Welcome to our Quilt Pattern Writers 2024 Block of the Month (BOM)!
We are so glad you are here to join us! Since 2024 is our first full year as Quilt Pattern Writers, this is also our first BOM. To celebrate the year, we have chosen twelve blocks representing our monthly themes for the year. When we were together for the week of Quilt Market, we filled out the entire 2024 calendar by week (some weeks it was even by day!). It's a good thing both of us are planners and organizers. LOL
How it works.
Each month, on the last Wednesday, we will send out a newsletter with that month's block, instructions, tips for designers, and the ability to purchase Adobe Illustrator digital images to add to a pattern you are writing.
The newsletter will include the link to download the block so you can sew along with us. It is written with standardized wording that we use here at Quilt Pattern Writers. That way, if you are a pattern designer, you can use the wording in your pattern. If you are a designer looking for a ghostwriter, you can see some of our work as we use this wording throughout the patterns we write. There will also be a link to purchase the digital diagrams you see in the pattern, made in Illustrator by our own Christina, to add to your patterns. There will be step-out diagrams, diagrams for standard units and assembly, as well as the finished block. Think of all the time you will save when you start adding these to your library! All for a nominal cost that you can write off as a business expense.
So what's next?
Are you a newsletter subscriber? Great!! Then you will get the January Block 1 on 12/27/2023. That first newsletter will also include the fabric requirements and cutting instructions for the entire year.
If you are not a subscriber, head on over to our website and sign up. It is as easy as that. We send out weekly newsletters to share inspiration, techniques, resources, and we feature monthly quilty guest bloggers.
At the end of 2024 when you have received the last BOM block, we will send out the finishing instructions so you can put your quilt together. Those instructions are also what we use in patterns when we write for designers, so they will be another great resource when you write your next pattern.
January's Block 1
For January, we chose our logo block, the Eddy Stone Light block (also called Monkey Wrench or Churn Dash). When designing our logo, we wanted a traditional block that had interest and could be constructed in several different ways. It is made with HST (Half Square Triangles) and Flying Geese but the Flying Geese could be turned into HST instead if you choose. You can also change the direction of the Flying Geese for a different version of the block.
The Eddy Stone Lighthouse is the most famous in the British Isles. Inaugurated in 1698, it was the first offshore lighthouse ever constructed, though the original structure lasted barely two years and there have been three others there since. We can only assume the lighthouse was the inspiration for this quilt block because there is not much written on its origins.
Funny side note. There is also an Eddy Stone Lighthouse song which seems to have originated in a considerably longer version as “The Man at the Nore” — the Nore was a lightship, which was an alternative to building offshore lighthouses. Apparently “The Man at the Nore” was quite a hit in mid-19th century British music halls, sung, according to contemporary sheet music, “by Arthur Lloyd, with rapturous applause.” Lloyd was a specialist in comic songs and one of the biggest stars of the early music hall.
Join Us
We hope you will join in the fun every month and make all twelve blocks. It's so fun to see how everyone puts their spin on a BOM quilt. And we would love you to share your blocks with the tags @quiltpatternwriters, #qpw2024bom, #qpw2024samplerquilt, and #qpw.
Watch your inbox for the newsletter that includes the description of the quilt along with links to the downloadable PDFs for notes, fabric requirements, cutting instructions, and the pattern for Block 1.
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If you are interested in working with our team, please send us an email at QuiltPatternWriters@gmail.com.
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