I have always wanted to participate in a round robin. Years ago, my guild, Santa Clara Valley Quilt Association, ran a round robin and it was so fun to see what was created. In recent years I've enjoyed seeing online round robins, including the Kids Quilt Round Robin that I co-hosted. Yet I had never myself participated. So this spring when SCVQA announced another round robin opportunity I signed up to participate.
Five of us joined the round robin and we met in May to iron out the details. We drew from an assortment of potential parameters to create a set of rules for each round.
1st quilter: starting block/unit
2nd quilter: pinwheels or something from nature
3rd quilter: quilter's choice
4th quilter: flying geese or four patch
5th quilter: snowball or log cabin
I decided to look over my many WIPs to find something that would be suitable for the center of a medallion round robin. I settled on this 20" Fierce Feathered Star block (from the Snowflake Sampler pattern by Jess Zeigler) that I made during a sew along in August 2017. I'd been intending to finish it into a floor pillow, but decided it would be a fun center to a medallion quilt. I added the border strips to preserve my points and bring it up to 22 1/2" x 22 1/2" unfinished (since it wasn't quite perfectly sized).
We each completed an information form with details about likes, dislikes, and wishes. I wrote lots of notes on mine, including... Scrappy, modern, improv, or precise piecing. Geometric prints, solids, blenders in grass green, navy, teal, and pale blue. No solid white. My block is 22 1/2" square and I'd love for the quilt to finish 60" x 60" or larger.
We also decided there would be no progress shots shown along the way, online or in person. We will pass the projects to the next quilter at each monthly guild meeting, so we will finish in October and present the finished quilt tops back to their owners at that meeting.
Here's a peek at the fabric I supplied with my project. (Can you tell my love for blender fabrics!?) A couple pieces were small scraps of fabric from the block. I didn't feel like I had enough fabric/variety to require the group use only my fabric, so they may choose to add their own fabric. I also put a note to let me know if they'd like me to provide more fabric since I'm open to picking up some more options.
The initial projects were passed on to the second quilters at the June guild meeting. I'll be sharing the starting block I received from Callista tomorrow.
Have you ever participated in a round robin? I'd love to hear about your experience.
Anja @ Anja Quilts
I was in love with the first photo -- not even knowing what the pattern was. That lime green is awesome. I have done a round robin, but our quilt bee is only 5 people so our rules were practically non-existent. I think all we did is a miminum/maximum border width. It was fun. I'd say only two of us are truly modern, but we were all pleased.
sarah
Post authorThanks, Anja. I'm not sure what brand/color the green is. I'm pretty sure it's not Kona. I had some yardage left, but not enough to deem it the background for the entire quilt. It'll be fun to see what happens. We have a variety of styles in our group of five.
Deana Jennings
Yes, Yes! I have done several round robins and absolutely LOVE them! I wish I were a participant in yours - ha ha.
Here are a link to some of my round robin stories. https://dreamworthyquilts.blogspot.com/search/label/round%20robins All of these posts feature a round robin quilt and pieces of their stories.
sarah
Post authorThank you for sharing your link, Deana. It's so fun to see how other round robins have turned out. I'm glad you enjoy them so much.
Lisa
I have never participated in a round robin. It could be fun.
sarah
Post authorThey might be addicting. I already want to do another one!
Bo
I love the idea of a round robin. It's brilliant!!
sarah
Post authorThank you, Bo. I'm eager to see how my quilt turns out.
Kelley
Do you have a picture of your completed round robin feathered star? Would love to see it! I am participating in a round robin now, sew much fun :-)
sarah
Post authorThanks for reaching out, Kelley. Unfortunately, I've just scrolled through a ton of photos and it seems I don't have a full view of that quilt top. The top was completed just before the pandemic and I'm afraid it got stuck at the quilt top stage. It is on my list to send out to be longarmed, so I will share a photo when I get one. For now, you can see a peek of it in this blog post listed as "Round Robin Medallion (2019)" in the Finished Quilt Tops section.