60 Free Quilt Alongs & BOM Projects

Since I am about to start running my very own Quilt Along on this site (stay tuned!) (and because I had a crazy week and disappointingly did absolutely no actual sewing) I thought it would be good to create a list of some of the other awesome Quilt Alongs (QAS) and Block of the Month (BOM) Projects that have already been shared for free online. I managed to find 30 of each and have listed them below.

It drives me crazy trying to keep up with BOMs online – my life never seems to coordinate with the wonderful projects on offer. For that reason I tend to keep away from paid BOMs, time specific BOMS and Quilt Alongs because I’m never able to utilise the patterns in the timeframe or sew along at the same pace as everyone else.

So for this list, I’ve only included free projects. Some may be current, some may just be a collection of awesome blocks that could be made into a quilt, others may have happened a few years ago but luckily are still around for us to try at home. I’ve also excluded the ‘Mystery’ category of Quilt Alongs and BOMs because quite frankly, I find them to be quite annoying. Making a quilt takes a LONG time and I don’t want to run the risk of spending countless hours making something that I mightn’t necessarily like. So if you’re looking for mystery projects, you’ll have to consult Google.

There also appears to be a lot of confusion surrounding what differentiates a BOM and a Quilt Along. For me, I think a Quilt Along makes a quilt that doesn’t look like a whole bunch of the same block sewn together and a BOM quilt is blocks that are all the same. But while I was hunting through BOMS & QAS online I found that everyone seems to categorise them differently. For the purposes of this list I went with the BOM or QA authors determination of their project. If they called it a Quilt Along but I think it was more of a BOM, then I put it in the Quilt Along category. By the time I finished this list I was completely bamboozled by the definition of each so I’m sure it might have ended up a bit muddled. If you’ve got a definition you stick by, I’d LOVE to hear it!

Anyway, a list post isn’t that great if it’s just a whole bunch of waffle and no actual list, so here is my list of 30 free Quilt Alongs that you can try around the internet:

SpringLeaf Studios 2015 Drunkards Path Quilt Along

The Happy Zombie’s 2012 Ron Swanson Along

We All Sew’s 2014 Chandelier Quilt Along

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Sassy Quilter’s 2014 Triangle Quilt Along

My Poppet’s 2013 Triangle Quilt Along

Thought and Found’s 2011 Oh My Stars Quilt Along

 

 

 

 

 

 

Modern Tradition Quilts 2014 Punky Wunkin Quilt Along

Cora’s Quilts 2015 Legend of Zelda Quilt Along

ReannaLily Designs’ 2011 Rockin Robin Quilt Along

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Freshly Pieced’s 2011 Supernova Quilt Along

The Tartan Kiwi’s 2015 In Flight Quilt Along

Pieces by Polly 2013 Hexes by Halves Quilt Along

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sarah Quilts 2013 Barn Door Quilt Along

Deanna Jennings 2015 Shimmer Braid Quilt Along

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Quilting’s 2012 Tetris Quilt Along

During Quiet Time’s 2014 Little House on the Prairie Sew Along

Choly Knight’s 2013 Nyan Cat Quilt Along

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pieces by Polly 2013 Hexes by Halves Quilt Along

The Bored Zombie’s 2014 Futurama Quilt Along

Confessions of a Fabric Addicts 2015 Sweet 16 Quilt Along

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vicki Welsh’s 2014 Cross the Drunkards Path Quilt Along

Hopeful Homemakers 2013 Scrappy Swoon Quilt Along

String Thing Alongs 2012 String Thing Quilt Along

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Made With Love 2013 Bestie Quilt Along

The Plaid Scottie 2011 Double Wedding Ring Quilt Along

Jo’s Country Junction 2011 Crumb Quilt Along

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bryan House Quilts 2014 Boos and Ghouls Mini Quilt Along

We all Sew’s 2013 Deer Quilt Sew Along

Sew Take a Hike’s 2010 Quilt as You Go Quilt Along

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Has your list of sewing projects just grown by a mile? I know the feeling, and it’s about to get even worse. Read on to see my list of 30 free Block of the Month (BOM) Quilt Alongs available online:

Cora’s Quilts 2014-15 Super Mario Brothers BOM Quilt Along

Fandom in Stitches 2011-2015 Project of Doom Harry Potter Bookcase BOM Quilt Along

Persimon Dreams 2014 52 Blocks BOM Quilt Along

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Simple Simon & Company’s 2015 Quilt Block of the Month Series

Jacqueline Steve’s 2014 Sew Sweet Simplicity BOM Quilt Along

Persimon Dreams 2013 My Favourite Block BOM Quilt Along

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Fat Quarter Shops Blog 2015 Snapshots BOM Quilt Along

Sew Fresh Quilts 2015 Elephant Parade BOM Quilt Along

Adventurous Quilters 2015 Scrappy Adventures BOM Quilt Along

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quiet Play’s 2015 Zoo Animals Paper Piecing BOM Quilt Along

Live Love Sew’s 2015 BOM Quilt Along

Adventures of a Quilting Diva’s 2013 Spool Along BOM Quilt Along

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shape Moth’s 2012 Sew Out Loud BOM Quilt Along

Debby Kratovil’s 2015 Galaxy of Stars BOM Quilt Along

Quilt Addicts Anonymous 2015 Kaleidoscope BOM Quilt Along

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Persimon Dreams 2012 Home Sweet Home BOM Quilt Along

Angie’s Bits’n’Pieces 2015 Let’s Go Free BOM Quilt Along

Persimon Dreams 2015 Scrappy Crown Quilt Along

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tweety Loves Quiltings 2013 Snoopy and Friends BOM Collection

Tweety Loves Quilting 2013 Disney Movie BOM Collection

Fandom in Stitches 2013 Not All Who Wander Are Lost BOM Quilt Along

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shiny Happy World’s 2014 Controlled Chaos BOM Quilt Along

Fandom in Stitches 2012 There and Back Again BOM Quilt Along

Fandom in Stitches 2012 Muppets BOM Quilt Along

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Six Two Seven Handworks 2013 Block Rock’n BOM Quilt Along

Amys Creative Side 2012 Dancing Stars BOM Quilt Along

Whims and Fancies 2014 Doctor Who BOM Collection

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shape Moth’s 2013 Forest BOM Quilt Along

Oh Fransson! 2013 Cat Quilt BOM Along

Patchwork Posse 2013 Around the Block BOM Quilt Along

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Are you running a Quilt Along of Block of the Month Project for free? Or do you know of one that I’ve missed? Let me know and we can keep building this list as a great resource for all of us. There are so many projects here that I want to try. Some are well above my current skill level, and some are well below but all of them look fantastic and I’m enjoying trying to figure out where to spend my time. Keep an eye out for next week when I’ll be launching the Jess Made This Ryan Gosling Quilt Along!

Postage Stamp Quilt Swap Conclusion

Wow! Wasn’t that swap a lot of fun! I’ve received all but a couple of my swaps now and would like to thank those who sent me in photos of the fabric they received. As you can see from the above photos, quite a wide variety of fabric has been shared – which is exactly why we all love these swaps so much. (At least, that’s the reason I do!)

I thought it would be fun to compile some statistics about the swap so you all know how exciting it has been from my perspective as the person teeing up partners and resolving issues etc.

17 is the number of people who participated in the swap.

7200 is the number of two inch squares that were swapped.

2200 is the number of 1.5 inch squares that were swapped.

65% of swappers were from the USA.

30% of swappers were from Australia.

5% of swappers were from Sweden.

So far we’ve had zero cases of negative feedback and from what I can ascertain a 100% swap arrival rate. However, if you are reading this and are yet to receive your swaps, please allow one more week for them to arrive. Postage internationally can take time and occasionally life gets in the way of mailing humble fabric squares. If your lots haven’t arrived by the 25th of March though, please contact me and I will arrange for more squares to come your way and have a chat with your swap partner.

I learnt a lot about how to run a quilt square swap, particularly in regards to what I need to include in the instructions and how to explain how a swap works. When I run the next swap (yes, there will be another one!) I will be including a photo series of what constitutes a good quality square that is suitable for swapping as there was some confusion/variations in opinion in regards to this. I think this will ensure that everyone is happy with their squares that arrive and will make the swaps even more enjoyable.

I won’t go into everything I discovered here because it will be more useful if I post about that just prior to the next swap. So in the meantime, enjoy your squares, get sewing and don’t forget to keep us all updated about what you’re making. This is what Samantha is working on at the moment:

 

It’s called the Trail Mix Pattern and was designed by Mabeth Oxenrider. This particular one above used mainly Civil War Reproduction Fabrics but Samantha is using brighter prints for hers. She is currently piecing 9-patch blocks with a finish size of 3 inches! Very impressive and I’m sure we are all looking forward to seeing the finished product!

I’ll be sharing what I’m doing in next weeks post! If anyone else would like to share their itty bitty square project, please do send in some photos to me: barlow-jess@hotmail.com so we can all enjoy & appreciate your work!

Thank you again to everyone who participated. I’m looking forward to round 2!

Wonky Houses Swap

A few weeks ago I posted about a Wonky House Swap that I was involved with on Facebook. (You can check that post out here.) The only problem was that when it came time to post the Wonky House off to my partner, not only did I realise that I had accidentally cut it down to 12 inches instead of 12.5 inches, I had also misunderstood the swap and was supposed to make 4 Wonky Houses instead of just 1!

Naturally I had more than a few moments of panic as I tried to figure out what on earth I could do. In the end I just grabbed my box of scraps and got sewing. It was late when I finished but I’m really proud of what I managed to come up with.

The block I’d made previously had to be taken apart and re-sewn with a new ‘sky’ and ‘grass’ so that I could make up the extra inches. Thankfully that didn’t take too long and I think I ended up with a better fabric choice anyway.

Here are my final four wonky houses (please excuse the crinkles, these were taken before I attacked them with an iron!):

 

I hope my swap partners like the ones I’ve sewn above – I certainly do! I’m not entirely sure what I’m going to do with the Wonky House Blocks that I receive in return though. They are quirky and fun and I like the look of them all together so maybe a house quilt is in order. If I did that though I think my perfectionist tendencies would kick in and I’d want to have all the ‘grass’ sections line up so it looks as though the houses are on a street all together… I’ll have to see what arrives and go from there!

The swap continues

By now there should be packets of tiny squares zipping around the world finding their way to swap partners!

If you’re still yet to make contact with your swap partners, please do so. I’ve emailed everyone I’m swapping with now to exchange addresses and am still waiting on a couple to let me know where to post their squares to. (That’s ok, squares don’t have to be posted until the 12th) I did spend a good hour on the weekend packaging up all my squares, making sure I put them in little plastic baggies so that they wouldn’t get damaged or wet in transit etc. It was fun and I can’t wait until I can send the remaining few off to their new homes.

Another thing to note is that we do have a couple of people who appear to have gone AWOL. If you are paired with one of those people, please be patient. I will give them until the 10th to make contact and if they still haven’t then I’ll arrange new swap partners for you. If you have extra squares and would be happy to volunteer to swap, comment below and I’ll be in touch if I need your help.

But in happy, fun news, I’ve already received one lot of squares! Aren’t they beautiful? I simply adore the card and the squares are from great fabrics. (Check out that lion!) Thanks Natalie C, I’m thrilled.

 

That’s it from me today – I’m off to my full time day job now and will spend the evening arranging backup partners for the people affected by AWOL swappers. Happy swapping everyone and I hope some squares are arriving for all of you over the coming days so you can share my excitement.

Next week I’ll be sharing some photos of the squares that have arrived to use all so if you would like to lay out your new squares and take a photo and send it to me, I’ll include it for everyone to enjoy.