Abacus – Page 2 – Christa Quilts

Abacus Quilt Along Schedule, Posted Each Wednesday:

Week 1 – Fusing & Cutting (September 24)

Week 2 – Machine Applique (October 1)

Week 3 – Sewing the Top (October 8)

Week 4 – Backing and Basting (October 15)

Week 5 – Machine Quilting (October 22)

Week 6 – Binding to Finish (October 29)

Parade of Quilts – November 12

New this year – a parade of quilts! If you finish your quilt by November 10th, email me a picture and I’ll feature it on my blog on November 12th!

Start gathering (or winning) your fabrics and I’ll see you next week!

P.S. I’ve also made Abacus available as a free EQ7 download. Click here to import it into your Electric Quilt software.

P.P.S. For a bonus entry, please share my Quilt Along logo on your blog, instagram, flickr, facebook, or social media of choice. #abacusqal

Ok guys, I’m super excited to bring you another fun quilt along! With my new quilting schedule, I’ve decided I can still fit in a couple of quilt alongs twice a year – one in the fall and another in the spring. As with all of my Quilt Alongs, I will post tutorials for each step of the quilt-making process from start to finish. Abacus features simple machine applique and fun machine quilting that anyone can do!

Abacus, designed in EQ7 by Christa Watson – 32″ x 32″

Below I have listed the supply list, and I’ll post the full quilt along schedule next week.

I’ve also lined up a few sponsors who are going to give away some fabulous prizes. But don’t worry – you don’t have to quilt along to enter the giveaways – they will be open to all followers of my blog. 🙂 Check back tomorrow for the first one!

I will officially launch the quilt along on Wednesday, September 24th, so that should give you plenty of time to start planning your colors and fabrics. If you’d like to help spread the word, please grab the quilt along button below and share it on your blog!

<div align="center"><a href="http://christasquiltalong.com" title="Christa's Quilt Along" target="_blank"><img src="https://christaquilts.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/christas-quilt-along-175-2.png" alt="Christa's Quilt Along" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Abacus Supply List

1 – 5″ x 40″ strip of 4 different fabrics (solids 1-4 above, blue through teal)
1 – 5″ x 20″ strip of 4 different fabrics (solids 5-8 above, burgundy to pink)
1 3/8 yard background fabric (grey above)
3/8 yard fabric for binding (I will probably use the same grey)
1 1/8 yard of fabric for backing
36″ x 36″ square of batting
Thread for machine quilting (I recommend Aurifil 50 weight cotton)
2 yards of 17″ wide light paper backed fusible web. Note: you can use (9) – 9″ x 11″ sheets instead, but there will be a lot of waste.
Sharp Scissors for cutting through paper and fabric
Optional: 4″ circle die cutter (only if you have one – otherwise you will trace and cut out the circles by hand)

Fabrics and Threads Used

Because I know some of you are going to ask, these are the Kona Solids fabrics and Aurifil 50 weight cotton threads I will be working with (going left to right from blue to pink):