I am so excited to bring you Chocolatier, my newest BOM program! I must confess that I actually have TWO stashes in my sewing room. One is a collection of FQs, half yards, and yards of neatly folded fabric sorted by color. The second is hidden inside drawers, cups and bins. It's my stash of dark chocolate I keep secret from my kids. ;) Don't mess with a woman's chocolate!

Chocolatier Block of the Month Club (starts Jan. 2017)

Celebrate

your

love of chocolate in the

Chocolatier BOM

. Enjoy piecing

traditional skill-building blocks set in a LeMoyne Star destined to look like shiny wrapped chocolates. An argyle compass emphasizes the star's beauty and it's all framed with a beautiful bracelet border.

I will be hosting a quilt-along here on the blog for the

Chocolatier Block of the Month Club

. It is so much fun to see others sewing along and colors choices. I am bringing you this pattern in print (hard-copy) and PDF. So you can choose whatever you prefer to participate.

I am excited to bring you this pattern in 3

color ways. Modern Milk (solids), Dipped Strawberry (traditional), and Cherry Cordial (batiks).

I love that each version demonstrates the Chocolatier pattern in 3 different styles of fabric.

They are delicious. If you like one of those, the pattern lists the suggested

RJR

Basics. Or fill up your chocolate box with

your own favorite fabrics

using the

Chocolatier Quilt Coloring Sheet

that comes with a pattern purchase.

Modern Milk Color Way (Cotton Supreme Solids on an Aqua Polka Dot Background)

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Here are all the details for the

Chocolatier Block of the Month Club

, starting in January 2017. I hope you'll join me!

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PDF Subscription:

An annual subscription for the BOM is available

here

on sale

for $25. All patterns are PDF downloads, automatically emailed to you each month on the 1st of the month.

When you subscribe,

a Chocolatier Introduction PDF (Fabric Requirements and Coloring Sheet)

is emailed right away

Paper Pattern Subscription:

An annual subscription for the BOM is available

here

on sale

for $28. All patterns are Paper Patterns (hard copy), automatically mailed to you via USPS each month on the 1st of the month.

When you subscribe, a

Chocolatier Introduction PDF (Fabric Requirements and Coloring Sheet)

will be emailed to you right away. This will confirm your enrollment in the paper pattern subscription and is the only time a pattern will be electronically delivered.

Dipped Strawberry Color Way (Jinny Beyer Palette)

The Chocolatier Blocks.

Most months participants will make 2 blocks as you work your way around the LeMoyne Star. In order to make the magic happen, there are some months where we will need to make more blocks to complete the design. In addition to working on traditional piecing techniques (half-square triangles, Flying Geese, Hourglass, Rail Fence, Diamond-in-the-Square), this

BOM

will challenge participants to tackle skill building blocks with strings, curves, templates, strip piecing, basic paper piecing and applique.

Cherry Cordial Color Way (Malam Batiks)

The Design.

Make classic skill-building blocks, then set them in a fun and funky way. This is truly what I love. As you probably know by now, I love to break out of the normal sampler grid. I love putting

traditional blocks in fun settings. This year's theme is a LeMoyne Star destined to look like shiny wrapped chocolates. Each petal of the star reminds me of a brightly wrapped truffle. An argyle compass emphasizes the star's beauty and it's all framed with a lovely bracelet border. Oh my gosh, I wish I could tell you my favorite part of the design, but I can't. I absolutely love the way all of these elements combine together.

Frequently Asked Questions.

When are the new block patterns released?

Each month in 2017, a new block pattern will release on the first of the month. If you are a subscriber, the pattern will automatically be emailed/mailed to you on this day.

The Chocolatier BOM will contain:

An Introduction - all important information, fabric requirements and coloring sheet (only available in PDF)
20 Block Patterns over 11 months
Instructions for Assembling the Quilt Top (Month 12)

How long does the BOM run?

This BOM will run for 12 months. January though November will have block patterns each month. December will be spent putting the quilt top together and finishing the quilt.

How many blocks are there in the quilt?

There will be 20 block patterns. We will make

of each block during the month for

most

months.

What size is the finished quilt?

72" x 72"

What size are the blocks?

6"x 6" finished / 6 1/2" x 6 1/2" unfinished.

What skill level is Chocolatier?

Chocolatier BOM is an

Intermediate level quilt pattern. Chocolatier will build skills by working on

traditional piecing techniques (half-square triangles, Flying Geese, Hourglass, Rail Fence, Diamond-in-the-Square). This

BOM

will challenge participants to tackle skill building blocks with strings, curves, triangles, templates, basic paper piecing and appliqué.

What are the fabric requirements?

Fabric Requirements for the Modern Milk Color Way

(SKUs for RJR Basics are given in the Chocolatier Intro document and Month #1)

4 yards White Polka Dot background

1 1/8 yards each Caramel and Chocolate Solids

1 yard each Deep Pink, Dark Aqua and Yellow Solids

2/3 yard each Light Pink and Light Aqua Solids

80" x 80" Batting

5/8 yard Binding fabric

4 1/2 yards Backing

(yardages for Dipped Strawberry and Cherry Cordial vary slightly)

I like the Chocolatier blocks, but prefer a more traditional setting.

Can I still join?

Absolutely! You are more than welcome to join the BOM. If you prefer, set the blocks in a more traditional manner. However, I will only be giving finishing instructions for the layout above.

It's already halfway through the year. Can I still join?

No problem! Block of the Month Clubs online are great because you can really work at your own pace. No one is going to prevent you from skipping a block because you don't like it or working at your own pace. All patterns to date will be sent to you upon purchasing a subscription.

To me, quilting is fun and about interpretation. I am providing you with the patterns as a guide. Feel free to adapt them to your liking. After all, YOU are the person who will keep the quilt or gift it to a loved one.

11.

Is there a group or hashtag for this BOM?

Please use

#chocolatiersampler

to share your work within Facebook and Instagram.

What do you think? Sound like fun? I hope you'll join me in making Chocolatier! I am planning a new version of Chocolatier to make along with all of you. I'm letting my kiddos help pick out the colors - and I'll share that with you soon.

The first block instructions will be available on January 1, 2017.

If you have any questions, please leave me a comment.

I will try to address all getting started questions here in this post for all to read.

Oh my gosh, it's the final post for the Bonfire Block of the Month Club 2016. Every year we complete one of these journeys, it seems like a wonderful experience. How can each year get better and better? And what a year it's been. The Bonfire Sampler is a part of my first book, Sister Sampler Quilts. And to run a BOM from my own book, well.... that's seriously a dream come true. Thank you all for your love and support of the book this year.

I have not one, but two quilt finishes to show you today. Those of you who have been following along with the BOM know how special these two quilts are.

At the beginning, I encouraged participants to partner up with a "sister". Someone to sew along with and trade blocks with to make 2 similar, yet different quilts. I partnered with my mom and we have spent the past year sewing our blocks, sharing pics and color combinations, and trading blocks to make 2 very special quilts. Since we have never worked on a project together before, this BOM holds a special place in my heart.

Here is my Bonfire Sister Sampler Finish:

We both worked from a fat quarter bundle of Blueberry Park (warm colors) by Karen Lewis for Robert Kaufman Fabrics. The blocks use Kona Snow as their background, and I framed up the whole quilt using Kona Cerise. It's definitely a different look from the original Bonfire quilt found in the book. There is a picture of the original Bonfire at the end of this post if you don't remember what it looks like.

Mom's Bonfire Sister Sampler Finish:

Mom went for a subtle look, using RK Quilter's Linen as her background for the star points. She also used Kona Snow as the background for her block work, so both of our block sets were pieced using the same block background color. It makes the whole quilt flow nicely. I like how she selected the same large scale daisy print in 4 colors to be the large star points in the quilt setting.

Although our BOM is now officially over, it's never too late to start this project on your own or with a friend. You can read all the details of how we worked this project here.