Ha!! I hit publish yesterday but just realized it didn’t go through. — It’s MCCQA – week 5 in the Mod City Center Quilt Along. We have cut our fabrics and put all of our blocks together. I am a little behind because I decided to make the queen size quilt. Hopefully I will catch up this week. How is it going for you? I have been thinking about adding a catch up week . . . What you do think about that? Would that be helpful?? 

Deciding on a layout

It’s time to start playing with the layout of the block and sewing your quilt top together. The blocks with the color on the outside of them should alternate with the blocks that have white on the outside. As I am deciding on a layout, I like to place all my blocks on the floor or my bed and take a photo of it with my phone’s camera. It doesn’t have to be the perfect picture, just something that you can look at and use to see if you have any colors or fabrics lumping together. Your phone is something that is typically right next to you. So it is an easy tool to use. It is also helpful to reference back to when sewing the blocks into rows. This helps you be able to stick to the layout you decide on.

Fun tip for MCCQA – Week 5 ... a phone app
You can even use your phone in the planning stages of a quilt. Let’s say you only have one block done and want to test out how it might look in a full layout. Take a picture of the block. Edit the photo by cropping the block so that is the only thing in the photo. Now use a collage app on your phone to make the block repeat. The app I use is called Layout from Instagram. There are many different ones available in your App Store for download, some are free and some for sale. After you have the app downloaded and have it open on your phone, pick the photo you want to use in the test mockup. Then pick the layout you want to use. I like the 3 rows by 3 columns layout; it is perfect to see how a quilt will look finished. If you want you can save it. This is a quilt mockup I made in the Layout app.

Putting the Quilt Top Together

I am kind of addicted to painter’s tape, so after I have decided on a layout I will number my blocks. Here is an example of what I am talking about: R1-1 (row 1 block 1), R1-2 (row 1 block 2), R1-3 (row 1 block 3), R2-1 (row 2 block 1), R2-2 (row 2 block 2) and so on.

I came up with this because I have laid the rows out and taken them to that machine and sew the wrong blocks together or the wrong sides of the blocks together, so for me I really like using painter’s tape. Sometimes I even add arrows to the tape and place them at the edges of the block that I want to sew together. You might already have a special way that helps you remember what edge or block you want to sew together. I encourage you to play with it and see if it is helpful.

Use your pattern to figure out how many blocks you will need in each row. Sew the bocks together to make your rows. Then sew your rows together. After that you will have your quilt top done and you are ready for the next step. 

When I designed this quilt, I wanted to create a modern feel, show off the fabric featured in the quilt, and make it easy to put together. Something this quilt doesn’t have is borders or sashing. So no extra seams. Really, the quilt is large enough; they are not needed. 

What is Sashing & Borders?

If you are a newbie to quilting and are wondering what I am talking about, a border wraps around the outside of the quilt; most of the time there are 2 borders, a small one and then a larger one. Sashing goes around the block, adding space to the quilt and forcing you to see each block separately. I think sashing and borders are great ways to make a set of blocks go further. Let’s say you have 12 12″ blocks from a block of the month. If you sew all your blocks together into four rows of three, you will have a quilt that is just 36.5″ x 48.5″ which makes a good baby quilt size.

If you add sashing and one border, you will have a spacious lap size quilt.
Adding 2.5″ sashing (in white) brings it to 44.5″ x 58.5″.
Then if you want to add a 6″ border (in black), it becomes 56″ x  70″.

Enter to win MCCQA – Week 5

I love looking at all of your progress photos on Instagram. Share your progress for this week’s topic is putting the quilt top together on Instagram using #modcitycenterquiltalong and #MCCQweek5 (each week this one will change). For this week when you post your progress photos on Instagram, tell me what is your favorite part of the quilting process? The more weeks you participate, the greater your chance of winning. When I reveal the next step, I will announce a new winner here on my blog. The prizes will get larger as the quilt progresses, so stick around.

I can’t wait to see your progress photos. Happy quilting!!

The winner for week 4 is
Dun. Dun. Dunnn!! @diane2461

Privacy on Instagram

Since I want to make this a fun and interactive experience, I would like to use Instagram. If you don’t have it and need help setting it up, let me know. To participate, please make your Instagram account open to the public. If it is not public, I won’t be able to see your photos and won’t be able to pick you in giveaways. If you have issues with this, I understand. Direct message me and let me know.

Can you still Join?

Of course!! I want this to be a laid back and fun experience. It is ok if you miss steps; life always gets in the way and that is okay. If you would like to learn more about the Mod City Center Quilt Along, click here.

May 30 – Picking out fabrics
June 6 – Cutting and organizing
June 13 – Making Block 1 & 2
June 20 – Making Block 3 & 4
June 27 – MCCQA – Week 5 – Putting the top together
July 4 – Free week Horary!!
July 11 – Backing and basting the quilt
July 18 – Quilting
July 25 – Binding