You can't have enough quilt inspiration, can you? Or in my case I can say, not enough modern quilt inspiration. One of my favorite magazine for modern quilts is SIMPLY MODERN from Quiltmania. Quiltmania curates always a selection of quilts, which are unique. Sometimes they are a bit labor intense, but that is, what makes them so special!

So here comes issue 13, at newsstands now.
This summer issue is brimming of fresh ideas. 
It shows a special selection of Simply Modern's favorite discoveries during this year’s Quiltcon in California.
The line-up of brilliant artists includes:
Christine Perrigo, a machine quilting virtuoso passionate about Modern Quilts and
Maria Shell, a visionary quilter whose work on deconstructing and re-interpreting quilts is unparalleled.

13 projects hand-crafted by Odile Bailloeul, Emma Coutancier, Anne-Marie Saudo, Brigitte Heitland (that's me, yeah!) and several other exciting designers.

To celebrate the arrival of this summer’s season, Margarita Korioth has prepared a special technique for sun painted cloth.

I'm very proud to see my own work also featured in this issue No 13 (see below):
The quilt on the left is called Fracture - it is designed and made by Emma Coutancier from Atelier d'Emma in France, it uses a unique quilt technique and it is made from my collection Fragile (so it caught my eye at once).

The pictures in the middle and on the right show my own quilt, Rolling Smart. The inspiration came from the 70s with popping colors and huge rounded signs. Fabrics in this quilt are an assortment of Bella Solids plus my group Modern Backgrounds Colorbox as a low volume background.

You can get your own copy of Quiltmania issue 13 right here.

But wait, there is more going on at Zen Chic. This week it's my turn to introduce you to the new block of our project Blockheads:

FREE QUILT ALONG BLOCKHEADS 2018
BLOCK 4
ROMAN CROSS

I'm very happy to be your this week's host with Moda Blockheads 2018 (Round 2) project. Have you already joined our facebook group? If not, than jump in and see all the different variations of fabrics people are sewing with. 

Last week's  Block 3, a 6" Block, was a piece of cake, wasn't it? This week our block is a little bit more challenging, but you can make it, no worries. 

Block 4, Roman Cross

The instructions will guide you through steps for simple piecing. Just be careful not to stretch the triangles, cut on the bias, too much!

While I keep the colored patches in my blocks really structured (means symmetrical and clear), I go very random with my low volume background pieces (collection Paper). I don't plan too much on their placement, just grab one and go. And I like this scrappy background effect, while the clear color placement keeps everything together.

If you are like me, always striving for precision - you might also like an alternative piecing version: Foundation paper piecing. This is how I put mine together. It needs a bit more time, for sure, but I don't have to struggle with stretched bias edges of the triangles or unparalleled lines. So for the ones, who want to use the foundation paper piecing: I made a template, you can download it using the button below. Make sure you check "print actual size" on your printer's dialog box (as a proof you can also check the size of the squares for the nine patch on your template. They should measure 2 1/8").

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

Betsy Chutchian
Corey Yoder of Coriander Quilt
Jan Patek
Jo Morton
Laurie Simpson
Lisa Bongean of Primitive Gatherings
Lynne Hagmeier of Kansas Troubles
Me & My Sister Designs
Sherri McConnell of A Quilting Life
Stacy Iest Hsu
Vanessa Goertzen of Lella Boutique
Carrie Nelson

OTHER IDEAS TO MAKE WITH THE ROMAN CROSS BLOCK

I had fun to play around with the block a bit, so I tried a variation with Bella Solids and some scraps from Colorbox The block can be enlarged to 16" x 16" and make for a nice pillow cover. The pictures below show the paper piecing technique in action..

WHAT ABOUT COMBINING 3  BLOCKS FOR A TABLE RUNNER?

Add a bit of a sashing and a border and voilà!
I hope you have so much fun with this block as I had!