After discovering the Quilting Gallery website (see link at right of page), I was excited to find that a 'quilt along' was just about to begin. For 16 weeks participants from anywhere can do the FREE quilt along lessons. So we will all create quilts with the same pattern but different fabrics :))))) Check out the link:
http://quiltinggallery.com/learning-center/aiming-for-accuracy-quilt-along/
So today I did Lesson 1. Making this block took me several hours simply because the idea is to improve accuracy and there are some great weblinks to help me learn along the way. I certainly learned through doing this lesson that my scant 1/4 inch seams aren't so scant!
Because this tutorial is for 'advanced beginners' to improve their accuracy it seems perfectly suited to my level of quilting skill. The quilt uses 24 different patterned fabrics and some contrast for the sashing/backing/borders. I have decided to use fabrics from the '$50 craigslist stash' (see previous blog entries) I bought a few weeks ago. This will ensure I can learn the necessary skills without spending a fortune on fabrics. So the colors i have chosen are all pinks, with white borders/backing/sashing, simply because it was the only color I had enough variation of prints in and I am not game enough with my color choices to start putting varied colors in quilts LOL.
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| The patterned fabrics |
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| Marking up my 1/4 inch seam for accuracy |
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| My first squares are made, the colors look okay - I think?! |
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| setting the block to assess my color choices |
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| The completed block |
The completed block is just a millimetre or two short of the 15.5inches by 16.5 inches it should be. I definitely could use some improvement on my accuracy!!! But I can make it work I am sure. The block two tutorial will be available in 2 days time, I can't wait to see it.
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