Snowflake QAL: Week Ten

Kelly Levant's quilt pictured here (her photo) called Summer Stars was recently accepted into Quilt Canada 2018! Congratulations, Kelly!

WEEK TEN!

Inspiration time! Kelly participated in the first Feathered Star QAL this summer. Just this week it was accepted into a juried show–her first! Well deserved, Kelly! We will be rooting for you this May!

Snowflake Sampler: assemble quilt top, p.62

Star Flurries: assemble quilt top, p. 39

Feathered Star Blizzard: assemble quilt top, p. 44

If you haven't removed your papers, I would highly suggest you do that before you sew any applicable sashing strips to your blocks before assembly. I think it is soooooo much easier to pick out papers block by block instead of having a whole lap of work to get through.

Refer to the pages of your pattern given above and complete the rest of the pattern!

OHMYGOSH, I'M GETTING SO EXCITED TO SEE YOUR TOPS!

Nagging reminder time! To get great results, go slow, take one step at a time, check and re-check your sewing in relation to the diagrams, PIN CAREFULLY AND FREQUENTLY, sew and press with care. 

You've got this!!

Snowflake QAL: Week Seven

Lisa's progress! @duhquilts on Instagram.

Welcome to Week Seven! 

Snowflake Sampler: two 8" No Y Seam Feathered Stars

Star Flurries: one (this is a correction) 20" No Y Seam Feathered Stars or Fierce Feathered Stars (your choice of construction method)

Feathered Star Blizzard: three 8" No Y Seam Feathered Stars

I'm continually inspired by all of the progress photos I see! I say to myself "That's my favorite one!"... for every single star or group of stars I see! :) haha

What I LOVE is the diversity of color palettes. This group is making the patterns their very own!

JessicaQuilter made her own layout design using the 20" feathered stars. Look at her beautiful quilting!

Lisa @shiraz_and_sewing is using soft pink and blue tones (see her Instagram feed for more) and they are fabulous!

YOU CAN DO IT! Keep going, I promise it'll be worth it in the end!

Hop on over to my closed Facebook group to join the discussion, share pictures, ask questions, get encouragement. We are a community and we'd love to help you out!

In the Facebook group last week, I posted an option of adding a flying geese border which increases the size of the Sampler & Blizzard quilts to 90" square. Check it out if you are interested!

QAL FAQ

Here we are less than one week away from beginning the next quilt-a-long! I wanted to answer a few questions that have come up. I hope this helps you! If you have any additional questions, please leave a comment or get in touch with me through email: threadedquilting at gmail dot com.

1. How will the QAL work?

Each Sunday beginning December 31 (this Sunday!) and lasting for 10 weeks, I will email a new challenge out to the participants. I consider anyone who bought one of the three new patterns to be a participant. The email will have a challenge for that week. Depending on the pattern, it'll be about 2 stars per week. I will also post the challenges publicly here in the journal section of my site.

2. What if I can't keep up?

This is a fairly fast-paced QAL, participate as you're able. My goal is to provide support and fun along the way. The last thing I want is to create added stress in your life! No need to apologize for not keeping up! This is meant to expand your skills, challenge you to sew and create, provide community. There will be no guilt-tripping!! :) 

3. Are there prizes?

YES! I can't wait to feature other pattern designers as we go! Most of these designers will be known to you, but if not, I can't wait make an introduction! Since paper piecing is kind of "our thing", I focused on designers who have paper piecing patterns for giveaways!

Prize winning will be based on a mix of general participation and completing specific weekly challenges. I will rely on social media posting on Facebook and Instagram to see who is participating. Please make sure your posts are "public" so that I can see them!

4. The fabric requirements seem like a little much. What's going on?

The Star Flurries and Feathered Star Blizzard patterns can be exclusively paper pieced and because of this, more waste is involved than with conventional sewing methods. This is a reality of paper piecing. 

If you plan to use the Fierce Feathered Star method for sewing the 20" stars instead of the paper pieced versions, you can expect to use slightly less fabric. For the patterns that give you the choice, I listed the fabric requirements assuming one would paper piece the stars, just so there would be no shortage.

5. What's with all the shades of blue?

This winter QAL uses fabrics to make the feathered stars resemble snowflakes! I thought it was easier to classify the fabrics by shade (light, medium dark, etc.) but perhaps Fabric 1, Fabric 2, Fabric 3, etc. would have been easier! My apologies if you find it difficult to keep track. I'd encourage you to use the "my swatch" pages preceding each star size to help you stay organized.

6. What size of needle to you use when paper piecing?

I use Microtex Sharps either a 90/14 needle or 80/12 needle. Using the larger (90/14) needle, may help papers better perforate and tear away if that is an issue. I reach for whatever one is new and sharp and haven't had an issue with either size.

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7. I've paper pieced a few stars to get used to the pattern and have dulled the points of my spines. Any suggestions?

Two (or more?) things could be happening. Pressing could make a difference. I actually only use my fingers to press while I'm constructing. Sometimes it looks like the very end of my points are gone, but after I *really* get in there to crease the fabrics with my fingers, it looks better. Use the pressing method that will yield the best results. You might want to experiment with finger pressing, using a wooden iron, using a mini iron or using your regular dry iron to find the method that works best for you.

Another thing to consider is that when you're adding your last piece of fabric to a unit with spines, sew on the outside edge of the black line to give yourself a smidge more space.

8. What about a two-fabric quilt? Would that look good?

Oh heavens yes! I think two-color quilts are amazing and I think this pattern would look outstanding in two tones.  (We want a picture if you do this!)

9. Do I need to buy any additional lessons?

Nope! The pattern is thorough and complete on its own. The patterns are advanced and assume knowledge of foundation paper piecing. I will add supplemental tips to my weekly emails and to my journal entries as we progress, but there are no further costs involved.

Buy your pattern here in my shop if you haven't done so already!

Snowflake Suite of patterns NOW AVAILABLE!

The 20" (paper pieced) No Y Seam Feathered Star pattern is new and exclusive to these patterns!

I'm so excited to roll out THREE new patterns that use feathered star blocks!

Buy your choice of pattern and join me for the next Quilt-A-Long that begins on New Year's Eve! How's that for ringing in 2018 with a new project and new challenge?!

The QAL will take place over ten weeks: nine weeks of "challenges" and one week of catch-up. :) It averages out to about two feathered star blocks per week. Unless you're piecing the Feathered Star Blizzard... with nearly double-the-stars, you might decide to take on more per week or extend your QAL experience by another few weeks. ;)

More information such as materials needed and fabric requirements can be found here.

Leave a comment below or email me at threadedquilting@gmail.com if I can answer any questions!

Feathered Star QAL pattern is now available

It's ready for you! Summer challenge, anyone? :)

We're closer to beginning the Feathered Star QAL (June 25th)!  As I was testing the pattern and getting it ready for you, I fell in love with the fabric combinations! It's one thing to design on the computer and a completely different thing to see a design come to life in person. I love the whole process of designing and quilting, but that is one of the best feelings! 

Fabric Shack is still selling kits of the exact fabrics that I'm using in my quilt. You can check out that deal here. The whole quilt top + binding fabrics for $68?! Yes, please!

Do you own the Fierce Feathered Star pattern? It's the one with large 20" & 36" stars. If you do not have this pattern already, you'll need to buy this bundle for the QAL:

If you have already purchased the Fierce Feathered Star block pattern, all you'll need is this pattern for the actual twin sized quilt top:

I realize that having different options can get confusing, but it was important to me to honor those who had already paid for the Fierce Feathered Star block pattern and not make them pay for it twice.

Email me at threadedquilting@gmail.com if you have any questions about which you should buy if you are interested in quilting along with us! 

Watch this space for more as the QAL unfolds. I'll just say this, too, if you like the pattern but know you won't be able to commit to a 9-week project (I get it!), the patterns give you everything you'll need to QBY (Quilt-By-Yourself). HA! I just made that up, but it's true. :)