It seems as if we have been working on this project forever! And it’s still not technically finished, but enough that we can show you. Here’s the background:
We have had so much fun with our Block of the Month quilts for Feed Company and Holly’s Tree Farm. We have had an overwhelming response to those two quilts and we hope you are enjoying the process. Of course, the Feed Company BOM isn’t quite over with and Holly hasn’t even started. But what about Varsity? We wanted to do something special for this collection, but not exactly the same as Feed Co and Holly. The reason? The Varsity collection could be so personal. I mean, nobody cheers for the same team, has a child or grandchild with the same school colors or participates in the same activities. So designing a set of generic graphics for blocks didn’t seem right for Varsity. So we had an idea.
What if you could pick your colors for your very own quilt? And then pick the words, names, numbers and dates for each block? Every. Single. Block. Well, that would make us crazy. As in, what were we thinking?, kind of crazy. Because designing hundreds of blocks with all different colors and words might make us a little crazy this summer. But we are going to do it! Why? Because it is going to be sooooooooooooo cool!!!
Here are the details:
- To participate, you first choose the fabric you would like to use in the quilt. We made it simple. For the quilt top, you only have to choose two. If you want your quilt to be red and white, just choose the red stars and red plaid. If you want to mix it up and make a navy a green quilt, choose one navy and one green. If your child has school colors that involve purple, just go for the grays and then you can mix in the purple with the blocks you choose. Here are the possibilities:
- Next, we thought the rugby stripes would make the perfect binding. So you get to choose which color stripe you would like.
- Finally, you can choose to add the backing. The backing is optional- you can add it to your order, but you don’t have to. Here is the backing fabric.
Now is when the fun begins. It’s all about the personalization. First, here is a digital image of the quilt. Because the sample isn’t finished yet. Of course.
Now here is another image of the quilt.
You will notice that the first image has 12 personalized blocks and the second has 6. That’s because you can choose how many you would like in your quilt. Maybe you want 12. Or maybe 6 is just right for you. Heck, maybe you want 3 rows of personalized graphic blocks and order 18. The choice is yours because you can order them individually. Please note that when you order the fabric kit, you will have enough fabric to make either the quilt with 6 or 12 or 18 personalized blocks. If you choose more than 6 personalized blocks, please note that you will have a small amount of fabric left over. To make pillows, right?!!!
There are 12 designs, and virtually endless color options. Additionally, you can choose 6 of the same design made in different colors and text or you can order one of each design. The choice is yours. For example, lets say your son has 6 favorite sports players. You can choose six of these blocks with different names, numbers and colors:
I need to stress this point. This quilt doesn’t have to be all about sports. That’s what I love about the fabric- it’s inspired by sports, but not over-sporty. You know what I mean. For instance, I think the yellow and gray in this collection would make a beautiful baby quilt. Here could be one of the blocks:
Or how about a graduation quilt. This is a perfect block for that as well:
And even though we give you lots of color options, we think a quilt with gray personalized blocks would be very cool. You can then add any color with the embroidery floss you choose. Here are a couple of them in gray.
Another point to stress. We can put almost any word on the block. In this block, we can use any name or word. For a Cornhusker fan:
Your teenager may want their school printed on the block:
Or one of their activities:
This design is fun- you can use your child’s initials, your college or just a word.
Hopefully you get the idea. Here is a look at all the designs you can personalize.
Now you can use your imagination to create something very special for someone you love. We named this quilt “Spirit”. To be honest, we almost named the fabric collection Spirit. I’m glad we went with Varsity, because the name “Spirit” fits this quilt perfectly. Everyone has their own spirit. And nobody’s looks the same. Perfect.
Here are some other details about this project you need to know.
- This is all a pre-order. If you want to participate, please get your order in now. The deadline to sign up is May 14th.
- We will be working on the blocks all summer, and sending them as we get them done- but could be anytime from June until August. The sooner you sign up, the sooner you will have them as we will go in order of sign-ups.
- The fabric kit will not be shipped until late August or early September. As soon as we get the fabric, we will ship it to you.
- To recap that, we will send the blocks before the fabric. This is so you can be working on the blocks before the fabric gets here. However, we can’t guarantee a date you will receive the blocks. Again, it will be between June and August, depending on the order you sign up.
- The cost of the blocks will be charged at the time of sign-up.
- 1/2 of the fabric kit will be charged now, and half when we ship. Shipping charges will be added at the time of shipping and will depend on location. We only charge exact shipping costs based on your location, no handling fees are charged.
- This is not a Block of The Month program. All of your blocks will come at one time. A big reason for this is we wanted you to have enough time to get the quilt done for Christmas!
- Because we don’t want to be in trouble with a trademarking situation, we won’t put entire names of professional franchises on the block. I don’t want to be in trouble with the NFL. Or NBA. Or anybody, really! For example, if I wanted to make a block for my beloved Denver Broncos, I will probably only put “Denver” or “Broncos” on the block. But not both.
And I can get my favorite player in there without getting in trouble with him. Because I really don’t want to get in trouble with Peyton.
We need to give you a couple of hints when choosing your colors.
- If you are concerned the color printed on your block won’t match your desired color exactly, consider ordering all your blocks in gray and adding the color with your embroidery floss. We will have an example of this soon!
- If one of the colors you would like to have in the blocks is maroon, we suggest you not use red in any of the other blocks, or in the fabric. They will clash!
- If you want your blocks to be a color that isn’t in the “Varsity” collection, we suggest you choose the grays as your fabric choice. For example, if all of your personalized blocks are orange, the gray fabric will make the orange blocks the focal point of the quilt.
- For a cohesive look, try using just a few colors for all of your blocks.
- On one of the blocks we are working with, because we chose red as the main color in the quilt, we are using red as the embroidery color for most of the blocks. All of the blocks in this quilt will be printed in either yellow or gray and embroidered with red, cream and gray.
Whew. I think that’s it. For more information and to order, click here.
Oh I forgot! If you don’t embroider, please don’t think you have to embroider the blocks to participate in this project. Even though the embroidery gives the block texture and depth (and really looks cool), the personalized blocks would look great without the embroidery as well!
One more thing- if you want to get a head start on your quilt, and win a block, just leave us a comment on what you would personalize one of your blocks with. We will pick 3 winners in a few days. Oh, and because this project might be a little confusing, make sure to contact us if you have questions. Have a great Monday!