LET'S GO! LET'S SEW!
Blockheads 6 is underway, today is the release of the free pattern for Block THREE! Thanks so much to the kind folks at Moda Fabrics for creating this fabulous sew along for us.
Read moreLET'S GO! LET'S SEW!
Blockheads 6 is underway, today is the release of the free pattern for Block THREE! Thanks so much to the kind folks at Moda Fabrics for creating this fabulous sew along for us.
Read moreWe don't know if Janet Clare named this embroidery after the Maori Proverb - "turn your face toward the sun and the shadows will fall behind you." Whatever the reason, it's a beautiful embroidery and idea. Especially right now. WRITTEN BY: Carrie Nelson from her post on the Moda Blog
To Get the free pattern, courtesy of Janet Clare scroll down to find the button.
Stitched here on quilting cotton, with cotton Cosmo embroidery floss, Turn To the Sun uses basic embroidery stitches.
Janet used her Lecien Cosmo Sky collection for the threads.
Thank you to Janet Clare, Moda Fabrics and Carrie Nelson
PLEASE JOIN US FOR THE BE MY NEIGHBOR QUILT-A-LONG
BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE GOOD FOLKS AT MODA FABRICS / UNITED NOTIONS
Are you quilting along with us?
If you're building your neighborhood we want to see your blocks too. If you'll share a photo of your block with us each week you could win a prize. Read how below:
READ ABOUT THE PRIZES:
UPLOADS OF BLOCK 15 FROM QUILT-A-LONG PARTICIPANTS
(you can click on each block to enlarge it)
A NEW WEEK HAS BEGUN AND WE HAVE A NEW PRIZE!
Winter Wonderland by Sherri Falls of This and That Pattern Company • AND • A Christmas Fat Quarter Bundle to get you started playing with some of the sweet Christmas block patterns in the festive book
Share a photo of Block #15 with us by Sunday , December 18th, and we'll add your name to the drawing for this prize ☺
Fabric Requirements:
16 House Blocks: Assorted Prints & Solids
Background and Sashing: 4 -1/2 yards
Borders: 1 – 1/4 yards
Binding: 2/3 yard
Backing: 4 – 3/4 yards
For a quilt using the same background for blocks, sashing and borders, you will need 5 – 3/4 yards total. For scrappy backgrounds, sashing and borders, allow for just a little bit more fabric.
Thank you for reading! I have been enjoying the quilt a long immensely and wanted to extend my thanks and appreciation to everyone who has followed along - even if you haven't decided to share a picture - just knowing you're out there somewhere sewing along is also very gratifying . We are just about finished with Be My Neighbor , The final Block #16 is slated to drop next week - I hope some of you will then share a photo of your finished quilt ( here or anyplace on Social Media )when you get them put together .
Happy Holidays!
Carol
Quilt - A- Long with Moda and Rocking Chair Quilts #modabemyneighbor is underway . Visit the blog @ Rocking Chair Quilts each Monday to get your free pattern and sew along with us.
Read more
Enter up to 4 times using the Rafflecopter widget (the WHITE BOX below) at the end of this blog post
Be sure to LIKE US on Facebook so you'll know when each giveaway begins.
As the holiday merriment is winding down, so begins the winter season. Absolutely a good time to settle in and make some pretty quilts . Don't you think so?
We can help with the making of quilts by offering you the opportunity to enter for a chance to win this week's prize bundle.
What's included in this week's giveaway?
A BUNDLE IS ALWAYS SWEETER WHEN IT INCLUDES SOME YUMMY AURIFIL THREADS! -2 BIG SPOOLS of 50 WT MAKO COTTON colors 2920 and 2783
Enter up to 4 times using the Rafflecopter widget (the WHITE BOX below) .
Contest ends JANUARY 7th 2016 at Midnight CST . MSR VALUE of BUNDLE $98.00 USD. For complete rules click HERE.
Here's everything in the prize bundle for this giveaway
TAH - DAH!
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING A PART OF OUR GIVEAWAY.
ENJOY THE SEW!®
OK LET'S GO!
HERE ARE YOUR PATTERNS FOR THIS WEEK
The final 3 blocks:
fəˈnalē,fəˈnälē/ noun
the last part of a piece of music, a performance, or a public event, especially when particularly dramatic or exciting. synonyms:climax, culmination;
I can't believe how quickly the 10 weeks have sped by,
Moda has designed an awesome setting for this bounty of blocks: CLICK HERE to download the MODA SAMPLER SHUFFLE SETTING PATTERN.
If you are going to put your sampler blocks together in your own way....CLICK HERE to find out how to be a part of our SAMPLER SCRAMBLE CONTEST - you could win a bundle of Fat Quarters!
I found that I needed to cut four 2" squares of background ( the pattern says cut 2)- You would figure that out when you make your block - but I thought I would mention it :)
My two sets of BLOCKS 28 29 and 30
Wendy came by the shop this week and shared her shuffle blocks. Her fabrics are from the Country Orchard collection by Blackbird Designs for Moda. Thank you for sharing Wendy!
HERE ARE THE BLOCKS THAT VIOLA SHARED WITH US LAST WEEK- HER FABRICS ARE PERFECT FOR A CHRISTMAS DAY SHUFFLE POST. THANKS VIOLA!
DID YOU JUST FIND OUT ABOUT MODA'S SAMPLER SHUFFLE ?
CLICK HERE to read more details about the Sampler Shuffle and Rocking Chair Quilt's SAMPLER SCRAMBLE contest
We had a very memorable Christmas with our family-so before I talk about my shuffle doings this week, I just want to express how thankful and grateful I am for the wonderful people in my life.
Now on to the shuffle and what I did.:
SOME LITTLE THINGS WE SHOULD REMEMBER TO DO TO GET GOOD RESULTS WHEN PIECING SMALL BLOCKS
SEW WITH A SHARP NEEDLE
CHANGE YOUR SEWING MACHINE NEEDLE REGULARLY. A SHARP NEEDLE MAKES EVERYTHING GO SEW WELL. KEEP AN ASSORTMENT OF NEEDLE TYPES AND SIZES ON HAND FOR THE DIFFERENT THINGS YOU SEW.
WHEN WORKING ON SMALL PIECING (LIKE OUR SHUFFLE BLOCKS) WHILE A STANDARD DUTY NEEDLE WILL DO , CONSIDER USING A A FINER GAUGE NEEDLE TO HELP YOUR 1/4" SEAM BE EVEN MORE ACCURATE. -consult your sewing machine manual for the brands and sizes of needles that work on your particular sewing machine.
USE GOOD THREAD
WHILE GREAT GRANDMA APPRECIATES THAT YOU ARE DETERMINED TO USE UP ALL THE THREAD IN THAT DECORATIVE TIN THAT SHE BEQUEATHED YOU, IT'S BETTER NOT TO USE IT FOR PIECING A QUILT- I KNOW IT'S ON THOSE COOL WOODEN SPOOLS TOO- BUT UNLESS IT'S AN ALL COTTON 40 OR 50 WEIGHT QUALITY THREAD IT'S BETTER TO KEEP IT IN THAT TIN AS A SENTIMENTAL MEMORY OF YOUR BELOVED QUILTING ANCESTOR.
GET YOURSELF SOME GOOD QUALITY PIECING THREAD AND WATCH HOW MUCH BETTER YOUR PIECING LOOKS WHEN YOU USE IT. I LIKE AURIFIL THREAD. OH OKAY - I LOVE AURIFIL THREAD!
GOT TOOLS? USE THEM!
USE WHAT YOU LOVE: This is my CLEARLY PERFECT ANGLES A 'window' cling style guide that clings to the bed of my machine and helps sew perfect diagonal lines and 1/4" seams. I don't ever have to draw lines on my squares. YAY! I love this tool.
MOST USEFUL TOOL IN MY TOOL BOX : The lowly seam ripper, or as my quilting buddy Mary calls it. "my UN-sewer". On it's own a useful & necessary tool but it's real impact is based on your willingness to use it. If you have to ask yourself, "should I redo this seam?" you probably need to redo that seam. Get out your UN-sewer and have at it.
TRIANGLE PAPERS: I don't always reach for triangle paper , but when I do I am SO happy with how perfect the triangle pieces turn out. These are PRIMITIVE GATHERINGS TRIANGLE PAPERS that we have in the shop. They come packaged as a nice big bunch for a reasonable price and I love the results I get with them .. I used them to piece the Christmas MINI quilt pictured below:
BLOCK 26 X 4 = CHRISTMAS MINI
DID YOU JUST FIND OUT ABOUT MODA'S SAMPLER SHUFFLE ?
CLICK HERE to read more details about the Sampler Shuffle and Rocking Chair Quilt's SAMPLER SCRAMBLE contest
We posted the the Triangle , Border and Setting Patterns here again for you so they're handy whenever you need to peek at them:
WILL YOU DESIGN YOUR OWN SETTING FOR YOUR SAMPLER SHUFFLE BLOCKS?
Worked on blocks 22, 23 AND 24. Started making Flying geese for the inner border of my shuffle quilts.
With my baby quilt fabrics, I made 3 versions of block 23- I stitched the first one together wrong then swapped the colors out on the other 2. & decided to keep all 3 of them
I am making 2 sets of blocks using different fabrics. For one set I am using Somerset by Fig Tree quilts for Moda and the other set is using Moda Bella Solids and Muslin Mates .
To make my Shuffle blocks into a quilt, I will be using MODA's setting pattern for both of my sets .
Have you seen this setting pattern? CLICK HERE to take a look at it.
So here we are already 8 weeks along and working on blocks 22 to 24. It is high time I ought to start working on the 144 flying geese I will need for the inner border that MODA's setting pattern uses.
Wait ....what? 144? Yes ma'am that's twelve dozen! Egads that's enough to spell the word 'MODA' over and over again.
With that many to make I thought I would get going, get organized , do a little chain piecing and have some stacks of geese to show for my effort.
Now there are probably a dozen different ways to stitch together a goose . So please use your favorite method.
I put together a picture blog slide show to show you what I did to make the geese. This is not something I invented but is one way I have done it when there are a LOT of flying geese units needed. Scroll down to view.
CHOOSE YOUR FAVORITE METHOD. HERE IS A PICTURE GUIDE OF WHAT I DID, IF YOU WANT TO GIVE IT A TRY:
DO YOU NEED THE PATTERNS FOR BLOCKS ONE THROUGH EIGHTEEN? A CLICK ON THE SEWING MACHINE ABOVE WILL TAKE YOU THERE.
DID YOU JUST FIND OUT ABOUT MODA'S SAMPLER SHUFFLE ?
CLICK HERE to read more details about the Sampler Shuffle and Rocking Chair Quilt's SAMPLER SCRAMBLE contest
We posted the the Triangle , Border and Setting Patterns here again for you so they're handy whenever you need to peek at them:
WILL YOU DESIGN YOUR OWN SETTING FOR YOUR SAMPLER SHUFFLE BLOCKS?
Worked on blocks 19, 20 AND 21. .At the start of the shuffle I decided to make 2 sets of block using different fabrics. For one set I am using Somerset by Fig Tree quilts for Moda and the other set is using Moda Bella Solids and Muslin Mates . Doing the shuffle is teaching me a lot about color and value. Also I think my piecing is improving as we go through each week. I will come out the other end of the shuffle a much better piecer than when I started! Also I posted another short pressing tip video : Scroll down to view.
BLOCK 21 TIP: THE SMALLER BLOCK UNITS DO HAVE RIGHTS AND LEFTS IN THIS BLOCK . LAY OUT THE PIECES WHILE YOU ARE SEWING THE DIAGONALS TO MAKE SURE YOUR ZIG DOESN'T ZAG......or DO AS I DID AND SEW IT TOGETHER BACKWARDS THEN KEEP YOUR SEAM RIPPER HANDY TO MAKE IT RIGHT AGAIN :)
WHAT IS A SAMPLER SHUFFLE ANYWAY?:
CLICK HERE to read more details about the Sampler Shuffle and Rocking Chair Quilt's SAMPLER SCRAMBLE contest
We posted the the Triangle , Border and Setting Patterns here again for you so they're handy whenever you need to peek at them:
WILL YOU DESIGN YOUR OWN SETTING FOR YOUR SAMPLER SHUFFLE BLOCKS?
Worked on blocks sixteen, seventeen and eighteen..One set I am using Somerset by Fig Tree quilts for Moda and the other set is using Moda Bella Solids and Muslin Mates Feeling relaxed after the Thanksgiving holiday weekend I let my studio get real messy and experimented with color values on BLOCK 16. Then I posted another short tip video for working on 6" blocks: Scroll down to view.
Block 16. A messy desk is a sign of a creative mind? Well maybe it is or maybe, it's just a sign that sewing is SO much fun i didn't want to stop and tidy anything up between projects!
BLOCK 16: I had picked BLOCK 3 as my favorite so far. But now I like this one VERY much also. I changed values and I like it both ways. I know this block to be called 'Dutchman's Puzzle'.
BLOCK 16: If you change out the color on the center triangles, a pinwheel will emerge. Cool.
BLOCK 17: I enjoyed doing an applique block after piecing all of the first 16 blocks. I have think I have developed a new appreciation for applique now!
THIS WEEK'S VIDEO TIP:
THIS WEEK'S BLOCKS ALL IN A BUNCH: SIXTEEN, SEVENTEEN AND EIGHTEEN. I USED SOMERSET FABRICS AND DID ANOTHER SET WITH MODA'S BELLA SOLIDS:
August is here and we are eagerly waiting the arrival of the first Frivol Kit KINDRED . Kindred features Hello Darling fabrics by Bonnie and Camille for Moda. Not Sure what a Frivol is yet? Visit our FRIVOL online shop to read more about it.
If you can't get to the shop from where you are you can pre- order your Frivol kit choices online by clicking HERE. Our Frivols are not a club or subscription you can order any or all of the Frivols you like. If you are placing a pre - order for future delivery.
If you are in the area and can come into the shop, you may want to join in on the Frivol Frolic each month - you can read more about it on our poster below:
Stop by the Shop to purchase and/or order your kits and reserve a spot in the Frolic. Call us at 815 465-2428 or contact us HERE to make your reservations.
Thanks for reading ! Please Comment below with your questions, suggestions or if you just feel the need to add to the general frivolity of the day! - Carol
This Giveaway has ended, congratulations to our winner , Sonja M!
Here is your opportunity to win a bundle and get started with some Valentine quilting fun!
VALENTINE'S AURIFIL!
KISS KISS by Abi Hall for Moda Fabrics
USE RAFFLECOPTER BELOW TO MAKE YOUR ENTRIES
This Giveaway has ended, congratulations to our winner , Sonja M!
This bundle for our January blog giveaway includes Fabrics from Moda's KISS KISS collection by Abi Hall:
- AND-
No Valentine prize would be complete without the thread I LOVE so much - so we've included a couple of LARGE spools of Aurifil 50WT MAKO cotton thread! Thread colors are 2250 RED and 2311 MUSLIN
Good Luck to you and thanks so much for participating!
This Giveaway has ended, congratulations to our winner , Sonja M!
Be Sure to use the Rafflecopter below to make your entries.