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Small Log Cabin for Tula Pink Butterfly Quilt Sew-along

16 small log cabins, check! It’s time to do the Small Log Cabin Blocks as part of the Tula Pink Butterfly Quilt Sew-along. You’ll need 16 of these (instructions are on page 5 of the pattern). A word of warning: you’ll need to flip horizontally one of the blocks if you’re fussy cutting. The blocks are mirror images of each other on the wings (check assembly diagram on page 16) and so they need to be constructed a little differently to each other. For the purpose of the prizes we’ll take either seam placements, they just have to look like the diagram from a distance (so you don’t have to flip you can just rotate). I’ve started to assemble mine in an attempt to keep everything in order and make sure I’ve gotten the colour placement correct. You don’t have to start assembling at this stage, so don’t panic if your image is of the blocks alone, either will work. Don’t forget to check out the hashtag #TulaPinkButterflySAL on Instagram for some more inspiration.

[expand trigclass=”greybar” title=”Weekly Task” swaptitle=”click to close” tag=”h1″]
We’ll be setting you a weekly task, but we’re not going to enforce the weekly task. This means 2 things:

  1. You can join the event at any time prior to the reveal week and still be eligible for prizes if you meet the criteria, and
  2. You can self pace until the reveal week.

I’ve decided to work it this way to help people who are coming late to the event and to give you a little more wiggle room when it comes to life getting in the way. We’ve just come of the back of two really strict entry requirement events and, I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to take it easier.

Nicole, Chelsea, Wendy, Bec and I will still post our blocks as per the weekly task to help keep you on track so you’ll know where you “should” be up to if you want to use our timetable as a guide to getting it done.[/expand]

[expand trigclass=”greybar” title=”Winning a Prize” swaptitle=”click to close” tag=”h1″]
Now I bet you’re wondering how you’ll go about winning a prize, well it’s simple:

  1. Post 1 photo of each block type, including all the requirements for eligibility (we’ll go into more detail about this in a minute),
  2. Post a photo of your finished quilt top between 12:01am 21 November – 11:59pm 3 December in your timezone.

At the end of the event we’ll be looking for 17 block photos + a photo of the finished quilt top. (It doesn’t have to be quilted, but it can be if you want – minimum requirement is the completed top.)[/expand]

[expand trigclass=”greybar” title=”A Word about Block Type” swaptitle=”click to close” tag=”h1″]
You only need to post 1 photo of 1 of each block type.

This means that, for example, where you’re required to make 136 HSTs we only need to see 1 of them in the photo, not all 136. You can totally post a photo of all of them in there, but you need to ensure that at least one of the blocks in the photo is fully visible so we can confirm it’s been made correctly.

You can totally post more than one photo of your blocks, but you only need to post one for prize eligibility.

Eligibility Requirements for Photos

This will be the trickiest part of the whole thing, you’ll need to include the following things in your block photo caption on Instagram (I’ve put the details for this week in brackets after each component):

  1. The week number (8),
  2. The block name (Small Log Cabins),
  3. The hashtag: #TulaPinkButterflySAL

That’s it. We’ll be going through and checking winning accounts to make sure they have 17 block photos (with the above information) + a photo of the finished quilt top posted between 12:01am 1 August and 11:59pm 3 December in your timezone.[/expand]

[expand trigclass=”greybar” title=”Troubleshooting the Entry Requirements” swaptitle=”click to close” tag=”h1″]
Now I know there’s going to be questions, so I’ve put together a list of things that I think might trip you up. If I’ve missed something pop your question in the comments and I’ll answer it there so that others who might also have the same question can see the answer.

Can I put the caption details in a comment on the photo?

No, it needs to go in the caption. We’ve tried to make things easy for you so it would be great if you could make it easy for us to find the information. The image below show where you “Write a caption” as part of the posting to Instagram process.

I messed up my caption can I edit it?

Yep, you can totally edit your caption. Click here to read a post I’ve written about troubleshooting Instagram which will help you. Please note that the linked post about troubleshooting Instagram references putting the hashtag in a comment – the eligibility requirements for this event require it to be in the caption not as a comment.

A word of warning: if you’ve tagged someone in your caption (used their @instagramname) every time you edit your caption they’ll get a notification. The first time it’s amusing, the third time it becomes annoying and on the fifth time it can often result in someone blocking you because that’s the only way to stop the notifications. It’s not a great feature from Instagram and it can chew the life of your battery so it’s something to keep in mind, especially if you get to the end of the event and go back and edit 17 photos!

Is there a format you’d like me to use for my caption?

Nope, you can word it however you want. However, it would make it super easy for the event administrators if you could make those things really obvious. The use of emoji’s for the number would make it standout for example. (Here’s a link to how to use an emoji on an iDevice, click here, Android users you’ll have to google this one I’m afraid as I don’t have any Android experience.)

Can I put a number on my photo?

Yep, that would be outstandingly helpful. But it’s not part of the requirements and the number still has to be in the caption to be eligible for prizes.

I get asked all the time how I put text on my photos and I confess I use Photoshop, but when I’m not at my computer I use WordSwag. (It’s a paid app for iOS and Android) I love it because it’s modern and has its own stash of stock photos so if you don’t have a photo you can freely use one of theirs. You can find out more about WordSwag by clicking here.

Hopefully that’s answered some of your questions, if you’ve still got more pop them in a comment below and I’ll answer them lickity-split.[/expand]

[expand trigclass=”greybar” title=”Event Tracker” swaptitle=”click to close” tag=”h1″]
To help you keep things in order I’ve made up a free tracker for you to download, you can get it by clicking here.

A word about the tracker: This seems kind of obvious, but I’ve had a number of complaints about it with past events…. if the event timetable changes I am unable to go back and update the tracker you’ve already printed out. (I’m good, but even I have to respect the time/space continuum) So while I provide a tracker it’s a one-off help you get organised free tool. I won’t be updating it again (unless there’s a super typo in it). In the event Doc and Marty turn up at my house I will totally go back and amend ALL the trackers I’ve ever provided to make sure they’re super cool and reflect how the dates rolled out.[/expand]

[expand trigclass=”greybar” title=”Prizes” swaptitle=”click to close” tag=”h1″]
We’ll be announcing prizes as we go along and I’ll be updating the list each week (where applicable):

  1. $150 Gift Voucher from Pink Door Fabrics
  2. Mystery Prize pack from Tula Pink
  3. Fat Quarter Bundle of Yours Truly from Cotton + Steel

[/expand]

[expand trigclass=”greybar” title=”Instagram Accounts to Follow” swaptitle=”click to close” tag=”h1″]
At this stage you need to follow the following accounts to be eligible for prizes:

When we reveal the prizes next week we’ll add more accounts. Don’t worry if you’re not following them from the start you just need to be following them at the time that the event administrators go through the hashtag to find winners. We’ll make sure you’ve got heaps of notice to get everything in order before we look for winners.[/expand]

[expand trigclass=”greybar” title=”Frequently Asked Questions” swaptitle=”click to close” tag=”h1″]
For general questions about participating in sew-alongs and events click here. For event specific FAQs click here. These are designed to be read together, so be sure to check both of them for the answer you seek.[/expand]

That’s everything… for now… as always if you have any questions either drop me a line or leave a comment below and I’ll do my best to help you out. I hope you love making this quilt as much as I have, it’s a real delicious make.