A Fresh Look At Moda Blockheads

There has been some controversy this week about Moda Fabrics and its Blockheads program. The conversation made me curious, so I went to see what the program was all about.

Moda Blockheads is a free quilt-along from Moda Fabrics. Moda designers create individual quilt blocks, and quilters can download the patterns and make the blocks at their own pace. The designs offer plenty of room to choose your own fabrics and colors, and you can arrange the finished blocks into a quilt or use them for smaller projects

I’m glad I checked them out, as I found some amazing block designs and wanted to share a few that caught my eye. Here are six from Blockheads 6…

…and here are a few more from Blockheads 5:

I love looking at quilt blocks and imagining how different they could look in my own fabric choices. A design that catches my eye in one color palette might inspire something entirely different from my scrap bins!

Click here to see more of SEASON 6 and SEASON 5

You can find these designs and many more free patterns at Moda Fabrics. That includes the free Celtic Knots pattern, which I’m currently making.

Which of these blocks is your favorite?

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Quilting Inspiration from an Italian Church Ceiling

When Michael and I visited a beautiful church in Italy (sadly, I can’t remember which town), I looked up—and immediately saw a quilt design…

The ceiling is filled with ideas that could easily be translated into fabric or thread. The circular design begins with a strong focal point and radiates outward in sections. Repeated stars create rhythm, while the squares, lines, and decorative borders add layer after layer of detail.

It reminds me of a quilted mandala. You could begin in the center and work outward, changing the design with each new round. Some areas could be densely quilted, while others could remain open to let the design breathe.

I am especially drawn to how the geometric framework gives structure to all those small details. Even though the ceiling is ornate, the repetition keeps it from feeling chaotic.

Of course, I’m not planning to reproduce the entire ceiling in a quilt! But I could borrow one element—a ring of stars, the radiating wedges, or the framed squares—and use it as the starting point for a quilting design.

That is one of my favorite things about creative inspiration. We don’t have to copy what we see. We can notice a shape, a pattern, or an arrangement and ask:

How could I interpret that in fabric or thread?

Sometimes quilting inspiration is right in front of us.

And sometimes, we just need to look up.

Inspiration is Hiding in Plain Sight

For this Inspiration Wednesday, I’m sharing a thoughtful post from my friend Deb Messina at Quiltblox.

As quilters, we often look to other quilts for inspiration. But Deb reminds us that creative ideas are everywhere—in gardens, buildings, artwork, clothing, household objects, and even the things we pass every day without really noticing.

The secret is learning to pause and ask: What caught my attention, and why?

Deb’s post, “Learning to See: Inspiration for Your Next Stitching Project May Be Hiding in Plain Sight,” offers practical ideas for noticing, capturing, and eventually translating those small sparks of inspiration into something uniquely your own.

Read Deb’s post at Quiltblox

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Window Inspiration

In 2015, we trekked in the Himalayas, and—as always—I found myself photographing things that made me think about quilts.

This beautiful wooden window was one of them….

I loved the shapes, the repetition, and all of those little details. Even now, I can look at it and immediately start imagining how those elements might find their way into a quilt.

But I’ve been thinking about the Himalayas for a very different reason lately.

Seeing the news of the devastating flooding in Nepal has brought back so many memories of the places we visited and, especially, the people we met along the way….