A reason to celebrate

Moda Blockheads 3 is in full-swing, and so far this free year-long quilt-along is off to a great start. What started as an interesting idea and small project is now in its third round and is a smashing success!

Back in 2017, Moda started this fun project with six of its designers – Lisa Bongean, Betsy Chutchian, Lynne Hagmeier, Jo Morton, Jan Patek and Carrie Nelson – all of whom are known as designers with a traditional style. Between them, they created 48 different quilt blocks. Each week a block was revealed for free so that anyone who wanted to join in and sew along could do so.

That little project has since evolved into a huge community of more than 30,000 members in our Facebook group, and here we are on round 3 this year! You can find round 2 – including all of the blocks – here on the Zen Chic blog. I’m also a proud member of the second and this current third round of Moda Blockheads along with 13 other Moda designers.

And to celebrate the success of Moda Blockheads, the first edition is now available as a book from Martingale. It contains all 48 blocks, plus some quilt settings. You can see in the picture gallery how very versatile these quilts can be by using different sashings, or different settings, as well as which fabrics and colors are used to give them a certain mood.

While this style of very traditional quilts isn’t typically seen here on the Zen Chic blog, I’m sure they would also look completely fantastic with modern fabrics too. As you can see with our current round of Blockheads, it doesn’t matter which block you use, but it does matter which fabric you choose. That’s part of why I love this inspiring sampler book!

We’re giving away a free ebook version of this book to one lucky winner!

To win, leave a comment below telling us which of the six different settings is your favorite.

**The giveaway is now closed, congratulations to Michelle Ford!

And now on to this week’s Block for our year-long sew-along… Ready?

FREE QUILT ALONG BLOCKHEADS 2020
BLOCK #15
STARRY EYED

A big part of the fun of Blockheads is the feeling of having a little surprise to look forward to each week. It’s such a joy to see a new unique and creative block created by Moda designers revealed weekly, and I really enjoy sharing them!

If you’re new to Blockheads, we share a free block pattern each week in this year-long quilt-along. You’re welcome to go back through the last several blog posts to catch up and join in any time. Be sure to check out this post to find out what fabrics you’ll need to create your own unique sampler quilt using free block patterns from Moda designers each week.

And if you’ve been participating and sewing along, come share your blocks with us in our wonderful Facebook community or on Instagram using the hashtags #modablockheads and #modablockheads3. What makes Moda Blockheads such a special experience are the new friends and the camaraderie of participating in this project together over a year’s time.

You can also go back and check out Blockheads 2, our last round of Moda Blockheads. Like round 3 is turning out to be, it was a fabulous time with a great community of quilters and lots of new friendships.

This week brings us Block 15, Starry Eyed from Moda designer Corey Yoder. Be sure to visit her blog to check out her designs and see her contribution to Moda Blockheads 3 this week.

Don't miss the other blockheads involved in this project:

Betsy Chutchian
Corey Yoder of Coriander Quilt
Janet Clare
Jan Patek
Jen Kingwell
Joanna Figueroa of Fig Tree
Jo Morton
Laurie Simpson
Lisa Bongean of Primitive Gatherings
Lissa Alexander of Moda
Lynne Hagmeier of Kansas Troubles
Me & My Sister Designs
Robin Pickens
Sherri McConnell of A Quilting Life
Stacy Iest Hsu
Vanessa Goertzen of Lella Boutique
Carrie Nelson

Stay tuned… Each week I’ll reveal more of my layout with the next block!

Which one of the quilt settings from Blockheads 1 is your favorite? Share with us below and enter to win the book!