Monday, April 17, 2023

Rainbow Neighbourhood QAL - House Block 3



Hello, and welcome to week 3 of the Rainbow Neighbourhood QAL. First things first: I have a little surprise for you: last week I invited everyone to link up their first house block, and eight people did. I know there are more people quilting along, and I'm hoping that those who have bought the pattern (five this past week!) will join in too. Well, I recently won 50 fat quarters from The Fabric Nook, and so I am sending one off to Kathleen in Maine! More sharing to come!

All right, let's talk about making a third house.

So far, I've made house style #1 which is a plain front, no windows, and last week I made house #2, which has two windows and a door.

I worked ahead last week and decided to make a green house, maybe because it was suddenly summer here with highs in the mid to upper 20s! We're back to spring, and a cool spring couple of days as of this post. I made house style #4 because that is the green style in the pattern and I need the twin quilt to match the pattern layout diagrams!
This one has a little porch peak over the door and a transom window.

I'm doing a little fussy-cutting for the doors and windows of two of the batiks in the 'Broken Glass' line that I'm mainly using. This will give a little unity to the quilt, and, as I mentioned before, they have a bit of a stained glass effect. There aren't any greens in the line, so I've used some Basics and Blenders and some previous lines from when I was an ambassador. They all play very well together!

If you are making the twin quilt, you have a little extra homework. You will need to make two round trees. They sew up in a blink.
I didn’t read my own pattern carefully! I cut 2.5” squares for the four corners instead of 2” squares. They look fine to me though so I’ve left them as is. 


A note about the round trees and the evergreen trees: since they are the exact same size of block, they are interchangeable. Maybe you only want round trees in your neighbourhood. Maybe you only want evergreen trees. Maybe you just want one evergreen and three round trees. Maybe you want four seasons of trees... Again, endless possibilities for personalizing your quilt! Speaking of houses and trees and seasons...

My actual house! Took this today, April 16, magnolia in full frothy pink regalia. 


I'm featuring two more of my lovely sponsors this week:

I got to know Lisa of Quilty Zest when she was the editor of Benartex's Modern by the Yard ezine.
I submitted a design, my first ever to a magazine, On the Plus Side, and it got accepted. Over the next several years, I had several of my designs published in the ezine. Lisa is a Benartex Brand Ambassador and she also creates projects for Heat n Bond. You can find her patterns in her Etsy shop. She has developed a technique she calls Strippy Improv, and is it every fun! I made her Strippy Improv Hearts pattern, but adapted it to a mini:

She is offering one winner a free PDF pattern of their choice.

Make Modern is another sponsor who has been with me all seven years. I love the Australian ezine for several reasons: its environmental footprint, which is nil because it's digital, its global designers, and the variety of quilts in each issue.

I've been an affiliate for a few years now, (so the links to MM here are affiliate links) and I've had two quilts published by them, with a third coming out in the November issue.


Make Modern is offering a 6-month magazine subscription to one lucky winner.

Happy sewing this week!

10 comments:

  1. I'm so happy to have finished up house #2, which I made green for Spring, and get started on House #3! Your green house is lovely, Sandra. I might try a different door and window this time, too!

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  2. Whoo! So darn excited to win a FQ from you (assuming I am the Kathleen in Maine). Love the first block. I'm wrangling with my website, but hope to get 2 more in this week. Love the green block....haven't yet decided on my new colors.

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  3. I love how customizable this pattern is, Sandra. I'm so glad for real spring weather starting to arrive here as well. Have a wonderful week!

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  4. I actually made two blocks last week. I'm just marching to my own drummer here but I find it interesting and fun. I'll see how much I like doing trees and flowers.

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  5. Thanks for the nice call out! :)

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  6. My third house is already done. Sending photo through tomorrow & yes Make Modern is a great magazine & having met one of the very nice young ladies who run the ezine at AQC, I know they are all dedicated to making it worthwhile. I love how we can make it so personal too & have a few out of the box ideas to come. Thanks so much for this QAL, take care & hugs from down under.

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  7. Hi Sandra! Congrats to Kathleen. I'm sorry to have bailed on your QAL but I am enjoying seeing those posts from those who are able to play along. Your magnolia tree is just GORGEOUS. Happy Monday to you. {{Hugs}} ~smile~ Roseanne

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  8. Oh my, I am definitely behind! Still working on #2! LOL Congrats to Kathleen on the fat quarter...and YOU for winning 50 fat quarters!

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  9. I’m thinking hard about house number 3. The Card Trick Star block was hard for me. I’ll pick an easier one this week! 🙂

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  10. Ooh, I hope the wacky spring weather roller coaster doesn't zap your magnolia. I'm on my way home from NC and the dogwoods and redbuds and azalias have brightened my drive. Love all the house blocks and wish I had been able to join in.
    Pat

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