Hello Quilty Friends!
Happy Thursday to you!
Now that we’re past the middle of April, spring is finally springing around here, although it’s still either cold or rainy. We’ve had so much rain here in NW PA, there is a lake in the field back behind my house. And the fun thing is that a small group (flock? gaggle?) of Canadian geese have claimed it as their very own little oasis! Silly goosies! But I do love to hear them honking out there to each other and it’s fun to see them waddling around. The lake is starting to dissipate, but we keep getting enough rain that it refills, so right now the geese are in luck.
Speaking of April, I know it’s spring when my Friday Quilt group starts meeting again. We skip January and February because those months are historically our snowiest months and usually start up again in March. I didn’t get a chance to mention my group back in March because we were all busy with the Blog Hop.
I know I’ve talked about these amazing quilting gals before and I’m so thrilled that we’re back together once a month again. I want to do a shout out to the Friday Gals — you know who you are — Hey Ladies! (If you want to know a little bit more about these Friday ladies, you can go HERE.)
You might wonder why I am talking about these gals, but for the last 2 years, we’ve been doing Villa Rosa Designs quilt projects. But his year, everyone wanted somethng a little different and everyone agreed that they wanted to go back to a sampler quilt again. It’s been quite a few years since we’ve done a year-long sampler project, so it’s time.
Farm Girl Vintage by Lori Holt of Bee in My Bonnet Co. was an easy choice for 2024 because of the fun blocks in both 6″ and 12″ finished sizes as well as a plethora of terrific projects in which you can mix and match blocks. In fact, Lori has 2 other books, Farm Girl Vintage 2 and Vintage Christmas which also use both 6″ and 12″ blocks. And guess what that means??? All the projects are interchangeable among these 3 books! WOW! In addition to some other fun quilt books, Lori has a bunch of super patterns and even a book about scrap quilting called Scrappiness is Happiness. If you’re not familiar with Lori’s designs, you should check them out.
She is a fabric designer for Riley Blake as well as an author and quilt designer. I’ve designed quilts using a few of her collections over the years — they were lots of fun. Very scrap happy and bright with a vintage vibe. You can find out more about Lori Holt HERE.
Beginning last month in March, we are going to work our way through the 12″ and 6″ blocks (as well as the delightful tractor block) in the book by making a mix of 6″ and 12″ blocks each month until December.
I like to offer my own sampler layout when we do a year-long sampler quilt project, and this year is no different! I designed 2 different settings — one as a throw/twin and one as a full/queen. Of course, the Farm Girl Vintage book has lots of fun projects of all sizes, too, which means everyone has options! And boy, do I LOVE to have options!
I’ll give you a sneak peak at the center of my full/queen quilt (without the borders — I’ll get those on someday!). I chose a scrappy blue and white farmhouse-y color scheme and I really love how it turned out. What do you think?
After making VRD quilts for the last couple years, we couldn’t entirely abandon our VRD projects, of course, so for 2024 I set up a series of VRD quilt challenges. (You know, this could be a great idea for quilt guilds and groups or even quilt shops — just sayin’……)
Anyway, here is our challenge schedule:
June 2024 — Fat Quarter Project
August 2024 — Panel Project
October 2024 — 5″ or 10″ Charm Square Project
December 2024 — 2 1/2″ Strip Project
Of course, there are a few rules:
- You must complete a quilt top before we meet that month
- You may not use projects from classes 2022 or 2023
I’ll try to take photos when we have the Challenge quilt reveals, so you’ll have to stop back to see what VRD projects the Friday Gals create.
In our most recent meeting, our group made portable flannel boards to accommodate 12″ blocks so I thought I’d show you how we made them because everyone should have a small flannel board. This size is super to carry back and forth from your cutting area to your sewing machine or even to a quilt class, retreat, or sew day.
Make Your Own Quilt Block Flannel Board
Here’s a flannel board I made maybe 15-20 years ago. This board has seen a lot of wear and tear and the corners are all bent up, but it’s definitely stood the test of time and use because the only thing I’ve really had to do is to tighten and re-tape the fabric on the back once or twice. This board is around 12″ x 18″ and is made out of a heavy duty cardboard. It is great for smaller blocks, but doesn’t quite hold the pieces for a 12″ block, so that’s why I had the idea to make one sized for 12″ blocks.
What You Need:
A piece of sturdy cardboard or a sheet of foam core board
A piece of neutral tonal or solid quality flannel fabric as large as the board you want to make plus an additional 3-4 inches all around.
Duct tape.
I chose to use a piece of foam core from Dollar Tree (LOVE Dollar Tree!) which will actually give me 2 boards about 15″ x 15″ and a leftover long rectangle for some other project. Because the boards aren’t exactly 30″ long long, my finished boards won’t be exactly 15″ square, but that’s okay, it’s close enough for jazz. If you want your boards to be perfect squares, go ahead and measure the length of your foam core board and divide that number in half. Use a ruler to draw lines to make 2 equal boards. If you want 1 big board, you can use the whole piece of foam core, just keep in mind it will be kind of clunky to carry back and forth from your cutting area to you sewing machine to your pressing area. But if it works for you, go for it.
One you’ve drawn your lines, time to cut on the lines with a utility knife or scissors. BE CAREFUL! We don’t need any accidents on this step.
Here’s 1 board around 15″ x 15″, which will allow me to lay out the pieces for a 12″ block (or smaller). Now let’s get our flannel fabric ready. I suggest pressing it so the flannel is nice and flat before you put it on your board.
Okay, lay your flannel fabric on a flat surface with the wrong side facing up. Center your board. Then fold one side up and tape it firmly to the board. Repeat for the opposite side. Make it smooth and taut before you tape it to the back of the board.
Next up, we are going to fold the corners in on 1 of the remaining 2 sides and then tape the side to the board. Repeat for the other side, pulling the fabric smooth and taut before taping that last side. I used an extra piece of tape on each side to help keep the flannel nice and tight.
Voila! Here it is — a board block big enough to layout a 12″ or smaller block!
Wasn’t that super easy? Now you know how to make a flannel board, you can make them in any size you want, just make sure that your flannel fabric is 3-4 inches bigger all the way around your board so you have enough to wrap around and tape. (Psst! Flannel boards are great activity and story activities for kiddos, too! Use left over fabric and felt to make letters, numbers, and story pieces to delight any kiddo.)
One More Thing Before You Go…..And a Giveaway!
I’m excited to share some BIG NEWS with you — I just finished putting together my 6th book in print! Yippee! Kudos! AWESOME! (Go me!)
It’s called Plan Design Quilt and it is kind of like a workbook for designing quilts on paper. I do design a lot of my projects using Electric Quilt 8 software, but I also scribble blocks and quilt settings down whenever inspiration strikes. Usually I jot ideas down on snippets of paper, sticky notes, napkins, or whatever, and then I lose them only to find them at some later time after I have already forgotten all about that idea. Kind of disorganized, I know.
So I created this book for myself because it gives me someplace to do my little scribbles and keep them all in one place. It’s kind of cool to create a book that fulfills your own needs and then share it with the world. I tell myself that if it’s something I can use, then there are other quilters out there who might need this too. So I designed this workbook-style book with lots of space to doodle and draw quilt blocks and settings, to jot down notes, try out/add fabric swatches, and more. You can find Plan Design Quilt here. Woo Hoo!
But wait — there’s more!
To kick off this new book, I’m going to give away a copy of Plan Design Quilt right here on the VRD blog, Villa Rosa Quilts. All you have to do is leave me a comment telling me your favorite color scheme for making a quilt. I apologize, but this giveaway will be for US residents only. I haven’t decided yet if offering this book in ebook format would actually be helpful for people. Your thoughts?
Oh, almost forgot! You have from today, April 25th through Thursday, May 2nd to leave a comment. I will select a winner randomly.
Well, that’s it for me.
Take a little time to quilt this week!
Until next Thursday —
Sew. Laugh. Repeat.
Always,
Tricia @VRD
Villa Rosa Quilts 
My color schemes change all the time, and I love scrap quilts. I scribble quilt ideas on all sorts of paper also–your book sounds much nicer!!
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Oh, favorite color scheme, so difficult! I’m always drawn to teals, pinks, purples and bright. But I picked up some fabric that I’m looking at a black, white, red, and goldish yellow color scheme yesterday. I love the idea of your book. Personally, I am not a fan of e-books as I am more partial to a solid paper print in my hand. I have a difficult time referring back to e-books.
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Hi Tricia! You posted our blocks…. Yeah we are famous, I honestly wasn’t sure I wanted to try these blocks because I am a Villa Rosa Fan!!! But I’m very comfortable trying these new things!!! Thanks being an Awesome Teacher!! My Colors are purples and Teal blues!!!! 💜💜
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My favorite color scheme is always changing. Right now it’s pastel green, yellow, lilac, and peach. Last it was red, orange, and yellow.
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Clear blues and White! It doesn’t matter what style the fabric is, batik, traditional, modern, etc. Those quilts always grab me.
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it’s like that “oh the places you’ll go book” oh the fabrics to use!!! I am a pure scrap person. No planning, no restricting color options. The more the merrier. I do want the design/pattern to show thru, so of course there needs to be some layout decisions, but oh boy, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a scrap quilt I don’t love!! The fun and surprise when your blocks are laid out are indescribable!! No one else’s quilt will ever match mine👍❤️
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I love working with shades of blues. Love your books and VRd.
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I love bright colors that make me feel happy and silly
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My favorite color scheme is….whatever my mood says that day, lol. Sometimes I play with all the colors, sometimes just blues or oranges. Right now, I am making placemats for Meals on Wheels so I get to play with all the colors….and use up a lot of fat quarters for the backs!
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Your book sounds terrific; how freeing to have all ideas in one place and not have to hunt through multiple notebooks, piles of notes, etc, to find ideas/plans.
My favorite color scheme is whatever one I’m working on at the time :). Right now it’s blue and off-white.
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I think it’s honest to say I jump around the color wheel a LOT. I’ve been known to makequilts in lime green and orange; various shades of blues; lots of multiple colored scrappy ones; blue and yellow; red, white and blue; reds; and in the middle of an ombre quilt. So I like almost any colors in a quilt.
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Because I love all the colors (except maybe bright purple), I will use every shade of fabric. I usually choose colors that reflect the recipient, and I love everything Christmas.
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My favorite color scheme for my quilt projects are blues, browns, and/or grey’s. I have always loved earth colors in my projects and use them often. Every once in a while I will venture out and use a warmer color scheme.
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I love to use blues, greens, purples. Then comes the scrappy look since I always have “leftover” pieces from my projects. I love this blog as it gives me some great ideas. I’m going to have to make a couple more flannel boards as the one I have always seems to be occupied.
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I love the jewel tones or earth tones for my quilts
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Love your posts, and thank you for the flannel board tutorial! I need to make one or two and give one to my sister!
Congratulations on your new book! Thank you for your generosity is having a giveaway!
I love Navy blue and a pop of a bright color! That is my favorite, right now I love to add tangerine or teal!
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Congrats on publishing a new book! That must feel amazing! My favorite color scheme is teal, yellow and gray. I think they look really good together!
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My favorite colors are Orange and/or purple. Right now I am working in Turqoise because I have acquired a bunch of that fabric.
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My favorite is orange and/or purple but lately I have been working with turqoise colors because I have acquired quite a few pieces.
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I like either blues, rust, and browns or bright colors.
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Trying to choose a favorite color scheme is like trying to pick a favorite child! If I really had to narrow it down, I would choose Thimbleberries as my favorite color scheme. She was fairly consistent with the subdued, country colors. But I do love so many of the bright, happy colors too!
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My quilts mostly darker colors like Kansas Troubles collections or muted florals. There will be brighter quilts coming soon as I making a quilt for each of my grandchildren. I prefer a print book for quilt projects. It is more fun to look at all the projects as opposed to printing out the instructions for one quilt at a time.
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I love bright colors (batiks especially), and royal blue was always my favorite color, but I am finding I am liking purples and pinks more and turquoise too. Okay, I love all bright colors!!! Looks like a great book!
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I love ocean/beach colors so blues, teals, greens are often in my color palette with a touch of sandy browns and maybe some coral. Love VRQD. Always turn out lovely and so nice when I need a quick project.
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what a nice idea. I plan to make a design board of my own. I love the villa rosa cards. Very easy instructions.
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I love just about any color scheme but I have to admit that green is my favorite color and I try to have some in almost every quilt. I love to start with an inspiration piece and then pull all the colors from that. Your book sounds awesome!!!
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It depends on who I’m making the quilt for. I do tend to gravitate towards pinks, purples and blues when looking at fabric but my favorite color is green. Ironically, I’ve never made a green quilt!
I do prefer hardcopy books. They feel more permanent and it’s easier to pass them down.
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I don’t know if I have a favorite yet, I’m kind of a newbie. I use a lot of half square triangles. I’m drawn toward quilts with starts but haven’t done one yet.
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hi… first, just want to say I love reading your blog. it’s hard to pick a color scheme as a “go to”, but blue batiks are my weakness!!
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My favorite color scheme is blue and yellow. Sounds trite but it just makes me happy. I have done variations with a little green in there. Or blue/white and yellow/purple but my go to is always blue and yellow.
I think if you do the e-book so we could print it ourselves that might be a good idea – we could then print extra pages of the sections we use the most. Or just do an e-book that is an add-on for the original? With extra design pages or extra ideas that came to you after publishing?
Love your blog!
Sherri Katafias
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Oh my goodness Tricia you have been busy. I’m a friday girl and I didn’t know you had another book. Awesome! I need to get busy with my June fat quarter quilt challenge. I can’t decide yet which one of my many fat quarter Villa Rosa Cards I will use. Love reading your blog.
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I love to work with rich fall colors in a somewhat controlled-scrappy theme. I play around in a lot of things but these are the majority of my quilts.I like epatterns for quick convenience (I still always print them out!) but when it comes to books, I want a physical book. I use my quilt books often, leaving them open to the project in a book stand as I sew.
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I will try your flannel board instructions!
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One color scheme I like to use is Red and Black on White. Very striking.
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My favorite quilts to make are scrappy, totally uncontrolled or with a limited number of colors with many different shades. Love reading your email each week. Thanks.
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My favorite color scheme is what is often referred to as “controlled scrappy”. I choose a limited number of colors but then use many prints and variations of those colors. For example, I might choose royal blues, lime greens and oranges with a scrappy low volume background. Most of my choices are bright, clear colors. Your book sounds interesting! I have mixed feelings about e-books. I like that they don’t take up storage space except digitally, but I do miss having a book to hold in my hands and browse through for inspiration.
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