So, 3 bloggy friends got together in the hopes of maybe gathering together another 20 or 30 quilters to cast aside fears and quilt along with us to make the Denyse Schmidt Single Girl Quilt.
We set up a ‘support group‘ in flickr for committed Single Girl quilt alongers, a place we all could share our progress, ask questions, offer tips, share advice & generally hand hold.
What we weren’t expecting was the massive response. We ended up with 265 quilt alongers all itching to take the leap into the Single Girl pattern. A m a z i n g.
Katy, Megan & I took it in turns to cover each step on our blogs and the support group really did work its magic, as steps were thoroughly discussed and we all learnt a lot and had a few light bulb moments. Well, I certainly did ;)
From sharing fabulous stacks of fabric picks, asking for help with background colours, quilting questions, getting through the dreaded curves stage, selecting threads, cutting advice, organisational tips, piecing, wonky bits & wobbly bits, ~ you name it, pretty much anything and everything to do with this pattern was talked about in the group.
But the very best thing has been seeing so many excited quilter alongers complete a Single Girl project! From cushions, to table runners, baby quilts to King size & everything in between ~ each and every one is just pure eye candy. You must all be so proud :)
Here’s a few of the most recent single girls approaching the chequered flag…
1. Single Girl Quilt Along, 2. Single girl quilt_front_quilting, 3. Single Girl Basted, 4. Single Girl Quilt Top, 5. single girl, 6. Single Girl Quilt – Queen, 7. on the bed! #2, 8. Single Girl flimsy finish, 9. single girl quilt top, 10. Single Girl Quilt along top, 11. not quite queen sized, 12. Single girl:quilting has started
It’s been such a fun adventure that isn’t over just yet. The support group will remain open as we still have folks working on their Single Girl projects, so let’s all keep popping back in even if we have finished ours to cheer them along to the finish line :) Yay!
Having already made 2 Single Girls (& not without the odd hiccup or two) I chose to make just one block this time around & turn it into a cushion in the hopes that this might encourage those still a little wary of the pattern to dip their toes in and get a taste for it, before committing to a whole quilt. Once you have a go, you’ll see it’s not as scary as it might at first appear and if you are organised with your cutting & piecing it all comes together relatively quickly.
I made mine from echino prints, with natural linen background and quilted with orange Perle thread.
I backed it with a scrummy piece of echino & natural linen & made a little tag with an off cut.
Thanks so much for quilting along with us! We must do it again sometime ;)
*If you’ve missed the previous installments in the Single Girl Quilt Along you can catch them here….
14 Feb – Marking and cutting fabric – Katy
21 Feb – Piecing rings – Megan
28 Feb – Sewing curves – Nova
7 March – Assembly – Katy
14 March – Marking quilting design & hand quilting – Nova
28 March – Quilt Along wrap up – Megan, Katy & Nova
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Nova, they all look so good and I have enjoyed reading all your instalments, I was just to chicken to have a go and join in. Next time I will be brave. they look terrific.
Love the Pillow Nova, and really enjoyed watching all the quilts as they grew.
I, too, was too chicken to join in (due to the number of unfinished items already draped over various pieces of my furniture). I think I would join Stacey in being brave next time though….or maybe I could just start one little cushion….
Loving the orange quilting! Even though I totally would have gone for teal, the orange is much cooler and more interesting.
I’m feverishly working on mine, but not sure the quilting will be done before babygate. At least it’ll give me something to do at 4am though…
This is my first quilt along and I’m having so much fun. I still have to post my finished quilt top!! Thanks for your helpful posts, and for encouraging, answering, and taking such good care of your flickr group.
I hope the dialogue about the making of the single girl quilt stays up and available for those of us who are eager to make this design at a later date! I DO want to make this quilt but the timing wasn’t right for me. And since I’m a bit of a beginner, I think I’ll really need to read the conversations about it when the time comes. I’m loving all the photos of the work being done!
Hi Heather,
I just emailed you a reply but just in case anyone else is wondering the same…yes, the quilt along posts will stay up and the support group will remain open. There’s a spot on my blog with links to all the posts, it can be found on this page for future ref :: http://acuppaandacatchup.com/for-you/
:)
Nova! Thank you for hosting this wonderful quilt along! I’ve really enjoyed sewing along with everyone! I’m hand stitching, it’ll take me a while, but I’ll keep checking in! :)
Thanks so much Nova for sharing your knowledge with quilters around the world. The quilt-along certainly gave me the push I needed to begin the project. I love seeing what everyone else has done. The show-and-tell is my favorite part.
I have a load of Echino scraps and about the patience enough for one ring…maybe something like this is in my future.
I’ve been hesitant to tackle the single girl quilt (even though I purchased the pattern ages ago!). Maybe the cushion would be a good start. Did you have to resize the pattern pieces since the sizing is different than the sham? Thanks in advance for your inspiration and help!
Hi Stephanie, I just emailed you but in case anyone else was wondering the same I’ll reply here too :)
I didn’t refer to the sham part of the pattern at all. I just made a single girl block, size as per pattern, then made an envelope closure for the back to fit. Hope that helps :)
x
oooh, one of those is mine! I have been working on it, but the hand quilting hasnt been something I’ve found easy…its taken me forever! Still got another couple of sessions then its ready to bind. Hoping to have it finished in a week or two! Thanks for all your help and encouragement through it :-)