Strippy Improv Holiday QAL - Week 1

 Hooray! 

The Strippy Improv Holiday QAL has started! This is my favorite time of the year, and the addition of 6 new blocks only makes it better. And this year, there's a giveaway for Week 1, so keep reading! If you don't have the pattern yet, get it here.

For Week 1, we're talking fabric and block choice. 

There's a lot to think about, and so many tempting directions to go! 

Fabric and block choice go hand in hand - and with the new blocks, you have many options for making a Christmas-themed project or a winter-themed project. 

I tend to find inspiration by fallling in love with a fun holiday border fabric. In fact, that's what attracted me to the Country Christmas collection (see the giveaway info below to win some!). Once I choose the border fabric, then I pick blocks that follow the theme. For the Quilt Along, I'll officially be using these fabrics, a combo of Cherry Guidry's Nordic Cabin prints and the white-on-white prints from Holiday Snow. 

The snowman heads will be my border, the dark gray the block background, and then I'll use the aqua for the frames and binding. A fun wintry wall quilt! 

Select your blocks - Either four different, all the same, or a couple of your favorites. The pattern includes options for assembling the blocks into a table runner or a square wall hanging. See some of my finished samples here.

Here are the new blocks:

And the original blocks:

Now let's talk block backgrounds. You'll want to choose a medium to dark fabric for the background. If you use a lighter fabric, the strippy improv will show through. Keep that in mind as you choose fabric for the strips - for example, if you have a dark gray background, make sure the snowman hat contrasts enough. Here's an example of a fabric choice where I didn't have quite enough contrast: 

Pick your fabrics and quilt blocks, and next week we'll make two blocks! 

Now for the giveaway info!

To celebrate this year's Strippy Improv Holiday QAL, I asked two companies whose products I love if they'd share a little product love with one lucky winner. 
The prize package includes:

A Thermoweb gift pack of the following items

I've been on the Thermoweb Design Team for several years - I recruited myself after trying their fusible on my first Strippy Improv blocks! I use the HeatnBond Lite Sewable Iron-On Adhesive for my constructing my blocks.

And this fabric bundle from Benartex's Country Christmas and Holiday Snow collections - FQs of holiday prints on the left, and border, binding and block background fabric on the right: 

I've been a Benartex Ambassador for the past year, and have regularly used their fabric for much longer. It was fun selecting the prints for this year's projects and giveaway!

How to enter: 

Make sure you're following me on Instagram (@quiltyzest) and leave a comment on the Week 1 QAL post. 

1. Let me know which Strippy Improv block is your favorite (1 entry)

2. Tag a friend who might be interested (1 entry)

The giveaway is open through Monday, November 20th at 11:59 pm EST. I'll randomly draw a winner from the entries and announce it on Tuesday. 

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Join the Strippy Improv Holiday Quilt Along!

Get the pattern here. It includes all 11 blocks. If you've purchased the pattern previously, you can get the 6 new blocks for free - sign up for my newsletter here, and you'll receive an email with a link to download the new blocks. 

QAL Details: 

Sew along with me to create a holiday wall quilt or table runner before Christmas! I'll post once a week with tips and advice (plus that all-important accountability!) to keep us on track. These blocks are addicting...just wait and see! 

Purchase the pattern here.

Week 1: November 16th - Fabric selection

Week 2: November 23rd -  Making 2 blocks

Week 3: November 30th - Making 2 blocks

Week 4: December 7th - Assembly and Finishing