Coming Soon - A Quilt Along Quilt Project

The silhouette series is finished, so I'm off and flying with something very different. It will be a mystery, block of the month,  cooperative design, quilt along quilt. That's right, a bit of everything all rolled up into one!

Here's the breakdown of all those quilt elements.

• A mystery quilt: It will be a mystery to me as well as those who join me in making it. A design-as-we-go project.

• A block of the month: There will be at least one block every month, but I don't expect it to last a whole twelve months. The first block will be ready by March 1st, others will follow on the first of every month after that. I hope the last will be finished by November or December. Fingers crossed!

• A cooperative design: I don't know what kinds of images or pieced patterns will go into every block. I will rely heavily on input from folks who joining in on making the project. Ideas are more than welcome, they are seriously needed!

The theme is "home".

We'll start off with a house in the middle for our first block. Other blocks related to house and home will surround the large house block. Perhaps a line of laundry and a pot of flowers, maybe a birdhouse or a sewing machine or both. What will we put in all of those blocks? You will have to help me with that. I really hope you share lots of comments and ideas in the comment section of this page. Makes me smile just to think about it.

This is the starting point.

The basic layout. Subject to changes as we go. :)

Patterns: Blocks made from patterns that don't require templates will be free, and instructions will be posted on this blog. I'll post the patterns containing templates on Craftsy and they will be reasonably priced. I may group some of the smaller blocks into one pattern.

I'll sew up two versions of each block and prepare the patterns. One block will be made with warm, traditional fabrics, the other with fabrics that are brightly colored and modern. I have two very different kinds of fabrics in mind for making my pairs of quilt blocks. I hope these will give you some ideas - and I'll wind up with two quilts! (Smiling again!)

For the quilt made in traditional fabrics, I'll likely combine some pieces from Moda's French General fabrics with bits of 19th century reproductions. I love the new line of the French General that comes out in March. Until it's available I can use coordinating fabrics from my stash to get started.

I love these colors! I"ll definitely add some greens and browns.

The other quilt will be bright and modern. I may go with scrappy from many different fabric lines and my stash, or I may use some of these new fabrics from Moda. I won't be sure about this line until I see it up close. It's called "Daydreams", and I've ordered a 10-inch layer cake. If I don't think it will work for this quilt I'll use it for something else later.

This needs the addition of darker greens and smaller print blues and pinks  for sure.

Wow! How different these two quilts will be!

I've been working on the first block for the last several days. This will be the large, center block. The templates are almost all made and I'll be ready to begin stitching on the first pair of blocks next week. 

This is the preliminary sketch for the house block. Many minor changes have been made,
but it  remains basically the same.

This block could also be used in a wall hanging or placed into another quilt. My hubby thinks I should make four of these houses, change them up to show the four seasons, and turn them into a wall hanging. Something for the future, maybe?

And that's it! 

I hope you'll join me in this adventure!

 Now, I'm headed downstairs to clean and oil my sewing machine.