Let the Barn Star Sampler Quilt along begin!

I have had this Barn Star Sampler quilt on my to-do list in my mind since I first saw it, so I was really excited when Fat Quarter Shop asked me to join in and sew along with them! 

The Barn Star Sampler Quilt book was designed by Shelley Cavanna and it has sold like crazy, so the hard copy books have been on backorder, but should be available in March, in the meantime you can still buy the EBook and sew along with us, that's what I am doing.  I just printed my book out and put it into a binder, or you can cut and sew right from the screen of your favorite device. 

​Now let's talk about the fun stuff... Tula Pink FABRIC!!

This sampler pattern is just so fun, I felt like it was totally necessary to use Tula Pink fabrics to give it that bold and modern look I always love!  So I have pulled a variety of Tula Pink fabrics from my stash (I love Tula solids!)  Plus, I just got my sample fabric from Free Spirit the NEW Everglow is as amazing as I had imagined!  It's a neon rainbow Y'all!! Tap the image above to reserve your bundle, it will begin shipping early April!  Plus Besties by Tula Pink will release in the Fall and I hope I can all some of that in too.  

Here are my blocks for January, February and March we made 2 blocks from the first 3 patterns in the book, I am totally in love with them! These blocks are huge, and such fun to make, I shared a couple reels to my Instagram with my bad hair #behindtheseams while I did the sewing on block two.  I decided to use a black and white feature in the centers, because I am planning to incorporate some black and white within the rest of the quilt later, Oh... I used Kona Dove for the background and then a variety of Tula prints and solids.  

Throughout the year, we'll been sewing all the Barn Star Sampler Quilt blocks in the same order as they appear in the book, but you can piece them in any way.  This Queen-sized quilt finishes at 80.5" x 100.5" and is written for traditional piecing techniques, but if you would like to use foundation papers, Fat Quarter Shop has created a collection of Triangles on a Roll for you to use.  

Block #1

Block 2

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Block 3

Jan-Feb-Mar Blocks

Block 4

Block 4

Jan - April Blocks

Blocks 1-5 January - May 2023

June Blocks

As we near the end of 2023 we are finishing our Barn Star Sampler, here are the last of my blocks before I start sewing all of them together then we will be ready for longarm quilting, I am so excited to see this one finished!  ​

The end is here, the calendar says December 15th, 2023 and it’s Barn Star Quilt Along Day!! That means we finally share out finished quilt!! I’m not sure I have ever made a quilt that took me an entire year to finish. Sure, I have started them and tucked them away for a year or so and then finished them, but never have I made a block or two each month for this long, it sure was fun!!   Also, notice my Texas barn in my background, it has no door just stone steps to look inside, I believe it’s some kind of cellar from many years ago, the walls are prob 24” thick with stone and mud. Me and the teenagers went out on a walk near our house in the #texashillcountry to get this picture, it’s always fun when they hang out with me! 

I decided to use the Propel Pantograph by my friend Jess from the Longarm League, this quilt finished at 80x100 so it stitched out forever, but it was perfect, great panto! 

I shared some of these blocks on the YouTube video below, tap to watch...

​Quilt Along Schedule
 I'll be following this FQS schedule when I share my blocks to social media. 
There won’t be a tutorial for these blocks, as all of the instructions are in the book, but I will have YouTube tutorials for the quilting, trimming and binding portion later in the year! 

Month/Blocks/Date
January Make two of Block 1- January 27
February Make two of Block 2 - February 24
March Make two of Block 3 - March 31
April Make two of Block 4 - April 28
May Make two of Block 5 - May 26
June Make two of Block 6 - June 30
July Make two of Block 7 - July 28
August Make two of Block 8 - August 25
September Make two of Block 9 - September 29
October Make three of Blocks 10-15 - October 27
November Make four of Blocks 16-20 - November 17
December Backing and Finishing December 15
I can't wait for the finishing, it's my favorite part!

Who’s Sewing Along?
You can follow all the makers on social media for inspiration and tips.

• Anne Boundy, Said With Love, (@said_with_love)
• Kim Lapacek, Lapacek’s Orchard, (@lapaceksorchard)
• Melanie Call, A Bit of Scrap Stuff, (@abitofscrapstuff)
• Rebecca Bird, One Wee Bird, (@oneweebird)
• Reece Ortolani, Hurricane Quilty Stitches, (@hurricanereecequiltystitches)
• Melissa Corry, Happy Quilting, (@happyquiltingmc)
• Pat Sloan, (@quilterpatsloan)
• Gina Tell, Thread Graffiti, (@gina_tell_threadgraffiti)

Thanks for stopping by my blog, I would love for you to check out my new online store while you are here, I have a brand new ruler design that I just released to help you get perfect binding and if you have a pile of quilt tops laying around you really should consider getting them quilted, I love long arm quilting! 

Keep up with my progress by following @gina_tell_threadgraffiti on Instagram and don’t forget to use #BarnStarSamplerQAL to share your progress on social media, so we don’t miss seeing your quilts!  

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Happy quilting!
Gina 
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