Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks Blog Tour Road Rally
DAY 2: May 2, 2017
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WELCOME TO DAY 2 of Our 100 Blocks Tour Road Rally!
We’re pleased to see that you’ve returned for another day to help us celebrate the latest issue of Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks, volume 15. If you are joining us for the first time, check out what happened on Day 1 of the rally. The issue is now on the newsstands and you can also get a print or digital copy issue from the Quilt and Sew Shop.
We have several block stops planned for today. You’ll see some of the blocks from the latest issue of 100 Blocks and meet their designers. We’ve also included a couple of the Quiltmaker staff blocks from the issue. I asked each of the staff designers a few questions so you’ll get to know more about them, too!
Don’t forget about our giveaways! We have lots of goodies for some lucky readers in our daily giveaways. Your comments or questions about the daily blog posts give you a chance to win one of these. Winners will be chosen for each day and announced on the blog. We’re also giving away 3 grand prizes at the end of the rally.
Join the Souvenir Hunt each day as you take a block stop at each of the day’s designer blog sites for a chance at a grand prize. Winners will be announced on May 8th. Go to Day 1 of the Rally to get the details about participating.
Let’s get on the road!
You Are in the Driver’s Seat
Check out the following blocks from Volume 15. Don’t forget to take a Block Stop to visit with the designers, and look for souvenirs. Make a note, some of the designers are sponsoring their own giveaways during the rally!
Block #1411
Designed by: Paige Alexander
quiltedblooms.com
Diamond Twist. Crossing angles offers a different point of view for these diamond shapes. Paige foundation pieced sections to create this quick block made with Robert Kaufman Kona Cotton solids.
Block #1457
Designed by: Abigail Dolinger
abyquilts.wordpress.com
Cameo Appearance. Aby’s heart-warming block would make the perfect setting for a bed quilt. She pieced it using the Stitch-and-Flip technique. Cameo Appearance is made with American Beauty by Gerri Robinson for Red Rooster Fabrics.
Click on Aby’s block to see color options made by our testers.
Block #1460
Designed by: Cindy Foster
sewmanyroads.blogspot.com
Desert Eyes. Another quick-piecing block, using Triangle-Squares and Stitch-and-Flip techniques.
Click on Cindy’s block to see color options made by our testers.
Block #1403
Designed by: Yolanda Fundora
urbanamishfabrics.com
BartholoMEW. What’s this sweet little cat up to? This iconic bookshop kitty is all applique with a pieced border to create the frame.
Block #1473
Designed by: Andy Knowlton
abrightcorner.com
Aquamarine. The center patches of Andy’s block design is perfect for some of those wayward fabric scraps you might have stashed away. Cut these 2″ finished squares scrappy!
Click on Andy’s block to see color options made by our testers.
Block #1492
Designed by: Jennifer Thomas
curlicuecreations.blogspot.com
Cherry Bon Bon. Color this block traditional or modern. Jennifer used Pumpkin Pie by Laundry Basket Quilts from Moda Fabrics to create this block of chocolates.
Last Stop: Our House
Over the years many of our readers have asked about our staff, and if they are quilters. We are proud to say, “Yes we are!” Each day we’ll add a couple of blocks to the tour Road Rally that were designed by our staff. We’d like you to get to know us so I asked each of them to describe the inspiration behind their block design for Volume 15 and to respond to a couple of questions for our meet-and-greet.
Block #1451
Designed by: Carolyn Beam, Content Director, Quiltmaker
Sunlight Meteor
Click on Carolyn’s block to see color options made by our testers.
Carolyn likes small blocks, (not necessarily the minis she used to make in the 80s with 1″– 1-1/2″ blocks), but blocks between 3″-6″ are her favorites. Carolyn likes star blocks. She was doodling on graph paper trying to come up with a design that incorporated these two design elements, and this block evolved. She made this block with Lulu Lane by Carey Yoder for Moda Fabrics.
Currently, Carolyn’s favorite fabrics are bright pastels, so the collection she used for her block fits the bill.
A tip for you: Carolyn finds that an accurate seam allowance is especially important when make blocks that contain small pieces.
Besides quilting, Carolyn’s favorite things to do are spending time with family, photography and traveling. Unless she’s making quilts for our magazines, she likes using her stash to make quilts for charity. In fact, in 2016 she made a resolution to make a quilt each month to donate to the fire station where her son works, quilts made and given from the heart to comfort victims of fires and other traumatic events. And… she made them! Resolution accomplished.
Block #1441
Designed by: Denise Starck, Art Director, Quiltmaker
Tree Houses
Denise likes foundation piecing because it helps make some of those difficult angles easier to piece, and gives quilters more design possibilities.
Denise was inspired by QM’s Bitty Blocks and has always liked blocks that combine large and small sizes in the same units. She chose the fabric collection, Whale of a Time by Deborah Edwards for Northcott, because it’s a fresh color palette, whimsical and seemed fitting to the theme of her block.
Denise finds designing for a quilting magazine as much fun as you might think it could be. In case you were wondering, she wants to share, “No, we aren’t perfect quilters at Quiltmaker!” You should hear some of the after weekend confessions about quilting bloopers! We also have lots of activities we enjoy outside of our passion for quilting. Denise is the mom of a teenager (say no more), a runner and loves a good glass of wine!
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That’s it for Day 2 of the 100 Blocks Volume 15 Blog Tour Road Rally. You can make a quilt sampler with the blocks we are showcasing in the 5-day tour. We picked up 8 more blocks today.
You can find the patterns for incorporating any of the blocks and this quilt layout, plus more, in 100 Blocks Volume 15!
Tip: Sign up to have all of the Quiltmaker special issues, including 100 Blocks, delivered straight to your mailbox! Sign up for our Special Issue Auto Ship program and we’ll mail our special issues to you as they are released. Learn more here.
Enter the Daily Giveaway!
Don’t get out yet; the motor is still running! Before you leave, comment on this blog post to enter your name for the daily giveaway. Let us know the farthest you’ve traveled to visit a quilt shop. Tell us about the shop.
Leave your comment by midnight on Wednesday, May 3. Winners will be chosen and announced Thursday, May 4.
Today’s winners will receive a copy of 100 Blocks Vol. 15 plus a ruler from today’s tour sponsor, Guidelines4Quilting, and/or a collection of other surprise quilty goodies.
Winner’s of the Vol.15 Day 2 Blog Tour Giveaways are: Wendy, Chelsea Anderson, Rachell Reilly, Loris Mills and Diane Paul. Winners have been notified by email.
- 2 winners will receive a copy of Vol.15, a ruler and other quilty goodies from the designers and QM.
- 3 winners will receive a copy of Vol.15 and other quilty goodies from QM.
Join us tomorrow for Day 3 of the Block Tour Road Rally!
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Special thanks to the following participating designers and sponsors who contributed products for our daily and grand prize giveaways.
Designers:
- Janice Averill, janiceaverill.com
- Stephanie Bertics, quiltnparty.com
- Cheryl Brickey, meadowmistdesigns.blogspot.com
- Cheryl Brown, quilterchic.com
- Sandi Colwell, quiltcabanapatterns.com
- Diane Harris, stashbandit.net
- Andy Knowlton, abrightcorner.com
- Sarah Maxwell, designsbysarahj.com
- Marcus Brothers, marcusbrothers.com
- Debbie Martin, shadowsoftheblueridge.blogspot.com
- Laura Piland, sliceofpiquilts.blogspot.com
- Jen Shaffer, patternsbyjen.blogspot.com
- Terri Vanden Bosch, meanderingsalonglizardcreek.blogspot.com
- Sarah Vanderburgh, sewjoycreations.com
- Melissa Corry, happyquiltingmelissa.com
- Yolanda Fundora, urbanamishfabrics.com
Industry Partners:
- Guidelines 4 Quilting, guidelines4quilting.com
- Hoffman California Fabrics, hoffmanfabrics.com
- Northcott, northcott.net
- P&B Textiles, pbtex.com
- Riley Blake Designs, rileyblakedesigns.com
- Robert Kaufman, robertkaufman.com
- Timeless Treasures, ttfabrics.com
- Windham Fabrics, windhamfabrics.com