Block of the Month Sign Ups are Here!

Hello My Fig Tree Loving Friends-

Its that time of the year where we present our new BLOCK OF THE MONTH programs for 2018. This year we are doing 2 new ones and a redo of this year's RED & CREAM due to popular request... because who doesn't love a good red & cream quilt to add to their collection!

For those of you die hard Fig Tree fans, you know the drill... sign up as soon as you can while they are still available. For those of you new around here, here is some info about our BOM[Block-of-the-Month] programs:

• We run a few each year. Most of them are 12 month long, a few [like the Red & Cream] are 10 month. Each month you get a package of fabrics and directions for the blocks you need to make that month. If you keep up, by the end of the year, you will have an amazing sampler that you will be very, very happy with! 
• Why do a BOM you might ask? Most people do it for one of 3 reasons.. 1- Its fun to follow along with your Quilty friends via social media and work on the program together. We do a lot of posting on Instagram and now have a special Facebook group for everyone in one of the BOM programs. 2- Its a great way to make a more complicated quilt, a little bit at a time and it keeps you on pace all year, basically a way to be motivated to finish one month before the next one arrives and 3- You don't have to purchase all of the fabrics up front and get to do it a little bit at at time.
• Our programs are one of a kind and are usually not redone, unless we have a huge wait list for the original.

So here are some photos to wet your appetite... and all the info you might need is in the shop under each program.  

 

MYSTERY SAMPLER FOR 2018: AUTUMN SPLENDOR

 

WOOL BOM FOR 2018: FARMHOUSE ON CREAM

 

 

 

RED & CREAM SAMPLER 2018: REPEAT OF THIS YEAR'S WITH A WHOLE NEW ASSORTMENT OF YUMMY CREAMS AND REDS

 

If you want to shop, HERE is the link to our shop page.

Happy BOM's everyone!

 

It is FIG TREE CONTEST time!!

.... amazing prize for this contest from the lovely folks at MODA for all 6 winners!!

Welcome to April and the Fig Tree contest in the line up of MODA's 12 Designers/12Contests!!

We are so glad to be participating in this year long MODA adventure of creativity and contests [so far we have seen fun contests from French General, Sweetwater and Me & My Sister].For those of you who are new around here, welcome! For those of you who "talk" to me everyday on Instagram or elsewhere, welcome back!

I sure hope that you all join me for this… yes all of you… I want to see a serious amount of blocks my friends!

So here's the scoop, the skinny, the dirt…..

WHY:

You are creating & sewing a block to be used in one of our Mystery BLOCK OF THE MONTH programs- either one of our current programs Nantucket Seaside, Red & Cream, Vintage Baskets or perhaps a new upcoming one!!

Each year, we run a number of popular Block-of-the-Month programs and are in constant need of fun, traditional feeling blocks that will work in one of those programs.

... photos of a few of the blocks from our Mystery Sampler Quilt from 2015.

 

...images from the Yuletide Sampler BOM quilt that we ran in both 2015 and 2016.

 

...photos from last years Mystery Sampler BOM.


CONTEST INFO AND RULES

RULES:
1. You have to use mostly Fig Tree fabric but you can mix in any Bella Solid or little cream background prints you like. I do that all the time so its only fair that you get to do the same thing LOL! If you don’t have any cream left from any of our latest collections, my "go to" Bella solid is IVORY.

2. Your block has to be either a 6”, 9” or 10” block since those are the sizes that we are in the greatest need of as of right now!

If you want to do a grouping or a smaller one to compliment a larger one…. go for it! YOU CAN MAKE AS MANY BLOCKS AS YOU LIKE…. the more, the better... you have all month to submit them! Who knows, you might end up making your own Fig Tree Sampler in the process!

3. You have to email me a picture [if you’re not on Instagram] and I will post it or post it on IG with the hashtag #12contestsfigtree sometime during the month of April.

4. It can either be an original block that you create or a traditional quilt block that happens to be one of your favorites. Either is great since we use both in our samplers!!

5. As a little bonus, the first 16 entries will receive a mini charm in the mail, as soon as I see the photo! We also have little “contest baggies” available if you need some fun scraps to get you started. Each “contest baggy” has a piece of cream and some MODA scrap goodies.

WHEN:

The contest runs from April 5 through May 1. All winners will be announced on May 5.  We will have 6 winners... YES 6 WINNERS... and the winning blocks will be included in one of our Block of the Month programs! You will be given credit for the block in the program, you will receive an awesome prize from the amazing folks at MODA [yes that is the prize in the picture above] and we will be besties for life :-))). Oh yeah… and you will get special “early bird” sign up privileges for any Fig Tree program for next year! That’s worth it just right there I tell ya!

So get your sew on my friends!! And @yardgrl- since we all know you are the most prolific quilter in the world, we expect to see a few blocks from you for sure or a few hundred! Maybe we should have different rules for Susan… a block a day… what do you guys think??

Thanks for playing along this month! Now let's see who has the first 16 entries. Ready, set, go!!

2016 Mystery Fig Tree Sampler

As I write this, I should be finishing up the binding on this lovely 2016 project. My Instagram friends urged me to finish up the binding so that I could consider it a February finish and that is just the cheering section I need right about now to get this one done!

UPDATE: BINDING DONE [see last photo] !!

Sometimes I absolutely love binding and sometimes... well sometimes not so much [usually depending on what else I have to do at the same time]!

These annual samplers have surely become my favorite projects of all time. The one from 2015 was based a little bit more around a sherbet palette with navy as the darkest element [I will share some comparison photos in a few days]. This sampler from 2016 went a bit more retro and was based around my Farmhouse and Strawberry Fields collections and used a chalkboard black as the "grounding color" of the grouping. That might be one of my favorite elements this time around.

I chose the black gingham rose as the binding and I am just a little smitten with how it all turned out. Enjoy....

 

 

 

 

 

 

When we get a bit of warm weather and dry grass enough for a full photo shoot, I will include some more photos of the entire project!

If you joined us for this year long project, I really hope you are nearing completion on yours too. Would love to see your finished pics on Instagram!!

Joanna

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

 

Fig Tree Mystery Sampler II

UPDATE: The program is sold out as of now. We are so very sorry that it went so fast. We are trying to see if we can add any more spots but it all depends on fabric availability and how many more bolts we can find. If you are interested in a spot, please email us and we will add you to the wait list. Please understand that we are just not set up as as a standard quilt store and don't have the capability to cut, prepare and ship an unlimited amount of kits. We started these programs as a way of reaching customers that don't have a good local quilt store near them and their popularity has grown so tremendously each time that there is simply no way for us to keep up! We have already doubled and then tripled our initial BOM spots and we just can't keep up with the demand. Please don't be upset and know and understand that we are doing all we can to add more spots but we can only do so many.

I know that our new Retro Farmhouse Wool Sampler came and went so quickly on social media that I didn't even get a chance to post about it here so this time around I figured I would post here first!

Join us for our second annual Fig Tree Mystery Sampler II. A perfect project to work along on for 2016, this sampler will be just that… a wonderful sampler filled with more of our favorite blocks in sizes from 6" to 18". The sampler will have our signature "Fig Tree" feel and so even though it is a mystery… you know that you will love it!

This time around we will incorporate a few of our more "modern" or fresh blocks including some letters of the alphabet and our very popular Daisy block.

The blocks will still have our classic vintage feel, as many of them will indeed by vintage blocks… those are always our favorites!

Each month you will receive instructions for several blocks and many of the months will also include stand alone Fig Tree patterns to add to your collection. Its a fabulous deal all the way around!

The project will start in January and continue through to December. The fabrics will be mostly the ones shown from our newest collections, Farmhouse and Strawberry Fields, with a few additions. There will easily be over 17 yards of fabric!

There is just nothing better than working on a project piece by piece each month and having an amazing heirloom project to show for it when the year comes to a close. The first Mystery Sampler is potentially my favorite quilt that we have ever made and so of course we had to do it again! I sure hope you will join us. Click HERE for more info or to sign up.

Looking forward to a fabulous 2016!!