Greetings from the home of easypatchwork. My name is Karen Ackva, owner, designer, creater, writer, illustrator, photographer, creative content manager, community supporter and cheerleader. If you are new here, thanks for stumbling across my website and blog, especially the Transparendo Sewalong. Transparendo is the newest quilting book featuring a modern sampler quilt using transparent quilt blocks to make a comfy-sized sofa quilt ~ 60" x 80".
We are entering our twelvth week of the sewalong. The pattern is setup with the easiest blocks first followed by more difficult blocks; the difficulty increases with each block. Being in our 12th of 15th week and knowing there are 12 blocks in the quilt, that means we have already advanced the the harder blocks.
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Happy Thanksgiving Weekend
To some of you that may be wondering, no we don't celebrate Thanksgiving in Germany, at least not in the American-style. There is "Erntedankfest" which is more of a religious holiday celebrating the harvest and giving harvested foods as a donation to the church. It sounds like how the original Thanksgiving fest was probably intended by the pilgrims settling in the new colonies of America. Some celebrate and some don't but it isn't a nationwide holiday.
As an expatriate (American citizen living in Germany), I still celebrate the holiday with my bi-national family being the second most important holiday in my year. Since everyone has to work on that day, we move it over to the following weekend. The next Sunday is usually the First Christmas Advent, but not this year. It is a extra special way to celebrate Thanksgiving and the start of the Christmas Season.
We will be celebrating later today with a turkey breast with gravy, whole-berry cranberry sauce, creamed peas, rosemary potatoes. We will enjoy a little pumpkin and pecan pie with fresh whipped cream for dessert. All of the food prepared is homemade. I have learned how to make pumpkin puree, pie pastries from scratch. I also know where to go to get pecans and fresh cranberries to cook and bake with them. It requires a little preparation, but is well worth the effort. I am very much a foodie, getting healthier by the day, and love the taste mother nature has enriched us with her bountiful autumn harvest foods such as pumpkin, a large variety of squashes, sweet potatoes, kale, pecans, walnuts, berries, farro, couscous, etc.
I am very grateful that my family supports me, usually on these Sunday mornings, where I write a blog post. I receive fresh coffee brought to my "office" and a sunday breakfast while writing the post.
Thank you family - husband, son and daughter for your continued support.
Wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend, hopefully shared with the ones you love and are thankful for. Enjoy life's precious moments with graditute and grace.
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Are you sewing along with us? You still can jump in and make 12 blocks for the quilt top as shown in the book and enter your finished quilt top for the random drawing in Week 15 for your chance to win a full-version copy of EQ8 sponsored by our platinum sponsor - The Electric Quilt Company.
Verena from einfach bunt Quilts and I love sewing your blocks and look forward to seeing your finished quilt top in our Transparendo Sewalong (#transaprendosal). This week's hashtag is #transparendosalw10 for Week Ten, Block Nine.
Please sign up for our newsletters to keep on top of the sewalong.
Sewalong Schedule
What is in store for you over the remaining weeks? Take a look at our line up. Each week there is a fun, new assignment to complete. The blocks accelerate in skill level with each new block and build upon previous blocks. Learn all types of new skills such as flying geese, nesting and twisting seams, and cutting extra-large pieces of fabric for squares and triangles.
Post your progress on Instagram with the hashtags: #transparendosal and the week - #transparendosalw1 (week one, etc.) for your chance to be entered into a drawing. If you don't have instagram, you can send me a photo with your fabric selection at 72 dpi with a resolution of 800 pixels or less. The following Sunday, one lucky recipient will be chosen at random. Our sewalong is open internationally, so get out those sewing machines ladies (and gents)!
Week 12 Prize
In Week 12, we have Quilter's Dream Fusible 80/20 batting from our favorite batting company, Quilter's Dream in Virginia.
We also have a set of Magic Pins from Taylor Seville, Europe sponsored by Steidl & Becker.
Week 12 - (Block 11) Splendid Alps
The Alps are ever present in Bavaria and Southern Germany. Looking over the landscape, when the sun sets reflects off the tips of the Alps, perfect shadows dance across the scenery, creating depth and story through a subtle transition of colors.
I really love how the look of layering triangles on top of each other creates this lovely and interesting block. It is a more difficult block to sew, so give yourself some more time to sew it together in sections.
For all of you who choose to sew the block instead of skipping it, a hearty applause to you! This was my most feared block to sew. I actually sewed it last, because I know it is very difficult. There are so many points to line up. I ripped several seams, resewed seams and took more time than usually. I stayed calm and dipped into my "cup of patience" for a truly beautiful block.
I did not take any step-by-step photos of this block construction, because all of my patience was needed to sew the block together. My apologies for not having a lot of eye-candy this week.
This is my Slendid Alps block using the current fabrics for our sewalong.
Sails in the Wind - Block 10, Week 11 in the Transparendo Sewalong - #transparendosalw11
The sewing on the back of the block is sometimes a big help to understand how the block was constructed. Here I am lifting the secrets if you didn't purchase the pattern, so you can see exactly how the patches are sewn together and how they are pressed. I don't like to press seams open unless there are half-square-triangles involved.
Quilt Design Ideas
Here are a few mockups I designed with the EQ8 software. It allows you to audition different colorations with the click of a mouse button. With some slight tweeking, you can create different designs with a gentle shift in color.
My Tip
Sew the block together and press in the directions stated in the instructions. If you are a quilter who likes to press seams open, take a deep breath and try this method. If may not be for you, but it also might "float your boat" and be the way to go in the future.
Our Sponsors
We've been working really hard behind the scenes to bring some amazing prizes to our participants. We are so happy to announce our fabulous sponsors!
Gold Sponsors:
The wonderful folks at the
Electric Quilt Company are sponsoring our Finale Prize of one full version of EQ8 at the end of the sewalong Week 15. To enter your finished quilt top with all blocks and borders, photograph and forward to me or post on Instagram. If you would like to purchase the program, we have a PROMOTIONAL CODE to receive 25% off the software. Enter EASYPATCHWORK25 at checkout. If you live outside of the US, you will be sent a physical item in the mail. After you receive the package, you will be informed how to download and install the software on your system. Please follow the
Electric Quilt Company on Instagram and subscribe to their newsletter for other great deals.
The winner of this week's drawing is wieder Freia! You will be contacted shortly about how to collect your prize. Thank to all for participating. We look forward to seeing your beautiful blocks next week as well.
Please participate in next week's drawing. Take a photo and post for all of us to see on Instagram or send to me info@easypatchwork.de or
Verena with a resolution of 72 dpi no larger than 800 pixels. One lucky participant will be chosen at random. The giveaway is open internationally. Void where prohibited. Open to quilters 18 years of age and older. Good luck to all. Thanks for joining us!
Preview
We look forward to seeing you next week, where we will be showcasing Moon Over Tokyo with an extra special prize! Stay tuned!
Please leave a comment below and tell everyone that your are sewing along. Be supportive and comment and contact other participants. We would love to hear your thoughts. Take care of yourself and keep on sewing happy.
