Hello everyone!
I'm so glad you decided to join me in this fun adventure!

The pattern & quilt along are best suited to intermediate quilters (who have made quite a few quilts, understand scant 1/4" seams, & can cut carefully & accurately.)  If you're a perfectionist, a beginner, or a bit worried about your cuts, you're absolutely welcome to join; just order a bit of extra fabric & try to relax!

All proceeds from pattern sales go directly to Xenia's family - she's had her fifth brain surgery & is currently at home.  Here's hoping it's a long stay this time!
I do a donation at the end of every month & in May we sent $201!! 
You guys are amazing!

Welcome!

This post may contain affiliate links
QAL Starts:  June 1st! 

QAL Ends:  in 10 weeks (Aug 3 is the final week)

Materials needed:
the Xenia Quilt pattern 
fabric! (see requirements below for each size)

Additional supplies:
Starch! I highly suggest ironing & starching your fabric before cutting!
Cardstock, cardboard, or acrylic for the templates 
A brand new, super sharp rotary cutter blade!
An acrylic ruler - there are some great ones out there.  A 12 1/2" square is best, since you'll need to trim your blocks down eventually.
I also like the Stripology ruler for both trimming blocks & cutting bits for the blocks.

How to Participate:
This QAL takes place on Instagram - use the hashtag #theXeniaQAL in the caption for your posts we can all see your photos.

More Information:
I'll send out an email every Monday with that week's prompts & information.
I'll also add a blog post here every Monday, too!
There may be more tips & tricks in the emails, though, so don't forget to sign up here!
Don't forget that Patchwork River is offering a discount & an extra donation to the family for every Xenia quilt top sent in before October!! 

Let's Get Started!

Week One!! This week is all about fabric!
If you don't have something picked out yet, don't worry.  You've got a whole week to decide!  (And if you're ordering online, try Etsy!  Every order I've placed there over the last two months has shipped within two days.  I know some bigger stores are still experiencing delays due to Covid.)

I've been thinking about this a lot, and one of my favorite things about this pattern is how versatile it is.
Really, anything goes!

Big Prints are great since this has nice size cuts that will help show off the lovely designs
Medium Prints are perfect for fussy cutting! Or if you're not as into that as I am, it's great to show off the entire design ;)
Small Prints will not read as well from farther away, but once you get up close & snuggle under the quilt, they are always a nice surprise

For the quilt I sent Xenia's family I used a variety of sizes & prints, all picked out at a local shop & cut from yardage.
The second quilt I made, the baby size, I used a Fat Eighth bundle of the Good Life.
Both have a variety of all of sizes; some I fussy cut & some I let the fabric show itself off.

This time around I'll be making one with the rest of the Good Life line & one with a solid background & low volume hearts.  
The Good Life is the same F8 bundle, while the low volumes will all be yardage & fat quarters.  

For Your Pull - 

Please post your fabric pull (remember to use #theXeniaQAL with your post!) and tell me how long you've been quilting. 
You can check out my pull & introduction here.

As a reminder, there are three sizes. 
You can make any size during the quilt along!  I will post how many blocks need to be made each week for each size. 
Toddler has 12 hearts, the Throw has 20 & the Big has 30.

You can get (2) hearts from each fat quarter & (1) from a fat eighth. 
HOWEVER if you are nervous about the half rectangle triangles OR if you want to fussy cut any of the prints, I highly suggest planning to use a little more.  

Planning It Out - 

If you're stuck on what to use, browse the hashtag to get inspiration. 
Or check out these colour palettes I've saved!
I'm also a big fan of Fabric Bubb's & Stash Fabrics custom bundles! (Not sponsored; these are the two places I order the most from.)
There's also a colouring sheet included at the end of your pattern.  Feel free to grab some coloured pencils & use your imagination!

Moving Forward -   

We'll be making a test block next week & I'll be sharing pictures of the process along the way.
If you're the working ahead type then make sure you make a test block before you cut everything!
Measure your templates before cutting them out! We'll go over things in more detail next week, but if they're printing small there are a few things you can do. 
There are two ways of making your HRT (half rectangle triangles) in the pattern & I'd hate for you to cut with the templates if you prefer paper piecing or vice versa.