I’m so excited to have to opportunity to work with the National Quilter Circle to give you the next FREE Quilt Along!
This challenge can be done solo, or as a block exchange with a partner. Sign up now, as we will start quilting on September 20th! CLICK BELOW TO JOIN!
HOW DOES A BLOCK SWAP WORK?
Quilter 1 will make 2 of each block: A, C, E, G
Quilter 2 will make 2 of each block: B, D, F, H Each quilter will give one set of blocks to their Block Swap partner Each quilter will make 1 Bonus block in their fabric colors for themselves
MAKE IT SOLO!
You are also able to complete this challenge solo! Simply sign up for the challenge and download both patterns each week. By creating each of the weekly blocks and the bonus block, you will have a completed quilt!
JOIN THE QUILT ALONG GROUP!
Make sure to join the NQC Block Challenge Quilt along group! In the group you will get weekly reminders of the NEW blocks. You will be able to see everyone fabric combos. And you will can view the LIVE weekly check in videos!
This summer my oldest Nephew graduated high school. I wanted to make him a special quilt that he can keep and snuggle in forever! A lot of my quilt patterns lean toward the girly side, so I wanted to design something that could be masculine. I had been playing around with the idea of making a quilt with lots of flying geese units and some dead space and this designed popped in my head! It reminds me of a flock of ducks flying south for the winter. So I decided to name this quilt Left the Nest because of the flying geese block, but also because the quilt recipient is now moving on to a new chapter in his life. All that hard work in high school has paid off and now he has graduated with an AA. We are all so proud of him!
This quilt is designed to have 3 background fabrics going from light to dark (right to left) and 5 main fabrics going from dark to light (right to left). But you can also make it using 1 background fabric easily but adding all the background pieces together.
When I quilted this one I wanted to add more interest in the empty spaces than just straight lines from the top to the bottom of the quilt. So I mimicked the shapes of the Flying geese block. I love how it turned out!
The quilt is designed so the larger the size quilt you make, the larger the size pieces you will use. Baby, Throw, Twin and Quilt all have the same layout. The King size has a couple added blocks to make the quilt a square shape.
This quilt pattern is great for the adventurous beginner to intermediate quilter.
I’d love to see your versions! On Instagram you can use the hashtag #LeftTheNestQuilt or you can post your photo’s in my Quilt Along Group!
When I draw up a pattern, sometimes I have no fabric in mind and other times I draw up a pattern to complement fabric I have in my stash. The Rainier Echoes Quilt Pattern was drawn up to use this gorgeous Cotton + Steel fabric.
I wanted to design to have a large center element and then echoing corner designs. And this is what I came up with.
The pattern has instructions for 6 different sizes: Baby (40 x 40 inch), Toddler (48 x 48 inch), Throw (64 x 64 inch), Large Throw (80 x80 inch), Queen (96 x 96 inch) and King (112 x 112 inch).
With each size you go up you just expand your quilt using the same design, with just larger pieces. The larger pieces make the quilt go together super quick!
Since I made the Baby Size (40 x 40 inch), I decided to do a little more detailed quilting than I usually do. This small of a quilt, quilts up really quickly. I followed the seams and design of the quilt. I lined my walking foot up with the seams, starting from the center of the quilt and working my way out. So there was never too much bulk going through the throat of my domestic machine.
I backed the quilt with this beautiful Cotton + Steel print that incorporates all of the colors in the front of the quilt.
I had Snow do some modeling with the quilt, so you can have a size reference. She is holding the Baby (40 x 40 inch) quilt. She is 5 years old, but a little small for her age.
My wonderful quilt testers picked such pretty fabrics to make their versions with.
Made By Cindy Price Kelley:
Made by Julie Anne Ricketts:
Made by Marg Sharpe
Made by Shawnie Wallace:
Made by Sheri Bing:
Made by Rachelle Bell
Made by Michelle Graham
You can find the Rainier Echoes Quilt Pattern in my shop!!
This post may contain Affiliate Links. When using the link, you pay the same amount for the items, I just receive a small commission.Â
Welcome to Week 8, the LAST week of our Frame It Quilt Along! I have enjoying making this quilt with you all!
You can find the Digital and Paper Pattern (USA and Canada) in my shop 15% OFF thru April 9th!! If you are located outside the USA or Canada you can find the pattern in my Etsy Shop!!
Now that you have all your blocks done, we need to turn those blocks into a quilt!
Things you will need:
Backing Fabric (at least 6 inches wider and longer than your quilt top) Quilt Batting (at least 6 inches wider and longer than your quilt top) Basting Spray or Basting Pins
Binding Fabric These are helpful but not necessary: Hera Marker to mark out your quilting lines
Walking Foot (Helps pull your quilt from both the top and the bottom)
Finishing our Quilts!
Quilt Sandwich: First you will need to make your Quilt Sandwich. You will need to cut and sew your backing fabric to make it fit under your quilt correctly. Make sure it is at least 3 inches wider than your quilt top on all sides (quilt top size + 6 inches). Trim your selvage edge off after joining your pieces.
Make your quilt sandwich by first laying down your quilt backing, wrong side facing up. Tape down to a hard surface, making fabric taut. Next lay your batting on top. Smooth out with your hands, do not stretch. Then lay your quilt top right side up, smooth out with your hands. Â
Basting Your Quilt:Â
Spray baste: My favorite way to baste my quilt is by using Spray Baste! It makes basting so much easier. If you have allergies, this is probably not a good option for you.
Find a place where you can lay out your quilt. Make sure to tape the backing fabric taut to the floor (or large table).
Here’s great spray baste tutorial by Cluck Cluck Sew: Spray Baste Tutorial
Pin basting: You can use safety pin about 3 to 4 inches apart (about the width of your hand). I like to use the large curved basting pins. This takes a little longer than the spray basting, but is a great option.
Quilting your Quilt:
This step is totally up to you!
With my quilt I chose to quilt from top to bottom ‘organic’ straight lights approximately 1 inch apart. I used my walking foot with the guide set to 1 inch. I like to use my seams as a guide to help keep my lines straight.
Hand Tie your Quilt: Some prefer to tie there quilt.
Here’s a tutorial on how to do this on BluePrint.
Hand Quilt: Here’s a wonderful video tutorial by Suzy Quilts all about How to Hand Quilt.
Machine Quilt using your Walking Foot:Â
Emily Dennis from Quilty Love has a great tutorial on how to Zig zag quilt your quilt with a Walking foot. Click here I love this method of quilting, it give your quilt great texture.
Free Motion Quilting:
Free motion quilting can give you great texture and if you aren’t great at quilting straight lines, this would be great for you. Suzy Williams from Suzy Quilts has a great Free Motion Quilting Tutorial. Click here.
Binding Your Quilt:
Binding is the fabric strip that goes on the edge of your quilt. It covers all of the unfinished edges and rounds out your quilt.
You will want to make sure to square up your quilt before you attach the binding. Cut off the extra batting around the edges and make sure your sides are straight and corners are squared.
Most quilters will cut 2 /12 inch by width of fabric strips and then sew them together at the ends at a diagonal. Then press the strip in half, so that you are wrapping 2 layers of fabric around all of your edges.
You can machine sew the binding to the front of your quilt and wrap it around to the back and hand stitch it down. Or some prefer sewing the binding to the back of the quilt, wrapping it around to the front and machine stitching it down.
One of my favorite binding tutorials is by Suzy Williams of Suzy Quilts. Go check it out!
I’m so excited to see everyone finished quilts!
JOIN ME for a LIVE Video tomorrow (April 3, 2019) at 10:15 am PDT (West Coast USA). I will be going over these finishing steps and seeing if anyone has questions! If you can’t join me LIVE, the video will be saved to the Facebook Group, it will be available on Instagram for 24 hours and I will upload it to my YouTube channel.
Join the Quilt Along by posting your progress photo’s on Instagram with the hashtag #FrameItQAL
OR Join the Facebook Quilt Along Group and post your progress photo there!!
This post may contain Affiliate Links. When using the link, you pay the same amount for the items, I just receive a small commission.Â
Welcome to Week 7 of the Frame it Quilt Along! We are so close to finishing our quilts! Yay!
This week we will be finishing the last 4 blocks of our throw size quilt tops! If you are making a different size quilt, you will need to make more blocks this week.
You can find the Digital and Paper Pattern (USA and Canada) in my shop 15% OFF thru April 9th!! If you are located outside the USA or Canada you can find the pattern in my Etsy Shop!!
Next week – Finishing your quilt – Things you will need:
Backing Fabric (at least 6 inches wider and longer than your quilt top) Quilt Batting (at least 6 inches wider and longer than your quilt top) Basting Spray or Basting Pins
Binding Fabric These are helpful but not necessary: Hera Marker to mark out your quilting lines
Walking Foot (Helps pull your quilt from both the top and the bottom)
JOIN ME for a LIVE Video today (March 26, 2019) at 10:00 am PDT (West Coast USA). I will be jumping on to check to see if anyone has questions! If you can’t join me LIVE, the video will be saved to the Facebook Group, it will be available on Instagram for 24 hours and I will upload it to my YouTube channel.
Join the Quilt Along by posting your progress photo’s on Instagram with the hashtag #FrameItQAL
OR Join the Facebook Quilt Along Group and post your progress photo there!!
We are now on Week 6 of the Frame It Quilt Along! This week we will be making 4 more quilt blocks! The quilt along is following the Throw size quilt, so if you are making a different size, make extra blocks this week!
These blocks go together super quick, so it’s not too late to join in!
JOIN ME for a LIVE Video today (March 19, 2019) at 10:00 am PDT (West Coast USA). I will be jumping on to check to see if anyone has questions! If you can’t join me LIVE, the video will be saved to the Facebook Group, it will be available on Instagram for 24 hours and I will upload it to my YouTube channel.
Join the Quilt Along by posting your progress photo’s on Instagram with the hashtag #FrameItQAL
OR Join the Facebook Quilt Along Group and post your progress photo there!!
Yay! It’s week 5 of the Frame It Quilt Along! This week we will be finishing 4 of our blocks (If you are making the Throw size, adjust according to what size you are making).
Make sure to square up your block after each step.
Check the beginning and end of your seam, make sure they are a consistent scant 1/4 inch seam all the way across.
Finger press your seams open, then press with your iron.
JOIN ME for a LIVE Video today (March 12, 2019) at 10:00 am PDT (West Coast USA). I will be going over how to finish our quilt blocks. I will also be answering any questions you have! If you can’t join me LIVE, the video will be saved to the Facebook Group, it will be available on Instagram for 24 hours and I will upload it to my YouTube channel.
Join the Quilt Along by posting your progress photo’s on Instagram with the hashtag #FrameItQAL
OR Join the Facebook Quilt Along Group and post your progress photo there!!
First you will want to decide which version you will be making:
The main pattern
Half square triangle method (uses more background fabric)
Stitch and flip method (uses more main fabric and background fabric)
I recommend trying the Main pattern instructions with some scrap fabric before deciding on which method you want to use.
Tips for this week:
Read ALL instructions
Be gentle with the cut triangles
Sew slowly
Square up the finished Square in Square unit to the specified size. When squaring up the block measure 4 1/4 inch from the center of the block.
JOIN ME for a LIVE Video tomorrow (March 6, 2019) at 10:15 am PST (West Coast USA). I will be going over all 3 methods of making the Square in Square unit. I will also be answering any questions you have! If you can’t join me LIVE, the video will be saved to the Facebook Group, it will be available on Instagram for 24 hours and I will upload it to my YouTube channel.
Join the Quilt Along by posting your progress photo’s on Instagram with the hashtag #FrameItQAL
OR Join the Facebook Quilt Along Group and post your progress photo there!!
Welcome to week 3 of the Frame It Quilt Along! The first two weeks of the quilt along were dedicated to pick out our fabrics! This week we will be cutting out our pieces.
I bought this beautiful bundle from Southern Fabrics! I was going to go with Kona Cotton in Silver, one of my usual background fabrics. But I thought it would have better contrast and make the prints pop better if I went with Kona Cotton in Iron.
Tips for cutting your pieces:
If you are cutting from yardage, I recommend cutting your largest pieces out first. Then cut the smaller pieces out next. This will insure that you have enough fabric for the whole quilt.
If you are using Fat Quarters, check out the cutting diagram in the pattern.
If you are making the Baby size you will be cutting out less pieces from each fat quarter than you would be if you are making the Throw, Twin, Queen or King size.
And as always, measure twice and cut once!
LIVE VIDEO
Join me for the Live Video today (Feb. 26th) at 10 am PST (West Coast USA). If you can’t watch Live, the video will be saved in my Facebook group. It will also be available for 24 hours on Instagram. After that I will upload it to my YouTube channel.
Join the quilt along fun by posting a progress photo on Instagram with the hashtag #FrameItQAL
or post a progress photo in the Happy Cloud Creations Quilt Along Group!
Quilt Along Schedule: Feb. 12 – Week 1-2: Get Pattern and Pick out Fabrics
Feb. 26 – Week 3: Cut out our pieces
Mar. 5 – Week 4: Make Center Units (Square in Square Blocks) (Steps 1-4)
Mar. 12 – Week 5: Finish 4 Blocks
Mar. 19 – Week 6: Finish 4 Blocks
Mar. 26 – Week 7: Finish 4 Blocks
Apr. 2 – Week 8: Add Sashing and Finish Quilt
I asked in my Quilt Along Group which pattern everyone would like to make next as a quilt along and the majority voted for my Frame It Quilt Pattern. I love the modern look of this pattern!
16 inch Blocks Fat Quarter Friendly – includes cutting diagram!
Scrap Friendly!
Dates: February 12 – April 2nd
25% OFF the pattern thru March 11th! Get your Pattern February 12!
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This pattern will be released in my shop on Feb. 12 with two versions. *Digital PDF download *Printed Color PDF mailed to you (USA and Canada ONLY – this will be cost a little more to cover the printing and shipping fees)
The patterns will be 25% OFF the first month of the quilt along, then 15% OFF thru the remainder of the quilt along.
What you will get: Both versions will come with the Main pattern and 2 supplementals. One supplemental will give you directions how to make the square in square blocks with Half Square Triangles. The second will give you directions how to make the square in square block with the Stitch and Flip method.
The main pattern uses triangles cut on the bias. So I thought I’d give these two other options for those that are worried about sewing triangles.
I found that if you are gentle with your fabric and sew slowly, you shouldn’t have a problem with sewing the triangles on the bias. For extra help you can starch your fabric before cutting.
Quilt Size: Throw – 56 x 74 inches (12 blocks)
I will be making the Throw size, but you can choose which ever size you would like and adjust how many blocks you will finish in weeks 5 – 7. These sizes are also in the pattern: Baby (4 blocks), Twin (20 blocks), Queen (30 blocks) and King (36 blocks)
Quilt Along Schedule:
Feb. 12 – Week 1-2: Get Pattern and pick out fabrics
Feb. 26 – Week 3: Cut our pieces
Mar. 5 – Week 4: Make center units (Square in Square Block) (Step 1 – 4)
Mar. 12 – Week 5: Finish 4 Blocks
Mar. 19 – Week 6: Finish 4 Blocks
Mar. 26 – Week 7: Finish 4 Blocks
Apr. 2 – Week 8: Add sashing and Finish Quilt
Each week I will have a LIVE video to go over that weeks step and answer any questions you have! You will be able to view my LIVE videos in my Facebook Quilt Along Group: Happy Cloud Creations Quilt Alongs OR my Instagram.
After the video is done, I will upload it to my YouTube page for easy access!
Since I have received a lot of requests for the Fabric Requirements early, you can download them now! Make sure to decided which way you would like to make the blocks. The main pattern, half square triangle and stitch and flip versions all have slightly different fabric requirements.
If you like to pre-wash your fabric or if you are worried about miss cutting, but a little extra!
