2019 FAL - Q1 Winners!

 The time has come to officially wrap up Quarter 1 of the Finish-A-Long by announcing the winners and awarding some wonderful prizes from our fantastic sponsors.  We had a whopping 553 finishes for the first quarter of 2019, which is really impressive you guys, keep it up!

Without further ado, here are the winners picked by Random Number Generator for Q1 of the 2019 Finish-A-Long:

The winner's choice of One Large 12 Spool Collection from Aurifil goes to Ann who blogs at Brown Paws Quilting and she finished this gorgeous Summer Sampler quilt that she custom quilted:

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The $80 Gift Certificate from Sew Sweetness goes to Michelle who blogs at From Bolt to Beauty and she finished 11 Jane Market Bags for her children's teachers (here is just one of them):

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The $50 Gift Certificate from Mad About Patchwork goes to Sandra who blogs at Musings of a Menopausal Melon - mmm! Quilts and she finished this lovely cushion/pillow cover:

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The $50 Gift Certificate from Fat Quarter Shop goes to Melinda on IG @mamasan_gerber and she finished this large hexagon pouf:

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The $25 Gift Certificate from Sew Me A Song goes to Melinda who blogs at Quiltn in Wilton and she finished this bright and cheerful child sized quilt:

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The 3 PDF Patterns from Happy Quilting goes to Liz who blogs at Yorkshire Quilter and she finished this beautiful scrappy charity string quilt:

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The 2 PDF Patterns from Charm About You goes to Gretchen who blogs at 120 Blocks and she finished this fantastic Jelly Roll Rug:

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The 2 PDF Patterns from Blossom Heart Quilts go to Janice on IG @tangibleculture and she finished this lovely cross stitch ornament:

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The 6 Month Subscription to Make Modern Magazine goes to Anja who blogs at Anja Quilts and she finished this really fun quilt:

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The 2 PDF Patterns from Bonjour Quilts goes to Jennie who blogs at Jennie's Threads and she finished this gorgeous sampler quilt:

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The $30 Fabric Voucher from Hillstitches goes to Pippa on IG @pippaspatch and she finished this wonderful duel sided table runner:

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There you have it folks, quarter one of the year is officially wrapped up!  Congratulations to all of our winners and a big thanks to everyone that played along so far this year.

A new dress for Madison

I finished my first project off the Q2 FAL list!

The pattern is the Everyday Playdress by Love Notions. I made the cross-over bodice (it comes in a standard bodice too) and I love it!! I'm not an experienced sewer when it comes to garments but this dress was so easy and so much fun to make. The pattern calls for a knit fabric and I used this adorable Cloud 9 fabric I've had in my stash for a little while now.

The only issue I had with this dress is that I stretched the bodice a little bit while sewing on the collar. That's why the crossed over piece isn't laying flat.

Madison was happy with the dress but wasn't impressed with the need for photos...

She wore it again the very next day and her mom sent me photos of the dress with a jeans jacket. How cute is this?!

The details:

• Pattern: Everyday Playdress by Love Notions
• Size: 3T 
• Fabrics:  Sidewalk! by Rae Hoekstra for Cloud9 Fabrics 

My list of WIPs for Q2 of the 2019 FAL

The first part of Q1 was probably my least productive time in the sewing room... ever! Work simply took over every little bit of time I had. But then toward the middle of the quarter, I fell into a rhythm
at work and things got better. I managed to spend a little bit of time in the sewing room in the evening and on weekends and everything was right again!

And I finished a couple of things. First, there was the Emerald Pillow which I completed in February.

And then in March, I finished three quilts!

St-Patrick's Day Quilt

A Flock of Geese for Madison

By Your Side

And Quarter 2 started off pretty well! I pieced two quilt tops and started some fun garment making for little Madison. So the WIP list stands at a few projects on the go!

Number 1 on the list is something that was also on my Q1 list: my pink and purple wonky crosses quilt. The quilt sandwich is ready and all I have to do is quilt and bind it. 

Next is a quilt I made from a pattern included in the book "Modern Plus Sign Quilts" by Paige Alexander and Cheryl Brickey. The top is done. It needs a back and then some quilting and a binding. I'm super excited about this one.

Number 3 is another completed quilt top which needs some quilting and binding. This one is based on a pattern I found in the 2019 Quilter's Planner.

The final project is a little dress I planned for little Madison. This one is almost done so definitely should not be a problem to finish it by the end of June.

That's it! Are you participating in the 2019 Finish-Along? If you are, don't forget to link-up your Q2 list here.

2019 FAL - Q2 Proposed Finishes

Hello everyone! It is time for Quarter 2 of the Finish-A-Long (FAL)!

As you can see, a new quarter of the Finish-A-Long is starting today.  If you missed participating at the beginning of the year, you can join us now for a brand new start. Those of you who did join us for the first quarter, thank you and I do hope you finished some things and plan to continue on with us for Q2.

So let's get to it!
You can now link up your list of projects that you want to finish in Quarter 2 of 2019. We are hoping that the FAL community will inspire you to work on your unfinished projects this quarter, and to get them finished!

Our 2019 Finish-A-Long Hosts

The 2019 FAL is hosted by a great community of bloggers. This year our hosts are:

• Sandra - Sew of Course - Ireland
• Marci - Marci Girl Designs - USA Louisiana
• Leanne - She Can Quilt - Canada
• Ella - Throw a Wench in the Works - USA Georgia
• Karen - Capitola Quilter - USA California
• Lynne - Tinking Along - USA Maryland
• Izzy - Dizzy Quilts - Canada
• Sarah G - Sarah Goer Quilts - USA California
• Sarah Z - Cedar Fork Stitches - USA Montana
• Julie - That’s Sew Julie - USA Iowa
• Sharla - Thistle Thicket Studio - USA Kansas
• Nicole - Handwrought Quilts - Canada

For those of you who are new to the FAL, here is an explanation: The Finish-A-Long is a community aiming to motivate and encourage each other to complete those unfinished projects that are hanging around, sometimes for far too long. At the start of the quarter you post and link up a list of projects you hope to finish in the next three months. Then, at the end of the quarter, you link up each successful finish from your original list.

Each linked up finish is an entry into the draw for wonderful prizes from our sponsors. There is no penalty for not finishing a listed project, so feel free to make your list as long or as short as you wish. The 2019 Schedule and Rules for the FAL are on my permanent 2019 FAL page, let me know if you have any questions.

Our 2019 Finish-A-Long Sponsors

Here are the fantastic and generous sponsors for Q2 of the Finish-A-Long. you can see each of their prizes listed under their logo. Please think about visiting them and saying thank you for their their support of the FAL.

Winner's Choice of 1 Large 12 Spool Collection

$80 Gift Certificate

$50 Gift Certificate

$50 Gift Certificate

$25 Gift Certificate

3 PDF Patterns

2 PDF Patterns

2 PDF Patterns

1 Six Month Subscription

2 PDF Patterns

$30 Fabric Voucher

Make your Q2 List of Unfinished Projects

So now it is time to sort out the projects/UFOs/WIPs that you want to finish over the next three months. Take a photo of each one and make your list. If you like you can use our Finish-A-Long Planner to list your projects and keep track of progress. It also has all link-up dates for the year, and the hashtags that we would use. Or use any method that works for you. Please ensure that you have at least STARTED your projects - pulled fabric with a pattern is considered a project started - and remember it is only a FINISHED project that will get you an entry toward the above listed prizes. So while we love to see your bee blocks, the "finish" is when they are a completed, usable project.

Post Your Q2 List

Post your list either on your blog, on Instagram, or on Flickr if you prefer. If posting on social media (Flickr, Instagram), it will be very helpful if you tag your list with #2019FALQ2yourname (where yourname is unique to you). Using the same hashtag over the quarter when sharing project progress or finishes helps the host to make the connection to your original list quickly and easily.
IMPORTANT: Don't forget to link up your finishes at the end of the quarter! We will be posting a reminder on the blog and on Instagram, but do keep an eye out...

Link-up Your Q2 List

The 2019 Q2 link for your list of proposed finishes is now open below, on my blog and on each of the hosting blogs. You need only link your list once, on ONE host blog, and the link will show up on all the host blogs. If you are using Flickr or Instagram, post a mosaic of your projects and put your list in the description. Don't forget to include your unique hashtag.
If you need a little help, Katy of The Littlest Thistle has a great tutorial on how to link up if you need it, and Marci has a post on how to link up from Instagram.

Join the FAL Community

We also ask that you become part of the FAL community. Please check out the links of others - visit and comment on their lists. We all need encouragement to get those finishes done, so please share some of your own too.

If you want you can follow us on Facebook: Finish-A-Long and/or on Instagram: @finishalong, too. We'll post encouragement during the quarter and reminders when the finishes link up opens at the end of the quarter.

When creating your list there is one thing to remember - No deductions for not completing something so - Aim High! Nothing to lose!! Well now, get that list together and get linked up.

LET THE FUN BEGIN!

Feel free to use and share the FAL button at the top and this one too:

Remember: you only need to link up at ONE hosting blog and it will automatically show up on all hosting blogs.

An InLinkz Link-up