I Wish You a Merry Quilt-A-Long: Block 10
Today is release day for Block 10 in the I Wish You a Merry Quilt-A-Long. Can you believe there are only two more blocks after this? 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. All of the block patterns will be available for free until January 16.
Block 10 is a lovely Christmas Lantern designed by Diane Lomax of Cwilt Fabrics & Haberdashery. This is such a beautiful design. I love the overall proportions and the bow and the sprig of holly really are the perfect embellishments.
To be entered in the prize drawing just post a picture of your finished Block 7 in one of three places:
Fabric Choice
Still following my scrappy palette of blues and greens so the lantern frame is a dark teal print. I decided to use a white background, as I have for most of my blocks. But guess what, the appliqué snow on the roof blends right into the background. Oops! When I quilt the top I will do something clever to mark the boundary, but for today I outlined it in a temporary marker so you can see the snow line. It looks kind of weird now, but that blobby blue line will be disappeared soon. The yellow fabric that I used for the glass panes is actually the wrong side of a scrap fabric because, believe it or not, this is toned down from the very bright front side of the fabric. The glowing effect in the design is such fun!My Tips for the Block
The pattern uses templates for the block and for the appliqué pieces so I thought I would share my tips for cutting with templates.- First rough cut the templates from the paper, just to separate the different templates.
- Use a bit of temporary fabric glue (I used Lapel Stick) or double-sided tape to place the templates on the fabric.
- Use a rotary cutter and ruler to cut any straight lines. Cut right through the paper and fabric, keeping the ruler on the outside edge of the template line. Cutting the paper won't hurt your rotary blade.
- Also use the rotary cutter to cut any gentle curves. Yes, you can use a rotary cutter without a ruler. Just go slow and keep the cutter on the outside edge of the template line. If you have a smaller rotary cutter this would be a good time to use it.
- For small shapes or complicated curves use sharp scissors. For a smooth cut hold the piece in one hand and move the piece (not the scissors) as you cut.
- Keep the labeled template papers on the pieces until you are ready to sew them so you don't get similar pieces confused.
Enter the Block Prize Giveaway
As always there is a great prize drawing for Block 10 . If you are the lucky winner you will receive a pdf pattern of your choice from Vanda Chittenden of Quilt in Piece and two packages of Steam-A-Seam 2 from The Warm Co.
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 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!