The Sweet Home QAL -- Assembly & Finishing

Welcome to week FIVE of the Sweet Home Quilt Along 2021, a QAL I'm co-hosting with Sharon Holland, the designer behind the adorable Sweet Home quilt pattern!



During week FIVE we'll be assembling and finishing our Sweet Home quilt tops!

Below you can see the schedule we've been following throughout the QAL, but of course Sharon and I want to encourage all to sew at their own pace. For those just discovering our QAL, please feel free to make your own Sweet Home and access both Sharon's and my QAL blog posts anytime!



When you visit Sharon's blog you'll see the beautiful Sweet Home she's making using her brand new Bookish collection for AGF. Sharon has been sharing weekly blog posts, along with new video tutorial support each week for her Sweet Home pattern for Sweet Home quilt makers!

For my Sweet Home I'm using the Cozy & Magical Quilt Kit available exclusively at Lady Belle Fabric that features prints from both of my new Art Gallery Fabrics collections, Cozy & Magical and Plaid of My Dreams!







For week FIVE, we'll finish the assembling and complete our quilt tops to move on to the final quilting stage! I'll be sending my quilt to Brooke at Lady Belle Fabric who offers an edge to edge long arm quilting service, Lady Belle Quilting, in addition to her amazing fabric shop! This week I'll piece together my quilt back and will photograph full shots of my quilt top to share in full next week for the BIG reveal, before sending my quilt out to Brooke!



I'm so excited reveal week is just a week away! I've loved making this new holiday version and love how these festive prints pop against the sweet Bushing Art Gallery Fabric Pure Solid background, especially the true bright red used throughout my Cozy & Magical and Plaid collections!



I decided to add to our holiday traditions in 2019 to make my family a new Christmas quilt each year, and I'm honestly so surprised and proud that I've made it three years now with no problems and I credit two of those three holiday quilts all to Sharon & I planning these fun quilt alongs. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

In the photo below you can also see a peek of a Sweet Home quilt I made that I've never revealed. It's quilted beautifully by Brooke, as well, and I can't wait to finally get full shots of it all finished to share along with my Cozy & Magical Sweet Home quilt top next week!



This year's QAL has really flown by and I hope you've loved sewing with Sharon + ME! As you finish this weeks assembly & finishing, be sure to share photos of them on Instagram with our QAL hashtag #SweetHomeQAL2021 and to tag me @MaureenCracknell & @SharonHollandDesigns. We can't wait to see them! Now it's time to head on over to Sharon's blog if you haven't already, to check out her Bookish version and to enter our new Giveaway with this week's wonderful sponsor, Hobbs Batting, for a chance to win their amazing quilt batting!

Thanks for joining our QAL! xo Maureen

The Sweet Home Quilt Along 2021

Hello, friends! It's been way too long and I'm so excited to have just clicked the "+ new post" button after such a long, unexpected blogging hiatus. For the first time since the beginning of this pandemic, I'm home alone with my oldest away for his first year at college, and my other two both back in public school. It took me a few days to adjust and work on a new schedule for myself, but here I am ready to get back into a routine that includes showing up in this spot much more often! And what better timing than now that Sharon Holland and my most recent collaboration is underway, the Sweet Home QAL 2021!

It’s been one week since the official start date of the Sweet Home Quilt Along that began on August 25th, with the first week dedicated to fabric selection and prepping the materials to start making a Sweet Home Quilt. If you're new here or you're just now learning about our Quilt Along, it's not too late to join the more than 1,000 makers that have signed up to sew along with us so far!



Since Sharon is the creator of the Sweet Home quilt pattern, if you'd like to sign up and access the Sweet Home QAL you'll need to visit Sharon Holland Designs, click the "Sew Along" option and sign up to be able to sign in. Once you're in, you'll have access to a Quilt Kit Directory full of amazing Sweet Home quilt kit options exclusive to participating shops, Sharon's weekly quilt along blog posts that will feature a new amazing Giveaway with one of our sponsors, and new video tutorials each week that Sharon is creating to support her Sweet Home pattern! As her co-host I'm excited to share the Sweet Home version I'm making each step of the way throughout the duration of this quilt along!



For a fun way to end each weekly blog post, Sharon and I have lined up special Giveaway prizes that are being generously donated by our list of wonderful sponsors. Each week Sweet Home quilters will comment on Sharon's most recent quilt along blog post for their chance to win. Check out these amazing companies!



For my Sweet Home I'm using the Cozy & Magical Quilt Kit available exclusively at Lady Belle Fabric! This version features prints from both of my new Art Gallery Fabrics collections, Cozy & Magical and Plaid of My Dreams. The color palette of this holiday collection is very sweet and I'm loving these prints paired with AGF's Pure Solid in Blushing for the background. I'm so excited to see how my cozy Sweet Home holiday village comes together!

For Sharon's Sweet Home, she's using her brand new Bookish collection for AGF that should be arriving to shops any day and is also available at Lady Belle Fabric as an exclusive Bookish Sweet Home Quilt Kit option right now! This version will be so perfect for Fall and for any and all book lovers out there!



Last week I cut out all the pieces from my quilt kit and if how they look all chopped up is any indication of how this finished quilt will look, I'm a very happy girl! This step can be a little laborious and for some it may be the smallest sized cuts you've ever used, but with the helpful videos Sharon created to support this step you'll find lots of helpful information, so be sure to check those out!

Once I started sewing over the weekend I remembered how much I absolutely LOVE this pattern and exactly why this is the FIFTH Sweet Home quilt I'll have made! The Log Cabin quilt block is one of my favorites and these adorable house blocks that begin with log cabin centers are so much fun to make!

Each step throughout the quilt block construction process is made easy with chain piecing, a sewing technique that mimics an assembly line where you'll sew piece after piece and then block after bock, continuously feeding your quilt pieces through the machine without cutting your thread in-between each step. Chain piecing is so easy and to show you just how to do it, incase you've never given it a try, Sharon has a new video prepared for you this week!



I chain pieced each step for this week's Log Cabin Block, including the final step of attaching my rooftop pieces to the log cabins to create all ten of my log cabin houses. It was just like adding the lid to a box. I always feel so spoiled by my Janome and extension table whenever I'm chain piecing, it makes it so very easy. I seriously couldn't live this crazy sewing life without my extension table!





Once all ten log cabin houses were chain pieced, I snipped the in-between threads, gave a final good press to each block, and admired the beginnings of my sweet holiday village!







Aren't they cute?! I'm so thrilled with them! Now it's time to head on over to Sharon's blog if you haven't already, to check out her Log Cabin Blocks made with her pretty Bookish fabrics, to make use of the tutorial videos that she created to help makers this week, and to enter our amazing Giveaway with this week's sponsor, Chenille-It! If you’re on Instagram, we’d love to see your Sweet Home quilt progress, so be sure to tag us @maureencracknell and @sharonhollanddesigns and use the #sweethomeqal2021 hashtag when you share!

Thanks for joining us on this fun quilt along, we’re so happy you’re here!

xo Maureen

Community Sampler Week #16

It's the final week of the Community Sampler sew-along!



For those of you that are new to my blog, Sharon Holland and I have been co-hosting this block-of-the-week community sew-along for sixteen weeks. You can visit my Community Sampler Page above in my tabs bar to retrieve all of the released PDF's to make your own Community Sampler anytime!



For the past Fifteen weeks Sharon and I have released a new PDF each Wednesday that includes a new sampler block with all of the fabric requirements and instructions needed for each, and ended last week with a PDF on finishing, that includes step by step instructions for finishing up our quilts!

This week we've reached the finale of our quilt-along and I'll link below to my Community Sampler Page, where all of the PDFs will remain for those of you still finishing up your quilts, or for those of you who are new here and would like to make your very own!



For my Community Sampler I used my Love Story fabric collection for Art Gallery Fabrics, with four coordinating colors AGF's Pure Element solids in Grapefruit, Sienna Brick, Denim Blue and Mediterraneo. I'm so happy with how it turned out and I can't wait to have it quilted!





My co-host Sharon finished her Community Sampler quilt with quilting on her home machines and it is so gorgeous! I've been sending all of my non quilt-as-you-go quilts out for longarm quilting for the past couple of years. I could never achieve the look of a beautiful allover floral and geometric quilting pattern that I prefer, so my plan is to send my Community Sampler out to Lady Belle Fabrics who will be adding longarm quilting services to her wonderful fabric shop this month! I'm so excited!!



To prepare my quilt to send to Brooke at Lady Belle Fabrics, I made sure my quilt top was trimmed to size and I pieced together my quilt back to send for her to longarm quilt with an edge to edge quilting design. Both batting and thread options will be included in Lady Belle Fabrics new quilting service, so there is no need to send those things. Brooke has already quilted a few of my quilt tops and I'll be sharing those this month, as well as all the details with those of you looking for a wonderful longarm service to use. You're going to LOVE the quilts she recently finished for me! I can't wait to photograph them to share!

Last night Kevin and I took my quilt out for a few new photos to my favorite spot. The sun was fading fast, but I snapped a few nice, new shots and a pretty video that I'll share in my Instagram stories later today, so be sure to stop by my Instagram to see!





I'm so excited to see how our quilts will look finished! As always, when you share on Instagram use the hashtag #CommunitySampler and be sure to tag @sharonhollanddesigns and myself @maureencracknell so we can be sure to see your beautiful Community Samplers!

Using #CommunitySampler hashtag will also automatically enter you in the weekly IG Giveaway pool! Remember that your Instagram account does need to be a public account for your post to show up in the Instagram hashtag pool. But please don't worry, if you don't have Instagram or you'd like to keep your account private, we will also be hosting the same giveaway prize, alternately between Sharon's and my blog, so you can choose how and where to enter each week!



Be sure to check back here on Friday for this week's Community Sampler Grand Finale Giveaway! You won't want to miss this one!!

xo Maureen  

Community Sampler Week #15!

It's Community Sampler sew-along Wednesday!



For those of you that are new here, Sharon Holland and I have been co-hosting this block-of-the-week community sew-along. You can visit my Community Sampler Page above in my tabs bar to retrieve all of the released PDF's to make your own Community Sampler anytime!



Today's PDF for week Fifteen is -- Finishing, that includes step by step instructions for finishing up our quilts! You'll have all the measurements you need for batting, preparing your backing fabric and to make the amount of binding that you'll need to finish up your Community Sampler! On Sharon's blog you'll find lots of helpful tutorial links for these steps incase you're in need of extra visuals and instructions for these finishing steps!



For finishing my Community Sampler made using my Love Story fabric collection, I decided to back my quilt in AGF's Pure Element solid in Sienna Brick. I used this solid for my inner border and had ordered several yards of this solid for a different quilt, and I've decided it's just too perfect not to use to back my sampler. I love this dusty rose color! For my binding I'm using my Love Story print Daring Echoes Red, a unique take on a stripe print that I hope will make the true reds in my Love Story prints really pop!





While my co-host Sharon plans to finish her quilt on her home machines, my plan is to send mine out to Lady Belle Fabrics who will be adding long-arm quilting services to her wonderful fabric shop this June! I'm so excited!!

To prepare my quilt, I will use all of the same finishing instructions to prepare my quilt top before sending it to Brooke at Lady Belle Fabrics. I'll make sure my quilt top is trimmed to size and to prepare my backing fabrics for an edge to edge quilting design. Both batting and thread options will be included in Lady Belle Fabrics new quilting service, so there's no need to send those things. I can't wait to share more about this new Lady Belle Service next month!

While my quilt is out, I'll make my binding to have it ready for my quilt's return. I love machine binding and if you'd like to check out the my go-to method be sure to visit -- HERE!



I'm so excited to see how our quilts will look finished! As always, when you share on Instagram use the hashtag #CommunitySampler and be sure to tag @sharonhollanddesigns and myself @maureencracknell so we can be sure to see your beautiful Community Samplers!

Using #CommunitySampler hashtag will also automatically enter you in the weekly IG Giveaway pool! Remember that your Instagram account does need to be a public account for your post to show up in the Instagram hashtag pool. But please don't worry, if you don't have Instagram or you'd like to keep your account private, we will also be hosting the same giveaway prize, alternately between Sharon's and my blog, so you can choose how and where to enter each week!



Be sure to check back here on Friday for more info on this week's Community Sampler Giveaway with our wonderful sponsor Omnigrid!

xo Maureen  

Community Sampler Week #14!

It's Community Sampler sew-along Wednesday and we are so close to finishing our quilts!



For those of you that are new to my blog, Sharon Holland and I are co-hosting this block-of-the-week community sew-along, and you can visit my Community Sampler Page above in my tabs bar to retrieve all of the released PDF's so far to jump in anytime! We're so thrilled to have so many sewing with us once again!



Today's PDF for week fourteen is -- Borders. Last week we chose our background fabrics and set our blocks on-point into a quilt top. This week we' re making lots of flying geese, using the make-four-at-a-time method that we've used several times when making our blocks, and we're creating pretty little beads to border the inner quilt top with. This is an optional step, so please feel free to be as creative as you'd like! Once again this week, if you're in need of extra visuals for adding the borders to your sampler, be sure to visit Sharon's blog to see her helpful tips for adding these border pieces!



For my Community Sampler I used my Love Story fabrics collection, so my solid fabric choices have all been inspired by the colors in this collection. For my block setting I used AGF's Pure Element solid Grapefruit, and for my border fabrics I chose one Love Story print, Reflections of Love and three solid colors -- Sienna Brick for my inner border, Denim Blue for my flying geese units and Mediterraneo for my outer border frame.

Notice how nicely the Denim Blue PE solid matches my Flower Stamp Spell print, it's perfect!



This week, for me, the most time consuming part is the making of all the flying geese units, something I truly love making! I took my time to make mine throughout the very rainy day we had yesterday, so I unfortunately didn't get the best photos. It was so dark! I was also sewing from home for the first time since I settled into my new studio. My husband is working a bunch of twelve hour shifts the next two weeks, so it's much easier for me to bring my machine home and to bounce back and forth between sewing and being with the kids, house chores, etc...like the old days vs trying to carve out a chunk of time to have gotten this done at my studio. It's funny how odd it felt sewing from home. I've become so comfortable both with my new studio and with not doing "work" at home, which is a pretty nice realization!



You can see below how choosing the three solids look altogether. I think it's really pretty and I'm happy I decided to do something a little bit different than my original plan. I may even add another wide solid border to make my quilt just a bit larger. I'm still on the fence about that.



I wasn't able to get full shots just yet. It's much too rainy and wet out to have gotten shots this morning, but I hope to later this afternoon to add here and to share on my Instagram and Facebook. So stay tuned!



I'm excited to see what you all do for your own borders this week! As always, when you share on Instagram use the hashtag #CommunitySampler and be sure to tag @sharonhollanddesigns and myself @maureencracknell so we can be sure to see your beautiful Community Samplers!

Using #CommunitySampler hashtag will also automatically enter you in the weekly IG Giveaway pool! Remember that your Instagram account does need to be a public account for your post to show up in the Instagram hashtag pool. But please don't worry, if you don't have Instagram or you'd like to keep your account private, we will also be hosting the same giveaway prize, alternately between Sharon's and my blog, so you can choose how and where to enter each week!



Be sure to check back here on Friday for more info on this week's Community Sampler Giveaway with our wonderful sponsor Art Gallery Fabrics!

xo Maureen  

Community Sampler Week #13!

It's Community Sampler sew-along Wednesday!



For those of you that are new to my blog, Sharon Holland and I are co-hosting this block-of-the-week community sew-along, and you can visit my Community Sampler Page above in my tabs bar to retrieve all of the released PDF's so far to jump in anytime! We're so thrilled to have so many sewing with us once again!



Today's PDF for week thirteen is -- Block Setting. Yes it's time to turn all of our pretty blocks into a top! This week we'll choose our background fabric and we'll follow the PDF instructions to cut the pieces needed to set our blocks on-point into a quilt top. If you're in need of extra visuals for this week's Community Sampler instructions, be sure to visit Sharon's blog today to see her step by step how-to for setting our blocks!



For my Community Sampler background fabric I'm using Art Gallery Fabrics Pure Element Solid in  Grapefruit. I love this color paired with my Love Story fabrics, the collection I used to create each of my Community Sampler Blocks!



From the background fabric we'll cut twenty-one 9 1/2" squares diagonally.



Four diagonal cuts of the background fabrics will then be added to each of the square blocks, and two diagonal cuts added to the half-blocks, that we created throughout our sampler to set all of our blocks on-point!



Keep working until all of the blocks are in the background setting, arranging them in an order that looks balanced and that you're happy with. Because I stuck pretty closely to the mock-up that I created in the beginning of this sew-along, I was able to keep my blocks in the order I made them in. Easy, peasy!

Here's a look at my blocks arranged on the floor of my sewing studio. I had a design wall for about two weeks, but now I'm back to using my floor space once again!





Once all of my blocks were in the block setting, I sewed my three rows together to make my top!



I'm so happy with the grapefruit solid I chose to be my background!



Last night after dinner we took my top to the park behind our house for some pretty shots. It's been raining here in Pa for days, so everything is finally green and starting to bloom!



This week takes a bit longer than previous weeks when we were making the blocks, so be sure to give your self some extra time. I did all of my cutting and added my block settings to half of my blocks Monday evening, and it took me another few ours yesterday morning to finish my block settings and assembly.

I'm so happy with how my Love Story Community Sampler is coming together!



I'm excited to see your tops this week! When you share on Instagram use the hashtag #CommunitySampler and be sure to tag @sharonhollanddesigns and myself @maureencracknell so we can be sure to see your beautiful Community Samplers!

Using #CommunitySampler hashtag will also automatically enter you in the weekly IG Giveaway pool! Remember that your Instagram account does need to be a public account for your post to show up in the Instagram hashtag pool. But please don't worry, if you don't have Instagram or you'd like to keep your account private, we will also be hosting the same giveaway prize, alternately between Sharon's and my blog, so you can choose how and where to enter each week!



Be sure to check back here on Friday for more info on this week's Community Sampler Giveaway with our wonderful sponsor Fat Quarter Shop!

xo Maureen