The Carly Quiltalong - How to Participate
Since quiltalongs can vary quite a bit, I wanted to make a post letting you know the ways that you can participate in the quiltalong. I like to keep the quiltalong pretty laid back because (1) it's less stressful for all of us, (2) I want the purpose of the QAL to the enjoyment of making a quilt together, and (3) it gives me some freedom to change things if I feel like something isn't working.
Since this email list is separate from my main list, you will only receive emails during the QAL - I won't bug you afterward!
There is more than one way to participate - you can do all of these things or just pick what works for you. I want you to enjoy making the pattern and to hopefully learn some things along the way. An added bonus is getting to participate in the quilting community and getting to know each other better.
The only supplies that you need are the pattern (paper or PDF) and some fabric. Some people will be making the scrappy version and some will be making the non-scrappy version. Either one is great!
1. Blog Posts
Each week I will be making at least one blog post with information about the pattern. Here is the rough schedule:
March 14 - Planning/Prepping
This week will include talk about picking fabrics, but also how to prep your fabrics for cutting, how to plan which fabrics go together in your quilt, etc.
March 21 - Cutting Your Fabric
This week we will discuss best practices for cutting fabrics and different ways to construct HSTs if you want to do things differently (since that could change how you cut your fabric).
March 28 - HST Construction
This week we will mostly be doing rather than explaining since there are a lot of half square triangles to make. I will discuss different ways of trimming your HSTs to make sure that you get nice, sharp points.
April 4 - Block Construction
We will be making our blocks. I will discuss ways to pin your block for better accuracy, pressing, etc.
April 11 - Quilt Top Construction
We get to make our quilt tops!
April 18 - Quilting and Finishing Your Quilt
This week I will discuss potential quilting designs and talk about how I baste, quilt, and bind my quilts. Also how to prepare your quilt to send to a long arm quilter if you are going that route.
2. Instagram
I know that not everyone does Instagram, but I would encourage you to give it a try even if it is just for the quiltalong. It is the best way to participate in community and it is the easiest way for me to share videos. You do not have to join in on Instagram, but you will definitely miss out on some of the fun if you don't.
Here are some ways that you can participate on Instagram:
- When you post a photo relating to the quiltalong in your feed, make sure to use the #carlyqal hashtag. This enables us to find you!
- Post the participation photo in your feed to let everyone know you are participating. You can download the image here and post it or you can take the image from my Instagram feed.
- Follow the #carlyqal hashtag
- Comment on each other's posts - it is so great to be able to encourage each other
- Watch the videos that I post in my stories
3. Email List
I set up an email list just for the QAL - you can sign up here. Once a week or so, I will send out an email with links to the most recent information that I have shared. This is a great way to make sure that you don't miss anything. The first email will go out tomorrow morning.
Since this email list is separate from my main list, you will only receive emails during the QAL - I won't bug you afterward!
4. Quiltalong Page
I am going to do my best to keep the quiltalong page updated. It will have a list of all of the blog posts related to the quiltalong. You can view past quiltalong posts here too: Tessa, Violet, and Penny.
I hope that makes sense! You can also comment here on the blog, but I have been having major issues with spam comments and now have to moderate comments. This means that your comment won't appear until I have approved it and sometimes I forget to approve comments for a few days.
I hope you are as excited as I am! I have been working on my fabric picks and will be sharing more about those during the first week of the quiltalong.