SoChick QAL {Anchors Aweigh: Completed Top & Craftsy.com Giveaway!}

Finally, the last post of the 1st Annual SoChick Quilt Along, featuring Anchors Aweigh by Tula Pink!  I can not thank you all enough for not only joining me in my first QAL, but for being patient with me as this QAL collided with my family relocating from Coastal NC to the Mountains of Western NC (with a few bumps and a dead computer hard-drive in between)!

{Joining Rows to Complete Your Top}

If you haven't had a chance to join your rows, I hope that these few iPhone pictures will give you an idea of how I did it.  It's important to note, when joining the rows, that you do not need space large enough for the entire quilt top to be laid out... a narrow, flat surface, should suffice.  I was able to piece my entire top behind my living room sofa, where I had enough room width-wise (from quilt side to side) and about 3-4ft of space for adding rows.

 When joining the rows, and because I was working in a narrow space, I joined them in pairs of two, working in towards the middle of the quilt, then attached in the middle.  (So I joined Rows 1&2, 3&4, 5&6, 7&8; then joined the pairs so that Rows 1-4 and Rows 5-8 were my final sections, finishing by joining at Row 4 & 5)  I hope that makes sense.  Because I was working in a narrow space, as I joined rows I simply rolled the quilt as I went.  You can see in the photo below that the Wrong Side is where I've rolled up and the Right Side is where I will add the next set of Rows.

When joining the rows, I roughly laid them out with right sides together; then, starting from the middle of the rows, lined up and pinned my seams moving out towards the sides. When pinning the solid fabrics, be careful not to stretch the fabrics so as not to distort the quilt top.  There is less stretching at the piecing due to the seams reinforcing the fabrics, but it's easy to get carried away with stretching/smoothing once you get to the solid fabric... so just keep that in mind *wink*.

I also pressed/starched my long seams as I sewed them; once I was finished with the top, I went through with a good steam  press over the entire piece.  I am so impressed with this quilt and the fact that I was able to complete it with everything else going on!  I feel like it was easy to sew, it was just a matter of staying organized throughout the process.

I plan to quilt this on my home sewing machine, hopefully while we are here in our temporary apartment.  I've learned a lot from the Craftsy Lesson: Quilting Large Projects on a Small Machine... so I will put that knowledge to the test.  Are you ready for your chance to Win this same lesson, for FREE?!

{The Giveaway}

{The Prize}

Craftsy.com has been so super generous to sponsor my 1st Annual SoChick Quilt Along by offering a Free Lesson to one lucky winner! (A $39.99 value!)  What's better, is that the lesson, Quilting Large Projects on a Small Machine, will help you complete your Anchors Aweigh quilt, and you can watch the lesson as many times as you want, whenever you want, and at your own pace!

{The Details}
Because of my delay in finishing this QAL, due to moving, etc, I am opening the giveaway to all participants of the SoChick QAL... however, your chances of winning will be greater if you have completed your Anchors Aweigh top and share a photo of it!

How to enter:

There are THREE ways you may enter, AND you may complete all three!

You MUST log your entry into the Rafflecopter widget to be entered into this Giveaway.

1-  leave a comment on this blog post telling me about your Anchors Aweigh experience, thoughts, what you enjoyed most, etc. (log the entry into the Rafflecopter widget)

2- share a photo of your completed Anchors Aweigh Quilt Top by submitting a link to your photo from flickr, Instagram, or another photo sharing app. (log the entry into the Rafflecopter widget)

3- Join Craftsy.com (yay if you're already a member) and add your Anchors Aweigh Quilt top to your Projects Page; then share your username here so that I can check out your project and photos! (log the entry into the Rafflecopter widget)

The Giveaway will end on April 11, 2013, at 12:00am EST.  I will announce a winner here on the blog by April 13th.  If the winner can not be reached within 48hrs, I will re-draw for a runner up... Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


{Thanks Bunches}
A huge special thanks to all of the participants of my 1st Annual SoChick QAL, I have enjoyed chatting with you and sewing with you throughout, I can't wait to see your EPIC Quilts!  Also, thank you to Tula Pink for designing awesome-sauce fabric and kick-butt quilt patterns like Salt Water and Anchors Aweigh; and to Craftsy.com for not only being a great site to find sewing patterns, supplies and a wealth of knowledge and lessons for us crafty-folk, but for also Sponsoring my 1st Annual SoChick QAL with a great lesson!

XxOo~ Melissa