MMQAL: Intro!
Monday, September 2, 2013 at 1:39PM Hiya folks! Hopefully you've spent the last week thinking about color, value, and buying your copy of Liberty Love! I couldn't help myself. I put together my fabric stacks!! It has been really exciting following the #mmqal tag on Instagram and seeing everyone pulling fabric and roping their unsuspecting friends into this Quilt-Along! ;)
This week is the intro, where we set out the schedule, talk a little bit about prizes, and I've even included a sneaky tutorial for English Paper Piecing (EPPing) the centre medallion! Let's get started.
By now I hope your book is either in your hot little hands or on its way to you! I can't tell you how much I love the projects in this book - there are clothes for mamas, babies, projects for sewing, for everyday use, and for sheer beauty! There are things you can make in a day, and things you can do in an hour, and longer projects, like the Marcelle Medallion Quilt! As I mentioned last week, you can get the book ! And the fabric is so beautiful, not only the Liberty, but everything else, too. You can find it on Amazon, on Book Depository, Better World Books, and signed copies at Alexia's shop. (Alexia, bee tee dubs, is super excited about our Quilt-Along too! More about that later.)
As always, the master post for the Marcelle Medallion Quilt-Along is HERE but you can subscribe to my blog and keep up as we go along!
Quilt Along Schedule
- 2 September - Introduction, Schedule, Tools
- 3 September - Center Medallion Part I EPP
- 4 September - Color & Value, Choosing your fabric, and scant 1/4" seam tutorial.
- 9 September - Centre Medallion Part II, Y-seams tutorial, freezer paper tutorial, prizes list!*
- 16 September - Borders 1 (solid) and 2 (60º triangles), using a 60º triangle ruler tutorial or template plastic.*
- 23 September - Border 3 (solid) and cutting Border 4 (flying geese). Tutorial on fast and accurate cross-cutting with your ruler.*
- 30 September - Assembling Border 4. Chain-piecing tutorial.*
- 7 October - Border 5 (strips) and Border 6 (solid).*
- 14 October - Cutting out Border 7 (pluses), cutting out Border 8 (solid).*
- 21 October - Putting Border 7 together (pluses).*
- 28 October - Put the quilt top together! Tips for easing, wonkiness cures, and the wonders of pinning.*
- 4 November - Show it off!*
Prizes
To join into this QAL, all you have to do is sew a Marcelle Medallion Quilt! But to be eligible for a prize pack, you need to join the linky at the bottom of each MMQAL post, starting 9 September, and post a picture of your progress! There are also little prizes awarded each week to commenters on this blog, so don't be shy! We want to see how you are going!
There are prizes offered each week with a * after it, and the prize winners will be chosen by Mr Random Number Generator. Prizes will be awarded in the next week's MMQAL blog post. All linked-up persons are eligible but if you want a bonus prize by commenting on the blog, you must leave a valid email address or Mr Random Number Generator will choose someone else. :)
To be eligible for the grand prize, you must have a completed quilt top!
The prizes will be listed sometime later this week. The first prize draw (and first linky party) will begin on September 9 so put that in your calendars!
All right, now that the housekeeping is out of the way, let's have a quick chat about tools!
Tools for quilting
- a good rotary cutter with a sharp blade (I use Olfa)
- a self-healing cutting mat (I use Olfa and a cheapy from my LQS)
- a ruler with 45º and 60º lines on it (I use Matilda's Own 6.5" x 14", Matilda's Own 5" square, and Matilda's Own 6" x 24" for cutting long border strips)
- Good thread (new, not vintage! I prefer Aurifil or Gutermann)
- Good snips or scissors (I love my microtip Fiskars)
- Sewing machine
Optional Tools for the Marcelle Medallion Quilt:
- A 60º Triangle ruler (I love Marti Michell's)
- Template plastic (I found mine at Spotlight)
- Freezer paper (Reynold's does it best)
- Cardstock paper (if you want to EPP the center)
- Good milliners/straw needles for hand-sewing
All right! Gather up your tools, have a good look at your fabric, write down all those dates somewhere, and I'll see you tomorrow to talk about English Paper Piecing the centre medallion!
Remember if you have any questions, I am all over the place! Instagram, Twitter, email, and this blog too! Shoot me a message if you have any questions! I try to have them answered with a day! If you want to join in on group discussions, we have a Flickr Group too, and if you're looking for inspiration, check out our Pinterest Board!
Cheers!
Penny xx
Reader Comments (4)
Oh I can't wait to get started! I picked up the book a couple weeks ago, and I have been dying to sew the Marcelle Medallion :})
Well I'm jumping right in! This quilt is so beautiful and the allure of making it along with everyone is too much! I might even *finally* figure out instagram for this :)
Hi! I'm super excited about the MMQAL! I just want to share a paper piecing tutorial (not EPP) I made for this a couple of months ago. It's in video format and I show how to create a template in the free application Quilt Assistant based on individual pattern pieces like they are given in the book. http://www.sewwhatsherlock.com/tutorial-and-giveaway-convert/ I hope it helps someone!
Ok I am going to join in - I've made one centre medallion ages ago for a cushion in a swap but I NEED to make myself a quilt!!! A yummy scrummy quilt!