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 Welcome! I am sew excited to get going on our quilt-along! If you are here to sew, or to just follow along and watch this round… I am so thrilled to have you! In case you’re just joining us, there is still time to get started! Click here for the supply list and inspiration picture of our project. Let me start by repeating that I am actually quilting along with you. I do not have my quilt finished yet, to me that is part of the fun of this quilt-along! With that said, I do not have a finished product to show you yet, which basically means that I know you are putting a lot of faith in me and this project. I will do my absolute best to provide great detail and help you along the way. This isn’t the most difficult quilt to make, but it will definitely take a little time and skill. I hope that my measurements of all the fabric are accurate, I might have erred on the side of purchasing too much, but that all depends on what size of quilt you’re making. I would definitely recommend drawing out a map of your quilt, with all the measurements, so you can decipher exactly how much fabric to get according to your desired size. My quilt is going to be a lap sized quilt, just smaller than a twin sized quilt. (This was just a very rough draft, so don’t go by any of my measurements here)!

 I just got done cutting my fabric, and I’m excited to show you how I did it, so you can get to work on yours!   Squares: You will need a cutting mat, large ruler, and rotary cutter for today. You should have a fat quarter bundle. This is great, because it means that you probably got a great selection of lots of different fabrics, plus it will help cut down on the cutting time, since the blocks measure 18×22 inches (at least in the Riley Blake line). So, group your fabrics into piles by color if you’d like. This will help you keep track once you lay out all your squares to design the quilt top.  Now lay out your first piece on your cutting mat, and line up at the corner.


Now you will trim off 4 inches, making this an 18 x 18 inch piece.

Next, you will cut this piece directly in half, creating 2 pieces that are 9 x 18 inches.

Here is another view of the process. You can discard the 4 inch strip, or save it in your fabric stash. (If you’re feeling really creative, you could totally use this in your quilt as your small border, or even the binding. But I want all my borders to be of the same fabric, so I will save them for something else).

Here are my 3 piles of rectangles, 9 x 18 inches.

Muslin:
Cut your muslin to 9×9 squares. (This is the backing that you will be sewing the ruffled squares to next week).

If your muslin is 36 inches wide, that is perfect. Just cut strips that are 9 inches wide x 36 inches long.

Then cut those in half (9 inches), and cut the fold. This will make 4 squares. If your muslin doesn’t measure 36 inches wide, just do your best to cut accurate 9 inch squares!

Cut enough to equal the amount of quilting squares you will have! In my case, this is 44 squares.

Binding, Borders, and Backing:
I’ve decided not to cut these fabrics until I’m ready for them. I am planning on these measurements.
Binding: 
you have: 1/2 yard
cut: 7 strips, 2.5 x 44 inches
final measurement: 1 inch (on front and back)
Small Border: 
you have: 1 yard
cut: 6 strips 2.5 x 44 inches
final measurement: 2 inch wide border
Large Border: 
you have: 2 yards
cut: 6 strips 7 x 44 inches
final measurement: 6.5 inch wide border
Backing: 
you have: 4 yards
cut: I am going to wait completely for this step


Ok, that’s all for today! Good job!
This week’s job of cutting the fabric was the easy part. Next week, we will be piecing the quilt top, which will involve ruffling each square, sewing it to the muslin backing, then sewing all our rows and columns together. If you want to get a head start on the ruffling, here is a picture of one square. You will basically ruffle each long side of your rectangle, (which can be done easily with your ruffle foot, or by basting each side and pulling the top thread the gather them), then sew all 4 sides to the muslin. I will go into more detail next week, but if you have any questions at all, leave a commennt or email me at familyeverafter at gmail!

Front-
Back-

See you next week to piece the quilt top!
Here’s a quick reminder of our schedule 🙂
ps- You can go check out the fun being had with the zig-zag quilt over at Mommy By Day, Crafter by Night!
This Quilt-Along is sponsored by:
 Riley Blake 
 Check out their blog and facebook!

Riley Blake Designs

Linked up to some of these great parties! See my huge list of link parties HERE!
Once upon a time…

I started a blog. This is a tale of my projects, goals, and dreams. Thank you for taking a moment to stop by. I hope you have a beautiful day.

xoxo, Rach H.

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