Author: modalissa

Blockheads Update

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New Year, New Projects or in this case a continuation of last year’s Blockheads 5. Each blockheads series I struggle with what my setting is going to be. While I think I am one of those go with the flow kind of gals, I know I suffer from paralysis from analysis.  Knowing what the layout is, does influence the fabrics you are using in your blocks or at least the color placement.

Do you struggle from this also?

This is the newest block to start 2024 off with a bang. The block is from Sherri McConnell of A Quilting Life.

This block is also by Sherri Mc Connell (round 1).  I made the 6″ block inside of the 12″ block. Squint at it. I see a secondary design and think once it is quilted, it will show the design more.

All of the block blocks can be found here on Moda Fabrics website/blog.

I have made some of the blocks as 12″ versions but now that I know what my setting is going to be I am making all 6″ blocks.

I started my project with Nantucket fabrics by Camille Roskelley, mixed in some greens and lights from her current line Lighthearted and will be adding Shoreline which will be in stores later this spring.

We have a weekly Facebook group for Blockheads. If you have not joined the group, please do.

Moda Blockheads Facebook Group:   / 253867175058745 

I decided to  use the  BLUEPRINT quilt by Susan Ache as inspiration for my setting. I am using 6″ blockheads blocks and larger filler blocks from the Celebrate with Quilts book. I did a quick video showing the book and the status of my progress on Blockheads.

So far the quilt has a soft and vintage feel.  I can’t wait to finish it.

For a complete resource guide for everything Blockheads, visit here.

-Modalissa

Quilt Acroynms

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Recently I shared a listing of Quilt Acroynms on my instagram.

Several people asked for a download to share so I am posting them here.

HAVE FUN.

Let me know in the comments if there are any acronyms I have left off the list.

So if you haven’t seen the answers on my IG, play with the list and see how many you can answer before moving to the next image.

 

Wait for it…….

 

How many did you know?

Click below to print.

acroynm answers

See ya next time and thanks for following along.

 

-Modalissa

Celebrate with Quilts

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In the heart of every quilt, there lies a story. It whispers of patience, creativity, and love stitched meticulously into every seam. Susan Ache and I celebrate our new book, Celebrate with Quilts for this very reason. We both make quilts to captures the essence of celebrations and wanted to share a resource to be able to make a quilt exactly as featured in the book but also a design book to create your own variation.

Quilts hold a special place in the realm of gift-giving. They are more than just pieces of fabric sewn together; they are tokens of love, patience, and dedication. Imagine gifting a quilt to a newlywed couple, symbolizing the warmth and comfort of their new journey together. Picture a quilt presented to a graduate, embodying the support and pride of their achievements. Quilts are not just gifts; they are cherished memories woven into fabric, making them the perfect present for any celebration.

“Celebrate with Quilts” unveils a collection of 60 unique blocks, each thoughtfully designed and presented in four different sizes, providing endless possibilities for creativity. From vibrant birthday parties to cozy holiday gatherings, this book is a tribute to the art of celebration, offering quilting patterns that perfectly capture the spirit of various occasions. Shown above is our Blueprint quilt. It is a simple go to quilt that can be made over and over showcasing your favorite fabric line with the larger squares sprinkled with patchwork.

Mi Amour quilt will be part of our quilt along happening early December on Moda Fabrics blog.

There will also be a QAL March 2024 featuring Camille Roskelley’s upcoming fabric collection, so stay tuned for more info.

 

I am in love with this quilt that Susan made and may have to plan a QAL for this one also or some how try to add this one to my to-do list. See what I mean by making quilts to celebrate with? Decorating for Holidays or special events is one of the best reasons to make a new quilt and there is oodles of quilt inspiration for you in this book.

Whether you are an experienced quilter or a novice, this book is a gateway to a world of creativity, color, and joy.

So,  pick up your needles, choose our fabrics, and start stitching our own stories of celebration. After all, in the world of quilting, every stitch is a small celebration in itself—a celebration of creativity, passion, and the enduring tradition of quilting.

A special thank you to the publishing team of It’s Sew Emma. The talented team helped put our vision down in print in the most beautiful way. Thank you Kimberly Jolly, Sarah Price, Jocelyn Ueng, Nova Birchfield, Cheryl Cohorn, Brittini Cortinas, Victoria Larsen, Karen Hardy, Peach Lambert and Sophia Esquivel. Thank you to our quilters, Angela McCorkle and Susan Rogers.

And what a trip to be able to work with Susan Ache! the most prolific creative and very very fast quilter!

Ask for this cook at your favorite quilt or specialty store NOW!

Hope you enjoy the book as much as we did creating it.

Happy Quilting!

Enjoy!

I love this quilt so much!

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Experiment with color placement, combine different fabrics and colors, and let the quilt tell its own story. I am dying to do this in Christmas fabrics with darks in the middle.

Chains

So fun!!

Light fabrics are not normally fabrics that you gravitate to buy. It is so much easier to be attracted to color and print when shopping. Think of lights like milk and bread. You always need them and buy good ones when you see them. They are timeless and don’t expire like milk and bread.

Christmas Connections

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Nothing better than a new Christmas magazine arriving in October, This gives me plenty of time to drool over the designs and actually get one made before the holidays. I think I am going to tackle the cover quilt from Lisa Bongean and Alysha Haran. The quilt is made using 2 1/2″ jelly roll strips so it should be fast to jump on in. Fingers crossed.

the 3 images shown here are Used with permission from American Patchwork & Quilting® magazine.
©2023 Meredith Operations Corporation. All rights reserved.

The magazine has lots of great quilts/projects including projects from Wendy Sheppard, Annette Plog, Katie Hennagir, Jerome Thomas,  and ME!! Yes the quilt shown here is mine. I am in love with how the team at APQ styled and photographed the quilt. Here in Texas with the temperature still  close to 100, I can’t help but dream of such a delightful scene with ice skaters in the background.


There is also a great feature about Amanda Niederhauser, her home and studio.

Ask for American Patchwork and Quilting, December issue on news stands October 6th, 2023.

Kisses from Gammy

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October is more than just a month of falling leaves and pumpkin-spiced lattes; it’s a time when the world turns its attention to a cause that affects millions of lives – Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This annual campaign aims not only to raise awareness about the most common cancer among women but also to educate, support, and inspire action.

I am humbled and honored to be a part of the annual Stitch Pink campaign with Moda Fabrics. This year Moda has partnered with Camille Roskelley and Aurifil threads.  We all know someone that has been effected by Breast Cancer including my mom, aka GAMMY!

Gammy was not just an ordinary woman; she was a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, who possessed a heart filled with wisdom, patience, and an infectious sense of humor. But above all, she was incredibly strong, especially when faced with the formidable opponent called Breast Cancer.

She had always been the cornerstone of our family – a source of endless love, guidance, creativity and laughter. We all admired her not only for her resilience but also for her ability to find joy in the most challenging of circumstances.Gammy loved loading the grands upper a fulfilled trip to Chuckie Cheese with an endless supply of quarters. She loved chatting about your latest boyfriend or girlfriend and no topic was off the table for her.  Another thing Gammy loved doing was leaving a big ol’ smooch on everyone’s cheek, so when it came time to make my stitch pink project, I decided to reproduce this kiss.

I cut the lighthearted charm pack and layered the pieces, topstitching them with Aurifil threads to a base cloth. Piecing the red charm packs together to create lips and raw edge appliquéd them to the pillow top. I came across a “Gammy’s Girls” clothing label and knew it was a sign I had to include it on the pillow.Gammy’s Girls was the name of my sister and I’d company that made and sold things at craft fairs.

one label just wouldn’t do the job, so I added some additional ones as a representation of what a fashion icon Gammy – Ruth was. Making this into a pillow was the perfect finishing touch so that it can be hugged and loved on as much as she hugged and loved on us.

She left behind a legacy of strength, wisdom, patience, and laughter along with lessons on living life with resilience, grace and humor.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month is a reminder that unity is powerful, and together, we can make a difference in the lives of those affected by this disease. By fostering awareness, supporting research, and encouraging early detection, we can create a world where breast cancer is not a threat to future generations. Let October be a month of inspiration and action, reminding us all that our collective efforts can and will lead to a future without breast cancer. Thank you for taking the time to read about the inspiration behind my life and my project!

Get screened!

-Modalissa

Candy Corn Quilt

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I have made this quilt at least 3 different times and have a friend that just asked for one so time to reshare the post from 2015.

 

candy corn quilt

I recently posted a picture of this quilt on my Instagram because I love it.
I love the colors.
I love the pattern.
I love the quilting.

I love, love, love it.

Someone asked me about the pattern and colors so I thought I would share it here. When I went to hunt down

the good pics, I remembered it was featured in the April May 2013 QUILT magazine.

So here are their nice styled, color corrected pictures from 2013.

my candy corn quilt in QUILT aprilmay2013And here are the details if you want to make your own version using Bella solids.

9900-51- Buttercup,

9900-81 Goldenrod,

9900-83 Grey,

9900-125 Betty’s Brown,

9900-147 Coral,

9900-162 Amelia Apricot,

9900-171 Etchings Charcoal,

9900-185 Zen Grey

9900-209 Clementine,

9900-210 Strawberry,

9900-213 Mustard,

9900-244 Harvest Gold.

A fat quarter of each.

The background could be anything but I used 9900-182 Porcelain (4 1/4 yds.)

I refer to this type of quilt as a 12 pack, not a 6- pack that is something completely different. Pick your favorite 12 colors, add background of your choice

and the possibilities are endless.

Choose all shades of greens and browns for trees,

blues and greens with a little white on top for snow capped mountains,

30’s prints for a retro quilt

or just a combination of all your funky favorite fabrics as a scrap buster!

Bella Solid Peaks quiltI shot a pic of the quilt with my Iphone as I zipped by the quilt laying on an unmade bed at my sons house.
The quilt looked even better washed and used. I love it when a quilt has been put to good use.

Tag me if you make a version of this quilt. I would love to see it.
Here is the pattern for your use.
Enjoy!!

-modalissa

Scrappy Celebration QAL-update

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I can’t believe the Scrappy Celebration QAL is almost over. It is like putting together a puzzle and getting down to the final pieces. Happy but sad and what to do next. Thought I would share some of the pics from both color options of my quilts here.

My original quilt is the perfect combination of summer sherbet colors, but for the QAL I remade the quilt with Red, White and Blues.

I thoroughly enjoyed picking out fabrics each week for blocks.

Keeping a pile of my bits and pieces so I could pull some of the sizes I needed for other blocks came in handy. I do have leftovers and may have to make something from all these pieces.

 

I had been holding on to a bolt of Bonnie and Camille dots from Bliss and knew I had to use this for the backing. Then I dug through all of the leftover bias bits and thought I would funk it up some by adding some yellow to my red white and blue version. Will show the finished quilt soon.

OTHER DETAILS-

You can follow along on Moda’s Blog for each weeks post.

Thank you to Electric Quilt Company for creating fun quilt design software that started this whole  project.

Get the Quilt-Along Pattern

 

 

Scrappy Celebration QAL

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Time flies! I can’t believe it has been 10 years since I did a quilt-along with American Patchwork and Quilting for their 20th anniversary.
Fast forward to their 30th anniversary and I am honored and proud
to be featured….on the cover…
APQ April 2023 Cover

I am a newbie to using the quilt design software, Electric Quilt. To play with this I started adding a variety of nine patches, four patches and any similar block. I fell in love with the mathematic look of the quilt and knew I just had to make it.

All images in this blog post are used with permission from American Patchwork & Quilting magazine . Meredith Operations Corporation. All rights reserved.

Let’s skip to the good part. American Patchwork and Quilting is featuring my quilt as one of their 2023 QAL and they have a Facebook group you can join to play along. I am going to make another version of this quilt during this QAL using red, white and blues with my collection of Minick Simpson fabrics.

If you want to join in, the details are included below.

Pattern Details

Finished quilt: 63-1/2×72-1/2″

 For this quilt, you’ll need:

  • 1-1/8 yard total assorted pink prints
  • 2-3/4 yards total assorted white prints
  • 1/2 yard total assorted red and dark pink prints
  • 3/4 yard total assorted green prints
  • 1 yard total assorted orange prints
  • 1 yard total assorted blue prints
  • 7/8 yard total assorted yellow prints
  • 5/8 yard orange-and-white print (binding)
  • 4 yards backing fabric
  • 72×81″ batting

All of the following info is available here also.

Get the Quilt-Along Pattern

Quilt-Along Schedule

The quilt-along runs from February 20-April 16. While there is a recommended sewing schedule (see below), you can also sew at your own pace!

Scrappy Celebration

If you’re posting on Instagram, use the hashtag #APQQuiltalong to share your progress.

I hope you join us as I share more about Electric Quilt and all things 9 patch.

and lastly THANK YOU so much to the talented team at American Patchwork and Quilting. The April issue ( on newsstands now) is full of wonderful projects and a look back over the 10 years. I have drooled over the pages and talented in this issue.

-Enjoy!

Indigo Threads

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A little bit about the Thread collection.
Drawing inspiration from the colors of her collection of blue transferware, Wendy Sheppard’s Indigo includes 5 spools each of 50wt and Aurifloss so that makers will have everything needed for regular sewing and hand- stitching projects. Wendy uses 50wt for piecing and quilting her quilts, as well as for hand appliqué. It was love at first sight when Wendy discovered Aurifloss, which she uses for cross-stitching, smocking, and hand embroidery. The legendary minimal lint feature which goes for all of Aurifil’s threads, including the embroidery floss, has been a true game changer in Wendy’s needle-and-thread pursuits. Collection Details: 5 Small Spools Floss: 4644, 4140, 2815, 5008, 2805 5 Small Spools 50wt: 4140, 2815, 5008, 2805, 2310. Thread box Stock # can be ordered from your favorite retailer. Just ask for Indigo Collection
WS5030WGI10 Aurifil

I have had the pleasure of working with Wendy Sheppard on several projects including her latest series, NORFOLK which is published in each issue of Quilter’s World. 

I didn’t really do anything on the project other than getting the fabric to her. I knew then she loved blue, and she had talked about an upcoming thread box. So when I was invited to be a part of her event with Aurifil threads I had to say, HECK YES. 

I just had to choose Nantucket Summer by Camille Roskelley for my project (s). The fabrics have so many yummy blues that were a perfect fit for the thread collection. Which came first the thread of the fabric? In this case the thread, then I picked the fabric.

Here is a sneak peek of one of my projects, but I also wanted to share a tip about picking thread. Most often the thread looks completely different on a spool instead of what it will look like stitched into your project. I like to unwrap the spools and drape them across the fabric. Both of these colors matched nicely, but the end result would be completely different. One is brighter and more graphic, one is muted and will disappear into the fabric. Visit  Aurifil’s blog, May 5th to see what color I chose.

The following people we will be sharing how they used the threads and share a project with you.

You can find all the details on Aurifil’s blog, May 4-6, 2022.

May 4th-

Susan Ache  @yardgrl60

Pat Sloan. @quilterpatsloan

May 5th-

Carol Inglis @caroling55

Me- Lissa Alexander @modalissa

May 6th

Wendy Sheppard  @ivory_spring

Karen Miller @redbirdquiltco

Happy Stitching,

-modalissa