A Quilt-a-Long for You!

Hey there! I've not been writing much lately - or doing much of anything for that matter due to some pesky health issues. But that's not why I write this and definitely NOT why you read this. (Good grief I hope not - despite the fact that a friend or two has said I should write a book on those issues!)

In a fit of mental Fall Cleaning, I discovered that I really need to make quite a few kid quilts. Need, such a strong word; I don't need to make them, but I certainly want to. Then I thought why don't I do a quilt-a-long (hereafter abbreviated QAL, since it's not an easy word to type). For those of you that don't know what a QAL is here's a brief explanation. A QAL (see why I'm abbreviating?) is a quilting project that a group of people do together, but not necessarily physically together. Generally a leader - that would be me in this case - writes out all directions for the others as they are done and publishes them out in steps with time given in between so you can work on the project. The idea is that participants are working on the steps together and can ask questions/comment as if you are all in the same room taking a class. That's all there is to it. Now I'm not claiming to be a quilt instructor, but I hope you'll join along since I think making children't quilts should be fun. I heartily encourage you to post comments to this blog with your progress/questions/brags! I will do my best to answer them for you. I will also try to develop a hard shell as you find my mistakes and help me to correct them.

Remember this is supposed to be FUN. (Sorry, don't mean to shout, but I really wish I had sqiggy line to type out words that are to convey fun things! Someone with a software background please work on that - probably point out that it already exists is more like it.)

So consider this Step 1 of my Easy Kid's Quilt QAL! Definitely appropriate for all beginner quilters.

(This pattern is adapted from the Pathways pattern found in Aug. 2011 Quilter's World magazine, designed by Jen Eskridge for Reannalily Designs. )

SKILL LEVEL: BEGINNER
QUILT SIZE: 75" X 90"   This is roughly a twin-size bed quilt.
BLOCK SIZE: 15" square
NO. OF BLOCKS: 30

NOTE: If you want to make a smaller quilt, please do so. Another good size would be a quilt of only 20 blocks (75" x 60"), which would, of course not take quite so much fabric.

FABRIC: Please feel free to use whatever colors move you. These are only suggestions - and will help you follow along. All fabric measurements are based on 42" wide fabric. I am using cotton fabric.

7 yards cream solid
10 assorted colors fat quarters
3/4 yard fabric for binding - your color choice
backing fabric - 83" x 98"

OTHER SUPPLIES

Twin-size batting
thread to match project
paper (notebook paper is fine)
fabric marking pencil/pen

Okay, first things first. Prepare your fabric for quilting. For you that may mean washing all the fabric before you use it. For me it means, ironing with a good spray starch e.g., Mary Ellen's

CUTTING:
From the fat quarters: Cut  30 strips 4 1/2" x 16"
From cream solid: Cut 15 rectangles 15" x 42" ; then subcut into 60 rectangles 16" x 10"

Here's my background fabric and the assorted strips that I've cut.

That's enough for keep you busy for a bit. I promise to post the next step in a day or so. Cutting fabric is okay, but if you're like me you like to get to the sewing part! Actually I like to get through the sewing part so I can start quilting! I mean, it's not a quilt unless it's quilted in my book.

In the meantime, look around and see what sa(y)s quilts to you!