Prizes for Q1 of the Finish-A-Long

We are finishing up Quarter 1 of the Finish-A-Long today by announcing the winners and awarding the many prizes from our fantastic sponsors. We had a whopping 553 finishes for this first quarter of 2019, which is really impressive, so keep it up!

So here are the winners picked by Random Number Generator for Q1 of the 2019 Finish-A-Long:

The winner's choice of One Large 12 Spool Collection from Aurifil goes to Ann who blogs at Brown Paws Quilting, she finished this gorgeous Summer Sampler quilt that she custom quilted:

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The $80 Gift Certificate from Sew Sweetness goes to Michelle who blogs at From Bolt to Beauty. She finished 11 Jane Market Bags for her children's teachers (here is just one of them):

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The $50 Gift Certificate from Mad About Patchwork goes to Sandra who blogs at Musings of a Menopausal Melon - mmm! Quilts, she finished this lovely cushion/pillow cover:

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The $50 Gift Certificate from Fat Quarter Shop goes to Melinda on IG @mamasan_gerber and she finished this large hexagon pouf:

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The $25 Gift Certificate from Sew Me A Song goes to Melinda who blogs at Quiltn in Wilton, finishing this bright and cheerful child sized quilt:

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The 3 PDF Patterns from Happy Quilting goes to Liz who blogs at Yorkshire Quilter and she finished this beautiful scrappy charity string quilt:

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The 2 PDF Patterns from Charm About You goes to Gretchen who blogs at 120 Blocks, finishing this fantastic Jelly Roll Rug:

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The 2 PDF Patterns from Blossom Heart Quilts go to Janice on IG @tangibleculture. She finished this lovely cross stitch ornament:

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The 6 Month Subscription to Make Modern Magazine goes to Anja who blogs at Anja Quilts and she finished this really fun quilt:

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The 2 PDF Patterns from Bonjour Quilts goes to Jennie who blogs at Jennie's Threads and she finished this gorgeous sampler quilt:

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The $30 Fabric Voucher from Hillstitches goes to Pippa on IG @pippaspatch, she finished this wonderful duel sided table runner:

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As you can see, the new Finish-A-Long year went off to a great start. Congratulations to all of our winners and a big thanks to everyone that played along so far this year. Almost one month into the second quarter, let's see what we can get done by the end of June...

I may have some catching up to do!

Sandra

Projects to Finish - My Q2 List

- link up your own list HERE, and find more info at the Finish-A-Long PAGE -

Hi there! A short while ago we were taking link-ups of finishes to the Finish-A-Long for the first quarter of the year. While I reminded you of that in the blog, I had nothing to link up at all myself.
NOTHING.

So this post has become really easy, I mostly just repeat what I said three months ago. So sorry if it is becoming repetitive! I really will try harder to get different posts out in between Finish-A-Long ones, so please stick around...

As you can see below, the pink boxes indicate where my projects were at at the start of Q1, and the blue is what I have done since then:

I also started another (oops!) project. As I mentioned in a recent post, I have become a bit obsessed with log cabin quilts and their possibilities. So in the process of making that post and looking at log cabins, I made another quilt top. In the above list it is indicated with  dark green boxes...

So here is my list for Quarter 2 spelled out:

• Feathered Star quilt - top done:

• Cubes quilt - almost quilted:

• Log Cabin quilt - top done:

• Black and White quilt - top done:

Not quite the pattern I had in mind at the start of last quarter, but I fell for another idea. Pretty pleased how it came out! Now "just" quilting, binding and labelling left...

• Logo quilt - top done:

• Curved Log Cabin with Corner Geese - top done:

Lots to work on, better get my quilting mojo out of hiding... and hopefully I'll have more success this time!

Of course linking up with Q2 of the Finish-A-Long a few posts back. Will you be joining us?

Sandra

Make your list for Q2 of the Finish-A-Long

Hello everyone! It is April, a new quarter of the year, and so today it is time for Quarter 2 of the Finish-A-Long (FAL)!

If you missed participating at the beginning of the year, you can join us now for a brand new start. Those of you who joined us for the first quarter, thank you, and I hope you finished some things and plan to continue on with us for Q2.

So let's get to it!
You can now link up your list of projects that you want to finish in Quarter 2 of 2019. We are hoping that the FAL community will inspire you to work on your unfinished projects this quarter, and to get them finished!

Our 2019 Finish-A-Long Hosts

The 2019 FAL is hosted by a great community of bloggers. This year our hosts are:

• Sandra - Sew of Course - Ireland
• Marci - Marci Girl Designs - USA Louisiana
• Leanne - She Can Quilt - Canada
• Ella - Throw a Wench in the Works - USA Georgia
• Karen - Capitola Quilter - USA California
• Lynne - Tinking Along - USA Maryland
• Izzy - Dizzy Quilts - Canada
• Sarah G - Sarah Goer Quilts - USA California
• Sarah Z - Cedar Fork Stitches - USA Montana
• Julie - That’s Sew Julie - USA Iowa
• Sharla - Thistle Thicket Studio - USA Kansas
• Nicole - Handwrought Quilts - Canada

For those of you who are new to the FAL, here is an explanation: The Finish-A-Long is a community aiming to motivate and encourage each other to complete those unfinished projects that are hanging around, sometimes for far too long. At the start of the quarter you post and link up a list of projects you hope to finish in the next three months. Then, at the end of the quarter, you link up each successful finish from your original list.

Each linked up finish is an entry into the draw for wonderful prizes from our sponsors. There is no penalty for not finishing a listed project, so feel free to make your list as long or as short as you wish. The 2019 Schedule and Rules for the FAL are on my permanent 2019 FAL page, let me know if you have any questions.

Our 2019 Finish-A-Long Sponsors

Here are the fantastic and generous sponsors for Q2 of the Finish-A-Long. you can see each of their prizes listed under their logo. Please think about visiting them and saying thank you for their their support of the FAL.

Winner's Choice of 1 Large 12 Spool Collection

$80 Gift Certificate

$50 Gift Certificate

$50 Gift Certificate

$25 Gift Certificate

3 PDF Patterns

2 PDF Patterns

2 PDF Patterns

1 Six Month Subscription

2 PDF Patterns

$30 Fabric Voucher

Make your Q2 List of Unfinished Projects

So now it is time to sort out the projects/UFOs/WIPs that you want to finish over the next three months. Take a photo of each one and make your list. If you like you can use our Finish-A-Long Planner to list your projects and keep track of progress. It also has all link-up dates for the year, and the hashtags that we would use. Or use any method that works for you. Please ensure that you have at least STARTED your projects - pulled fabric with a pattern is considered a project started - and remember it is only a FINISHED project that will get you an entry toward the above listed prizes. So while we love to see your bee blocks, the "finish" is when they are a completed, usable project.

Post Your Q2 List

Post your list either on your blog, on Instagram, or on Flickr if you prefer. If posting on social media (Flickr, Instagram), it will be very helpful if you tag your list with #2019FALQ2yourname (where yourname is unique to you). Using the same hashtag over the quarter when sharing project progress or finishes helps the host to make the connection to your original list quickly and easily.
IMPORTANT: Don't forget to link up your finishes at the end of the quarter! We will be posting a reminder on the blog and on Instagram, but do keep an eye out...

Link-up Your Q2 List

The 2019 Q2 link for your list of proposed finishes is now open below, on my blog and on each of the hosting blogs. You need only link your list once, on ONE host blog, and the link will show up on all the host blogs. If you are using Flickr or Instagram, post a mosaic of your projects and put your list in the description. Don't forget to include your unique hashtag.
If you need a little help, Katy of The Littlest Thistle has a great tutorial on how to link up if you need it, and Marci has a post on how to link up from Instagram.

Join the FAL Community

We also ask that you become part of the FAL community. Please check out the links of others - visit and comment on their lists. We all need encouragement to get those finishes done, so please share some of your own too.

If you want you can follow us on Facebook: Finish-A-Long and/or on Instagram: @finishalong, too. We'll post encouragement during the quarter and reminders when the finishes link up opens at the end of the quarter.

When creating your list there is one thing to remember - No deductions for not completing something so - Aim High! Nothing to lose!! Well now, get that list together and get linked up.

LET THE FUN BEGIN!

Feel free to use and share the FAL button at the top and this one too:

Remember: you only need to link up at ONE hosting blog and it will automatically show up on all hosting blogs. The link-up will remain open until 18 April, for the exact time see at the pottom of the linkup.

An InLinkz Link-up

Sandra

Link up your FAL finishes - reminder

Today I'm popping in for a quick reminder that the Quarter 1 link up for all your finishes closes on Tuesday, April 9, 2019 at 11 pm EST (which is 10 April, 5 am Dublin/London summer time - in case you are a night owl and like to link up very last minute)!  So you still have a few more days to finish that project or two and link them up to be eligible for prizes.  The link up can be found HERE or on any of the 2019 FAL hosts blogs.

A few reminders for linking up:

• Please only one finished project for each post that you link up, so that each finish can be an entry in the (random) prize draw. 
• Please include a link to your original list in each post of your finishes (on Instagram the link is the unique tag #2019FALQ1yourname to be used in the Q1 list post, and in any Q1 finish post).
• Please visit some of the other participants and leave a friendly comment, we all love to get those! 

I also wanted to share with you that we just wrapped up "Tutorial Week" which has been part of the Finish-A-Long since it's inception.  The tutorials are varied, interesting, and usually helpful, so take some time to investigate and visit the blogs below!

• April 2, 2019 - Sandra of Studio Sew of Course - Playing with Log Cabins
• April 3, 2019 - Sarah of Cedar Fork Stitches -  Easy Gingham Potholders
• April 4, 2019 - Sharla of Thistle Thicket Studio -  Easter Bunny Zipper Pouch
• April 5, 2019 - Nicole of  Handwrought Quilts - How to Bury Your Thread Ends

And whether you had a lot of finishes, or none at all this quarter, or you missed Finish-A-Long Q1 altogether, you can always join in for Quarter 2 which is taking off on April 10th, with the link up opening for your List of Proposed Finishes. We hope you will join us!

Sandra

Playing with Log Cabins

This post is part of the Finish-A-Long Q1 tutorial week. 

In this post I'd like to show you what fun can be had with the humble (and dare I say it - extremely traditional) Log Cabin block. Don't believe me? Read on!

- EDIT: I am currently working on the pattern for the curved log cabin (see below). Keep an eye on my Patterns Page -

Some quick basics

Many beginning quilters make a log cabin block. Sometimes they are part of a sampler, sometimes they are made into a full log cabin quilt. While it is a relatively easy block, it can create many different quilts. A basic log cabin block has rectangular strips (logs), added around a square centre (hearth) in one direction (in this example anticlockwise), often with one half of the strips dark and the other half light:

Joining the blocks in a simple straight setting can already result in many different quilts:

But a log cabin block is way more versatile than this!

Well known variations

Variations on a simple log cabin block are common in traditional quilting. Courthouse Steps and Pineapple are well known blocks which are variations on the Log Cabin:

Courthouse Steps (left) and Pineapple (right) blocks

Lesser known variations

My second quilt ever (ages ago!) was a log cabin quilt. Not a traditional one repeating log cabin blocks over and over, but a sampler log cabin quilt. It included the above-mentioned traditional blocks as well as some variations that are not as common. Cornerstones anyone? Or corner triangles?

These blocks formed my first log cabin quilt:

Next, what if...

You may all know this of course, but the real fun starts when you start asking "What if..."

So, what if... you make the logs on one side larger than those on the other side?
When the logs at the "dark" side are wider than those on the "light" side, the hearth is being placed off centre:

Log cabin (left) and offset log cabin (right)

And what if... the logs on one side (here the light side) are getting wider towards the outside of the block while those on the other (dark) side are all the same?

Yes, the hearth is not only off centre, but the log cabin block forms a curved shape! Imagine the layouts you can make with that!!

Combining some of these options I've been sewing blocks like these:

Which would have made (and still will make) a lovely baby quilt if only I had finished all the blocks (!!):

Or some other layout possibilities for a larger quilt:

Can you tell yet that I am rather obsessed with log cabin variations these days?!

Improv or liberated log cabins

The block structure lends itself very well to improvisational piecing, too. How about not keeping to the dark/light separation? Logs of different widths? Adding the logs not always in the right order?

Here's one I made a while ago and it combines all of the above broken "rules". It even includes small bits of selvedge (saying "Silver Lining". I thought that was lovely but probably it's just part of the fabric name). It is on my Finish-A-Long list since it is still only a "flimsy":

A couple of blocks from this quilt:

 And what about this block? If you look carefully you can recognise the log cabin structure:

It is part of this quilt top, all blocks are cut at the same time, log cabin in stack and whack style, then set on point:

If you've stuck with me this far, you deserve a medal! So I leave you with a last image of a quilt top which shows what you can do playing with log cabin blocks in black, white and grey. This one includes slightly offset blocks as well as straight blocks:

So, not quite a tutorial, rather a taster I suppose... I hope you have been inspired and maybe consider to play with log cabin blocks. I am sure not finished making them, though first I may have to finish some of these tops into quilts, really.

If you want to see more log cabin ideas, have a browse of the #logcabinquilt on Instagram. With more than 12k posts there are bound to be some photos to inspire.
I also know of a SAL (sew along) going on right now, too, check out #sunnylogcabinsal, they have a lot of ideas for log cabin blocks, and a quilt made up of one huge block... (tempting)!

Well, I've kept you long enough. More tutorials in the coming days:

• April 2, 2019 - Sandra of Studio Sew of Course - Playing with Log Cabins (here!)
• April 3, 2019 - Sarah of Cedar Fork Stitches -  Easy Gingham Potholders
• April 4, 2019 - Sharla of Thistle Thicket Studio -  Easter Bunny Zipper Pouch
• April 5, 2019 - Nicole of  Handwrought Quilts - How to Bury Your Thread Ends

And don't forget to link up your Q1 finishes, the linkup is HERE.

In the coming days, weeks, months, I will be busy making more log cabin quilts... and maybe finishing some, too. I hope to keep you up to date on that, I may have to add some to my Q2 Finish-A-Long list...

Also, linking up with Mini Archie's March Furtle Around the Blogosphere, because those log cabin blocks is what I've been working on for the last weeks (and weeks...) and not much else. My furtling comes in when I root around the blogs that are linked up as well, seeing what others in the blogosphere have been busy with...

Sandra