Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Vol. 13 Blog Tour + Giveaway - It All Adds Up

Welcome!  I have been anticipating my stop on Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Blog Tour and glad you here! If you are new to my blog, I'm Paige and you can read a little bit about me here.

I am so honored that my block and first published pattern, It All Adds Up, is included in this issue of 100 Blocks and I am participating in my first blog hop!

It All Adds Up block by Paige Alexander

I wanted fabrics with high contrast and chose Scribble Dot in Red from the Breezy Blooms collection by Susan Rooney for Benartex and Petite Plus, from the Black and White collection by Cotton and Steel, a division of RJR Fabrics.  The background is Kona Cotton in white by Robert Kaufman.

Petite Plus from Black and White by Cotton + Steel and Scribble Dot from Breezy Blooms

I forgot to take a picture after I added my signature to the block so here it is in the magazine, block #1253 on page 36.  You can tell I'm just a little excited, right?

It All Adds Up in Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Volume 13

I originally drew the plus sign block on graph paper and then digitized the design in EQ7.  Here is the 4 by 4 layout from EQ7 rendered in the same fabrics as the original block with the every other block rotated 90 degrees.

It All Adds Up with blocks rotated 90 degrees

And since you can quickly and easily swap out colors and fabrics in EQ7, here are a few variations in the same 4 by 4 block layout.

1. Each plus sign is a different color within the block and rendered in fabrics from the Flow collection by Zen Chick for Moda Fabrics.

It All Adds Up rendered in Flow by Zen Chic for Moda

2. This time all the plus signs are the same color, Tic in Pickle and the background is Blueberry Carpal Stone, both from Carolyn Friedlander's 4th fabric collection, Carkai, for Robert Kaufman Fabrics.

It All Adds Up rendered in Carkai Tic in Pickle and Blueberry Carpal Stone

3. More Carkai was used in this one and has more of a masculine feel.  The plus signs are Metallic Windowpanes in Navy and the background is Tic in Parchment.

It All Adds Up rendered in Carkai Metallic Windowpanes in navy and Tic in parchment

4. This one is rendered in batik blenders which coordinate with the Crystalia collection, the 2016 Hoffman Challenge fabric.

It All Adds Up in Hoffman batiks

5.  And one of my favorites is this one rendered using different fabrics from Handcrafted Indigo by Alison Glass for Andover Fabrics and a white background.

It All Adds Up rendered in Handcrafted Indigo

You can see the different looks achieved by using just one fabric, two fabrics or four different fabrics for the plus signs.  You could even make a scrap quilt and make each plus sign from a different fabric.  One plus sign can be easily cut from one charm square.

Quilts 1 through 5 were all designed from fabrics in the EQ Stash Online 2016 Download 01.

And now on to the Giveaways!

Giveaway #1.  The editors at Quiltmaker are sponsoring a giveaway for a copy of 100 Blocks Vol.13 and they will mail the magazine directly to you anywhere worldwide.

Cotton + Steel Basics

Giveaway #2.  I have a copy of 100 Blocks Vol. 13 plus 3 Cotton + Steel Basics charm packs (26 pieces total) to give away to one lucky person.  I will personally ship this giveaway to anyone worldwide.

How to enter:

1. Leave a comment letting me know if you have made or would like to make a plus sign quilt.

2. Followers, old and new alike, get a bonus entry.  Leave a second comment and let me know how you follow, either by Bloglovin, Instagram or Email.+

Update: Giveaway is now closed and winners will be notified.  Thank you for your comments!

The giveaway will run through Thursday, May 12th and close at 8pm.  I normally respond to every comment received, but during the giveaway the volume may be to large for me to do so. Please leave your e-mail address so I have a way of contacting you if you are a no-reply blogger.

I hope you have enjoyed the 100 Blocks blog tour this week at Quiltmaker's blog, Quilty Pleasures . To see all of the creative and original blocks in this issue, 100 Blocks Vol. 13 is available on the newsstands now or you can order 100 blocks from Quiltmaker to see other great blocks included in this issue.