Sweet Home Quilt Along: Week 1 - Fabric Selection

Welcome to week 1 of the Sweet Home Quilt Along, the new QAL I'm co-hosting with Sharon Holland, the designer behind the adorable Sweet Home quilt pattern, and Jennifer Jones of Penelope Handmade!



This first week is all about fabric selection and deciding which prints you'll be using to create your own Sweet Home quilt!



Once you purchase the pattern from Sharon's SHOP you'll find a super helpful coloring page to plan out which fabric will go where. Pulling prints from your stash and going as scrappy as your heart desires will make for beautiful Sweet Home quilts, but for those joining us who prefer to sew from a kit, we've made that easy by working with several shops to offer a variety of kits that include the four versions Sharon, Jennifer and I will be making plus three additional versions! If you missed my last week's post announcing the QAL you can view that HERE for additional details and to check out each version of the Sweet Home quilt kits!

I have very ambitious goals for this QAL, I'm hoping to make a total FOUR quilts! Two with my new Cozy & Joyful collection and two using the original Sweet Home quilt kit, both from Lady Belle Fabric!



When I finished my first ever Christmas quilt last year, my Merry & Bright Beacon quilt, I shared that I'd love to continue making a new holiday themed quilt each year, at least until we have a good collection to use throughout the season. I knew then that I'd have my Cozy & Joyful fabrics to use for those future quilts and when Sharon released her Sweet Home pattern I couldn't I have dreamed for a more perfect pattern to use for Christmas quilt no. 2!



Over the weekend I cut out all four quilts, which does take quite a bit of time, but using helpful tricks like "stack and whack" sped up the process significantly! To stack and whack is to simply cut multiple layers of fabric, stacked in a single pile simultaneously, rather than cutting one single fabric at a time. For this quilt I layered all of the like cuts of fabric and had no problem cutting them all at once with accuracy. It makes the cutting easy, much more quick & fun!



For the other two Sweet Home quilts, one to keep and one to gift, I'm using the original Sweet Home quilt kit that Sharon designed exclusively for Brooke's shop, Lady Belle Fabric!



This version has a beautiful color palette that includes prints by Sharon, myself and various Art Gallery designers. The background is the sweetest copper metallic polka-dot and the house blocks will be made in a mix of pretty floral and blender prints that will be perfect to use all year long!



Currently on my dining room table, where I've been sewing since March, are four wooden chargers that hold each of my four cut out quilts. It's always so crazy to me to look at the pile of cutout fabrics knowing they'll soon be a beautiful new quilt top. It really is magic!



I can already tell how pretty this Sweet Home will be just by seeing the fabric cuts laid out, waiting to be stitched together! 



For those of you joining in, I can't wait to see your fabric selections! Be sure to post photos of your fabrics on Instagram with our QAL hashtag #SweetHomeQAL, as well as tag me @MaureenCracknell, @SharonHollandDesigns and @PenelopeHandmade. From the hashtag pool we'll be able to see everyone's posts, as long as you have a public account, where we can interact and encourage one another, which is the very best part! We'll also be using the hashtag pool to choose weekly Giveaway winners and we have some wonderful sponsors lined up, checkout the amazing list!



I'm looking forward to seeing who's joining in and to feeling the wonderful sense of community that always happens during a QAL! Be sure to pop on over to both Sharon and Jennifer's blogs to see what fabrics they've selected, for loads of inspiration and tips for getting started on your own Sweet Home quilt!

I'll see you back here Friday when I share our first Giveaway sponsor and prize!

xo Maureen