This week, we are cutting and organizing our fabrics! Here's a look at where we've been and where we are headed. Note, if you missed Week 1, you can click on it below!

• April 5 - Week 1: Plan
• April 12 - Week 2: Cut & Organize
• April 19 - Week 3: Create 4/5 Blocks
• April 26 - Week 4: Create 4/5 Blocks
• May 3 - Week 5: Create 4/5 Blocks
• May 10 - Week 6: Create 4/5 Blocks
• May 17 - Week 7: Sew Blocks Together

I kindly ask that you please be mindful when sharing about your quilt progress. Do not include any measurements or photos of the inside of the pattern. This is copyrighted information. :)

DETAILED CUTTING TUTORIAL

If you are new to quilting, here is a detailed cutting tutorial. Note that you must have the pattern for this tutorial to make sense. Everyone cuts fabrics differently. Find whatever method works best for you and go for it!

GENERAL CUTTING TIPS

• Keep everything in piles to stay organized
• Slow down and take your time. Cutting your pieces accurately will set you up for success in the following weeks.
• How's your rotary cutter blade? If you need a new one, go ahead and change it out.
• Pay attention to the width of your selvedge and how much usable WOF you have. If you are using fat quarters, measure your fat quarter before you cut to make sure that you haven enough wiggle room. You don't want to cut too much of your fabric off when you trim the selvedge or square up a fat quarter.
• For yardage, try your hardest (but also don't stress over it) to cut "on-grain". To do this, lift up the top piece of fabric and align the selvedges so that they are perfectly parallel. Gently push up any excess fabric towards the fold. Press a new crease in your fabric if necessary. You can do this in sections, or all at once.
• Whenever possible, it's best to cover your desired measurement with your ruler and use the lines on your ruler vs. the lines on your cutting mat. This will generally give you a more accurate cut. For the Background pieces, if your ruler is 6" x 24", you can use a 12" square ruler and cut the piece in two segments. Alternatively, you can use an 8" x 24" ruler. My last resort is to use the lines on my cutting mat, but sometimes it's unavoidable, and that's okay!

MY FAVORITE CUTTING SUPPLIES

Here are some links to my favorite cutting supplies:

• A Fiskars 24" x 36" is a great size for cutting yardage.
• This is my 6" x 24" ruler. I also have an 8.5" x 24" ruler which is perfect for this pattern. (either one works!)
• This is my 12.5" square ruler.
• I have a Fiskars 45 mm rotary cutter.

DIRECTIONAL FABRICS

If you are using directional fabrics and you want those fabrics to all appear a certain way within your quilt blocks, then you'll need to cut your fabrics slightly differently than what the pattern depicts. If you are unsure if your fabrics are directional, or if you want to see an example of what I'm talking about, check out this blog post.

• Directional fabrics cutting diagram

Mix & Match

When mixing up the Group A, B and C pieces, consider evenly mixing the following characteristics of each fabric:

• color
• value (light, medium, dark)
• print vs. solid
• texture (if applicable)
• scale (if applicable)

You can also take a black and white photo to help you visualize the value of your fabrics. Consider doing this in the final stages to make sure you're happy with the final combinations.

Watch the video below to see my process for mixing and matching.

Facebook group

If you have any burning questions, or if you're just looking for community and support, join the Lo & Behold Patterns Facebook group!  

week 1 WINNER

The winner of the $50 gift card to Cottoneer Fabrics and the $75 gift card to Woven & Woolly is… 

@reynolds_hollis !!!!

Congrats! Please reply to this email! :)

week 2 PRIZES

This week, your task is to get all of your fabrics cut and organized. Share a photo to Instagram and be sure to use the hashtags #nightingaleQAL, #nightingalequilt &  #loandbeholdpatterns and you'll be automatically entered to win this week's prizes! You have until next Monday, April 19th at 8am EST to get your entry in! The winner will be randomly chosen and announced in the Week 3 newsletter!

This week, we have two prizes! One lucky winner will receive:

• A $50 gift card to Sewfinity - an online fabric shop that has a gorgeous assortment of solids!
• A hand quilting kit by Scribbly Gum Quilt Co.! This includes needles, binding clips, thread and more!

These are two really awesome shops so be sure to give them a follow on Instagram!

grand prize

We have two grand prizes! One lucky winner in both the USA and Canada will win free long-arm quilting! American quilters will have a chance to win edge-to-edge quilting from the Henhouse Quilting. Canadian quilters will have a chance to win edge-to-edge quilting from Matante Quilting! To enter, you'll need to participate in each week of the QAL by sharing your progress photo each week (with the hashtags!). One winner will be randomly chosen from the USA and Canada at the end! 

(Canadian participants, there will be a separate hashtag that you'll use for Week 7. I'll share about that when the time comes!)