Announcing the Hand Pieced QAL 2020 - Book Club!

I am so very excited to announce the Hand Pieced QAL for 2020 - Book Club!  My friend Kristin Esser from Simply Everyday Handmade will join me in hosting our QAL.  We had so much fun with the Hand Pieced QAL last year that we couldn't resist doing it again.

The pattern offers two different block settings - Glorious Golds (pictured above) , a nice throw size quilt which finishes at 52'' x 52'', and Beautiful Blues (Kristin's version), a fun wall hanging which finishes at 35'' x 35''.  See Kristin's Beautiful Blues quilt!

Why did we call the pattern Book Club?

Our pattern is a 9 block sampler and we've named each block after a character from a favorite book.  Each week we will share a bit about the characters, the books, and plenty of tips for creating that week's block.

The fun starts in March, with weekly blog posts, linkups and all the information you need to know to fall in love with hand piecing!  

Never hand pieced before?  No worries. We will be sharing tips and tutorials and tell you all about our favorite notions.There will an opportunity to win prizes in weekly link-ups as well as the final quilt-top link-up at the end of the QAL. 

How the QAL works

• The pattern will be available on March 2 as a PDF download for a fee of $10. 

• There will be nine sponsored weekly link-ups that open on specific Thursdays for you to share whichever blocks you finished that week. Each block shared earns you a chance for a prize from that week’s awesome sponsor.  Blocks must be hand pieced and can only be shared in one weekly link-up – duplicates will be disqualified.  (Blocks can also be shared via email.)

• There will be four Grand Prize winners. To be eligible for a grand prize, you must share a photo of a completed quilt top (i.e. the flimsy) or a completed quilt which uses at leave five unique blocks from the Book Club pattern.  The quilt top must be entirely hand pieced.

• You are welcome to change the size of the blocks– but your finished block must visually match the design of a block from the Book Club pattern and be entirely hand pieced.

• Prizes are randomly awarded.  Winners will be notified by email.

We 💗Our Sponsors

Art Gallery Fabrics,  Aurifil,  Electric Quilt Company,  Famore,  Fat Quarter Shop,  OLFA,  OLISO,  Pineapple Fabrics,  Precision Quilting Tools,  Quilter's Dream Batting,  and Stella Lighting

The QAL Schedule
Each month (March, April, May) we will share weekly tips and tutorials on stitching each block. Because many of the blocks are template-based, we’ve built in a week each month for prep and catch-up. We will be posting tips, tutorials, and a bit more about the origin of the block's name each Monday.

• March 2 - pattern available
• March 9 - prep week
• March 16 - Evelyn
• March 23 - Jane
• March 30 - Louisa
• April 6 - prep week
• April 13 - Penelope 
• April 20 - Cathy 
• April 27 - Jo 
• May 4 - prep week
• May 11 - Emma 
• May 18 - Claire 
• May 25 - Elizabeth

And don't worry if you get behind.  You don't need to finish a specific block in a specific week.

The Pattern

The Book Club: Hand Pieced QAL pattern will be available on March 2 for a fee of $10.  The download package will come in 3 parts:

• All the instructions for each of the QAL blocks and final quilt top settings
• All the templates for each QAL block
• Coloring page for each quilt top setting

The pattern will feature 9 unique blocks each which finish at 9'' and will offer 2 settings - a wall hanging or a throw sized quilt.  Quilt top fabric requirements are shown below.  More information on backing and binding fabric requirements will be in the pattern.

Download a copy of the coloring pages and start planning your fabric placement!

What's next?

We will share more details other helpful supplies you might need shortly.  The pattern will go on sale on March 2.

Until then, start to gather your supplies - see my favorites!  Brush off your hand piecing skills by making a block from our very first hand Pieced QAL and check out our basic hand piecing tutorials - Marking Stitching Lines  (see the video), the Running Stitch  (see the video), and Sewing Seam Allowances (see the video).

Stay in touch and join our community so you don't miss a thing! 

• Join our Hand Pieced Quilt Along Facebook Group.  

• Subscribe to our newsletter 

• Follow Simply Everyday Handmade and Elm Street Quilts on Instagram

Have a wonderful day! Patty