Want to take a California Vacation?!

Join The Quilting Loft and Nancy Rink as we take you on a journey through El Camino Real, "The King's Highway", via our newest Block of The Month program. Nancy Rink and her husband have been traveling through the old missions in California, writing about their adventures and the local history along the way. They are currently in the process of publishing a book called El Camino Real: Quilts inspired by Early California History  from the Kansas City Star.

While we are anxiously awaiting the release date of the book we will travel through the missions via this exciting new Block of the Month program. Nancy has created this breath-taking king size quilt as well as the entire fabric line produced by Marcus Fabrics to carry you through her travels and inspirations. 

Nancy Rink explains the fabric inspiration on her blog, "This collection is a colorful grouping inspired by California's rich history, a blend of Spanish, Mexican, and Native American traditions. Bright color and intricate motifs echo the decorative tile work  and architecture of the region."  You are guaranteed to fall in love with these bright and fun fabrics! I know they have been adding a breathe of fresh air to my winter sewing sessions.

This is a 12 month program. Our shop will be hosting the program from January 2014 - December 2014.I was lucky enough to make the sample for our shop.  I have been quilting and sewing for about 15 years and consider myself to be a confident beginner who has taken a stab at several different types of sewing techniques. I found this quilt to be a challenge but very do-able and exciting to push myself in certain areas. For instance, I have been grading myself on my points at the edges. (What fun would sewing be if we didn't try to beat our personal best every once and a while!?)  There is also a block with applique which I found to be a fun twist in the middle of the project. I have decided to just steam-a-seam the pieces for now and then use my machine to zig-zag stitch around these pieces before I have it quilted.

Each month you will receive a packet bursting with fun fabrics, block instructions and an interesting historical reference about the mission that the block corresponds to! For instance the first month highlights the Mission San Diego de Alcala founded in 1769, which is considered to be the "mother" mission of California. You will feel as if you are transported to sunny California every month as you work your way through this unique Block of the Month program start to finish! Please check out Nancy Rink's blog to see more about the making of El Camino Real Block of the Month program. She has a wonderful blog and website where you can find more high quality patterns and corrections if needed! 

My tip for block one is to make sure that you read through ALL the instructions of how to cut the border pieces from the stripe fabrics! You will need this fabric to use as the decorative border pieces of each block. 

Join our year long California adventure by signing up for the El Camino Real Block of the Month program via our online shop or in our store. We look forward to seeing your work and  posting more tips and tricks as our California road trip continues! 

My images were borrowed from Nancy Rink and Marcus Fabrics. Thank you.