QAYG Quilt Along – End of Week 1

Hello! Last night marked the end of Week 1 for my Quilt As-You-Go Quilt Along! As mentioned last week in my QAYG Quilt Along Kickoff post, the goal was to have 5 Quilt As-You-Go (QAYG) blocks completed by yesterday. If you’ve completed your five blocks, congratulations! You are on track! No worries if you’re a little behind as this quilt along acts as a fun guide so we can all quilt together and share our work amongst our everyday, busy schedules. I have to say it’s been amazing seeing everyone’s progress!

If you’re seeing this for the first time (welcome!), you can find out details about my QAYG Quilt Along from my Introduction and kickoff post to help get you started.

Goal: Today (Monday, October 20th) marks the start of Week 2 for my QAYG Quilt Along. The goal is to complete an additional 5 blocks within the next 7 days  (by Sunday, October 26th). I will be checking in on social media to see people’s progress, and will do a follow up blog post this weekend.

In my book Quilt As-You-Go Made Modern, I have a section on ‘Squaring Up your blocks’ in the Quilt As-You-Go Techniques section. There I recommend getting yourself a 14″x14″ rotating cutting mat, which you can find at your local craft store or quilt shop, or Amazon. I like to get mine from Joanne Fabrics and use one of their 40-50% off coupons, usually found on their website.

These work great for squaring up your QAYG blocks, but will also come in handy for traditional quilting as well. See for yourself and take a look at my little video I put together (with much help from my hubby!) to see how efficient a rotating cutting mat really is:

It will make your quilting life easier, so go treat yourself! It’s one of my most used quilting tools. Also, before squaring up your blocks don’t forget to read the ‘Squaring Up the Blocks’ section in the Techniques chapter of my book for more tips on which squaring up technique to use, as well as other options if you don’t have a 12.5″ square ruler.

That being said, I will keep this post short and sweet. Good luck quilting-as-you-go your next 5 blocks! I will check back next weekend.

In the meantime, check out my Facebook and Instagram for live updates and pictures on people’s progress (hashtag #QuiltAsYouGoMadeModern or tag me)! 

Feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions. 🙂

9 Responses to QAYG Quilt Along – End of Week 1

  1. Sew Surprising October 20, 2014 at 8:39 pm #

    Mmm Im a little confused as you mention above having a 12" square ruler for squaring up your blocks, but your book says they are trimmed to 9 1/2 or 12 1/2 ?

    • Quiltingintherain October 23, 2014 at 5:54 am #

      Whoops – that was a typo, sorry about that confusion! I've updated it to say 12.5". Thanks for letting me know!

  2. Karen Robles October 20, 2014 at 8:54 pm #

    Hi Jera. I absolutely LOVE your book! I am curious, what brand and size needle do you use? Also, you recommend a 3.5 stitch length on a scale of 0-5, my singer has a scale of 1-7, any suggestions? Thank You! #soinspired

    • Quiltingintherain October 23, 2014 at 5:55 am #

      Hi Karen! Thank you for your kind message! I use a standard universal needle or a quilting needle…not sure what exact size it is. Also, I believe most stitch lengths are pretty comparable. My Pfaff has a scale from 1-7 as well and I use the 3.5. Hope this helps!

  3. Anonymous October 21, 2014 at 4:50 am #

    Hi Jera

    Just wondering if you have had any experience with 50/50 cotton and bamboo batting for QAYG. That is the only batting that my local quilt shop carries. Should I be looking further afield. Thanks. I love your book and the patterns I have received from you. Can't wait to start. Jocelyn

    • Quiltingintherain October 23, 2014 at 6:03 am #

      Hi Jocelyn! Sorry for the late reply. I've never tried the 50/50 cotton and bamboo batting. I did some reading on it online and from what I read, it looks like it should be okay because it's needle punched (as opposed to being held together by resins and glues). You can always test out a small block and see how it feels. Also, not sure how bamboo is with the iron. I tell my readers to stay away from batting with polyester due to melting. If the bamboo seems to give you any issues with heat, I suggest simply ironing with muslin or thin fabric between your project and the iron to avoid melting/ruining your iron. Hope this helps!

    • Anonymous October 26, 2014 at 12:45 am #

      Thanks so much for your reply Jera. I have a small piece that I may practise on first. Jocelyn.

  4. Myra October 22, 2014 at 3:31 am #

    I have posted my QAL progress on my blog: http://busyhandsquilts.blogspot.com/2014/10/qayg-quilt-along-end-of-week-1-and-my.html I'm behind already!
    Myra~

    • Quiltingintherain October 23, 2014 at 6:04 am #

      It's okay…life happens. 🙂 Do what you can and you can always catch up later!

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