I Wish You A Merry Quilt Along Block 1

Welcome to block one of the Christmas Quilt Along!

This sweet snowflake block was designed by Vanda Chittenden, the tutorial can be found over at her website Quilt in Peace.

Here is my version of Vanda's block. I have chosen to use a grey background fabric with a snowflake pattern to emphasise Vanda's design.

Winter Memories by Studio e

I had originally planned to do needle turn applique on this block, I love the clean lines of this particular method of applying layers of fabric to build a picture, which is why my printed template pieces have a seam allowance around them.

Realising however just how long this would take I decided to use fusable web and edge stitch the pieces down for this particular block.

Having cut out all the pieces for the block and placed them according to Vanda's instructions, I decided to pin them in place and remove the paper backing and press the pieces one a time.

This is a little tip I have picked up along the way and works like a charm. Instead of trying to pick apart the paper backing from the fabric at the edges, which can sometimes result in them fraying (especially around delicate areas such as points), I use a pin or a needle to score the paper lightly, this way the paper can be peeled from the centre of the piece, leaving the edges intact.

I decided to use a blanket stitch on my machine to finish the edges of the pieces.

A close up of the finished block, complete with blanket stitch edges.

This was such a lovely block to make, it was straightforward thanks to the detailed instructions provided by Vanda! 

By making your own version of the Snowflake block you can enter a prize draw for the 'Quilt A Long' in one of three ways. You must enter by 11:59pm EDT (US) on Monday Aug 14th 2017 to win the following prizes:

HERE'S HOW TO ENTER:

• Post your finished block on the 'Quilt A Long' Facebook page
• Post your finished block on Instagram using the #iwishyouamerryqal
• Link your blog post with your version of the completed block to the Quilt in Piece linky party

Good Luck Everybody!

The next block featured in the 'Quilt A Long' will be August 15th hosted by April Adams at JANDA Bend quilts.

See you there!