A fun summer quilt along…who’s in?  

I know you are doing the American Quilter’s SAL…but I don’t want to miss out either!!! So let’s just all do what we can and just keep stitching on…whatever we get done we get done…I did just finish my last Sewcialite Block today!!! Can’t wait to show that off!

Sampler Spree: 101+ Fresh & Fun Quilt Blocks by Susan Ache. 

You will need the book to quilt-along – that is the only place to find the instructions for the 101 blocks we’re making.  The book also has the information to make this quilt.

Click HERE to order your book!

Give & Take – it finishes at 83½” x 83½”.

Fabric.  How much do you need? 

Page 8.  All yardage is based on 42″ wide fabric. 

• 1 yard total of assorted cream prints for large blocks
• 3 yards total of assorted light scraps for blocks – or approx. 3 yards for a single background.
• 3.875 yards total of assorted medium and dark scraps for blocks – referred to collectively as “dark”.
• 1.25 yards of white solid for sashing
• 2.375 yards of peach solid for sashing

The quilt-along starts today!!!! – Wednesday, June 16. 

New blocks will be shared every Wednesday through August 18 – ten weeks of sewing.

Wait.  Ten weeks, a hundred blocks… ten blocks a week? 

Yes.  Just remember Rule No. 1 about the Sampler Spree quilt-along – we’re doing this to have fun!  It’s not a race.  Some folks will make ten blocks in two days, others will make two blocks in ten days.  Maybe.  So don’t worry about “keeping up”.  Just enjoy the process.

Sewing by color.  We will be using a single color for the blocks each week – e.g., the first week’s blocks will be Blue. 

The weekly colors are: Orange, Aqua/Teal/Turquoise, Brown & Tan, Green, Purple/Coral/Pink, Navy Blue, Yellow & Gold, Black & Gray, and Red.  And Blue – e.g., Cornflower, Delft, and so on.

And no, that’s not the order of the colors.  We have to keep a few things a surprise!

When we discussed doing this, there were two things that convinced us to do this.  One, this is how Susan sews through her scrap bins in the summer.  One color at a time – one bin at a time.  Two, we liked the challenge of it, limitations can spark a whole lot of creativity. 

But – this is not required!  Nobody will be shunned, or voted off the island, for not sewing by color.  Adjust the colors and shades to suit you – your scraps, your color palette, what you like. 

We are stitching blocks in book order because we are stitching all blues!!!!

We at Primitive Gatherings are stitching ALL blues blocks this time….the blocks are made up of Indigo Gatherings & Starlight Gatherings.  We are using 1 cream background Bella Porcelain    You also can pre- order your Starlight Gatherings HERE.  The highlighted areas are shop-able links

Do I have to make every block? 

Of course not – what’s the rule?.  There are one-hundred blocks necessary to make the Give & Take quilt, so you can skip a few.  If there are blocks you really love, and love making, then make more of those.  Playing around with the light/dark placement, and the colors, in many of the blocks will change the look of the block.  

Will there be other setting options? 

Yes.  Susan will be sharing a couple of different options along the way, including a couple of projects made with just one block from the book.  (And so will we.)

Who is sewing along?

Quilt-along stitchers – Instagram / Facebook / Blog:

• Susan Ache – @yardgrl60
• Susan Vaughan – @thefeltedpear 
• Hildy Ebertzeder – @hildyebertzeder / @Hildy Ebertzeder
• Greg Jones – @greydogwoodstudio
• Kristine Long – @o2bcre8ive
• Erica Ericsson – @etericsson
• Betsy Chutchian – @betsy_chutchian / @Betsy Reed Chutchian 
• Stacy Iest Hsu – @stacyiesthsu / @Stacy Iest Hsu Designs / Stacy Iest Hsu
• Jan Patek – @jan_patek_quilts / Jan Patek Quilts
• Sherri McConnell – @aquiltinglife / @A Quilting Life / www.aquiltinglife.com
• Vanessa Goertzen – @lellaboutique / @Lella Boutique / www.blog.lellaboutique.com
• Robin Pickens – @robinpickens / @Robin Pickens / www.robinpickens.com
• Lisa Bongean – @lisabongean / @Lisa Bongean / www.lisabongean.com

So are you ready?

This is one reason why so many of us love Layer Cakes.  They are often used for photos, and then folded to make little collection bundles.  With Susan’s book and this quilt-along, the bundles were quickly taken apart and sorted by color.  

Can I tell you a secret?  The squares look so pretty in the boxes that pulling squares out and cutting them up will be really hard. 

But not impossible. 

We’ll see you next week. 

For a PDF of this blog post – Sampler Spree: A Checklist

If you missed any of the earlier posts with Susan:

• Sampler Spree, QALs & Friends
• Let’s Play Sampler Spree 4 – Shopping
• Let’s Play Sampler Spree 3 – Inspiration
• Let’s Play Sampler Spree 2 – Tips & Playing
• Let’s Play Sampler Spree 1 – Orphan Blocks & Scraps
• Let’s Make A Sampler – Introduction
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