Mystery Sampler Updates

Well hello everyone!

We are now starting to prepare month #3 packages for all of our 2016 Block of the Month programs and so it seemed like a perfect time for some updates here on the blog.

For more regular updates, follow me on Instagram as I post there much more often there! I am figtreeandco  !!

 

MYSTERY SAMPLER BOM

Can I say that I am already in love with this sampler and I don't even know how its going to turn out in the end?

… month #1 blocks above.

 

If you are signed up for our Mystery Sampler Block of the Month program, you just received your second month last week and hopefully you are working away at some of those fun blocks… see below.

 

I can't wait to add some orange and grey into next month's block selection!

Here are a few hints and tips on BLOCK OF THE MONTH SUCESS [this is true for any BOM you are participating in anytime]:

1. Stay current. Really. Do whatever you can in the beginning to stay current. This year we started off with more simple blocks and less of them at the beginning so that we wouldn't lose too many of you to…. well to the stuff of life! I know that life can definitely get in the way of our sewing. As it should. But that is the great thing about the block of the month programs…. you only have to do a few blocks a month and if you stay caught up, you will have something amazing at the end of the year. 
2. Set aside some special BOM time. This is especially true if you are doing several different ones. For many of us that would be on the weekend or in the evening after all the other needs and duties have been met. Find a special time that you block off and set aside for BOM time. This is good advice even just for sewing in general but certain works for BOMs especially.
3. Be organized. I can't stress this enough but i find that I fall prey to the same disorganization as everyone else. Make little baggies. Label your fabric. Keep all your scraps. Put your directions in a folder. Before that… go and find yourself a beautiful folder from a place like Staples or Target. Use this is an excuse to buy that lovely little folder that you wouldn't have any real need for before. You have a need now. So go and get one…. and then use it! You would be surprised at how many emails I get about lost and missing instructions!
4. Share. It is very motivating to share your progress on these monthly programs with others who are working alongside you… well, at least alongside you on the world wide web LOL! We share on Instagram and if you have a smart phone…. IG is very easy to get started and is highly fun, addictive and does not take too much time if you don't want it to. I highly recommend it. If you decide to join and you want to find me, I am figtreeandco .  Facebook is a bit more of an enigma to me. If any of you in the program are interested in starting a Facebook group for the BOM, contact me. I post on Facebook through Instagram but am never quite sure how best to share everything there.
5. Have fun and don't stress! We give you lots of directions and lots of fabrics but if you want to vary something, add something, make something more scrappy or make 2 versions of something… go for it. Just don't forget to share because we want to see what you are doing!!
6. A few specific tips for those of you in the program: #1- When working on the BEAR CLAW blocks, the intention of the instructions was to make 2 identical blocks, both the same color combos. If you decided to mix up the colors in a different way or did so unintentionally… great! Don't worry about it!  #2- Don't stress about the appliqué center of the Daisy block. It is not too hard, a fairly easy shape to turn and you can wait until the end if you don't want to do it now. Or you can do it with fusible web if you prefer. Just don't stress! #3- Take your time on the Sweet Sugar Swirls block. Any time angles are involved, people get a bit nervous. My best tip to you is that if you slow down, sew and cut accurately then you will most likely be fine. Remember to check if your angle is still at a 45º angle after 2 diamond cuts. Checking might be a pain but it is well worth it to catch any slipping of your ruler. If you have really never worked with angles, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you take my Craftsy class on angles. I know that this might sound like a shameless plug, but I have had hundreds of people tell me that they would freeze when it came to angles until they took my class. This is not necessarily because it or I am so greatl…. LOL… but because it really, really helps to see someone else do it first and then try it! Here is the link if you are interested.

 Happy Sewing My Friends!

 

Joanna

 

Introducing...

edit: All links are good to go now. So sorry for the technical issues this morning!

 

So I was wondering what you would say if I were to ask you what is the most common question I get, what do you think it would it be?

There are always questions about designing fabric, about my color palette, about how I learned to do what I do. Then there are questions about my studio and how I organize my fabric and how I design patterns and how I decorate.

But easily the most common questions or confusion I get from my students regarding quilting is about angles. Hands down. There is something about working with bias and angles that either scares the "bijeebies" out of us or we have never really learned how to work with them in the first place. The result is that we make so many mistakes right off the bat that we give up and declare... "I can't do angles" or " I can't work with bias" or "that is just way to hard for me, there's just no way!"

Well as I started thinking about what I wanted to do for my second CRAFTSY class, it was not hard to decide that I wanted to focus on angles and answer all those angle questions on camera where all of you could look at it again and again until you feel confident enough to do it yourself. And the idea for this class was born.

In the class, I start with some angle basics and a fairly straightforward quilt and work with the techniques that we learn in the class to build some wonderful designs and quilts.  I address common problems and mistakes and show you variations and different ways of adapting the projects.

I am so excited to share this class with you that I am just a bit giddy. I guess this doesn't just feel like a class to me but like me answering your questions in a way that  I KNOW WILL HELP YOU!

 

First up... JELLY GIRL

 

 

 

 Second, FRESH DIAMONDS

 

 

 

And last but certainly not least, SUNSET STARS

 

 

Soooo....

If you would like to make all those quilts and learn all I have to teach about angles... sign up now and.... GET 50% OFF THE CLASS [limited time only].

Click HERE get more info on the class!

... or if you would like to get both classes, here is a special $10 off on my first class too!

Click HERE for Simple Fresh Quilts!