The Medallion sew along

As I mentioned last week, my (sewing) life is currently consumed by the Medallion-along happening on Instagram right now. You would be forgiven for asking me what on earth it is all about. Well, if you are not on Instagram, it is a photo sharing app and it is ace. You can tag photos with a particular word (in the case of the sew along it is #medallionalong or #marcellemedallion. As you post pictures of your quilt you can tag it and look at other photos from people making the same quilt who have also tagged their photos. Does that make sense? I hope so. Take a look here.

There have been many sew alongs on Instagram that I have observed and enjoyed. This one I had to join though because the quilt looks absolutely amazing. The pattern is from 'Liberty Love' by Alexia Marcelie Abegg (who is behind Green Bee patterns). The book is out at the end of the month, but it was also published in the first edition of 'Love Quilting and Patchwork' magazine that was extremely illusive, so Kerry very kindly sent me a copy that she had managed to find.

Anyway, back to the sewing. The pattern says it is not for the faint of heart. This is due to the incredible detail and many, many, tiny pieces that need cutting out and sewing together. I think that fundamental idea may have passed me by when I first set eyes on the finished quilt. It is by far the most complicated project I have undertaken, but entirely achievable. I love the fact that each border is different and so feels like a separate project, giving you a warm glow of success as each one is done.

It is a great quilt for using up scraps, bringing together all your favourite fabrics old and new, learning and practicing techniques and generally having fun with fabric. I'm loving it.

It's always at the back of my mind, waiting to be picked up again, waiting for colour choices to be made. I love looking at everyone elses progress on Instagram, appreciating the choices they have made in colour and deciding where I want to go. And the wonderful feedback from other medallion alongers. (The official collective term)

Are you tempted to join in? I would definitely recommend it if you are already a quilter on Instagram or even if you are not. It is a lovely community.

This is where I am now. It measures about 33" across, those flying geese were an epic task. Next I am cutting 92 rectangles for border 5, it will be purples and pinks mostly from Field Study which has proved an excellent source of fabrics for this quilt.

So, are you tempted? To tempt you a little more, I will have a Medallion-along themed give-away shortly...