Today marks 1 month until we kick of #100Days100Blocks2017 and I cannot wait! This year I’ve partnered with Cotton + Steel to make my quilt in all Cotton + Steel and it’s pretty awesome. I knew I had a soft spot for Cotton + Steel and then I went through my stash and oh boy! I may have needed an intervention prior to starting this project, but I can hand-on-heart say that after this quilt people may be justified in calling in a team of experts to separate me from my Cotton + Steel.

The #100Days100Blocks event last year was one of my highlights of the year. I still cruise the hashtag looking at all the amazing blocks and quilts that people have made and getting a buzz from all the awesomeness of it all. I can’t wait to see what blocks and quilts are made from this year’s event. So, get out your calendar mark the date and start getting your supplies together. Here’s all the details that you need to know, with more to come as we get closer to the event.

The Key Points

The challenge is the same; make all 100 Blocks and post them on the correct day (in your timezone). We’ve listened to your feedback and we’re going to make it easier for you to manage the hashtags and accounts to follow, but the challenge will still be hard and the prizes epic. We’re kicking this round off on a day that’s special to Lisa and I; our birthday! This round is all about celebrating, so why not think about making a festive or seasonal quilt this time if you participated the first time.

WHEN IS IT?

Starts: Block 1 will be posted on Sunday 7 May 2017 Australian Eastern Standard Time (Sydney’s timezone).

Ends: Block 100 will be posted on Tuesday 15 August 2017 Australian Eastern Standard Time (Sydney’s timezone).

Blocks can be posted at any time during the day, they just have to be posted on the correct day in your timezone.

A NOTE ABOUT TIMEZONES

All dates, as written in this blog post and for the purpose of our organising, will be in Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST). This is the timezone for Sydney, Australia. The beauty of doing this via Instagram is that it will date stamp your block with the day and time you post it. To be eligible for prizes you need to have posted the correct block for the correct date in your timezone. It’s simple and means you don’t have to worry about doing any time conversions, etc. Just post your block on the date we’ve advised and you’ll be good to go.

I MISSED THE START, CAN I STILL PARTICIPATE?

The answer is always YES! Participate! However, if you’re wanting to win some prizes then by not starting when it kicked off you’ll not be eligible for any of the prizes that require you to have completed all 100 blocks and posted them on the correct day (in your timezone) with the correct hashtags and followed the correct accounts. But don’t despair! There’s a big group of prizes that require you to just complete 10 blocks, post them on their correct days (in your timezone), with the correct hashtags and follow the correct accounts. There will also be spot prizes at various times and surprise giveaways. Ultimately the real prize is making a quilt of your own and connecting with amazing quilters all over the world, so please PARTICIPATE!

WHERE CAN I GET THE BOOK?

There’s a number of places you can get the book.

You can buy the book via these links Book Depository (click here) |  Amazon (click here) | Fons & Porter (click here) | Keepsake Quilting (click here) | Interweave Store (click here) and if you do so I will make a small commission on the sale which will go towards helping me to run this amazing event. (Thank you so much!)

I’m a Beginner, can I still participate?

This is the perfect project for a beginner. There’s no tricky blocks and you’ll learn some of the fundamental techniques for being a patchworker.

WHERE’S IT HAPPENING?

Instagram is where it’s at. It will only be run on Instagram. There’s no tutorials and there’s no blog hops. It’s all about sharing your blocks on Instagram. You will need an Instagram account to be able to participate. Instagram is free to join and you can find it in your app store on your phone.

WHAT IF MY ACCOUNT ON INSTAGRAM IS PRIVATE?

I’m really sorry, but if your account is private we won’t be able to see your blocks and therefore you won’t be eligible to enter the competitions. One way around this, if you’re really keen to participate but don’t want to share your private moments (which is completely understandable), is to create a second account and just post your blocks on this account. Instagram now makes it really easy to flip between accounts so it shouldn’t be too cumbersome to manage. You can read the Instagram help file on how to do this by clicking here.

DO I HAVE TO USE TULA PINK FABRICS?

We love Tula Pink, but that doesn’t mean you have to. This is all about making a quilt that you will love and cherish, so please use whatever fabrics make your heart sing. There’s no rules about what fabrics you can use. Just have fun!

HOW MUCH FABRIC DO I NEED?

The answer is A LOT! But that’s in general! When it comes to making this quilt however I have no idea. There’s no total fabric requirements in the book for the blocks. I can tell you this though, I’m using a 50 Fat Quarter Bundle to make the Farmer’s Wife 1930’s Sampler Quilt and it’s using all of that bundle. So I’d recommend at least 50 Fat Quarters for the blocks and then fabrics for setting.

DO I HAVE TO MAKE THE BLOCKS AS PER THE BOOK?

Ah… yes. This is all about making the Tula Pink City Sampler. You can alter how many fabrics are in the block. For example the block has 4 fabrics in it but you really want to use a fifth fabric in there – that’s not a problem. You’d like to make a block bigger, that’s not a problem. (Just don’t publish the block measurements! If you do you will be disqualified!) However you cannot remove or add seams to the blocks. You’re making the blocks exactly as they are in the book.

CAN I USE AN ALTERNATIVE METHOD TO CONSTRUCT THE BLOCK?

As much as I love seeing how creative people are, you must make the block with the seams as shown in the book. This means that appliqué is not an acceptable block construction method when it comes to winning the major prizes. However, there are surprise prizes to be announced yet and you will be eligible for that.

WHAT IF THE BLOCK PICTURE AND THE BLOCK DIAGRAM DON’T MATCH IN THE BOOK?

There’s a couple of places where the seams in the block pictured don’t match the block diagram (to our knowledge it’s block 14 and block 20). We’ll accept either, but if you’ve got a choice choose the block diagram just to be on the safe side.

WHAT’S THE ORDER?

We will be sewing the blocks in numerical order. So block 1 on day 1, etc. etc. until we get to block 100 on day 100.

I will provide a handy tracker closer to the event starting to help you keep everything straight.

PREVIOUSLY MADE OR MADE AHEAD OF TIME BLOCKS

We know there’s a lot of you that have started sewing blocks previously and want to use this event to help you get them all done. We’re also aware that you, like us, will have life events crop up during the 100 days which will see you not able to sew a block on it’s set day. Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered!

You can still use these blocks, you just need to post a photo of the block on the correct day with the correct entry requirements to be eligible for inclusion in the prize pool.

You cannot add the hashtag to a block you’ve previously shared on Instagram. It needs to be a new photo date stamped with the correct date. This rule is only applicable to those of you wanting to be included in the prize pool.

You cannot use a photo of a block that is in a finished quilt or quilt top. Sorry, this is all about sewing along and while we’re open to helping people who’ve started or people who’ve got an unavoidable interruption that they can plan for, we’re not awarding prizes for quilts that are already finished. This is all about the quilt blocks.  Thanks for your understanding!

Ultimately we’re not the Quilt Police, if you want to sew all your blocks in one weekend – that’s totally up to you. This is all about sewing the blocks, having fun with fabric and getting more involved with the online quilting community. In a nutshell, we’re just here to have fun!

WHAT IF I MISS A DAY?

We know 100 days is a huge ask. We get it. We also know how big the prizes on offer are. Unfortunately when it comes to winning the big ticket items you’re not going to be able to miss a day. However, we’re going to be monitoring the progress of everyone very carefully and you never know there may just be a block amnesty at some stage to help everyone catch up and get back on track. But don’t count on it!