March Country Charmer Update

How is everyone coming along with the Country Charmer Quiltalong? I've been visiting the QAL Flickr page HERE and am so impressed with the blocks I am seeing. I continue to be inspired every day by the blocks I am seeing by CC designer Lynn at Sew'n Wild Oaks,  all the participants in blog land who are making this quilt and those quilters posting to our Flickr page.

I decided to make things a little more organized in my sewing corner and spent some time at my cutting board this month preparing all the background pieces for my CC blocks. I'm using a cream background that I had in my stash.  It seemed to take no time at all to do the cutting and my background pieces are all ready. Now when I am preparing to make a CC block, I lay out the light pieces right away and it seems like the block is almost finished even before I start it. I just add a few fabrics and I am off to the sewing machine races! 

I love my fourth block. I'm continuing to use Metropolitan Fair fabrics by Barbara Brackman, with an occasional addition from my stash.

Last weekend I decided to play a little more in my sewing corner.  I had my very own self-imposed Country Charmer mini-marathon and produced 4 more blocks.  Block 5...

block 6...

block 7...

 and block 8...

I know I've said this before, but I love the quilt chart that designer Lynn has included with her pattern instructions. The pattern comes with a chart that you fill in like a puzzle.  As you place the pieces on the chart, the block comes together right before your eyes.  Sometimes I tweak the fabrics a little, and sometimes it is just perfect the way the pieces land. Thanks, Lynn, for giving us such a fun way to make a block! You can purchase the pattern at In Between Stitches HERE. 

I put all my 8 blocks in a group and I like it so far!

The difficult thing for me will be to decide on the colour for the fabrics in the sashing and 9-patch fabrics. I've used a variety of colours in my blocks ...several shades of reds and pinks, greens, blues, browns, and golds. I may just keep making scrappy blocks and decide on my sashing and 9-patches when all 20 blocks are complete. 

Anyone who doesn't have a blog, but is sewing aling with us, is invited to email the pictures of their progress to myself or Lynn and we will include them in our monthy update.   Below is a picture of the Country Charmer blocks made by fellow quilter Lois from Ontario, Canada. Aren't her blocks gorgeous! I love the strong bold colours.  The resulting quilt will be stunning. Thanks, Lois, for sharing your creations with us.

Make sure you visit Lynn's blog HERE. Several quilters have emailed pictures of their quilts to her as well, so we will be hopping around the globe today for a quilt show! Lynn has a page on her blog designated to the CC QAL, posting tips, tricks,and techniques to help us along with our CC journey. 

No more waiting. It's time to link up. If you have made some Country Charmer blocks and have blogged about your progress, please link up below using the URL address for the specific post you wrote about the CC QAL.  Our next Country Charmer Linky will be on April 1...and that is no joke! 

'Till next time, it's a great day for quilting!