I Wish You a Merry Quilt-A-Long: Layout

Today we released the last block in the I Wish You a Merry Quilt-A-Long! See my Block 12 post for my version of the Christmas Lights block. All the QAL block patterns will be available for free just until January 15. After that many of the designers will be adding the designs to their pattern shops. Today the QAL hosts are also sharing our layouts and ideas for finishing the quilt. My layout is slightly wonky, which goes along with my slightly quirky blocks. If you want to get wonky too I have included a tutorial below.

Wonky Layout Tutorial

To make the wonky effect I pieced an angled frame around each block and then trimmed the blocks to 14" square.
  1. First square up your blocks. If some blocks are smaller than 12.5" that is not a problem. The wonky frames will hide the difference.
  2. Cut 24 rectangles 4" x 14" for the side frames and 24 rectangles 4" x 16" for the top and bottom frames. Note: I cut my rectangles only 3" wide but in hindsight I recommend cutting them 4" wide to have more wiggle room in the final squaring up.
  3. Slice the rectangles with an angled cut the long way. You can vary the angle from piece to piece, but don't cut closer than 1" to the edge. This will leave room for seam allowances. Keep each of the sliced pairs together.
    Slice rectangles at an angle
  4. Sew a 14" sliced pair to the sides of a block, right sides together. Make sure the thick and thin ends are opposite each other. Make some blocks lean to the left (thin end on the left) and make some blocks lean to the right (thin end on the right) so the blocks will lean different ways in the quilt top.
    Attach the side frames.
  5. Press the side frames open and trim the edges. Sew a 16" sliced pair to the top and bottom of the block, right sides together. Make sure a thick end and a thin end meet at the corners so the framed block will be close to square.
    Attach the top and bottom frames
  6. Press the top and bottom frames open and then trim the block to 14" square.
    Square up the framed block
  7. Add wonky frames to all twelve blocks and trim them all to 14" squares. Lay out the blocks as desired, then sew blocks and rows together.
    A finished wonky framed block

Finishing Plan

To finish my quilt I am considering an all over quilting design, maybe swirls. I am not sure what color binding would best frame the quilt. Blue, green, red ... what do you think? I am looking forward to seeing all of your finished quilts!

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 before midnight on January 15th. Even if you have miss deadlines for some of the individual block giveaways you can still post for the grand prize. We are so grateful to our Grand Prize sponsors and I sure do envy the quilter who wins this amazing collection of prizes! Please visit our sponsor sites and explore their offerings to show your appreciation.

Blocks and More Tips From Other QAL Hosts

Also please visit the other QAL hosts to see more layout options and finishing tips. ~ Sandy Day 5 of The 2017 31 Day Blog Writing Challenge
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