Welcome to the Ombre Gems Quilt along!  This is the second edition of this colorful quilt along.

I’m glad you are here!  There has been a lot of enthusiasm around this quilt along with more than 1000 quilters signed up!  It should be fun, it should be active and you will be so proud of your colorful quilt at the end of the 10 weeks 🙂

Sign up for the quilt along e-mails (if you haven’t already) so you don’t miss a thing.

The Quilt Along

Starts:  March 19th (today! ha)

Duration:  10 weeks

Materials needed:
Ombre Gems Quilt Pattern
Ombre fabrics– The quilt along will use all 20 colors!  (or feel free to use any other fabrics)

Additional supplies that are helpful:
Stripology Ruler
Starch…lots of starch

How to Participate:
The quilt along takes place on Instagram using the hashtag:  #ombregemsquiltalong

Include the hashtag in your captions so we can all see your posts.  Browse the hashtag to see what everyone else is up to!

Stay up to date:
An e-mail will show up in your inbox on Monday morning with the weeks prompts.  A blog post will also go up on Monday morning.  There may be a few extra videos and tips and tricks in the e-mails so be sure to be signed up!  (Sign up here)

Week One

• Introduce yourself on Instagram!  Show us your face, show us your fabric 🙂  Remember to use the hashtag #ombregemsquiltalong
• Gather fabrics/ pattern and supplies
• Plan out your quilt with the coloring page if not following the exact Ombre quilt
• Make a test block if that’s helpful for you!
• Cut the background squares

We will ease in to this quilt along with a little prep and a little cutting.

Grab the pattern

If you don’t have the pattern already, grab your copy in the shop or below.

Gather the fabrics

If you don’t have your fabric yet, don’t panic!  Order them up so you are ready to go next week.

You can use either yardage of each color or a fat quarter of each color.  Jelly roll strips work also but you might consider trimming them to 2.5in wide for better accuracy.

Find your fabrics:
Regular Ombres-Handmade is Heartmade
Confetti Ombres – Fat quarter bundle – Simply Love Fabrics
Confetti Ombres – Half yard bundle – Cates Sew Modern

Planning

If you have all 20 ombre colors and are following the exact placement of the blocks, no planning is necessary!  I’ll tell you exactly which blocks to make each week and whether to make full blocks or half blocks.

If you are not following the exact placement of the blocks, then plan out your own version using the coloring pages in this week’s e-mail.  For example, you can check out the scrappy version I made here.

Make a test block

This block will take a few blocks to get the hang of.  It’s always a good idea to make a test block before cutting all of your fabric.  Make the test block with scrap fabrics or just go ahead and make the first block carefully.

Cut the background squares

Once you are ready to go, let’s start by cutting the background squares!

The cutting step for this quilt is crucial!  Accuracy is key.  There are a lot of seams that need to line up and successfully lined up seams start at the cutting process.

Below is a video of a quick cutting demonstration.  In the first video I’m using a regular 6.5in x 24.5in ruler.  (Loooove the Creative Grids 6.5in x 24.5in ruler.  Find it here.)

The second video, I’m using one my favorite quilting tools, the Stripology ruler.  It’s not necessary but if you have it, you will appreciate it for this quilt.

And that’s week one!  We will ease in to this quilt along, get everything ready and start making blocks next week!