Curiouser and Curiouser Quiltalong

Welcome to the Curiouser and Curiouser Sampler Quiltalong! We hope that you will join us on our adventures through quilting.

Jen and I both have far too many fat quarters in our fabric stashes, and we both love to try new techniques. We thought it would be fun to co-host a quiltalong (QAL) to use these lovely fabrics and stash-down at the same time. I am supposedly the more experienced of the 2 of us, but I’m still learning with every project.
I do know some stuff and I am looking forward to sharing it with other quilt-alongers.

With just one 12.5in block design published per week (first design will be posted on 17th November), this quiltalong will go at a steady pace, allowing you to drop in and out as you have time available. The beauty of blocks being that your quilt can be finished whenever you like. We do of course hope that you will be drawn in by the designs, and that you will want to complete a 35-block twin quilt with us.
We are aiming for a 5×7 blocks layout, but you could of course make less. A 3×3 blocks layout will give you a quilt perfect for a baby and anything above that will provide a quilt perfect to snuggle under on the sofa.

If you are new to quilting, this is a wonderful way to build your skills and learn lots of new techniques. There will be plenty of opportunity for sharing hints and tricks, all with the support of the QAL group.
The QAL will start with very simple blocks that even someone with very basic sewing skills can successfully make. And as the weeks go on, we will build on these skills to try and master more challenging techniques.

We have planned in some fun, with giveaways for participants throughout the QAL, as well as other curious surprises along the way.
You can join in in a number of ways –

• Quiltalong with us, posting your pictures to your blog. Each week, we will have a widget for you to share your links with other QAL-ers.
• Join us in the Curiouser and Curiouser QAL Flickr group that we have set up – post pictures of your blocks and chat with others.
• Or you can just live the QAL vicariously by watching our progress and encouraging us along by posting comments to our blogs!

Materials for a twin size quilt – approx. 60” x 84”:

1. Fabric requirements (these are only approximate, you might need more or less):

• 15 different Fat Quarters – this will give you a good variety of prints to choose from.
• 1.5m of plain (contrasting) fabric of your choice – white, cream, grey, black, anything you’d like to use as your contrasting fabric. For a multicoloured or rainbow quilt, you could used different plain fabrics for each block.
• 4.5m of 44” backing fabric or 1.75m of 108” backing fabric.
• 0.75m of binding fabric.
• 1.75m of 90” quilt batting.

2. Tools:

• Rotary cutter and cutting mat.
• Quilting rulers – a long rectangular one and a square one should be enough.
• Scissors.
• Sewing machine (though everything could be done by hand, it will just take longer).
• Hand sewing needles.
• Neutral thread (cream and grey work particularly well with all sorts of prints and colours).
• Contrasting thread for basting (paper piecing).
• Paper and pen.
• Fabric pen or pencil (water erasable preferably as air erasable might disappear before you are done).
• Iron and ironing board.
• Bondaweb or any other double-sided fusible web for appliqué.
• Safety pins or basting spray for quilt basting.

Next week, it will be all about choosing your fabrics, with some tips on colour theory a very basic cutting tutorial.

So, who’s with us?? To wet your appetite, here’s a little preview of some blocks we are planning to include in our QAL:

Exciting, isn’t it?

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