The Big Reveal!

IMG-3351 on ground

If you watch my Instagram and Facebook pages, then you saw the big reveal of the 2019 Back to the Basics – Sampler Quilt Top that was just finished this month.  If you missed it….here she is!

Each month starting in January 2019, I selected a new (to me) beginner level quilt block that practiced skills and stretched my quilting portfolio.  I’m proud to say that I have now learned many new quilt blocks this past year and I’m not stopping yet!

I simply added the red sashing in between the blocks and outlined the blocks.  The sashing strips were 2.5″ wide strips before being sewn in.

The center row (with the basket block in the middle) is the row of blocks we did not do this year.  Those were my mistake blocks that due to the size I desired, I added them in to elongate my quilt top.  The flower basket block is one of my favorites, but it was definitely HARD.  I could not find a pattern for the 12.5″ block, so I had to literally make it from scratch and I had to tear it apart 3 times to get it right.  For some reason, the flower basket on the side bothers me…I like it to stand straight up.  So I took a whole day and figured it out and thought it was too pretty to NOT put in the quilt top.

The two other blocks on either side of the flower baskets are literally 9 patch blocks that were cut up and then sewn back together switching parts with each other.    They were mistakes…or so I thought.  I’m so glad I kept them!

If you don’t want to add extra blocks but do want to make yours near or larger than this size quilt top – you can take your favorite fabrics and cut large 12.5″ squares and sporadically add them to your top design.  That will add a nice pop of color that will enhance your fabrics in your quilt top.  You can even make a large solid block every other block in your quilt – making 24 blocks total!

The yellow floral border is a 4″ strip sewn down the sides and then across the top and bottom.

The larger blue floral border is a 6″ strip sewn down the sides and then across the top/bottom to finish it off.

That’s my poor husband trying to hold it up in the back.  The quilt top is taller than he….and he is over 6′.  He also hates taking pictures, but I’m so glad he agreed to this one.  The quilt measures 7.5′ long and 5′ 3″ wide or those of who wondering about bed size measurements….90″ long x 63″ wide.  Or just about right for a queen size bed…which I don’t have.

Oh that’s funny.  I finally make a quilt just for me and it won’t even fit on my bed or one in my home. Well, I digress…I may hang it on my wall as art for me to enjoy.  Well, after I take it to my local quilt guild for show and tell…

As we have wrapped up this year’s block of the month quilt top, I’m dying to see yours!  How did you arrange your blocks?  What colors did you pick to work with throughout the month?  Please share them with the #sewmuchcharmbom hashtag on social media: Facebook & Instagram.

I will leave up the block information and details through the holidays, however, February 1st will be the day that a password will be required to enter that information.  Sign up for the newsletter to get that PASSWORD!

What will 2020 bring for us?  Well, I’ve decided to learn a bit about applique and I want to try out the Elmer’s glue technique with a few of the glorious patterns from Pattern Poole.  They have agreed to partner with me and send the patterns so we can try them out!  I will also have them available for sale on the site, once we get that finally launched.

January’s Applique BOM will be the giraffe!  He will be on sale shortly for $10, plus $2 for shipping on the site.  If you can’t wait and want to order it now – Send me an email and I’ll send you the invoice and you won’t have to wait at all!   

2020 will bring an Applique BOM to our blog and we will share our trials and triumphs with you as well as we had this past year.

I’m not leaving our normal Quilt Block of Month at all…we will also have another BOM starting…but we will do it a bit differently.

Here’s the plan:

Starting in January – I will release the colors that I will be working with and you will have a month to decide yours as well.  February will be our first block!  It will be a row by row theme BOM.  We will share a clue/topic/theme/block design/etc to release your inner creativity that you have been hiding all of these years.  Once you have the CLUE….we will show you what we made within the week.  Then we can all share each month of what we made.

Because of how many blocks – the sizes will vary, the amount of blocks will vary…but it can all be changed to YOUR liking!  I love the flexibility of this.  A quilting girlfriend of mine share this with me.  She does this with another sewing bee group and they just finished their quilts and showed them to each other in December at their holiday party.  Some were quilted and finished beautifully and others were still quilt tops.  Again…it’s ALL FLEXIBLE!

For example:  The clue in February may be red….or love…or hearts.  You could fabric with hearts on it….you could use red fabrics in a 9 patch block, or you could use fabrics with love printed on them however you want.  You are completely open to your own creativity.

For those that aren’t ready to jump out there yet, I will share the blocks that I make with you right here on the blog!  Feel free to make the same blocks with me!  There is no pressure….just to have fun!

Want to see how amazing this quilt could be?  Here’s my friend Eileen’s quilt.  She choose red, white, and black for her main colors.  She said that others in her group choose all different color combinations: rainbow, black & white, scrappy, etc.  You can see she added a pop of green too!

Her quilt shows 9 rows:  1) “ways of travel”, 2) birds, 3) trees, 4) “things you see on a farm”, 5) a place where you sleep, 6) dogs, 7) something that flies, 8) flowers, 9)”stars”, which she chose pinwheels.

Each row is separated by a border of checkerboard in black and white.

It really is darling, isn’t it?  So I thought…why not us?  This would be a great project to make for 2020 that won’t be overwhelming with learning to applique a new block pattern next year!

Happy Quilting!

 

 

The Sew Much Charm Blog & Shop Site will be closed from 12/21 – 12/28 for the Christmas holidays.  All purchases made online during this time will not be shipped until 12/30/19.

We wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas & a Glorious New Year!

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About Sew Much Charm

I enjoy gardening, quilting, sewing, & cooking as a relatively new stay-at-home mom of two girls.

I make custom handmade quilts for clients and recently decided to learn how to sew garments for my little girls.  Watch my journey & learn from my mistakes.

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