We had so much fun with our 2018 BoulderMQG Block of the Month challenge last year that we decided to run another monthly make challenge this year! There will be some differences between last year and this year. Last year, every month we put out a new block tutorial with instructions for cutting and sewing a 12” block. You can still find all the 2018 monthly tutorials on the blog, here. This year, we will be putting out prompts for fabric selection based on our 2019 theme, color theory.

Some of the questions we hear repeatedly are; how do you select the best colors for a quilt, and how do you pick the right fabrics for a quilt? Each month on the blog you will get a brief lesson relating to the color study of the month. You will then select the fabrics that relate to the prompt to use in your monthly block. Instead of providing a block construction tutorial each month, we want you to select the same block to make every month that can support the change in fabrics based on the prompt.

THE BLOCKS

You will want to pick a block that has between 6-10 changeable components, and an element (center or background fabric) that remains the same for every month. This will tie the quilt together at the end of the year. Some great blocks that would work are, sawtooth star, wonky star, 9-patch, string blocks, log cabin or courthouse steps variation, pineapple, flying geese circle, or a variety of other paper pieced blocks. You could even piece an improv block (or section of your quilt if you’re not a block quilter) each month following the prompt. We really want you to make this quilt your own by selecting a block as simple or as complex as you think you will have time to make each month. We do recommend that you make 12”-15” finished blocks to end up with a lap size quilt. Adjust your block size accordingly if you wish to have a smaller or larger quilt when the project is complete.

Here are some great block options:

Sawtooth Star Tutorial from Diary of a Quilter – Various sizes from 4″ – 20″

Log Cabin Tutorial from The Seasoned Homemaker – 12.5″ block

Churn Dash Tutorial from The Seasoned Homemaker – 12.5″ block

Circle of Geese Pattern by Piece by Number – 12″ block

Wonky Cross Tutorial from The Crafty Mummy – 10″ block

THE QUILT

To give you an idea of what your 2019 BoulderMQG Block of the Month Color Study quilt might look like, we’ve provided some digital versions with some of the suggested blocks. (Our sewn sample quilt was made from 9-patch blocks mostly from Hoffman Indah Batiks and Michael Miller Couture Cotton, with Kona white sashing.)

• 

• 

• 

• 

THE FABRIC

As far as fabric goes, we suggest that you have at least a fat eighth each of no less than 12 different colors in true hue; red, red-orange, orange, yellow-orange, yellow, yellow-green, green, blue-green, blue, blue-violet, violet, and red-violet. And you need at least 3-8 fabrics to represent value, and 3-6 to represent neutrals. Plus any background fabric that will remain the same in each block or be used during final assembly of your quilt.

You don’t have to use solid fabrics, but we do advise that you pick a true hue of each color. A hue is a color in it’s true saturated form. You may also want to add tints and shades (lighter or darker, but not gray tones/less saturated colors) of several of the colors. If you are working with prints, not solids, you could pull a couple prints of each color. Of course, exact amounts of fabric are dependent on the block you select and the size of quilt you want to end up with. Here are some fabric pull samples to give you an idea of what to look for in your stash.

• 

• 

• 

• 

Pictured: Indah Batiks, Cotton & Steel, low volume, and basic blenders.

We are excited about providing the opportunity for BoulderMQG members and friends to sharpen their fabric selection skills and brush up on color theory! Join along and post your blocks each month using the hashtag #bouldermqgcolorstudy19