I Wish You a Merry Quilt-A-Long: Angel
Welcome back to I Wish You a Merry Quilt-A-Long! I hope you're having as much fun as I am. If you missed any of the past blocks, my quilt along page has all of the links you need to get caught up.
This week's block is an adorable angel by Sandra Healy of Sandra Healy Designs. You can find her post with the pattern here. Remember that all of the quilt along patterns will be free until January 16, 2018, so you'll want to download it now.
My Tips
This is such an easy block! The biggest thing I paid attention to was the direction I pressed my seams so they would nest in the bottom corner.
For the strips of squares, I pressed all of the seams towards the aqua fabric. When I sewed the set of three squares to the big grey square, I pressed towards the grey. To reduce bulk, I also pressed the final set of four squares towards the grey. If it's easier for you to see it, here's the back of my block:
If you've been following along with me, you know my other tip is to score the paper on the back of the applique with a pin. Then you can fold along the score line to make the paper come off more easily. It works so well!
You may be able to tell that I appliqued the eyes instead of embroidering them. Having done so, I would strongly recommend against it. Since they're so tiny, they are all but impossible to fuse in place, and they're too small secure with stitching. You're definitely better off embroidering them.
My Fabulous Cohorts
There are 10 other wonderful ladies hosting this quilt along with me. One of them is Becca Fernstermaker of Pretty Piney. This insanely cute elf variation came from her creative genius. I'll admit - I wish I had thought of this one. If you love it as much as I do, I'm sure Becca would love to hear from you! You can leave her a comment on her post.
If you liked that, you're sure to love what the rest of my fellow hosts have done. One of my favorite parts of this quilt along is how much inspiration there is from the moment each block goes live. Check out the links below to see 10 different angel blocks, []along with some more tips and tricks.
Abbie at Sparkle On
April at JANDA Bend Quilts
Becca at Pretty Piney
Bobbi at Snowy Days Quilting <---- That's me!
Diane at Cwilt
Jennifer at The Inquiring Quilter
Karen at Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats
Laura at Slice of Pi Quilts
Sandy at SandyStar Designs
Sherry at Powered by Quilting
Vanda at Quilt in Piece
Prizes
Our prizes this week are a small fat quarter bundle from the Blushing Blooms collection by Island Batik, and a pdf pattern of your choice from Sandra Healy of Sandra Healy Designs. I'm super excited about this bundle, because I adore Island Batik's fabrics. Even though I'm making this quilt with solids, batiks are my favorite, and everything I've used from Island Batik was absolutely wonderful.
To be eligible to win, post your block by 11:59 pm Eastern time on Monday, October 9. You can share your block in our Facebook group, on Instagram with the hashtag #iwishyouamerryqal, or by joining the linkup on Sandra's post. I can't wait to see what you make!
But that's not all! Sandra is offering a 20% discount in her shop for all quilt along participants until October 25, 2017. Just enter MERRYQAL20 at checkout to take advantage of this great offer!
We also have a fabulous grand prize package. Here's a look at the wonderful sponsors we have lined up for that. To be eligible to win the grand prize, post a completed quilt top that includes all 12 blocks by 11:59pm Eastern Time on January 15, 2018. The final block will be released on December 5, so you'll have plenty of time. It doesn't even have to be quilted!