Heartland Heritage Sampler Mystery BOM

We meet again on the Fat Quarter Shop’s blog pages, and it is my pleasure to fill you in on something new that has been brewing at the Fat Quarter Shop! We have been working together to create a new, exciting block of the month which will feature Moda’s newest Kansas Troubles Quilters fabric collection called Wildflower Serenade II. (If you’re regular readers of the Jolly Jabber, you know how I love Kansas Troubles fabric, so I was only too happy to work with it again!!) Want to know more about the block of the month? Well…

I named it the Heartland Heritage Sampler. I grew up and still live in the Chicago area, born and raised in America’s Heartland. Being that Lynne Hagmeier, who designed the fabric line, is also from America’s Heartland, Kansas, well…I thought it only fitting. My heart is also into quilt history and I love to make traditional quilts, so it’s no surprise that I chose traditional blocks for this quilt. I played with the colors, fabrics and shading to make them really sparkle and played with connector corner squares to create some new, fun blocks. Block 12, named Windy City, is a perfect example of that and it happens to be my favorite. I love it so much, I think I’ll design an entire quilt using that block. Have I piqued your interest yet?

Another clue is, it’s going to be a mystery BOM…not the usual kind of mystery, in that you won’t be kept in the dark throughout the process only to get the ‘big reveal’ at the end. Oh no…we will satisfy your curiosity a little at a time because when your yummy package arrives every month, you will see the entire block that you are making. Full color photos of the block and the fabrics, along with plenty of instructions and graphics will aid you with assembly. As you receive and make the blocks you will begin to get a picture of what the quilt will look like, but a second mystery still awaits you! How will the blocks be set and what will the finished quilt look like? All will be revealed in good time!

In case you are wondering just how difficult the blocks may be, let me give you a few hints. We have classified this project as intermediate/advanced, and having said that, the description is rather subjective depending on your skills. So, without giving too much away, I can tell you that you would be making Half-Square Triangles, Quarter-Square Triangles, Square-in-a-square units, Flying Geese, Four Patches, Pinwheels, and will use Connector Corners. There are no set-in seams, curved seams or applique. The blocks all look much harder than they are to make. I like showy blocks, and…I like easy piecing, so there are no out-of-the-norm fractions to work with and nothing teeny tiny either. If you have experience making the units listed above, I’ll bet you can handle this project!!

Don’t tell Kimberly, but I’m about to give you another clue…a sneak peek of a unit that will be in a couple of the blocks. It is a unit I call Corner Square Triangles, a very common unit. All Heartland Heritage participants will be receiving special step-by-step instructions on my favorite way to make the Corner Square Triangle unit, a method where you don’t need to sew any bias seams at all!! You may have seen a version of how to make this unit, but I think the version I use is a bit different!! Until now, I have only given a handout on this method to students taking my classes or to quilters who have attended my quilt guild lecture, The Secrets of Professional Quilters ~ Revealed!

If you love quilt surprises, you won’t want to miss out on the Heartland Heritage Sampler block of the month. I think I can safely say that the construction of the quilt won’t be a mystery at all (teehee)! Let me know what you think! Now…we just have to wait until the fabric is ready in the spring. Until the next time we meet on these pages, I wish you peace from your piecing…

Pam Buda
www.heartspunquilts.com

Labels: Guest Quilting Writers, Quilt Clubs