Woodland Wander Quilt Along: Week 4
Hello, lovely Woodland Wander QALers! We are so excited for this week, when you get to put all of your quilt blocks together. This is the best part of the process, where you really get to see what the quilt will look like when it’s done. It’s a pretty straightforward process, but we do have a couple of tips regarding the layout, especially if you are doing the solid background version. Gather up your blocks, and let’s get going!
If you are doing the layer cake method, just make sure to get an even spread of color and value around the quilt. Sometimes, we like to take a picture of our quilt layout on our phone and change it from color to black and white to check our color values. For the solid background version, you can get a good mix of the blocks by grouping them into two piles, one for the blocks that have 3 of each and one for the blocks that have 4 of each.
The top row will have blocks from the 4 pile, then the next row is blocks from the 3 pile. Alternate the piles for each row, ending with a 4-pile row. We hung up a piece of batting on the wall to make a design wall, which is super handy for laying out quilts. You could also use the floor or a large bed.
Once you have your layout finalized, begin sewing the blocks together. This process is much faster than sewing the blocks, so if you are a little bit behind on that, you should be able to catch up this week. We like to use the webbing method, or chain piecing quilt rows, to put the quilt together. It holds the quilt rows together for you and keeps you organized while you’re sewing. Suzy of Suzy Quilts has a great video tutorial on how to do this: How to Chain Piece Quilt Rows
Once the rows are chain pieced, just sew the rows together. Press everything nice and flat. If you’re doing the optional borders, now is the time to add those. Be sure to read our tips on adding borders in the pattern.
You may want to take a basting stitch about 1/8″ from the edge all the way around, just to keep any of those seams from popping open. This is especially important if you pressed any seams open without a backstitch.
Isn’t it beautiful to finish a quilt top? We really love the stained glass effect the sunlight gives when it shines through an un-quilted top.
Now that the quilt top is finished, all that is left is to quilt and bind this beauty. That’s what we will talk about next week on the blog for the quilt along, but you will have until July 15th to get that done for the grand prize giveaway. Read below for the weekly giveaway prize!
Weekly Giveaway
This week’s giveaway is sponsored by Bluprint. The prize is only availalble to those quilting along with us, and it is so fun! You can win a Zoomed In Quilt Kit from Bluprint.
To enter the quilt along giveaway this week, you can only enter by posting a photo of your progress on your Instagram page, using the hashtag #woodlandwanderquiltalong. You DO NOT need to be caught up, just show us where you are! If your Instagram account is private, we won’t be able to see your photo, so make sure to post on a public account. Also, this prize is open to US entries only, because of prohibitive shipping costs. You have until midnight MST on Sunday, June 30th to post your photo. Good luck, and we can’t wait to see your quilt tops!
