Sew Let's Quilt Along Block 1: Sewing Machine

Sewing Machine Block, Designed by Sandra Healy, Sandra Healy Designs

Welcome to the 2019 Mystery Quilt Along brought to you by Partners in Design! This year our quilt along is called Sew Let's Quilt Along and features a sewing/quilting theme. For an overview of the quilt along, including how to enter the win giveaways, please see my Introductory Post. If you miss a block along the way, my Quilt Along Page will tell you where to find it. 

Block 1 is called Sewing Machine. It was designed by Sandra Healy at Sanda Healy Designs. You can find her pattern and tutorial at Sandra Healy Designs. It seems really appropriate to begin with our trusty sewing machine. The photo of my version is above. You may remember that I am using Salem Quilt Show by Meg Hawkey of Crabapple Hill Studios. This is a fun collection, but I should warn you that my blocks will be a wild ride of color! (That is just the way I like it.) See photo below.

My Fabric Pull

I will be a fulltime host, so you can come to my blog and see all of the block releases for the entire quilt along. (You might want to subscribe to the JANDA Bend Quilts Newsletter so that you do not miss any.) In addition, I am designing a quilt that uses all of the 13 blocks in the QAL. My quilt design will be released with the 13th block. That's right 13 blocks. Twelve are 12" square, and the first block is 18" by 24". I love a challenge!

My Hints and Suggestions for Making the Block

• ​When choosing your fabrics, you need to make sure that the sewing machine will stand out from the background. In addition, you need to make sure that the background fabric has a small enough pattern so that you can piece the background without large disruptions of the fabric pattern at the seams. I made some bold choices, but I think that they worked.  See photo below.
• The pattern is written so that you construct sections of the block and then sew the sections together. The instructions are clear, but I relied a great deal on the accompanying diagram.  It really helped.
• I made the choice to cut the block pieces for each section as I went. I was concerned that if I cut all the pieces before I started sewing that I would have a great deal of trouble identifying which piece went where. This method worked well for me.  

Stating Main Body of the Sewing Machine

• My sewing machine fabric has a diagonal pattern. I wanted the diagonals all in the same direction. I was careful to align the diagonals as best I could so that the sewing machine looked like a continuing pattern. Although my matching was not perfect, I think that it was close enough.  Fortunately for quilters, the human eye looks for patterns and tends to ignore minor deviations. See photos below.

Aligning Diagonal Pattern in Fabric

Main Body Complete

Aligning Fabric Diagonals

Sewing Front of the Sewing Machine

Joining the Front to the Main Body of the Sewing Machine

Cotton Reels (Spools) and Machine Wheel

• Since I had so much color going on, I made the smaller parts of the Sewing Machine from purple or yellow fabric.  

Sewed Sections and Table Pieces to Complete the Piecing and Added Appliques

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• I debated about including the embroidery. Embroidery is not my strong suit. However, one of the reasons that I enjoy being a member of Partners in Design is that the other members challenge me to learn new skills. I decided to use decorative stitches in a dark color to to make the thread easier to see against the turquoise. 
• I used machine buttonhole stitch around the appliques and a simple zigzag to make the tops and bottoms of the spools. See the photo below.

Completed Block (18" by 24" Finished Size)

• My final advice is to be bold. Try a new skill. That is how we grow as quilters.

Where Can I Find Other Versions of This Block?
We have nine hosts for Segment One, and we all made our very own sewing machine blocks. Be sure to visit us all! We all have tips and inspiration. We would love to see comments from you as well!

• Abbie Danahy @ Sparkle On!
• April Adams  (That's me!) @ JANDA Bend Quilts
• Becca Fenstermaker @ Pretty Piney Quilts
• Bobbi Bridgeman @ Snowy Days Quilting 
• Karen Thurn @ Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats
• Kathleen McCormick @ Kathleen McMusing
• Sandra Healy @ Sandra Healy Designs
• Sandy Maxfield @ SandyStar Designs
• Sherry Shish @ Powered by Quilting

Jennifer Fulton at Inquiring Quilter made Sewing Machine Block as well even though she is not a host for this segment. Yeah, Jennifer!

What are the Giveaways for Segment 1?
We will have a prize package at the end of each segment. As well as a Grand Prize at the end of the Quilt Along. The prizes are open to all participants that are at least 18 years old. If you don't remember what I mean by segment, check out the Introductory Post. You will find additional information of interest there as well as a schedule..

How to Enter
To be eligible to win a segment prize, you need to make all of the blocks from that segment. Share a photo or photos of your blocks (in a single post) to be entered.
For segment 1, entries will be open from 12:00 am May 7 to 11:59 pm May 20, 2019 (Eastern time). There are three places you can share your blocks to be entered in the drawing:

• Facebook - Share in the Partners in Design Facebook Group.
• Instagram - Share with the hashtag #SewLetsQAL
• Blog Linky - The hosts will include a link-up on their segment 1 wrap-up post on May 7, 2019.

​Segment 1 Prize Package
We have a wonderful array of prizes for each segment! Here’s the prize package for Segment 1:

• Large Folding Cutting Kit from Omnigrid® (a Prym Company) - includes an 18" x 24" folding cutting mat, a 45 mm rotary cutter, and a 3” x 18” Omnigrip ruler
• Timeless Treasures Tonga Treat Strip Jr. "Orchid" -20 pc 2 1/2" strip pack
• Two Shabby Fabrics Vintage Blessings printed table runner patterns and a packet of Sunflower laser-cut appliqués (small).
• A free PDF pattern from each of these Partners in Design:
  Sandra Healy @ Sandra Healy Designs
  April Adams (That's me!) @ JANDA Bend Quilts
  Sherry Shish @ Powered by Quilting *up to $10.00

Grand Prize
To be eligible to win the grand prize, you need to make all 13 blocks from the whole quilt along and turn them into a quilt or other project(s). Quilt tops don’t need to be quilted, but projects do need to be finished. Share a single post that shows all of the blocks in a quilt top or project. It doesn’t matter how many projects or what projects you make, or how many blocks you use in each project as long as you show that you’ve used all 13 blocks in a finished quilt top, project, or projects.

Important Note
To keep the contest portion of the quilt along fair and fun for everyone, only quilters that use all of the designers' blocks [in a quilt top or project(s)] will be eligible for the grand prize. Likewise, our segment prizes will only be open to those that make all of the designers’ blocks for that segment.

Fabulous Sponsors
​We are really lucky to have some amazing sponsors on board for this quilt along! Please check them out as thanks for supporting us. Bluprint, Dear Stella, Everything Mary, Island Batik, Prym, Shabby Fabrics, Timeless Treasures, Warm Company and Paintbrush Studio. Additionally, many of the block designers are donating their quilt patterns.

​Prize Graphics were designed by Abbie Danahy @ Sparkle On!

Hope you will join us for this fun quilt along! Start up your sewing machines!

This post was first published by JANDA Bend Quilts.