moda modern building blocks

Hi everybody and happy Monday! I hope that you had a great weekend. I was able to spend some time with friends enjoying barbeque in Brooklyn and saw the new movie Magic in the Moonlight. Loved it. Set in the French Riviera in the late 1920's, it's the story of a famous magician (Colin Firth) who sets out to prove that a medium who conjures the dead (Emma Stone) is a fraud and a con artist. Go see it for a fun, light-hearted, grown-up movie with absolutely no explosions, no superheroes and gorgeous scenery. But right before all of that, I started a new quilt! It's the Moda Modern Building Blocks quilt, Fig Tree style. Here's a rendering of the quilt that I borrowed from the Fresh Figs blog.

I liked the original quilt when I first saw photos of it from the Pittsburgh quilt market. You might have already seen that version, in quite a rainbow of solid fabrics. Joanna Figueroa then reinterpreted the quilt in Fig Tree colors. What I really love about this version is that there are some subtle tone-on-tone fabrics mixed in with the solids. Her quilt is being done as a block-of-the-month. But it was very popular and it sold out before I could sign up. Then when I was in Florida a few weeks ago, Joanna posted a photo of it on Instagram and mentioned that a few slots had opened up. But I was in meetings and didn't see that message until hours later! Luckily I was able to get into the program. Whew. The first month's shipment arrived late last week.

Three fabrics came with the first installment - Moda Bella solids in Royal, Carribean and Ivory. They look just like my Delray Beach photos! The quilt includes 48 blocks in measurements ranging from 6" all the way up to 36", with the finished quilt measuring 84" x 96".  (The Fig Tree version is now sold out, but there are kits for the original version at several online retailers. You can also buy just the pattern and use your own fabric. Just do a search for Moda Modern Building Blocks.)

I never thought that I'd make a 36" square block out of a bunch of oddly sized triangles and actually like it. Yes, a square yard!

I was SO happy when this block turned out perfectly. I didn't know if I could do it! There are also four 6" blocks to be made this month. I've done two of them already.

The 6" blocks remind me of the Farmer's Wife blocks. And the construction method is similar. The Moda pattern provides cutting directions and a diagram showing how the pieces of each block fit together. It does not include instructions on how to construct or press the blocks, so an understanding of block construction is needed. I'm making HSTs and flying geese units with my own method instead of cutting triangles wherever possible (I love using the Mini Fit To Be Geese ruler for absolutely perfect flying geese).

I might customize my quilt even further by substituting some of my Fig Tree stash for a few solids. You know... just to be different. 

I've seen that a few other quilters are planning to do two versions of this, one in solids and one in prints. I can be completely happy with just this one quilt. But I'm also dreaming about a second version in pastels and florals - for example, Lori Holt's upcoming Flower Patch collection would be perfect for this. Then I could gift one quilt and keep one for myself. But can I fit it all in to my schedule?! I'm going to be optimistic!