Welcome to the New Block Blog Hop, sponsored by Paintbrush Studio! This is the second annual event, and all the bloggers involved are using Painter's Palette Solids. The chosen palette, Ocean Sunrise, is stunning, and I can say from experience that these fabrics have a beautiful, smooth hand!
Thank you to Paintbrush Studio and our hosts Yvonne @Quilting Jetgirl, Cheryl @Meadow Mist Designs, and Stephanie @Late Night Quilter for their hard work in making this blog hop run smoothly!
I'm Jess, and I typically make quilts using improvisational techniques. Whenever I create a block tutorial, I err on the simple side because I prefer modern design and minimalism. When you put minimalistic blocks together, you can create an overall design that is visually pleasing (with little effort)! It's freeing and exciting to let a simple block take over.
Just like my block from last year (the wonky diamond/thread block), this quilt block can be altered in a thousand ways, which I'll share some of below!
Strippy Sunrise Quilt Block
Note: All seams are a scant 1/4 inch. See here to read more about scant quarter inches.
Block will be 12.5" square unfinished.
Here's a unique one - turn the block at random! You could make 12 blocks just like above and have fun making combinations. This one has a distinct improvisational log cabin feel to me. If I was to make this block into a quilt, I think I'd make it like this!
For this block, I used 5 of the 6 fabrics in the palette (no white). You'll use the most of your chosen background color, so choose wisely! Here, I wanted the block to look like an abstract version of the sun rising (the tan is the sun, and it gets lighter as it rises into the night - almost day - sky).
Note: All seams are a scant 1/4 inch. See here to read more about scant quarter inches.
Block will be 12.5" square unfinished.
Cut (from a fat quarter):
(1) - Peach -
1.75" by 18"
(1) - Pink
("Coral") - 1.25" x 18"
(1) -
Burgundy ("Bordeaux")- 1.75" x 18"
(1) - Light
blue ("Daydream") - 1.25" x 18"
Subcut from those strips:
(1) - Peach -
1.75" x 9.75"
*(1) - Pink -
1.25" x 9"*
*(1) -
Burgundy - 1.75" x 8.25"
(1) - Light
Blue - 1.25" x 10.75"
*The
leftovers for Pink and Burgundy can be used to make another block! You could
also sew strips of Peach and Light Blue together for subsequent blocks. No one
will notice the seams. Use your fabric up! Be aware that you will need more fabric to make a whole quilt of these blocks, especially of the background color.
Original strips before subcutting
Cut - Background color (Dark Blue or
"Midnight"):
(1) -
1.75" x 18"
(1) -
1.25" x 18"
(1) - 8.5"
x 12.5"
Subcut (from the first two strips only):
(1) -
1.75" x 3.25" (matches with
Peach subcut piece)
(1) -
1.75" x 4.75" (matches with
Burgundy)
(1) -
1.25" x 4" (matches with Pink)
(1) -
1.25" x 2.25" (matches with
Light Blue)
Directions
1. Lay our
your strips to determine your color order, and alternate the side Dark Blue sits on.
From top: Light Blue, Burgundy, Pink, and Peach.
2. Sew your
small dark blue pieces to your colored strips. It doesn't matter what side you sew the strips to because you can
just flip them around. See second subcut chart above for which dark blue pieces go with which color.
3. Press seams open.
4. Sew all
rows together. Your finished sunrise piece should come out to 4.5" x
12.5".
5. Sew a large background
strip 8.5" x 12.5" to the top of the light blue piece.
6. Press all seams open.
Your block is complete!
Block Options
There are
tons of options for this block. You can simply alter the order in which the strips are pieced together to create a different look. You could create less negative space in the
background and instead piece together two strippy parts (one on top, one on the
bottom).
You could
also change the strip sizes (go even smaller or larger), or alter how far
horizontally the sunset strips reach. You could even go wonky. This block takes
very little fabric to make, so go wild with it!
Here's a traditional layout of the quilt block - look at all that fun negative space for quilting! This would measure 36.5 x 48.5 - perfect for a graphic, modern baby quilt.
Here's a unique one - turn the block at random! You could make 12 blocks just like above and have fun making combinations. This one has a distinct improvisational log cabin feel to me. If I was to make this block into a quilt, I think I'd make it like this!
Don't forget to pop around and check out all of the other FREE tutorials for today! There will be many more on Tuesday and Wednesday - 40 overall! - check the main blog hop post here for more info. Enjoy and thanks for reading!
P.S. - If you want to hear more from me, you can follow the blog (I blog 3-5 times a week about works in progress, topics related to modern quilting and community, and finishes), and sign up to receive my bi-monthly modern quilting newsletter, The Wonky Press. The next issue comes out on April 1 and now reaches over 1,000 readers! :)
P.S. - If you want to hear more from me, you can follow the blog (I blog 3-5 times a week about works in progress, topics related to modern quilting and community, and finishes), and sign up to receive my bi-monthly modern quilting newsletter, The Wonky Press. The next issue comes out on April 1 and now reaches over 1,000 readers! :)
2016 Paintbrush Studio New Block Blog Hop
Monday, March 28
Host: Yvonne @Quilting Jetgirl
Jess @Quilty Habit (<<<<<you are here!)
Silvia @A Stranger View
Cristy @Love You Sew
Kelly @Quilting It Out
Renee @Quilts of a Feather
Bernie @Needle and Foot
Terri Ann @Childlike Fascination
Chelsea @Patch the Giraffe
Mary @Quilting is in my Blood
Diana @Red Delicious Life
Sarah @123 Quilt

I can definitely see the sun rising in this block, Jess; I love it! The second layout is such a winner, too. Thank you so much for joining in the hop. <3
ReplyDeleteVery cool block! I think the second layout is my favorite.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite is the first layout - I love linear stuff!!
ReplyDeleteGreat block Jess! At first when I saw it, nothing really jumped out at me until you showed it in a quilt layout. Very versatile and definitely has a modern feel to it, especially the second layout. Great job.
ReplyDeleteSo many possibilities with this block! Great tutorial!!
ReplyDeleteGreat tutorial and block.My best favorite setting is the last one.
ReplyDeleteUnique block, i like how you can change it around.
ReplyDeleteLove this minimal block Jess! And how you can improv. Thank you for the great tutorial!
ReplyDeleteLove the quilts you showed. Great possibilities!
ReplyDeleteLove the quilts you showed. Great possibilities!
ReplyDeleteGreat job, Jess! This block is so versatile!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful block, Jess! I really like the different layouts but I can't choose a favorite. Ah, quilter problems. Lol.
ReplyDeleteGreat block! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteJess, I love your block and the versatility you found with it.
ReplyDeletethis is such a fun block. there are so many options.
ReplyDeletequilting lady 2 at comcast dot net
This block is so cool, I never would have visualized what the results would look like by putting them all together in a variety of ways. I am definitely going to have to try this. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI love how you show that a simple block can have big effect using different orientations.
ReplyDeleteSuch a great block Jess. I love that second layout you showed; it's got a neat 80's vibe to it, don't ya think? Thanks so much for sharing it for the hop!
ReplyDeleteHi Jess: I really like this simple improv style block. The second setting is my favourite. It's interesting how you used the sun rising as an inspiration for the abstract design.
ReplyDeleteGenius! I love your block, so many different layouts - Love it, Love it!
ReplyDeleteFabulous! I love the modern graphic design.
ReplyDeleteThis is really of enthusiasm to me. I’d love to thank somebody for taking the time to share this post
ReplyDeleteJess I really like the simplicity and also the alternate ways of placing the blocks. It's a great use of the colors,which for me are rather challenging.
ReplyDeleteVery cool block, I love how it looks combined together into a quilt!
ReplyDeleteOoh, Jess, I love it!!
ReplyDeleteLoving these blocks and the colorway. crystalbluern at tds dot net
ReplyDeleteFabulous, I loved the fact that you took your time to create something unique and outstanding at the same time.
ReplyDelete