Hello Makers!

Join me for a Quilt Along as we sew the Summer Sampler 2021:  Vintage Restyle.

The Pattern:  Summer Sampler 2021: Vintage Restyle

The first thing you need to do is grab the pattern (do not worry if you are late, it is usually available for years after the launch).  Get it here.

The Fabric

I chose to make my quilt with Northcott fabric's Colorworks Premium Solids  and make mine in similar tones to what the pattern will call for, to make it easier to follow along with me.

Each week, I will host a Sew Along video on YouTube for you to quilt alongside me.

Stay Organized

One of the hosts, Kaite, from Swim Bike Quilts, has prepared some really great tips on staying organized.  Check out her post on 9 ways to stay organized here.

The one tip I enjoyed most, is that you need to label your fabric.  In fact, I have a free downloadable printable to help you stay organized.  Grab it here:

DOWNLOAD YOUR FABRIC ORGANIZATION PDF HERE

Block 1:  Crossroads

This block was designed by Allison Harris from Cluck Cluck Sew and is a modern take on the traditional Irish Chain block.

If you wanted to sew an entire quilt from this block it would create a beautiful chain block that is really quite stunning.

Here is my version!

Let's get to the Sew Along!

 

 

Block 2:  Summer Blooms

This block was designed by Katie Blakesley from Swim Bike Quilt.  She took a modern spin on the 1930's block originally designed by Nancy Cabot, the Rocky Mountain Puzzle Quilt Block.  

If you wanted to sew an entire quilt from this block as it is, it would look something like this:

Though, if you manipulate the blocks and add in a few solid background squares, you can achieve this stunning "Summer Bloom" pattern, which Katie shares in her blog.

 

And this is my version of the block done up in my Northcott fabric selection.

I wanted to share some tips on working with curves  when you are quilting and thought a video the best place to share them.

 

 

Block 3:  City Center

Designed by Fran Gulick from Cotton + Joy this block take a fresh new look on a traditional log cabin block.  She really looked at taking a unique perspective on this block by building the log cabin block out from the corner, rather than the center.  

I really enjoy how this block has a very modern twist to a rather vintage block, especially when done in modern colours and these lovely solids I got from Northcott Fabrics.

You can create a fun mod inspired squared quilt when combining all of these blocks together, as shown below.

 

I have a FREE pattern for you (if you are a subscriber) on making the Diamond Cabin Quilt pattern.  Head over to our Freebies section to grab yours today!

Here is my version of this week's block:

I have also put together some tips and tricks on how to sew a traditional log cabin block and ensuring that you get a perfectly square log cabin block each time, check it out on YouTube.

 

 

Block 4:  Petal Prism

This week's block is designed by Wendy Chow from The Weekend Quilter.  Essentially this block is a mashup of the traditional Spool and Grandmother's Choice quilt blocks.

The entire quilt in this block gives a stunning design motif and would look beautiful if paired with other quilt blocks, as well. 

This is a great skill building block, as it incorporates HST (half square triangles), flying geese and quick corner units to form a block that resembles a saw tooth star design.

This video highlights how this block came together.

 

Block 5:  Reunion

This fun block is based off the traditional friendship star quilt block and was designed by Lee. A. Heinrich.

 

This one really has a "funky" feel to it when placed entirely in a quilt.  I really admire the use of curves and clever piecing to create this pretty design.

This block adds some modern curves to the Friendship Star block, making it look like it is dancing off your quilt.  Heinrich began designing this block during the Covid-19 lockdown, at which time many friends were not able to see one another for months.  She wanted to reflect the optimism about the future after the pandemic and aptly named it, 'Reunion'.

 

Here is the video for this week walking us through this very pretty block.

 Block 6: Sailors

This modern take on such a traditional quilt block, as the flying geese block came out beautifully.  I am a fan of the flying geese block, but always love a good "refashion" of the block to mix it up.

As an entire quilt, this block gives off a fun geometric motif that really fits into any modern quilt design.

Lucy Engels designed this block based on the Dutchman's puzzle block where she adjusts the sizes of the flying geese units and adds pieced elements to the block for more visual interest.

This block comes together nicely (especially if you have slotted rulers to trim the HSTs).

 

Block 7:  Summer Breeze

Week 7 is all about this fun take on a traditional pinwheel block.  Pinwheels are gorgeous in quilts as they are, but this block really kicks it up a notch.

As an entire quilt these pinwheels are really pretty and I think would look even better in fun scrappy fabric that you use up from your stash.

Nadra Ridgeway, from Ellis and Higgs designed the block this week and "twisted" the traditional pinwheel block.  Though it may look daunting, it really is a breeze to come together.

This one really did come together quickly, which I do like in a quilt block.

 

Block 8:  Melted Melamine

 This block was designed by Ben Millett from Ben Millett.  He designed this quilting block after the traditional 'Broken Dishes' block. 

Only in his version he utilized curves and orange peels to provide a more modern take on this block.  This inspiration of the curves came from the Melamine dinnerware that was invented in the mid century.  As this dinnerware is rather resistant to breaking, he wanted to reflect that in his quilt block, where is it more "misshapen, with flowing curves" rather than broken.

When these blocks are all placed together as one, it produces a really stunning quilt.

I am really loving how this block turned out and so far, it is one of my favorite ones (but with it's nod to the 1950s and mid century, that should come as no surprise).

 

 Block 9:  Cross Churn

This block is designed by Megan Lopez from The Athena Workshop.  The cross turn block, is Megan's take on the traditional 'Churn Dash' block.

I really like how this block took the traditional rectangle design and made a really pretty cross out of it.  

If you were to do an entire quilt up in this block it resembles a fun modern design with all the triangles and diamonds showing up.

Overall, this quilt block was fairly easy to stitch up and pulled from techniques we learned in the previous blocks (like cutting perfect HSTs).  My block came out nice and this one was pretty quick to stitch up.

Do, check out the video for the making of this week's block, as it was a ton of fun. 

 

Block 10:  Marigold

This 12' x 12" quilt block was designed by Lori Holt from Bee In My Bonnet.  She took the vintage flower vase block and added a more modern spin.

 

 

The original block has an asymmetrical design with the flowers pouring out of the vase at the bottom of the block.  To give this a more modern feel, Lori designed this block to be symmetrical (and gave options to add in some stems, true to the original block).

Now, we all want to know what this block would look like if a quilt was made from all of the Marigold blocks.  Here is the original version.

And here is the quilt utilizing the optional stems.

Be sure to check out the making of this block!

 

Block 11:  Modern Star

I love a good sawtooth star block (in fact, I have a quilt pattern and tutorial coming your way for one in time for Christmas).  

This block was designed by Porfiria Gomez of Porfiria Gomez from Make It Sew NYC.  

Instead of a traditional 4 grid sawtooth star quilt block, she switched it up to a 6 grid and was able to add in some additional pieces.

This week. I accidentally flipped my flying geese block in the quilt and had to fix them.  Hey, we are all human here.

As always, let's see how the entire quilt look like, as I love to see how you can utilize the blocks from samplers in other ways.

This block incorporated a lot of the techniques from previous blocks, which is why I really like sampler quilts for beginners, as it really helps to build foundations in early blocks and gradually increase the difficulty of the quilt blocks.  

Let's see how to make the Modern Saw quilt block.

 

 

Block 12:  Providence

This is the only foundation paper piecing block in the quilt along series and is a ton of fun to do.  If you have never done any foundation paper piecing the instructions are great and I have included some basic instructions on how you can foundation paper piece any quilt block in the video, so do check that out.

I always love how foundation paper piecing produces perfect block intersection points every time and makes me proud to show off the block I have made.

This block uses quite a few traditional economy #FPP blocks.  How many can you count?  I get 9 of them in there.  It also looks very impressive using entirely the providence block for a whole quilt.

 Now, let's get into how we make this block:

 

Block 13: Floret

We have made it to the final block!

This block is a JUMBO block measuring in at 28.5" x 28.5"!  It was designed by Lee. A Heinrich and she utilises all the techniques we have learned so far in the sampler.  Well, almost all of the techniques - only the foundation paper piecing is not used in this block.

 

Another unifying feature that is used in this giant centre block is that all the of the colours are used in this block to really tie all of the sampler blocks together.

I actually enjoyed this block a lot, because you really feel like you are making PROGRESS, as the block is so large.

I couldn't do a flatlay, as the block so large - so here it is hanging in my back garden trees.

Now, let's check out how we made this block!

 

The Final Reveal

It is finally here.  We are putting the quilt together this week and I am so excited to share it with you.

Here is the quilt top that is all ready to be quilted.  

And now to chose the binding colour.  If you have been following me on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook - I have put it to a vote to see which colour we end up binding the quilt with.

And.... the winner is....

Malachite!

The two green fabrics were neck and neck (with the pink close behind).

And here is the bound and quilted quilt - all finished!

The dappled light on this quilt doesn't quite show the stunning detail on this quilt, but I just had to do a "forest" quilt reveal (you all know, I LOVE the forest and all things nature).

I cannot wait to wash this quite so it crinkles all up!

Check out the quilt reveal video here:

Now, I am excited to get cracking on my next quilt.  Any suggestions for my next quilt, hit me up on YouTube or Instagram!