April 12th - 18th - WEEK ONE Better Together QUilt Along Pick Your Fabrics
PRE-PRIZE
To kick off the Quilt Along I had a PRE prize.
That’s right. Everyone who posted this photo (see left) before April 12th on their public instagram account with the hashtags #bettertogetherqal and #quilterscandy were eligible for the pre-prize. A $25.00 Amazon gift card.
The winner of the Amazon gift card is: Jennifer Strauser of @jenstrauser. I will be in touch to get that sent your way!
Week One – Pick Fabric
We will ease into making our quilt with week 1. This week is time for you to gather your fbarics to make your ‘Better Together’ Quilt.
This week is a time to gether your fabirc to make your Better Together Quilt.
NEEDED FABRICS:
The pattern makes a quilt top that measures 48″ x 60″.
- 11 Fat Quarters
- 2 ¼ yards background fabric
- 3 yards backing
- ½ yard fabric for binding
BONUS: LARGER SIZE QUILT TOP
If you want to make a larger finished quilt size, I added a bonus fabric requirement.
I will tell you how the directions will change if you decide to make this bigger size next week when we start our quilt tops.
To make a 54″ x 72″ finished quilt top, you will need:
- 14 Fat Quarters
- 3 yards background fabric
- 3 ½ yards backing
- ½ yard fabric for binding
FABRIC BUNDLES
If you are looking for a fabric bundle that’s all ready selected and ready to ship, there are some great options for you.
I put together a full quilt kist with my current favorite fabrics.
Included: all needed fabrics including backing and binding. The quilt kit is on sale for Week 1 of the Quilt Along.
Tree House Quilting Co. put together a bundle affectionatley called, ‘The Elizabeth Bundle’ that is a beautiful bundle of fabrics that fit my signature style. It’s the perfect bundle to make a Better Together quilt.
The Mid Life Quilter curated a beautiful bundle of fat quarters for the ‘Better Together’ Quilt along.
Scribbly Quilt Co. put together this stunning quilt kit. They are located in Australia, so for those os you in Australia, this might be a perfect fit for you!
MDQ (Mother Daughter Quilting) put together a bundle I just love! It has 12 fat quarters, and would make a lovely ‘Better Together’ Quilt Top.
Marmalade Mood Quilts put together a quilt kist that works for the larger size quilt top (and the smaller). These bright colors would make a lovely ‘Better Together’ quilt top.
Grab the ‘Better Together’ pattern and get ready for week 2 of the Quilt Along.
WEEK 1 PRIZE
The prize for week 1 is a Fat Quarter Bundle of fabric from Harmony Lane Quilt Co. plus a paper pattern version of my latest Day Dreamer Quilt Pattern.
To enter:
- Post a photo of your fabric bundle for the Better Together Quilt along on a PUBLIC instagram account. (I can’t see your post if it’s on a private account).
- Use the hashtag #bettertogetherqal AND #quilterscandy
- Follow our sponsor, @harmonylanequiltco.
Winner will be announced Monday, April 19th.
LIST OF ALL PRIZES:
Week 1 – (Picking Fabrics) A Fat Quarter bundle of fabric from Harmony Lane Quilt Company plus a paper patter copy of my new Day Dream Quilt Pattern.
Week 2 – A 1 year subscription to the new virtual magazine, the ‘Modish Quilter’ Magazine. Editions come out quarterly so this includes 4 editions of the magazine.
Week 3 – 3 month membership to the Quilters Candy Membership + a Fat Quarter bundle of fabric of from Corinne Wells line called, ‘Rocky Mountain Wild’.
Week 4 – Free Edge to Edge long arm quilting + batting for your finished quilt top (or a quilt of your choice that’s the same size or smaller) from Three Birds and Stitches.
Week 5 – A Baby Lock Sashiko Sewing Machine.
PICKING FABRIC
First off, there is no WRONG way to pick fabric for this quilt.
That’s one thing I love about this pattern. You can show off your favorite fabrics and it will work.
For me, I liked to choose fabrics that had some variation. For example, I wanted some darker fabrics mixed with lighter tones so that it looked scrappy and had a lot of contrast.
Take a look at my original ‘Better Together’ quilt and notice the mix of blacks, pinks, and browns. Some fabrics were low volume and airy, while others were dark and moody. But yet they all had a rustic and earthy feel to them.
When I choose fabric for a quilt, I like all the fabrics to have a similar feel, but then I like to have variation in the colors and tones. I personally love one of the fabrics to stand out a bit, like the black and white gingham and floral prints on this ‘Better Together’ quilt.
Whatever fabrics you choose, if you like the fabrics, it will look great. If you have a hard time choosing your fabrics, you can pick one of the bundles above. Each one has my stamp of approval and would make a beautiful ‘Better Together’ quilt.
Be sure to follow the hashtag #BetterTogetherQAL. It’s fun to meet other quilters and see their work.
You can see the different fabric pulls and possibly even meet your new quilty BFF. You never know!
I can’t wait to see your Week 1 fabric pulls. – Elizabeth
MAKING A LARGER BETTER TOGETHER QUILT
For those making the LARGER Better Together Quilt, here are the details you need.
Extra Fabric:
To make a 54″ x 72″ finished quilt top, you will need:
- 14 Fat Quarters
- 3 yards background fabric
- 3 ½ yards backing
- ½ yard fabric for binding
PATTERN CHANGES
I won’t say sizes here to protect the copyright of the pattern. But these are the changes you’ll need to make to your pattern to make the larger size quilt top.
On page 3, step 2 part I, nothing changes. This will leave you with (2) Larger HSTs that are the same fabric, but if you spread them at opposite sides of your quilt, that will look great.
Step 2 part II, you will now be cutting from your remaining (9) Fat Quarters. Cut the same squares from each fat quarter, you just will be cutting from more fat quarters.
From background fabric steps on page 2 step iii, you will need to cut an additional (15) squares.
On Page 4, under ‘Sewing and Cutting’ step 1, you will now bring a total of (53) instead of (39).
These changes will give you the needed number of HSTs to make the larger size quilt top as shown above.
Let me know if you have any questions. You can reach me at quilterscandybox@gmail.com.
WINNERS
Congratulations to each week’s winners. Here are the winners and what they won:
Congratulations to our Week 4 Winner - @leahtreadwell
