Welcome Spring with the Aster Block!

As fellow DQ Smita Prabhu put it, the Aster seems the appropriate block to make when " spring is in the air"! (Considering the fact that I woke up to 9 degrees Celsius this morning, I am not sure of that, but we'll not quibble over this...)
So to get back to the Block of the Month Quilt `Round the Year', MMDQ is happy to present to you the eleventh block - the Aster! DQ Anuradha Ramesh was sweet enough to test it for me at really short notice - just a couple of days!
She will vouch for the fact that it is probably one of the easiest blocks to piece. The assembly will introduce you to a new but necessasy sewing evil, the `y' seam, also called the inset seam.
You do know where to head for the patterns, don't you? To my blogpost, here!
Here is a dekko at the block!

Blue Aster, Block 11 Round the Year Quilt

I think this would make a great quilt on its own, like you have those Dresden quilts?

I cannot seem to add a border to this, but you do get the general idea, dont you?

So go hunt for the right fabric for the block ( or the quilt) and I wish you'll have joy, you'll have fun,  you'll have seasons in the sun! ( the song keeps going on and on in my mind since Smita spoke of spring being in the air!)

Celebrate India with Block Ten -The Chakra!

The tenth block of the MMDQ Round the Year Quilt is up!

This has to be my most favourite block of all. 

If you want to make your own Chakra, this is where you head for the pattern and instructions.

I just realized that I had not shared the link for the ninth block, either. This is the traditional Double wedding ring block. 

The New Year is new yet! Why don't you jump in and try out paper piecing these blocks? I am repeating myself, but paper piecing really is a lot of fun and gives very impressive results.

Happy quilting!

MMDQ - Round the Year Quilt Update

These are the first eight blocks of the quilt! When are you starting on your quilt? The blocks are paper pieced and finish at 18" - free patterns and step by step instructions can be accessed here.

I hope you will join us in the New Year - the blocks are much easier to piece than looking at them would make you believe. Lots of DQs have been working on their blocks - do have a look!

 Before I sign off, would you like some Lollipop Candy?

Happy holidays and happy quilting to you all!

New Blocks on The Quilt! Southward Bound and Spiked Dresden

This is Southward Bound, the seventh block of the #MMDQ quilt Round the World! This 18" block was tested by DQ Cindy Ellerbe. 

And here below is the Spiked Dresden quilt block, tested by DQ Caroline Nagar...

Block Eight - Spiked Dresden

The second of the blocks introduces you to a great technique - foundation paper piecing with freezer paper. It is, I assure you, much easier to piece than it looks! Check for yourself by clicking on this link!

Links for patterns and instructions for Block Seven and earlier blocks are to be found in one place - on this page on my blog! 

With this, we have finished half the proposed sixteen blocks in the quilt! Those of you who have not got cracking on it or are lagging behind on the blocks - the coming holidays may be a great time to jump in or to catch up! 

The next block comes up in a fortnight ; meanwhile, happy quilting! 

Round the Year Quilt Block - Venus

This post is long delayed; I am sorry! This block was tested for me by DQ Anuradha Bahuguna. I love the fabric she used for the background - stars twinking against the darkening evening sky. The pattern and step by step instructions for foundation paper piecing and assembling this block can be found here. Like all the other blocks of the #MMDQ Block of the Month quilt, this also finishes at 18" square, with a 15" inset circle.
I have given you an optional colourway for the block.

This is inspired by a folded star I saw on pinterest and uses a black and white print to set off fluoroscent solids. The fabric requirements for this can be found on my blogpost here.

I am sure you are interested in seeing the blocks that the DQs have been making...

Jaya Parker...

Cindy Ellerbe

Anuradha Ramesh

Diptee Raut

Devi Nair

Revathi Sampat

Uma Srinivasan

Lots of inspiration there, right? Don't forget to check in for the sixth block to be posted on the fisrst of November, 2014.

Shadows, Clouds, Squircles and a Duet - Layout Options for thr Round the Year Quilt

My back is still bothering me - so I have not been doing any piecing or quilting for over 5 weeks now! Hence I decided to delay Block 5 of the quilt to October 15th and do some designing and calculations instead.
So this fortnight is being used to post layout options (with complete fabric requirements for each ) for the block of the month quilt. Two options are already up, and one on the way. This is the `Shadows' option for the Dusk version.

Here are the `Clouds' for the Rainbow Quilt.

The details for these options are posted on my blog.

And what then are squircles? You need to see this post to find out!

But I will not leave you without sharing with you one more picture...the Round the Year Quilt made in two colours,

As you can see, I have been trying out various borders on this option, inspired by the original Camelot quilt. I  am tentatively naming this two-colour option  Duet, unless you can suggest something more apt?

And I do urgently need some more testers for the quilt blocks and would be grateful to anyone who volunteers! Thanks in advance. 

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Round the Year BOM Quilt Block - Sapphire

This is Sapphire Rainbow, the fourth block of the #MMDQ Block of the Month Quilt, Round the Year. Like the previous three blocks, this one is also paper foundation pieced and finishes at 18" square with a 15" inset circle. The pattern, fabric requirement and piecing instructions can be downloaded from the links at the end of this post.Fellow Desi Quilter Anuradha Ramesh has been sweet enough to find the time to test the other colourway, Dusk, for me. This is the design for what I call the Sapphire Fire.

Sapphire Fire Quilt Block

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I am yet to make this block in this colourway. I plan to use 4 shades of blue fabric from deep to light in this block, contrasted with 4 fabrics ranging from deep orange through light orange and gold to yellow. The background is planned in 2 shades of grey. Here is a look at some of the fabric I have been auditioning for the block! It is Fossil Fern by Benartex - I just love that fabric!

Fabric for the Sapphire Fire Block

Meanwhile, I  have also listed out of a few do's and don't's to keep in mind when paper piecing the blocks from this quilt. For example, 

• I often have people ask me if they can increase the printer settings to, say, 120% if a larger block is needed. It does not work that way, if you have the ¼" seam allowance added on to the template ( as is the case with the Round the Year block templates). You will end up increasing the seam allowance also to 120%!
• I like to cut the templates a bit larger on all sides and trim them after piecing. It may be just superstition, I don't know! I just like the thought of some margin in case things go wrong somewhere!
•  After cutting the fabric pieces, I can save a lot of heartburn if I remember to pin the pieces to the respective templates! At this stage, I also get a chance to check if I have missed out on a piece or two. (If you look at the Rainbow Sapphire picture, you'll spot a missing piece!)
• I like to sort out the templates shape wise unless specifically asked not to. There is a possibility you can chain piece them and why miss the opportunity?  
• It may sound obvious, but please remember to begin with piece #1 and #2 when you start piecing a template!
• Unlike in the case of piecing the templates, numbering or alphabetical order does not work when assembling the templates! So that it is not necessary that A is joined to B is joined to C etc...Follow the assembly instructions given in the pattern.

 You will find lots of more foundation paper piecing  tips on my blogpost which carries the Sapphire Fire pattern. So before I forget, here are the promised pattern downloads for the Sapphire Block for the two colourways. The files are huge, and may take time to download. You need Adobe Reader on your system(downloadable free online) to be able to view/ download these files. Happy piecing and quilting!

Pattern for Sapphire Fire, Block Four of Dusk Round the Year Quilt.

Pattern for Sapphire Rainbow Block Four of Dusk Round the Year Quilt.

Round the Year Quilt - Block Three - Card Trick

Here it is - the third of the blocks of the month! DQ Cindy Ellerbe  was sweet enough to test it for me!

DQ Cindy Ellerbe's test block halves

This is a `complicated' version of the traditional card trick block, which has always fascinated me!
This test block was made by Desi Quilter, Manju Narain.

DQ Manju Narain made this test block

Isn't it lovely? And here are my templates for the `Dusk version' of the block, ready for assembly.

The block pattern, including fabric requirements and piecing instructions can be accessed from my blog!
Happy piecing!

Round the Year Quilt - Block Two -Evening at the Pond

The delay in posting the second block of the BOM quilt turned out to be much bigger than I thought!
The fabric requirement, templates and instructions for piecing and assembly are all up on my blog (links at the end of this post).

The original pattern for this block was tested for me by fellow Desi Quilter, Sobana Sundar, who blogged about it here! She suggested a number of changes in the block, which I incorporated in the final version.
Here is her test block.

Isn't it pretty -a winter evening at the pond!? What she finally did with the block is something truly creative - a stunner of a quilt.

Aren't you inspired to try out at least one block from this Block of the Month Quilt? You can build a whole quilt around a single block.
Like I said, I simplified the pattern - so that there was no curved piecing in the circle construction. Another Desi Quilter, Nikhat Arshia tested the pattern for me this time.

I also made the block in the rainbow colourway, the geese flying around the pond as the clouds clear to reveal a rainbow against the blue sky!

And here is a  really pretty block made by Vicki Trerotola in a purple colourway.

The next block is ready to be released on Monday, so one needs to get cracking on this now!
Here are the links-
Block 2 Evening at the Pond - Fabric Requirement, Cutting & Piecing Instructions and Paper PiecingTemplates
Block 2 Evening at the Pond  - Assembly Instructions

A Small Delay in Block Two and Lots of Eye Candy...

Happy Independence Day to all Indians across the globe!
Not very good news at my end this morning. My laptop is bothering me no end! It has a screen all stretched out – just looking at which is driving me crazy. And the wi-fi is not working.
To get back to the beginning, it crashed a week ago back and had a lot of “bad sectors”. I got it back from the service centre with a new hard drive this morning. Thankfully, they have managed to save all the data, which includes all the detailed designs and templates for the Round the Year Quilt. (All except the photos, which they are still extracting from the old drive! I have my fingers crossed – that drive has all my pictures from the last ten years!)
But it seems they put in the wrong ‘driver’ and the screen resolution is all wrong. And they can’t find the appropriate ‘driver’ for the broadband! They have connected it to the net through a cable, but that is painfully slow. I can take a short nap in the time it takes to move from one page to the next!
To cut a long story short, you are not going to get the pattern for the second block of the Round the Year quilt until I can get it in some kind of working order!
This is being posted from my iPad, by the way!

While you wait and I can master my ill temper and get working on that laptop again, here are some gorgeous dahlias and lotuses that some very talented ladies have made! Enjoy!

Tina Katwal's divine White Lotus

Sobana's 'Nilopatal'

Deepti Raut's gem - the Turquoise

Devi Nair's Purple Beauty

Prabha Mathew's Blue Dahlia

Anuradha Ramesh's purple with a pop of lime...

 And Jaya Parker's beautiful Pink Lotus

If you want to make your very own Dahlia/ Lotus, head straight to my blog , where we are making the Block of the Month quilt `Round the Year'! This was the first block of this quilt, so you can easily catch up if you want to make the whole quilt! 

Of Curves and Pins - Assembling the Dahlia Block

Okay ladies! The fun and games are over! You have the Dahlia arcs pieced? Now let us get down to some serious business!

Gather your tools - a small pair of scissors to trim the arcs to size, a box of pins to pin the arcs in pairs before you start sewing,  your (eyebrow?!) tweezers to help ease out the paper. Where is the Master Template? Refer to it to arrange your arcs.

Change the machine foot the ¼” piecing foot, set the stitch length at 1.5, set speed to “low” and needle position to “down” if you have the option. 

 Before you begin, it is reassuring to remember that all curves are straight as they go under the needle a stitch at a time! And that the slow and steady master the curves!

If you want more hints and tips on assembling the Dahlia, click here - the link takes you to my blog, where I have step by step instructions on pinning and sewing curves.

Looking forward to seeing your version of the yin and yang!

The Dahlia Block - A Modern Twist!

The traditional Dahlia Block acquires a decidedly modern face-over with a geometric / graphic black and white print to set off solids in neon bright colours!

Before you head to my blog to download the instructions, here is a look at some fun I had with the the versatile Dahlia Block!

This is another option for the Rainbow modern block! The same block in just two colours coming up now!

I loved DQ Vidya Vartak Joshi,s profile pic - a pink lotus; so played around with the pattern to come up with this.

And here is a totally different looking dahlia, inspired by shape-moth.blogspot.com. ( Hers is much prettier!) I love this, and am going to make this into a table topper!

The best part - these can all be stand alone blocks!
This will be all, till we are ready to assemble the pieced templates on July 22nd...

Round the Year Quilt - Block One DAHLIA

I hope you have your fabric ready, for the pattern for the Dahlia Block has been posted today, with complete instructions for piecing!

This traditional “DAHLIA” block is the first in the Round the Year Quilt; it is paper foundation pieced . We are chain piecing strips to construct the block. The best part of this technique is that you are not handicapped if you do not have a rotary cutter or cutting mat. And believe you me, it takes just two-three hours to piece it from fabric to this stage!

You can download the pattern and instructions from my blog. There are a lot of pictures to guide you at every step of the piecing process. If you are attempting paper piecing for the first time, an introduction to the mysterious world of  templates, colour codes, `piece by number' et al is also available here.

Some of us ( including me!) are making the Rainbow version of the quilt -  please do check my blog tomorrow for a post with suggestions for more colour ways.

So, let the magic begin!!!

 

Round the year Block of the Month Quilt - Fabric Requirement Update

No, no don't worry, there is no change in the fabric requirement! It is just that I have now worked out the fabric requirement for the more `modern' colourway of the 'Rainbow' Round the Year quilt - where the colours of the rainbow peep out from the midst of grey clouds against a bright blue sky!
I so love this, that I have decided to make both the quilts.

You can download the PDF file containing the fabric requirements here! Remember you need Adobe Reader on your laptop to be able to view the file.

Time to dig into your stash ...or your pocket?

Fabric Requirement for the Block of the Month Quilt "Round the Year" has been posted!
You know, I used to be a banker! But I don’t remember checking and re-checking the accounts (in those days of manual banking) as many times as I have checked these figures. Each pattern will also be tested by at least one fellow quilter and me before I release it!  But please remember, this Block of the Month quilt is more in the form of a quilt along; the fabric requirements that I give you are extrapolated from the five blocks that have been tested. True to my training as a conservative banker, I tend to err towards buying less fabric for a project than needed. This time I have made a conscious attempt to make a more realistic estimate and yet, it may not be very accurate. I hope you will bear with me on that! Now that all this is off my chest, let us get back to the task at hand.

Here is another look at the fabrics that I dug out of my stash for my quilt!

Several blues, a few oranges, golds and a dash of yellow!  There are a few greys too, which I shall use in the background squares.

As you can see, I am using an assortment of fat quarters of Fossil Fern by Benartex and some batiks from The Square Inch. Basically, you need  a minimum of 4 shades of the main fabric ( blues here) and  at least 4 shades of the focus fabric ( ranging deep orange to bright yellow here), besides the background fabric ( at least two shades of grey here). 

There is a lot of flexibility in the choice of fabric and colours  in the pattern, as long as you use fabric with strong contrast within a block. I have even designed these blocks with just two colours!

In India, most fabric is available in 34” – 36” width and conversions can be very tedious, so I calculated that too for you!

So what are we waiting for? Let us head straight to where all the action is! My blog!

Enjoy! 
Addendum ( 8th July 2014) - A downlodable file containing the fabric requirements is also now available in the same place!