Prairie Point Favorites
Block Party 2022
Prairie Point Block Party 2022 begins in September 2021. This program runs for 12 months, until August 2022.
Read on to learn more, then sign up to join us!
Prairie Point has been around for many years, and over those years, we have developed a distinct genre loved by us and our customers alike. This year, we’re taking the opportunity to celebrate our favorites!
GARDEN PARTY
Gather round to celebrate all of our favorite Moda Designers. This quilt is guaranteed to be playful, colorful, and downright charming. With all of these great designers, the Garden Party is bound to be a hit! Some of the featured designers include Sweetfire Road, Zen Chic, Fig Tree & Co., Sweetwater, and more!
Farmer’s Daughter
This colorway is inspired by Pam Buda’s beautiful collection of reproduction prints called Farmer’s Daughter, reminiscent of the classic cotton prints used widely for garments and household goods.
"After the passing of her dear grandmother, our Farmer's Daughter took fabric from her grandmother's scrap basket to make a remembrance quilt. Still grieving while making the quilt, she used a pretty mourning print to offset the lights, reds, pinks, blues and light grey calicoes scraps used in the blocks."
Amish quilters
Amish quilters are known for their impressive patchwork designs made with just striking solids! This beautiful array of colors is a feast for the eyes, set against a deep navy background. Each quilt represents endless hours of hard work and deep meaning to them. Luckily for us, our sewing machines help us out!
Here are the Prairie Point Block Party guidelines: You may come in the shop on the second Monday or the second Saturday of each month. The blocks will cost $3.50 for your first block and the following 11 months if you personally bring in your completed block (from the month before) on "Block Party day." If for any reason you cannot come on Block Party day, the block kit will cost $5.50.
At the end of the 12-month program, setting kits will be available for purchase. The pictures and descriptions of the finished quilts will be shown a couple months before for your consideration and you may sign up for one at that time.
A mail order option is available for out-of-towners. Call the shop for details: (913) 268-3333.
Each month, we will post pictures of the finished block right here in each of the three colorways offered.
Again, to get the special price of $3.50 on kits:
Come to the shop on Block Party Day (the second Saturday or the second Monday).
Come you yourself - not friend, spouse or anyone else.
Have the block from the month before completed and with you.
Only one kit each month qualifies for the $3.50 price.
WE’RE NOW TAKING SIGN UPS FOR FINISHING KITS!
To inquire about reserving your finishing kit, email erika@prairiepoint.com. Please put “FINISHING KIT” in the subject line and include the colorway you are participating in.
This year’s setting patterns are clean and simple, but oh so impactful! The way the colors work with these sampler blocks give each colorway its own unique look. Farmer’s Daughter (right) melds beautifully with these soft, vintage blue sashing and darker cornerstones and border. The red binding gives it a great vintage red, white, and blue feel. It simply makes you want to cuddle up with this quilt!
This quilt finishes 54” x 68”.
Price: $47.00
Amish Quilters (left) uses bright Bella Solids to create a traditional Amish inspired quilt. It’s the perfect choice for modern and traditional quilts alike. The deep navy background and sashing floats these fun sampler blocks
Amish Quilters finishes 58” x 72”.
Price: $38.00
The beautiful florals of Garden Party (below) are so fun and charming. The scrappy border gives you an opportunity for creativity without the stress because scrappy always matches!
This quilt finishes 58” x 72”.
Price: $54.00
If you would like to make a larger quilt, we suggest getting four more block kits to make a 16-block quilt, or eight more kits to make a 20-block quilt. Or feel free to add more border to make it just a bit larger.
This Block of the Month program ends in August, but if you are interested in making one of these quilts, call and inquire about the availability of the monthly block kits. They are $5.50 each.
A new Block Party Block of the Month begins in September 2022. We will unveil the color choices and theme in August!
Find more pictures of these quilts at the bottom of the page!
September — Our first block! Simple. You just follow directions for the half-square triangles. Be sure to square them up to 3”. When cutting the accent pieces, cut with the long edge of the fabric so that you get a 12-1/2” rectangle from it.
This block is easier than it looks! Just some half square triangles and a little bit of patience.
October — Four patch and half square triangles. Easy, but but check out the video for more tips. Be sure to note on the Amish block that the dark navy is the background; it can be confusing compared with the Farmer’s Daughter block that has a very dark print in the ‘dark’ position and a light in the background.
This month, we’ve got some tips how to avoid your machine eating your HST tips.
November pattern CORRECTION! In Step 2: The fifth sentence should say Place another 4-1/4” background square on the corner of the large triangle.
November — You have three techniques this month! Half square triangles, flying geese, and nine-patch. HST and flying geese are oversized; use your favorite rulers for squaring up.
Try the Seam Align Glue to use as a pin replacement; keep edges of units and blocks lined up. The Sewline Trio Colors mechanical pencil gives color options for marking so is great for the dark background in the Amish block. Come in and take a look at the Little Foot Presser Foot and see how you like it for an accurate 1/4” seam allowance. I’ve recently re-discovered its usefulness!
December — The unit with the star points gives the illusion of a triangle under a triangle. Easy to do; just follow the directions exactly. I have tips on making the Combo Units used in this block. Check out the video below.
Finally, here is the video! Again, just follow the directions on this one, and it goes together super easily!
January — Three more beautiful blocks. Flying geese and corner units — it’s all you need to do. In the video I’ll share tips on other ways to make flying geese besides the one on the pattern, which is the Fast Flying Geese method. Do you have a Flying Geese trim tool? We like Creative Grids Ultimate Flying Geese, Deb Tucker’s Wing Clipper, and others including a Creative Grids standard ruler. We hope to have the video up by Monday; I’m showing the flying geese again and that’s about it!
The video this week is pretty quick, but for more in-depth instructions over the quick flying-geese method, check out month 3’s video here.
February — Below the blocks, I’ll give you a rundown of the color placement. Remember, sometimes the one labeled light is dark and dark is light, and so forth.
Farmer’s Daughter: Dark is the lighter blue, Medium is the pink, Light is the dark blue, and Accent is red.
Amish Quilter: Dark is pink, Medium is purple, Light is aqua, and Accent is blue.
Garden Party: Dark is green, Medium is yellow, Light is blue floral, Accent is deep blue.
Quarter Square Triangles are really not as scary as they seem!
Here’s March! The large rectangle is medium, the small rectangle is dark, and the square is accent. Look carefully before you cut for the corner points!
A quick and easy block today! But so much fun visually.
April — Two colors united with the background make a simple design. The dark and the light can be switched in their positions if you choose or if you accidentally cut them out opposite what the pattern sheet tells you. In that case, just let it go! Notice in my Garden Party block I have two different backgrounds — I didn’t have enough of one so I just used something else I had on hand. It’s okay!
This video explains how the cutting measurements for the flying geese units are oversized and need to be trimmed up the the exact measurement. I demonstrate this with a regular ruler in case you don’t have one of the flying geese trim rulers.
May — Flying Geese and half-square triangles for a center pinwheel.
Not as difficult as it looks this month. Check out the video to find out some tips!
June — We have a Variable Star with snowballs inside. This will come together so quickly for you. We’ll have a video posted on Monday. We also have signups for the Finishing Kits. Pics will be posted Monday for that also.
Remember: when the pattern says dark and medium, it doesn’t necessarily mean that that color is the darker or the medium color. It’s just the name for that block part.
Super simple video this month!
July - This block looks great! You can make it in a snap but your friends will think it is tricky. Love it? Make an entire quilt with this block. Sign up for the Finishing Kits if you haven’t already. See the pictures below.
CORRECTION!: Step 4 should say: plus a 3" background square, not a 2-1/2”.
A simple block to practice your piecing on this month. Let’s review HST. For more tips on half-square triangles, check out September’s video above.
August — We’re finally done with Prairie Point Favorites. I hope you have enjoyed making these blocks each month. The settings turned out awesome. When making this month’s block, be sure you follow directions closely on how you place your background pieces before sewing and trimming.
Easy, peasy this month!
The Farmer’s Daughter quilt is 54” x 68”. Most of the fabrics in the quilt are from Marcus Fabrics, including the sashing, border and binding. The Finishing Kit is $47. For backing 3-1/2 yards is required with non-directional fabric 44” wide. For 108” wide, 1-3/4 yard.
The Amish Quilter quilt is 58” x 72”. This quilt is made entirely of Moda Bella Solids. The background is Bella Navy. The price of the Finishing Kit is $38. Finishing kits include sashing, border, and binding. For backing 3-2/3 yards is required with non-directional fabric 44” wide. For 108” wide, 1-7/8 yard.
The Garden Party quilt is 58” x 72”. All the fabrics in this quilt are from Moda Fabrics and include a variety of designers. The price of the Finishing Kit is $54. For backing 3-2/3 yards is required with non-directional fabric 44” wide. For 108” wide, 1-7/8 yard.
