Hand Pieced QAL Grand Prize Link-up

Can you believe we are at the end of the QAL?

It all began with the simple 4 patch.  Now here we are, nine block patterns, dozens of tutorials, hundreds of hand pieced blocks and a continually growing Facebook community.

Kristin and I have enjoyed every single minute!  Every block, every stitch, every opportunity to share our love for hand piecing!

And for those of you asking what comes next, we have some ideas but give us some time to finish up this QAL first!

Just getting started?  You still have time to get caught up!  All the information you need can be found here on the main event page.

Thanks to our generous sponsors, we've assembled some amazing grand prize packages.  There will be four Grand Prize winners. (Read more about the grand prizes on this post.)

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 in the link-up below or via email. All entries must be submitted by midnight April 30 ET / 9 pm April 30 PT.

• The quilt top (blocks, sashing and borders) must be entirely hand pieced.

• Quilt tops must use at least five unique blocks from the Hand Pieced QAL.  You can use any layout that you chose for your quilt top.  (Instructions for two possible layouts can be found here.)

• Blocks can be constructed using different units (ex: using two HST to make a flying geese).. Blocks can also be made a different size.

Winners will be chosen randomly and notified via email.  Winners have 72 hours to claim their prize - if we don't hear back, we will draw another name.  Once winners have claimed their prize, this post will be updated with the names of the winners.

Photos can be shared from a blog, Flickr, or Pinterest and must include a  link to Elm Street Quilts or Simple Handmade Everyday.  Photos can also be shared via a public Instagram and must contain the tag #handpiecedqal.  Don't have a way to share? You can also email them to handpiecedqal at gmail dot com. Please put the words GRAND PRIZE entry in the email subject line.  Need instructions on how to link-up? See the tutorial!

Quilts shared must follow the guidelines above to be eligible to win a prize.

Congratulations to Danice, Olivia, Barbara & Carla - the lucky grand prize winners!! (updated 5/8)

We hope you take a few minutes to visit others and make new friends!

Please note - sharing a photo in the link-up gives Elm Street Quilts and Simple Handmade Everyday permission to feature a photo of your block on their sites.  Full attribution will be given.

An InLinkz Link-up

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Hand Pieced QAL - Grand Prize link-up opens tomorrow!

The time has come to turn your pile of hand pieced blocks into a quilt top.  Get this done by the end of April for a chance to win a fabulous prize in the Grand Prize link-up!

We've been thrilled with all of the blocks that we've seen in our link-ups, on Instagram and in the Facebook group.  The interest in the QAL has exceeded our expectations and we've had such a blast working through the QAL with everyone.

As you are working on hand piecing your quilt tops, we wanted to give you a little extra incentive with a reveal of the grand prizes!

Thanks to our generous sponsors, we've assembled some amazing grand prizes:

• A $50 gift certificate from Fat Quarter Shop

• A D40 lamp from The Daylight Company

• Two thread packs from Aurifil - Calm and Necessities

• A hand piecing toolkit with Needles by Clover, Snips by Famore, Perfect Piecer by Jinny Beyer, OLFA Cutting Mat, 28 mm Rotary Cutter & Ruler, Clover Leather Thimble & Metal Tip Thimble, Applique Pins, Clover Wonder Clips, & Robot Mom Sews Thread Conditioner plus a copy of Birds in the Air and Margaret Goes Modern from Quilt Fiction.

 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 in the grand prize link-up (opens April 4) or via email.

• The quilt top (blocks, sashing and borders) must be entirely hand pieced.

• Quilt tops must use at least five unique blocks from the Hand Pieced QAL.  You can use any layout that you chose for your quilt top.  (Instructions for two possible layouts can be found here.)

• Blocks can be constructed using different units (ex: using two HST to make a flying geese).. Blocks can also be made a different size.

See you tomorrow for the grand prize link-up!!!

Have a wonderful day! Patty

One Monthly Goal April Goal Setting Link-up

Welcome to April!  We had 129 goals linked up for March - lets see what this month brings!   (Did you see the overall announcement for the sponsors and featured designers for 2019?  It will blow you away!)

New to One Monthly Goal?  Welcome!  To join, share a photo of your project, some words about what you want to accomplish in a blog post, an Instagram post (tutorial) or a post on Flickr and add that photo to the link-up.  Return at the end of the month and share your results.  You can read about the event and the rules on the main event page.

We have wonderful sponsors this month - three (3) winners will be randomly chosen from those that link up in both the goal and the finish event.  

Fat Quarter Shop offers a tremendous selection of fabric, notions, books and just about anything you will need for your project. Consider their Sew Sampler box to receive a monthly surprise delivery of fabric and fun.  Fat Quarter Shop is offering a $25 gift certificate to one lucky participant.


Aurifil is home to a beautiful rainbow of thread in all weights, perfect for any of your sewing and quilting needs.  My favorite product is the designer collection boxes which coordinate with various fabric lines and this month's prize will be a large spool thread set from our featured designer!  (How cool is that?)


I am just thrilled to be featuring Alison Glass as our featured designer for April.  Alison is an award winning pattern and textile designer with a impressive portfolio of fabric, quilt patterns, and embroidery patterns.  She also has notecards, stickers, enamel pins and more adorned with her delightful designs. 

In addition to her many patterns, Alison has also authored a book - Alison Glass Applique: The Essential Guild To Modern Applique.  (affiliate link)

Alison is currently running a quilt-along for her latest quilt pattern - Trinket (shown below).  Trinket has 40 foundation pieced blocks and the QAL sets the pace of one block per day with plenty of time to complete your quilt top.  For more information about the pattern and the QAL, visit the main page or check out the #trinketsal to see all the amazing blocks shared so far.

Image and quilt credit: Alison Glass

And, finally, the fabric! Alison's fabric lines are filled with deep, rich, wonderful saturated colors.  While many of the prints read solid, they are actually covered with amazing illustrations of the world around us.  Alison is offering several new lines in 2019, including her first holiday line called Holiday plus a collection of low volume prints called Sunprint Light.

Mariner Cloth, Sunprint Light, and HolidayImage and fabric credit - Alison Glass

Alison is offering one lucky winner a 6 pattern bundle (pdf version) of her patterns Feather, Color Plus, Cobblestone, Cathedral, Tessellation and Neeedlebook.  (see photo).

You can visit Alison on Instagram, on Facebook, and see more of her patterns , fabric and other merchandise in her shop.  

My goal for April is to finish a quilt which is a gift for someone special.  Since I don't know whether they read my blog or not, I'm simply showing a small sneak peak.  The geese fabric I'm using is designed by Alison!

Now it is your turn to link up - what is your goal for this month?  (A goal could be to finish a quilt but it could also be to attach a binding.  Whatever it takes to help you move forward and make progress on your projects!  And as long as the project involves making something with a needle and/or fabric, you can link up!)

Make sure you visit the One Monthly Goal event page for the specific requirements for links and social tags.  Your blog post (or Flickr post) must contain a photo of your project, a clearly stated goal and a link back to Elm Street Quilts.  Your Instagram post must include a photo of your project, a clearly stated goal and the tag #onemonthlygoal.  (Entries which don't contain the required information may be disqualified.)

And remember, to be eligible for the prize(s) by random drawing you must linkup at both the goal setting and the accomplishment linkup in a given month.   (The One Monthly Goal accomplishment linkup will be available on April 25.)

Make sure you add a link to this OMG post so others can find the OMG link-up from your blog.  Let's make that easy -  just paste this into your post:  

Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal April Link-up.

An InLinkz Link-up

Have a wonderful day! Patty