Can you believe the Sewcialites Quilt Along is almost over? I say almost because although the free blocks are all shared in the quilting community, we still have a quilt to make. But before we do that let’s see what we’ve got from this QAL by Fat Quarter Shop, shall we?
There were 18 talented designers willing to make each 2 blocks for our sampler quilt. The first block was released in late September of last year. We had a little break during the Christmas season and had to delay releasing a block in February due to the winter storm in the US.
On Facebook, quilters from all around the world came together in the Sewcialites Lounge to share their blocks and help each other out with challenges. We could follow along with Kimberly on FQS’s YouTube channel every Friday to quilt with her. Sharing your block on Instagram using the special hashtag #sewcialitesqal made you eligible every week for amazing prizes sponsored by companies like Moda, Creative Grid, and Stella Lightning.
But reminiscing doesn’t finish our sampler quilt. Let’s take a look at the final layout I made and the materials needed.
The assembling of the Zen Chic layout
Finished size approx. 73" x 73"
MATERIALS NEEDED: (we used low volume fabrics from my line Paper and More Paper)
for the quilt center background: 4 assorted Low Volumes, each 3/8 yard, from your leftover blenders or prints: 8 squares 10" x 10"
4 1/2 yards of backing
78" x 78" batting
1/2 yard for binding (I picked a stone grey hue from my line Spotted)
CUTTING:
From the assorted fabrics for the center background, cut a total of
8 squares, each 10" x 10" and
8 squares, each 9 1/2" x 9 1/2"
have from leftover blenders or prints: 8 squares 10" x 10"
ASSEMBLING:
Pair each a 10" square of a print and a low volume, rights sides together. Mark a diagonal line and sew along with a 1/4" seam on both sides of this line. Cut through to get two units, open and press to have a half-square triangle. Trim to a size of 9 1/2" x 9 1/2" including seam allowances.
Lay out the background fabric squares, half-square triangles, and pieced blocks according to the layout diagram (see layout with grid). Sew squares together to rows and join rows to build the quilt center, which should be 72 1/2" x 72 1/2" including seam allowances.
MAKE A QUILTSANDWHICH, QUILT, and BIND:
For the quilting do yourself a favor, spoil yourself, and indulge in the luxury of a custom quilted service.
Once your quilt is ready, don’t forget to share a photo in the Sewcialites Lounge. It’s always so much fun to see the different results from all those 36 blocks. To give you some eye candy already, here are a few quilt tops shared by quilters on Instagram.
Good luck with putting your sampler quilt together and stay tuned for more fun projects here on the Zen Chic blog.
Happy quilting!
Don't miss the other designers involved in this project:
Can you believe the Sewcialites Quilt Along is almost over? I almost say, because even though the free blocks are all shared in the quilting community, we still have a quilt to make. In this blog post I am giving some tips on how to put together the final layout I created and what materials you will need for it. And last but not least, let's take a look at what the other quilters made of this beautiful sampler quilt!