Temperature Quilt 2018 QAL

As noted in my previous post, my sister (IG alaskanquilter) and I are going to be doing a Temperature Quilt 2018.  We will link it up on Instagram at #sistempquilt, #tempquilt18 and #temperaturequilt2018.  I will also try to figure out how to add a linky to my blog so we can follow everyone's progress each month.

The QAL will run for the full year and you can start your year whenever you would like.  Ideally, you will make one block each day, but life does not always agree with that idea.  At times this year, I was doing a week of blocks at once.  Just be sure to keep track of your temperatures each day.

Should you happen to miss a day or so, I found that going to Weather Underground helped me find what the temperature was for any particular date.  If you click on the 10 day forecast button it will take you to the page with the "history" section. You can even sign up to have your temperatures sent to you in an e-mail each day.

For 2017 my sister and I selected to do the Flying Geese block.  I did a 2"x4" goose block with the goose reflecting my high temperature for the day and the sky part reflecting the low temperature.  My sister made hers with a 1.5"x3" goose.  She also, very cleverly, made her goose fly north or south depending on her temperatures being above or below freezing.  Of course, she lives in Alaska and that was not an option for me living in California - thank goodness!  My 2x4 blocks ended up making a quilt approximately 48"x62" before sashing and borders.  My sister's makes a good sized wall hanging at approximately 36"x 46.5".

These are our two very different looking finished blocks.

In deciding our colors, we broke the color changes every four degrees.  Many people have requested that we share the colors that we used to represent our temperatures.  We used Kona solids and this is a list of our "blended" temperatures with the reflected colors.

-20 through -23: 412 Nautical
-16 through -19: 1243 Navy
-12 through -15: 458 Storm
-8 through -11: 454 Prussian
-4 through -7: 1314 Royal
0 through -3: 90 Pacific
1 through 4: 494 Malibu
5 through 8: 171 Water
9 through 12: 405 Algeria
13 through 16: 497 Niagra
17 through 20: 442 Capri
21 through 24: 1061 Candy Green
25 through 28: 498 Parrot
29 through 32: 1072 Chartreuse
33 through 36: 472 Cabbage
37 through 40: 254 Sprout
41 through 44: 199 Cactus
45 through 48: 23 Lemon
49 through 52: 1481 Banana
53 through 56: 148 Daffodil
57 through 60: 353 Sunflower
61 through 64: 350 Cheddar
65 through 68: 1704 Ochre
69 through 72: 349 Butterscotch
73 through 76: 1479 Amber
77 through 80: 443 Cedar
81 through 84: 482 Terracotta
85 through 88: 150 Paprika
89 through 92: 352 Ruby
93 through 96: 1480 Chinese Red
97 through 100: 1551 Rich Red
101 through 104: 1063 Cardinal
105 through 108: 1296 Poppy
109 through 112: 7 Tomato
113 through 116: 1194 Lipstick
117 through 120: 323 Flame

Please feel free to use whatever fabrics and colors you would like to represent your temperatures.

Another question that has been asked is "how much fabric do I need?"  That is a great question.  I looked at my own range of temperatures and ordered 1/2 yard of each for my geese.  I ended up needing a little more of the mid range temperatures and less of my highs and lows.  The nice thing about using the Kona was that I was able to reorder the three fabrics that I needed.

I cut my pieces as I needed, but my sister had a great storage idea for hers.  This certainly would make things easier to sew when sitting down to put your sections together.

This was my method, sad to say.

The block we have chosen to do this year is a Square in a Square.  The finished size of the block will measure 3".  Placing our blocks side to side this year rather than up and down, we should end up with 18 blocks across and 21 rows down - measuring approximately 54" x 63".  If you would like to do this block with us, I have written out instructions for it below.  

Cut one high temperature square (yellow) at 2 5/8" square.  Cut (2) 3" low temperature (green) squares in half diagonally.

Using a 1/4 inch seam allowance, sew two green triangles to two opposite sides of the yellow - centering the square on the triangles.

Press to the green and trim the dog ears.  *Ironing all seems open makes for better nesting as you sew blocks and rows together.

Add the final two green triangles and press to the green.  

Lay a ruler with the 1.75" mark at the bottom corner and right hand corner of the yellow square.  Trim the bottom and right side.  Turn block around and repeat for the other two sides.  Block should now measure 3.5".  

We are looking forward to seeing all of the different quilts at the end of the year.

I will be linking this post up with Midweek Makers,  Quilts My Way and  Freemotion by the River.