I Wish You a Merry Quilt-A-Long: Block 8
Today is a double fun block release day for the I Wish You a Merry Quilt-A-Long. There are actually two blocks released today and Block 7 is mine! You can find my post for Block 7 here. If you are new to the QAL visit the Facebook Group for the details and join the community of quilters who are getting in the spirit.
This post is about the fabulous Block 8 designed by Sola of Alice Samuel's Quilt Co. You can find her Block 8 Presents Pattern and tutorial on her blog. I love this festive block and the pattern was fun to make.
To be entered in the prize drawing just post a picture of your finished Block 7 in one of three places:
Fabric Choice
Of course I chose a bright blue and green for the wrapping paper and a festive red for the ribbons. And don't you love that tone-on-tone white background print?My Tips for the Block
This is a traditionally pieced block with a creative use of strip piecing. The diagonal ribbons are a bit tricky to match up but just pin carefully before you sew and it will work out. Sola does provide instructions for using appliqué for the top ribbon if you prefer that method. Nice to have choices! True confession time now. I accidentally cut the pieces for the top of the gift boxes too narrow. Oops. But I didn't want to change my fabrics so I cut down the pieces for the fronts of boxes to match. Then I added some side border fabric to bring the whole block up to size. Now I have skinny presents. I wonder what is in them? Sometimes you have to be creative in working around mistakes. I often press seams open so a block will lay flatter, but in this case I pressed the seams toward the ribbons. The extra bulk from the seam allowances helps the ribbons to stand out a bit from the rest of the box.Enter the Block Prize Giveaway
As always there is a great prize drawing for Block 7. If you are the lucky winner you will receive one pdf pattern of your choice from Yvonne Fuchs of The Quilting Jetgirl and one pair of Warm Crochet Scissors.
To be entered in the prize drawing just post a picture of your finished Block 7 in one of three places:
- Facebook Group
- Instagram with hashtag #iwishyouamerryqal
- Or link up your blog post of your finished block with the linky party below on the designer's post.
Grand Prize Drawing in January
Remember, 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!