Fellow Quilters,

Today I am joining a talented group of designers participating in the latest blog tour for Quiltmakers 100 Blocks.  Issue #16 hits newsstands this week, and to celebrate, Quiltmakers magazine has organized a blog tour, with lots of great prizes at each blog.  There are also prizes at Quiltmakers’ blog, so be sure to comment on their site for a chance to win some great quilty stuff.

It’s hard to believe that 1600 different blocks have been designed since “100 Blocks” first started!  I have had fun designing some of the blocks in past issues, as well as designing some quilts using blocks from the various issues.  Some of my quilt designs have even appeared in issues of “Quilts From 100 Blocks”, and a few of these quilts were results of my blog posts in the ”100 Blocks” tours.

For the latest issue, I played with a selection of blocks created by the designers who used Northcott fabrics in their blocks.  They included Acquisitions Editor Lori Baker with her block #1554 Is It Butter Yet?, Northcott pattern designer Sue Beevers with her block #1556 Directional Debut, Northcott pattern designer Chris Hoover with her block #1571 Stand Tall, and Northcott colleague Elaine Theriault with her block #1593 Any Which Way.  I also added #1557 Stars & Stripes by Karen Bialik, another Northcott pattern designer. I colored the blocks in Northcott’s Stonehenge Gradations Mixers, featured in Northcott’s advertisement in the issue.  Each Mixer contains a mix of colors from Stonehenge Gradations, making them super useful and super gorgeous!  I selected 3 Mixers containing purples, blues and greens, as well as one containing magenta/orange.

The real fun began, however, when I combined the blocks.  So many choices!  Should I choose a straight set, or an on-point layout?  Sashing between the blocks or not?  Light ground or dark ground?  While all the blocks played nicely in a straight set, some were destined for this arrangement – Lori’s and Karen’s, for example.  The others worked well in both arrangements, and some even gave some wonderful surprising effects when placed on-point.  I really enjoyed working with combinations of Sue’s and Chris’ blocks.

I know that Lori and Elaine like modern quilting, and their blocks reflect this.  Since I like modern quilting too, I played with their blocks a bit more.  Here are 2 options of their blocks in a quilt, with and without sashing – what a difference the sashing makes! I also had some fun with Elaine’s block on its own.

It’s time to give away some prizes!  For a chance to win a copy of Quiltmakers 100 Blocks Volume 16 and a packet of Stonehenge Gradations Mixers, please leave a comment on my blog by midnight CST tonight (November 13), telling me which quilt is your favorite.  I will also select 2 additional winners to receive a packet of Mixers fabrics.  Good luck to everyone!  I truly enjoy reading your comments : )

Thanks for participating, and have fun visiting the other bloggers on the tour this week.

Cheers,

Patti