Sides Together across the top edge. And if you are making several ModTV blocks, remind yourself from block to block to alternate the direction you skew the Antenna, so you create a delightful variety of different wonky ModTV blocks.

Square your ModTV block to 12-1/2″ square. If for some reason, your ModTV block is not large enough to fit inside the 12-1/2″ square boundaries, simply stitch a thin strip of the background fabric onto the side (or sides) that need enlarging – no one will ever know that you added these strips to enlarge your block to the 12-1/2″ measurement and it will look fabulous when complete!

Stitch the Color Bar Blocks —
These fun little color blocks are only needed if you are planning on making the Lap Size Quilt or perhaps you might like to use them as end caps blocks if you are making a wallhanging or table runner.

You can make these from either cutting strips from the extra TV fabric or from scraps from your stash.

It’s simple straight forward patchwork piecing and alas – I am afraid that you will need to use you a 1/4″ seam, when piecing these together so the block comes out correctly.

Referring to the directions on page 6 of the pattern, arrange the pieces on your cutting table or near your sewing machine.

Yup – you got it! – stitch those pieces together with a 1/4″ seam following the directions on page 6. Voila!

That’s it for Week #3!! Next week – Week #4: we’ll talk about personalizing your TV screen with a photo or licensed fabric and finish off the project into a pillow, little wallhanging or the quilt!

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

Designer Tips & Techniques Facebook Live Event

May 31, 2020June 2, 20205 Comments

UPDATED as of 6/2/20! This event has been rescheduled to a future date! I will let you know the new dates when I know! Thank you!

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I am so excited to have you join me for the 2nd installment of the Designer’s Tips and Techniques Live Facebook Party – this is a three day event, June 2nd, 3rd & 4th, from 12pm to 8pm EST. Each designer listed below will present a 15 minute live presentation on her Facebook page at the top of each hour, demonstrating their favorite technique or showing some of her favorite tips and tricks.

You can see the full schedule of Designers below.

Yours truly (that would be Carl and I here at Colourwerx) are scheduled for Thursday, June 4th at 5pm Eastern Standard Time (2pm Pacific Coast Time). You can view our demo live on our Colourwerx Facebook Page. I’ll be demoing my favorite slash ‘n sew technique and show you how to make these mod and liberated Colourstruck pillows! So tune and enjoy! 🙂