BOMs Away 2020 Week 3: Modern Bohemia

Linking up again this week with Lynette and the BOMS Away! gang over at What A Hoot! Quilts!

Whew!  Last week I had to play catch up and make three blocks for two BOMs.  The good news is this week I can focus on just one BOM --- although this week I will still be making a bunch of blocks!

This week the "BOM" I'm working on is what I'm calling "Modern Bohemia".  It is the "Bohemian Charm" quilt published in the Better Homes and Gardens "bookzine" Sew Scrappy - Volume 2 from 2011.

I'm a fan of scrappy quilts and have enjoyed seeing a lot of the "Mod" print fabrics that have come out in recent years.  This quilt, using a very scrappy mix of those fabrics, definitely appealed to me.  I consider myself a "modern traditionalist" quilter so tend toward making traditional style projects with the "modern" part being the techniques employed to create them.  However, I loved this one because it used a traditional block -- "Churn Dash" -- with the "modern" slant being the fabric used to make them.  As a quilter, an excuse to stash a bunch of fabric you don't normally buy is always an opportunity to take advantage of!

So this is not a traditional BOM per se --- instead my goal is to make a bunch of blocks each month to add to the pile and then see if I can tease out a pleasing quilt in the end from what I produce.  I've long wanted to start this project but admit it was hard to block out time to just continually make blocks to go towards this.  I figured if I set it up so I was making a few blocks a month then taking a breather between sessions would help me bring fresh eyes to both the fabric stash and the accumulated blocks over time.  This would also allow me to keep my focus the rest of the month on sewing up projects that have a more direct pattern-blocks-top-finish trajectory.

About that stash:  I've spent a few years amassing a bunch of what to my eye read "modern" prints.  Maybe "graphic " is a better term?  It was fun to just pick up a half yard, fat quarter or remnant cut here and there to add to the pile!

The original pattern called for making blocks in 16", 10", 6" and 4" size which required some cutting of 1/8" measurements.  I decided to simplify that and make blocks 12", 9", 6" and 3" instead.  That meant I'd get to do the other thing I like in quilting:  use a gadget!  The Churn Dash block is basic so it works well die cut.  The Accuquilt Churn Dash die  (9" finished) was the third "BOB" die I bought.  "BOB" stands for "Block On Board" which means all the pieces needed to make the block are all on one die board (although there are some BOBs that are two-die sets).

All this was cut in one pass!

What I liked about it was that like the Accuquilt Value die, it is a three-shapes-in-one die: it cuts the 3-1/2" (unfinished) Square, 3-1/2" (unfinished) Half-square Triangles and 2" x 3-1/2" (unfinished) Bars.  When you consider that those Square and HST sizes are also available on separate dies, it made this one a bargain in my eyes.  While you could just make Churn Dash blocks with this die, you can also use the Square and HST shapes to cut pieces for other blocks that use those finished size pieces and you can can die cut the Bars to make Rail Fence blocks.

Accuquilt does have both a Studio 12" Churn Dash and Go! Big 12" Churn Dash die but neither work with my regular Go! machine.  However Accuquilt also began offering a 12" Churn Dash die bundle and since I already had the Value die included in that bundle, I decided to watch the sales and get the 4" (finished) HST and the 2" x 4" (finished) Rectangles dies when the opportunity arose so I could make that size Churn Dash too.   For the 6" finished size I can use the squares and HSTs on the Value die that came with my machine and for the bars can use my Log Cabin die which was the second BOB die I purchased (and you can see the very first one I purchased here).  However, this time around since I was only making one block, I just die cut extra squares, sewed them together and trimmed them down to make the pieced bar unit the size I needed.  For the 3" finished size block I also eventually purchased the 1" (finished) Square and HST dies.  After piecing two squares together, I will again trim them down to make the 1" finished set of bars.

I admit I had the most fun shopping for all those fabrics with bold prints and a lot of color.  I'm a little concerned as to whether I have enough tone-on-tone prints for backgrounds.  I thought the blocks in the pattern alternated using the TOT prints in both the background and foreground but now see that in the patterned quilt they are used mostly in the background.  I may vary that though as I progress.

The fun thing about this project is I won't mind having leftover fabric or extra blocks.  I've purchased so many fun modern prints that I've also collected a bunch of books, magazines and patterns to help use up any leftovers.

So this will probably be an extended quilt series in the making!  This a very experimental BOM for me and a second attempt at making a quilt with a little improvisation.  Should be fun!