Sunday, April 3, 2022

Pop Star QAL Schedule and Sponsors

Welcome to the kickoff post for my sixth annual Quilt Along! You are on the Main Page for the QAL. This year we are making Pop Star, a quilt I originally designed four years ago for an Island Batik challenge when I was an ambassador. It feels good to get the design finally written up!
Here is the graphic for the hop. Feel free to copy it and post it on your site! Spread the word! That is the throw which I will be making during the QAL. It uses a new line by Amanda Murphy, 'Winter Jewels' for Benartex Designer Fabrics. The line will be out to quilt shops in May/June 2022.

So what is the schedule like this year? Much the same as in previous years. Today, April 3, is the kickoff post. Each week I will post a step with instructions for making a part of the quilt. June 15, the birthdate of a 'famous Canadian' is the final parade of finishes.
Questions that pop (see what I did there) into your mind may be:

Question: What constitutes a finish?
Answer: The top or a fully finished, ready-to-snuggle-under, quilt!

Question: Why do you always do the same dates each year?
Answer: The first QAL started in spring and just happened to end on June 15, which was my dad's birthday. Every year my mum would put up the new calendar on January 1, usually one that her sister or brother had sent her from England. Some hours after the new calendar went up, Dad would draw our kids' attention to June 15, flipping over the pages, where we'd see that he'd written on his day: 

'The birthday of a famous Canadian' 

and then with a twinkle in his eye, he'd give us all a little grin and wink. We loved it. Mum? Not so much; though I think privately she did get a little kick out of his shenanigans. April 3 is the birthdate of the daughter of a famous Canadian... me!

Question: How do I win a prize?
Answer: Participants who finish either a top or make a fully finished useable quilt qualify for an entry into the Rafflecopter widget that picks random winners.

Question: Is this a beginner pattern?
Answer: Yes. Basic quilt-making skills are necessary but it consists of simple patchwork.

The Schedule

*April 9: Fabric Requirements (this post is a Saturday because I am scheduled to post a quilt pattern tutorial on April 10 for Mari who is running Hands2Help this year.
April 24: Step 1 - HSTs and Flying Geese
May 1: Step 2 - Pop Star Centre Units
May 8: Step 3 - Centre Star Unit
June 15: Final parade
June 22: Prizes drawn

Once each post is live, I'll update this page with the link so everything will be easy to find. As you can see, the pace is nice and slow, so you can easily fit this in with your regularly scheduled quilting! 

This year I'm doing something a little different. Instead of having the pattern for sale at the end of the QAL, I am going to release it this coming Saturday, April 9. I know there are those who would rather just focus on one quilt at a time, and those who are impatient to wait each week for the next step, so if you are one of these quilters, know that you can get your hands on the entire pattern construction ahead of time, and at a discounted price!

Sponsors

It gives me such joy to announce these wonderful sponsors, all of whom have sponsored my QALs at least once, many all six years. Click on the logo for their business to be taken to their website or shop.


Benartex Designer Fabrics is the main sponsor once again. Five out of six years they have been my main sponsor, supplying the fabric for the quilt I make. This year I've made two, the baby size, with fabric they sent us designers before Christmas as a gift. I used 'Evelyn's Etched Tulips' by Jackie Robinson. and I'll be making the throw size during the QAL with 'Winter Jewels' a new line by Amanda Murphy which should be out in quilt shops in May/June. It's the one in the graphic.
There are two prizes from them. The first is a bundle of 'Winter Jewels' to a participant who lives in the US. The second is a Strippies pack of 'Evelyn's Etched Tulips' that I will send anywhere in the world.

Hobbs Batting is back this year. They are providing the batting for the throw quilt, and also sending me a package of Thermore batting that I will ship to a participant anywhere in the world.

Make Modern has sponsored five of my six QALs and they are once again offering a 6-month subscription to their fabulous ezine.

Canuck Quilter Designs has sponsored all six QALs and she's back again this year. Joanne is offering a free PDF to one participant, AND a 15% discount off any of her patterns for ALL my readers from April 3 - June 15 by using the code MMM2022 or just click her shop name in the graphic above. It will be applied automatically.

Devoted Quilter has sponsored all six QALs as well! This year Leanne is offering one participant their choice of two PDF patterns.

Love to Color My World is back again this year. Lisa is offering a winner's choice of a PDF pattern. Please note that her Instagram got hacked, and she has set up an interim one: @lisaswensonruble

Meadow Mist Designs has sponsored all six QALs. This year Cheryl is offering one participant their choice of two PDF patterns.

mmm quilts is me! I am offering two winners a PDF pattern of choice from my shop, and I also have two fabric gifts which I will send to each of them, some extra fabric of 'Evelyn's Etched Tulips'.

Quilting Jet Girl has sponsored all six QALs and Yvonne expertly tech-edited the soon-to-be-released pattern for Pop Star. She is offering one winner a $24 coupon code (works out to two PDFs) for her pattern shop.

Sew Fresh Quilts is another who has sponsored all six QALs, and this year Lorna is offering a participant their choice of a PDF from her shop.

Last but not least, is Stitchin at Home, who has sponsored all six QALs. Cindy is offering one participant the choice of a free PDF from her shop.

I hope you check out these lovely generous sponsors! Just click their logo in the graphic above and it will take you to their shops. 

The Quilt

I know several of you are already contemplating fabrics from seeing my posts on Instagram as well as here on the blog. Know that you have two size choices, baby or throw. The baby finishes 40.5" square and the throw 60.5" square. Each one takes three or four (if you want the centre star a contrasting fabric) fabrics. Exact amounts will be out on Saturday, April 9!

Here is my finished baby Pop Star. I will give her her own post with all the details.
I am so pleased with how it turned out!

See you on Saturday. Be sure to grab the QAL graphic and post it on your social media. I would very much appreciate that! Once again here is the HTML code for it:

<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.mmmquilts.com/2022/03/pop-star-qal-schedule-and-sponsors.html"><img alt="Pop Star Quilt Along" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg92Xr4Wn6ww_3lwqgb2R6PAnrWMceU1BkKB7LSLuxk_O-0AgmE10pHIwvDXsJWIYL_w4bAs8pNQj1PZjBE1lkkOCb1JHzhny6kGW5so-aW6LXjv3WcocCjws8YvNgSu49kfn1hvtIK5GfxzJpd-I_2ofl_7Gmv0j1GXnvJaX26Oo1W5OeTr2XLWL5GIg/w200-h200/Pop%20Star%20QAL.png" width="200" /></a></div>

If you don't want to mess with HTML, simply click on the graphic and drag it onto your desktop, or take a screenshot on your phone and then post it on your Instagram. Thank you!



15 comments:

  1. Can't wait to get started. The baby quilt looks lovely and I look forward to seeing your larger one come together. See you next Saturday. Thanks for this, take care and hugs.

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  2. I'm excited to make this quilt, and you've already got me thinking about fabrics and colors! Thank you to all your amazing sponsors, too!

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  3. Great quilt, Sandra! Have a happy quilt along!

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  4. Happy birthday Sandra! The quilt looks great! Now I am trying to resist participating in this QAL. 😅

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  5. Another beautiful quilt. Hope to join in and use my stash for the fabric. Happy birthday. Hope you do something special today.

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  6. Happy birthday to you! Looking forward to another QAL!

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  7. Happy birthday, Sandra! It's going to be fun to see the quilts made in the QAL. :)

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  8. Happy belated Birthday Sandra! I love seeing all the different colourways quilters use.

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  9. Happy birthday, Sandra!!! I love the baby Pop Star!!!

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  10. Hi, not sure if you are aware but political content coming up on your emails. I unsubscribed bc I like to keep quilting separate from politics. thank you.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Mary, this is the only way to reach you since you are a no-reply. By "political comment coming up on your emails" I assume you mean when I post a De-Task the police meme as I did at the end of March, or when I expressed my deep outrage at the siege of hatred in Ottawa for two recent examples I can think of.
      I am entitled to write about what I want on my own blog, and I will always always speak out against racism and hatred, violence and overthrow of democracy.
      You are entitled to subscribe or not :-)

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  11. I'm in! Hopefully I'll be able to get into my house before the 17th so I can get some fabric.

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  12. I am just seeing this post - not sure why it didn't come to my inbox. Anyway, Happy Birthday! What a cool quilt!

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  13. Happy birthday. I'll have lots of fun pulling fabric and trying to decide what I want for the next week :-) I love stars.

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  14. Happy Birthday. Have fun with the quilt along. I'm not joining in, but will watch everyone's progress.
    Pat

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