I Wish You a Merry Quilt-A-Long: Block 4
Today is double the fun for the I Wish You a Merry Quilt-A-Long! This is my post for Block 4 and you can find my version of Block 3 here. If you are new to the QAL take a look at this post by Pretty Piney that has all the QAL links so far. It is not too late to join in the fun!
Jennifer Fulton of The Inquiring Quilter has designed these festive appliquéd ornaments for Block 4. The tutorial and pattern on her blog are excellent and will help you achieve beautiful results. Jennifer calls the block "Christmas Memories" and it really does bring back lovely memories of the traditional glass ornaments that my parents had on our family tree.
To be entered in the prize drawing just post a picture of your finished Block 4 in one of three places:
Fabric Choice
I am pulling fabrics from my stash as I make the QAL blocks, improvising as I go. So for this block I used the same fabrics I previously used in the snowflake and the Christmas trees and then pulled in some reds for variety. I don't have much of that particular spotty blue left and I am going to miss it when it is completely gone.My Tips for the Block
I was glad that I had the experience with the appliquéd snowflake block first. It gave me the confidence to tackle this slightly more complex layout. I was careful about following the pattern and laying out the pieces and I kinda love the way it turned out. Though somehow I did manage to get the bell behind the green ornament instead of in front of it, but I'll bet you didn't notice until I pointed it out, did you? It really helped to fuse multiple layers of each ornament together before fusing the whole ornament to the background. Instead of a straight edge stitch or a zigzag stitch I used a looping stitch suggested by my quilting buddy/sister-in-law Janette. I do like the way it helps the edges to lay very flat. I changed thread color to match the pieces, but next time I might try invisible monofilament thread so I don't have to change thread colors so often.
Enter the Block Prize Giveaway
And of course there is a great prize drawing for Block 4! The prize includes two packages of Lite Steam-A-Seam 2 from The Warm Company and a pdf pattern from The Inquiring Quilter. Lite Steam-A-Seam 2 is actually the fusible web brand that I have been using for this QAL and it works really well.
To be entered in the prize drawing just post a picture of your finished Block 4 in one of three places:
- Facebook Group
- Instagram with hashtag #iwishyouamerryqal
- Or link up your post of your finished block with the linky party on the designer's blog The Inquiring Quilter.
Grand Prize Drawing in January
News Flash! There will be a drawing for an amazing grand prize in January. To be eligible for the grand prize drawing you must post a completed quilt top using all twelve of the QAL blocks by January 16. Even if you miss deadlines for some of the individual block giveaways you can still post for the grand prize. Look at these amazing sponsors for the grand prize!