Rocky Road to California - The REVEAL - Block ReMix Challenge

This week I'm revealing my finished quilt for the Rocky Road to California Block REMIX Challenge.  This was a fun one!  I wasn't even sure how the finished quilt would turn out and was making changes right up until the end. 

In case you missed it, last week's blog post will give you more details about the Block REMIX Challenge. 

Since I'm a lover of chains in quilts, I really wanted the chain to be the focal point of the quilt.  In order to achieve that, I used two different blocks.  The one I shared last week in Sneak Peek #2 and a second block that I designed specifically to fill in between the primary blocks. 

 

The elements between the two blocks are identical but I "mixed" or should that be "re-mixed"? :)  the placement of the units and also changed up the color placement a bit.    In the final quilt I reworked which fabrics I used, so that it would pop a bit more which is why the block on the right appears brighter than the one I created last week, which is on the left.  

Overall the framed center chain becomes the focal point while the non-framed chain is secondary.  A question I keep asking myself is .... is it too busy?  For me, it is right on the border of being too busy, too many elements and not one clear focal point.  

Something else I always keep in mind while designing is "how difficult will this quilt be for someone to make?"  The more seams on a block, the more seams in a quilt, especially diagonal seams, increases the possibility for inaccurate piecing.  If you struggle with blocks not being the right size after piecing, check out my free tip sheet for confident piecing.

Confident Boosting Piecing Tips 

Each Monday, the participating designers are sharing about the challenge on their Instagram feeds.  Some of us are adding other social media too.   If you don't already follow me on Instagram, I'm @masterpiecequilting 

Here is the list of Instagram handles of the participating designers.  Each of us are sharing our fabric pull and / or color scheme this week. 

@tamarinis

@katecollerandesigns

@dragonflysquiltingdesignstudio

@swanamity

@megschoicepatterns

@debbiewendtquilting

@southwind_quilts

@masterpiecequilting 

@modernrootsstitchery

@ashlim.virginadelesmith

@shout4joyquilter

@deb.quiltblox

@sue_duckcreekquilting

An easy way to find the posts is using the following hashtags.  Just type them into the search box and the posts will show up. 

Hashtags:

#RockyRoadtoCaliforniablockchallenge

#RockyRoadtoCaliforniaquiltblock

#morethanjustablockchallenge

#designerblockchallenge

#Marchblockchallenge

#Marchdesignerblockchallenge

#quilt

#quilts

#quiltdesigner

#quiltblock

#quiltblocks

I can't wait to see what everyone is selecting for their fabrics and I hope that you will take a look too! Be sure to follow each of the designers so you don't miss their posts during this fun challenge.

If you would like to see more of my patterns, tips and techniques delivered weekly to your inbox, be sure to sign up for my weekly Masterpiece Quilting Studio News email.  It's free of charge and I promise your email is safe with me. 

Rocky Road to California - Block ReMIX Challenge - Sneak Peek #2

For Sneak Peek #2 of my Rocky Road to California Block, I'm added a stripe along the center of the half-square triangle blocks and continued to change up the color placement.

In case you missed it, last week's blog post will give you more details about the Block REMIX Challenge. 

For this week's sneak peek, I kept the extra elements that I added to the chain last week.  A quilter on instagram commented that it gives it an argyle vibe and I couldn't agree more!  

I still felt the block seemed a little choppy .... which isn't really a technical quilting term ... it's just my description when a design doesn't flow coehesively.  One advange that I have while working on a block in the design software, is that I can pop it into a full quilt view and that really lets me see how the blocks fit together to create secondary patterns.  

I wanted the center chain to be more defined and the focal point of the block, so I added an off-center strips to the half-square triangle blocks and then recolored the outer edges of the block to all the same fabric.  

Something I always keep in mind while designing is "how difficult will this block be for someone to make?"  The more seams on a block, especially diagonal seams, increases the possibility for inaccurate piecing.   If you struggle with blocks not being the right size after piecing, check out my free tip sheet for confident piecing.

Confident Boosting Piecing Tips 

I truly love the opportunity to play and experiment with different blocks as part of the REMIX challenge.  I'm going to keep playing with this block, so be sure to watch for next week's Final Reveal! . 

Each Monday, the participating designers are sharing about the challenge on their Instagram feeds.  Some of us are adding other social media too.   If you don't already follow me on Instagram, I'm @masterpiecequilting 

Here is the list of Instagram handles of the participating designers.  Each of us are sharing our fabric pull and / or color scheme this week. 

@tamarinis

@katecollerandesigns

@dragonflysquiltingdesignstudio

@swanamity

@megschoicepatterns

@debbiewendtquilting

@southwind_quilts

@masterpiecequilting 

@modernrootsstitchery

@ashlim.virginadelesmith

@shout4joyquilter

@deb.quiltblox

@sue_duckcreekquilting

An easy way to find the posts is using the following hashtags.  Just type them into the search box and the posts will show up. 

Hashtags:

#RockyRoadtoCaliforniablockchallenge

#RockyRoadtoCaliforniaquiltblock

#morethanjustablockchallenge

#designerblockchallenge

#Marchblockchallenge

#Marchdesignerblockchallenge

#quilt

#quilts

#quiltdesigner

#quiltblock

#quiltblocks

I can't wait to see what everyone is selecting for their fabrics and I hope that you will take a look too! Be sure to follow each of the designers so you don't miss their posts during this fun challenge.

If you would like to see more of my patterns, tips and techniques delivered weekly to your inbox, be sure to sign up for my weekly Masterpiece Quilting Studio News email.  It's free of charge and I promise your email is safe with me. 

Rocky Road to California - Block ReMix Challenge - Sneak Peek #1

For Sneak Peek #1 of my Rocky Road to California Block, I'm adding a few elements and changing up some color placement.

In case you missed it, last week's blog post will give you more details about the block REMIX challenge. 

I started out adding some elements to the chain to make it more pronounced and to give it more visual interest.  Then I started playing with color placement.  I could play with color placement all day long!  This version definitely has the center chain background as the focal point ... not sure if I like that or not :) 

I truly love the opportunity to play and experiment with different blocks as part of the REMIX challenge.  I'm going to keep playing with this block, so be sure to watch for next week's Sneak Peek #2. 

Each Monday, the participating designers are sharing about the challenge on their Instagram feeds.  Some of us are adding other social media too.   If you don't already follow me on Instagram, I'm @masterpiecequilting 

Here is the list of Instagram handles of the participating designers.  Each of us are sharing our fabric pull and / or color scheme this week. 

@tamarinis

@katecollerandesigns

@dragonflysquiltingdesignstudio

@swanamity

@megschoicepatterns

@debbiewendtquilting

@southwind_quilts

@masterpiecequilting 

@modernrootsstitchery

@ashlim.virginadelesmith

@shout4joyquilter

@deb.quiltblox

@sue_duckcreekquilting

An easy way to find the posts is using the following hashtags.  Just type them into the search box and the posts will show up. 

Hashtags:

#RockyRoadtoCaliforniablockchallenge

#RockyRoadtoCaliforniaquiltblock

#morethanjustablockchallenge

#designerblockchallenge

#Marchblockchallenge

#Marchdesignerblockchallenge

#quilt

#quilts

#quiltdesigner

#quiltblock

#quiltblocks

I can't wait to see what everyone is selecting for their fabrics and I hope that you will take a look too! Be sure to follow each of the designers so you don't miss their posts during this fun challenge.

If you would like to see more of my patterns, tips and techniques delivered weekly to your inbox, be sure to sign up for my weekly Masterpiece Quilting Studio News email.  It's free of charge and I promise your email is safe with me. 

Free Falling - New Pattern Release

I'm excited to share my Free Falling quilt pattern with you.   Just like standing in a forest of maple trees, the leaves in this quilt are falling all over and around you in a variety of directions.   

Purchase PDF Digital Download Pattern

Fall quilts are among my favorites to design.  There is just something about the warm rich colors that I love to work with. 

I know the timing isn't ideal for talking about fall quilts ... afterall, winter is still hanging on, spring hasn't quite sprung yet and fall is many months away.  

But think of it this way ....  purchase your pattern now, select your stash fabrics for all the leaf blocks while doing spring cleaning in your studio, go ahead and cut all the pieces, and during the summer while your time is limited, you can assemble the quilt and presto ... you will have it finished by the time fall arrives!  Doesn't that sound like the perfect plan?  :) 

The pattern is written so you can use fat quarters, fat eighths or even stash fabrics for the leaf blocks.  Pair that with a dark and light for the setting blocks and you are good to go! 

So what are you waiting for?  Grab your Free Falling pattern today and start creating.  I can't wait to see the version you make! 

Purchase PDF Digital Download Pattern

If you would like to see more of my patterns, tips and techniques delivered weekly to your inbox, be sure to sign up for my weekly Masterpiece Quilting Studio News email.  It's free of charge and I promise your email is safe with me. 

Rocky Road to California - Block ReMix Challenge

After taking a month off, I'm rejoining the designers for March's Block ReMix Challenge.  This month's block is the Rocky Road to California.

The Rocky Road to California is one of my favorite traditional blocks because it has a chain element.  Ya know, I'm all about chain patterns in my designs! 

There are a number of blocks that are very similar and sometimes have the same name or a slight variation.... It's easy to confuse the Rocky Road to California with the Road to California, Road to Oklahoma and the Jacobs Ladder block.  This is all part of the fun of working with traditional blocks.  Regardless of the name, I'll be mixing up the block components this month to create a fun, new look. 

For my Fabric Pull this week, I'm going with an old standby - bright solids from Michael Miller cotton couture.  I have a healthy stash of these so I'll be using them.  

If you love solids as much as I do, I have both fat quarter and fat 1/8 bundles available in my Etsy shop. 

Fat Quarter Bundle (shipping included)

Fat 1/8 Bundle (shipping included)

I truly love the opportunity to play and experiment with different blocks as part of the REMIX challenge.  I'm going to keep playing with this block, so be sure to watch for next week's Sneak Peek #2. 

Each Monday, the participating designers are sharing about the challenge on their Instagram feeds.  Some of us are adding other social media too.   If you don't already follow me on Instagram, I'm @masterpiecequilting 

Here is the list of Instagram handles of the participating designers.  Each of us are sharing our fabric pull and / or color scheme this week.   

@tamarinis

@katecollerandesigns

@dragonflysquiltingdesignstudio

@swanamity

@megschoicepatterns

@debbiewendtquilting

@southwind_quilts

@masterpiecequilting 

@modernrootsstitchery

@ashlim.virginadelesmith

@shout4joyquilter

@deb.quiltblox

@sue_duckcreekquilting

An easy way to find the posts is using the following hashtags.  Just type them into the search box and the posts will show up. 

Hashtags:

#RockyRoadtoCaliforniablockchallenge

#RockyRoadtoCaliforniaquiltblock

#morethanjustablockchallenge

#designerblockchallenge

#Marchblockchallenge

#Marchdesignerblockchallenge

#quilt

#quilts

#quiltdesigner

#quiltblock

#quiltblocks

I can't wait to see what everyone is selecting for their fabrics and I hope that you will take a look too! Be sure to follow each of the designers so you don't miss their posts during this fun challenge.

If you would like to see more of my patterns, tips and techniques delivered weekly to your inbox, be sure to sign up for my weekly Masterpiece Quilting Studio News email.  It's free of charge and I promise your email is safe with me. 

Tulip Stars - New Pattern Release

Are you ready for a fast and fun quilt with plenty of style?

Then look no further than my new Tulip Stars quilt pattern! 

Made with the Honey Blue fabric collection from Island Batik, the colors bring a breath of freshness as winter transitions into spring.  

PDF Patterns are available now in my Etsy Shop using this direct link. 

Perfect for taking to the beach, spring sporting events or just snuggling on the couch, Tulip Stars will quickly become one of your favorite patterns. 

It's quick and easy to make with oversized blocks that pack a lot of design and style.  Your friends will think it took you hours to make! 

To keep the quilt soft, drapeable and super functional, I used Warm 80/20 batting from The Warm Company.  

And even Ruby gives Tulip Stars her paw of approval! 

Click here to order your pattern now.  The digital format allows you to download immediately and start selecting your fabrics.   I can't wait to see the version you make! 

If you would like to see more of my patterns, tips and techniques delivered weekly to your inbox, be sure to sign up for my weekly Masterpiece Quilting Studio News email.  It's free of charge and I promise your email is safe with me.