Star Patch QAL: Week 1

Hey, hey friends!  Welcome to the Star Patch Quilt Along: week 1!  

If you haven't signed up yet, it's not too late to join the fun!   

We have fantastic weekly prizes sponsored by some of my favorite people/shops

and at the end of the 8-week QAL, you'll have one dang cute quilt top you can be proud of!

 Click HERE to register.

Click HERE for all the Star Patch QAL details.

So let's get down to business.

Week 1 is all about planning and cutting.

If you still need to get the pattern, click HERE.

There are digital and paper versions available in my Etsy shop.

(I am shipping the paper versions out as quickly as I can so there's a good chance 

it will arrive at your house within a few days if you live in the US.)

I think you'll find this week to be a pretty easy week in the QAL.

There's just 3 things you need to do:

1. Get the pattern. 

2. Plan your color scheme and gather your fabrics.

Originally, I was going to do traditional red and green Christmas fabrics.  

I think this pattern will make a fabulous Christmas quilt.  But then I got thinking, if I do just red and white fabrics...it will be great for Christmas, 4th of July and even Valentine's Day!

So red and white/cream it is!

And finally, the 3rd thing you need to do this week is cut out all the fabrics.

I was able to cut out my background squares really quickly using my Quick Rotary Cutting Tutorial. Check it out, you might learn a new tip or two!

Cutting the colorful squares (red in my case) is what will probably take you the longest.  But it's sure fun to see your pretty, scrappy collection of squares come together! 

I used about 33 different fabrics for the little squares, cutting about 7 or 8 from each fabric. 

I just did mine over the course of a couple days so it was easy peasy!

So that's it!

Post a picture on Instagram this week of your fabric pull or cut fabrics and use the hashtag "starpatchqal" and you'll be entered to win The Perfect 10 Book and Ruler Combo Pack by It's Sew Emma from The Fat Quarter Shop!

I can't wait to see all the different color schemes you guys come up with!!

Star Patch Quilt Along

I got a wild hair the other day and decided I wanted to make a Christmas version of my Star Patch quilt.  Then I decided that it might be fun to see if any of YOU wanted to join me!  It's always more fun to sew with friends, right?  Of course, you don't have to use Christmas fabrics.  This quilt will be perfect in any color scheme!  

So I've decided to host my first ever quilt along!  This will be an 8-week QAL with weekly prizes and a bonus tutorial for the scrappy back I did on my original version (which will be exclusive to those of you who join the quilt along!)  

Click HERE to REGISTER.

STAR PATCH QUILT ALONG

DATES: October 29 - December 22, 2018

DURATION: 8 weeks

QUILT SIZE: 58" x 58"

I know this is last minute but I really want to have a finished quilt top by Christmas.  So we are starting in just over a week!  It will be an easy 8 weeks though.  I don't want to have too high of expectations since this is during the busy holiday season!  This pattern is great for all skill levels.  I think an advanced beginner can do it just fine.

SCHEDULE:

Week 1: Gather fabrics and pattern.  Cut out all fabrics.

Week 2: Make (15) 9-Patch Blocks

Week 3: Make (15) 9-Patch Blocks

Week 4: Make (15) 9-Patch Blocks

Week 5: Make (15) 9-Patch Blocks

Week 6: Make Checkerboard and Flying Geese Blocks

Week 7: Construct Quilt Top

Week 8: Piece Back (using exclusive QAL tutorial!)  Quilt or send off to be quilted.

HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG:

- Follow me @gigis_thimble and use the hashtag #starpatchqal on Instagram

- Be sure to sign up for the weekly emails HERE.

- A new blog post will be up each Monday for the QAL.

PATTERN NEEDED:

Purchase the Star Patch paper or PDF pattern in my shop.  

Click HERE to go to my Etsy shop.

FABRIC REQUIREMENTS:

260 bright print 2” x 2” squares

(OR a total of  ⅞ yard of assorted bright print fabrics)

2⅞ yards of white solid fabric

2¼ yards of yellow solid fabric

(OR 1-2/3 yards for the star and ⅝ yard for the binding)

3¾ yards of backing fabric

Batting, 67” x 67”

Note: This is a great stash buster project!

PRIZES:*

- The Perfect 10 Book and Ruler Combo Pack from The Fat Quarter Shop
- Set of pins by Quilty Pie

- Patterns by Gigi's Thimble (me!)

- Modern Quilts (Block by Block) Book by Emily Dennis
- Notions Goodie Bag and 10" Stacker from Riley Blake Designs
-Tablemat Kit in Swell Christmas Fabric from Sweet Treasures Quilt Shop
- Fat Quarter Bundle from Simply Love Fabrics
-Long arm quilting of one Star Patch Quilt (medium density, edge-to-edge design) from Julz Junk Quilting

* Some drawings/prizes will be for US residents only but everyone is welcome to quilt along! 

Don't forget to register!

Click HERE for the Star Patch Quilt Along.

All Stacked Up in Swell Christmas

Oh you guys, if you haven't seen Swell Christmas by Urban Chiks for Moda yet, it's a good one.  It's been in stores for a couple of months now but I was fortunate to win a fat quarter bundle because my friend, Shannon White (@itssewshannon on Instagram) tagged me during a giveaway!  Imagine my surprise when Moda asked for my shipping info!

I've always been a fan of Urban Chiks fabric lines so needless to say I was thrilled when I won!  

It kind of has a vintage-modern vibe don't you think?

I knew I wanted a pattern that showcased these cute, whimsical prints so I chose my FREE 5 Fat Quarter Fun pattern called All Stacked Up.  Although, I used more than just 5 fat quarters because I wanted to use all these beautiful prints!  Click HERE for the link to this free pattern.

I enlarged the pattern by adding on 3 more rows of blocks to the length and 

1 more row of blocks to the side (plus the sashing).  

Now it finishes at approximately 75" x 87" - the perfect size for snuggling with!

The hard part was deciding on which dot to use for the background and what color fabric to use for the sashing!  I ended up using one of my favorite background fabrics.  I bought a small bolt of it a while back so I had a bunch of it on hand!  It's from the line Hello Bear by Bonnie Christine for Art Gallery Fabrics.

Now the sashing, that was a different story.  First, I chose this solid red fabric.  It was an easy match.  But then I started doubting my choice.  I'm not a big fan of red these days and I felt it was a bit stark so I went on the search for something else.

Then I fell in love with this green check from my stash.  It was a close enough match to the greens in Swell Christmas but I didn't have enough and couldn't find anymore online.  

 I finally ended up choosing this pink, again, by Bonnie Christine 

for Art Gallery Fabrics (guess I'm a big fan!)

  

I have to say, that I'm a little sad I decided to go with pink though.  I feel like it's not as Christmasy as the red or the green.  My ideal color would've been green but it was just too hard finding a green that didn't blend or clash with the other greens and I wanted to stay away from red if I could.  But in hindsight, I feel like if I would've found a red that had a print on it and wasn't so stark, I probably would've liked it more.  I think pink would be my last option.  But, I'm trying to tell myself that a lot of people would probably love the pink!  It's not wrong.  It's just not me.  I'm trying to embrace it and not be disappointed... (can you tell that I kind of am, LOL?)

The quilting was done by Cathy Barney in Alpine, Utah.  I think she was happy when I chose the design, Holly Berry, because I tend to choose the same 2 or 3 geometric designs all the time!  I like how it turned out.  I mean, look at that texture!

I was sure to use minky on the back so it could be nice and cozy this Christmas.  And I used one of the plaid prints for the binding.  It is printed so it looks like it was cut on the bias!

Overall though, I'm thankful to have won these beautiful fabrics.  It was a fun make and I can't wait to use it here in a couple of months.  Bring on the snow!

Thanks for stopping by!