Hey, everyone! Have you ever watched a carousel in motion and become completely mesmerized by its soothing rhythm and graceful spins? That’s exactly the feeling Camille Roskelley of Thimble Blossoms has captured in this week’s Moda Blockheads 6 release, Carousel Waltz. This delightful design combines half-square triangles with a playful central pinwheel, creating repeating units and soft rotation that evoke the magical motion of a carousel ride — just like we remember!

The construction of Carousel Waltz is just as graceful as the design itself. Despite a dynamic spinning pinwheel that looks a bit complex, this simple pattern breaks down into wonderfully straightforward components: classic half-square triangles and simple two-patch rectangle units — that’s it! This means you can focus on actually enjoying the rhythmic piecing process, rather than wrestling with tricky techniques and frustration.

Carousel Waltz is a 9″ block that truly shines when you take the time to explore fabric contrast and color placement options. The half-square triangles create perfect opportunities for showcasing favorite prints against coordinating solids, while the central pinwheel becomes a focal point that can either blend seamlessly or pop dramatically depending on your fabric choices. Whether you lean toward soft, dreamy pastels or bold, vibrant hues, Carousel Waltz will easily adapt to your personal style.

With so many beautiful possibilities for this versatile block, choosing fabrics becomes part of the creative adventure! As a quick reminder for anyone just joining us, here are the fabric choices I’m using for my blocks throughout this series. My entire quilt is being done in reds, whites, and blues in honor of my latest fabric line, American Gatherings III’s debut, coming this December! I will also be using two gray Bella Solids for the background: Steel 9900 184 (in place of the white in Moda’s original design) and Graphite 9900 202 (instead of the Navy). You can grab both on our website by clicking the buttons below!

What makes Carousel Waltz truly special isn’t just how it looks, but how it feels to create — there’s something super satisfying about the process of piecing those lovely half-square triangles together and watching the central pinwheel come to life! Not to mention, I personally found that construction flows smoothly from start to finish, making this block both enjoyable to sew and rewarding to complete.

Alright gang — it’s been another long, busy day and just like last evening, I can’t believe it’s already over. I’m going to start making my way toward home so I can hopefully take a walk by the lake before heading over to our favorite supper club for a bite to eat – the perfect way to unwind! Before I go, I wanted to remind you that after being off the hook for my LIVE show for the last two weeks (we aired pre-recorded episodes), the girls and I will be back LIVE again tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. CST on my YouTube channel, STITCH with Lisa Bongean. I’ll be talking all about my current works in progress including the Unity Quilt-Along, the Pumpkin Spice Quilt-Along, the Summer Romance Stitch-Along, MBH6 (I know, I know – I’m behind!), and more! Come join the fun and see what’s new (and old) by clicking the STITCH button below. See you tomorrow! ~Lisa