Hey friends! Now that you’ve had the weekend to crank out the final block of the Sewcialites 2 Quilt-Along, I’d say we’re close enough to the finish line to really shift our attention toward the next QAL everyone is talking about. As I mentioned last week I’m proud to once again be quilting along with the Fat Quarter Shop’s annual charity quilt-along event in 2023. For the past decade participants have made and donated a specially designed fundraising quilt for Make-A-Wish Foundation of America. I always love a good charity quilt-along because I think it’s especially meaningful to help others with my own hard work and skill. “Bountiful“ is definitely by far one of my favorites to participate in and I can’t wait to see how much my quilt ends up contributing!

The reason I decided to quilt along with this fundraiser is simple… I love kids! This yearly charitable event was designed with the sole purpose to benefit children in need, which makes donating to this cause a no-brainer for me! Make-A-Wish is a phenomenal organization for kids who need a little extra help facing adversity in life. This stellar group of people has been making wishes come true for children with life-threatening conditions and their families for over 40 years. Granted wishes give the kids and their loved ones much-needed joy, strength, and most importantly hope. Make-A-Wish has collectively granted more than 550,000 wishes around the world since it was founded in 1980. How awesome is that?!

If you’re anything like me when it comes to charity quilt-alongs, you’re always looking for the next one to join. Interested in participating? In case you missed my initial post about the Bountiful Quilt-Along last week, this is how it works. The fundraiser offers the “Bountiful“ patterns as FREE downloads during the event for a suggested donation of $10.00 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. They will be featured on the Fat Quarter Shop’s blog, The Jolly Jabber on the first Friday of each month, now through September. And now that I’m caught up, I will also be posting that day here on my blog for your convenience, also on the first Friday of each month through the end of the quilt-along. They do not require it, but highly encourage that a $10.00 donation be made for the pattern if you’re able to do so. Proceeds go to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation of America. If you’d rather make a donation directly to Make-A-Wish, follow the link below!Those of you who have been following along with the Bountiful Quilt-Along so far know that instead of sticking with the original design, I chose to change things up a bit and try something different. I’ve never had much of a taste for large baskets and I’m apparently no closer to warming up to them anytime soon. That’s why I made the decision to delete them from the layout all together and use two additional blocks of both releases number three and four to create an alternative layout. It will look something like the image below. No offense toward the original design, my brain just likes this one better.

Whether you choose to go with my basket-less design or take the original route, “Bountiful” is a bright and cheerful sampler quilt that features flowers, butterflies, …and baskets if you want it to. It will finish at 64″ square making it a nice throw sized quilt. If you simply lovvvvve baskets and have decided to go with the initial design, your finished quilt will look like this…Quilters following along with the pattern as it’s written should technically be on Release #2 by now, which includes four long and skinny “Wildflower Blocks” (12.5″ x 24.5″) that will make up the sashing, along with one large block (12.5″ unfinished) that will be the center. I will say that these blocks have lots of pieces varying in size, so it’s super important to keep good track of everything after you cut and organize all your fabric so you don’t cause yourself unnecessary grief later.

When choosing your fabric placement be sure to pay attention to the overall layout, and mix and match them with balance and a nice contrast in mind. Once your flower blocks are done, you will still need to complete the large 12.5″ block for the center. You can use several different color combinations to tie it all together! For my blocks I decided to go with a bright and colorful mix of fabrics by Lori Holt. I thought the vivid mix of prints and patterns was especially fitting for such a spring-like quilt.All you have to do to get your FREE pattern for the Bountiful Quilt-Along is visit Fat Quarter Shop’s blog, The Jolly Jabber for more information by clicking the link below! There you will find fabric requirements, hot tips, and a link to the Bountiful Quilt-Along Landing Page, which you can also find by clicking HERE!I will continue to post my progress here on my blog as I make my way through “Bountiful” here on my blog in case you’d like to follow along! I sure hope you found some inspiration to join this Quilt-Along with a cause. There’s something extra special about giving back using your own hard work and talents. I love having the opportunity to use mine to help kids facing adversity in their lives. Remember, Make-A-Wish Foundation relies on donations to make wishes come true and they can’t do it without our help! Ready to quilt-along with us? Hit the link above for more information!

Before I say good night I want to quickly remind you that our next CommentSold will be tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. CST where we will be clearing out some major space in our warehouse! Spring has sprung and it’s time to make room for new inventory!!! Remember, if you want to participate in this online buying opportunity but still need to get registered, simply hit the button below to sign up!

If you’re not familiar with CommentSold and want to know more, CLICK HERE to read my blog post where I explain everything, including how to get registered and where to go to watch! You can also watch the replay of  STITCH with Lisa Bongean where Gloria and I gave a little LIVE Q&A to answer some of your questions by hitting the STITCH button below (Q&A session is at the end and starts at 47:00)! Alright everyone, have a great evening and I will see you tomorrow for CommentSold at 10:00 a.m. CST! ~Lisa