Kissing Stars Quilt

Hello! It’s Crystal Hendrix again! I want to thank you all for your support and love that you have had for my previous tutorials! Thank you all for having patience with me when you discover that I am human! The main point is that quilting is fun and if you don’t make a mistake you don’t learn anything!

Today I bring you Kissing Stars made from the line, Flirt by Sandy Gervais. I fell in love with this line as soon as I saw it! I just love the greys, pinks,reds and teals that it showcases! This is a very popular block and there are tons of great tutorials that you can find out there, but I hope you like mine and that it teaches you how to make a good star block!

This is a LARGE quilt but the great thing about it is you can leave off rows or columns to fit any size bed or quilt size you want! Love that about this pattern! Now I am happy to present the tutorial, Kissing Stars!

For the Blocks:
1 Layer Cake + 2 Charm Packs OR 6 Charm Packs : Flirt by Sandy Gervais
1 Layer Cake + 2 Charm Packs OR 6 Charm Packs : Moda Solid White (another good color that would go great with this is the Bella Solids : Gray, Zen Gray or Feather)

For the Border:
1 1/2 yards 17701-14 (or any other color combo you would like)

For the Binding & Backing:
3/4 yards 17705-22 (or any other color combo you would like)
8 1/4 yards 7521-552 (or any other color combo you would like)

*Notes* – Use a 1/4″ seam allowance through out the whole quilt
                – When I refer to the term “solid color” this is my Bella White solid color.
              – To make 30 blocks you will need 240 Flirt charm pieces and 240 solid color charm pieces. Each charm pack has a total of 42 pieces in each. This comes out to 5.7 charm packs needed. If you use a layer cake, you can cut it down to 4 charm packs. This is what I have done with my layer cake. So if you are using a layer cake, cut it all into 4 – 5″ squares and this will give you your charm pieces. Then you can either use 2 more charm packs or 1/2 of another layer cake.
                      – WOF = Width of Fabric. This is usually 45″ but after trimming off the selvedge edges you end up with either 42″ to 40″ left. This is still the WOF.

For this pattern we are working with a 5 x 6 layout design for a total of 30 blocks.

For each block you will need:
4 – 5″ charm pieces of your solid color
8 – 5″ charm pieces of Flirt ( This is 8 DIFFERENT charm pieces)
4 – 4.5″ x 4.5″ of your solid color

For the entire quilt you will need:
120 – 5″ charm pieces of your solid color
240 – 5″ charm pieces of Flirt (You only need 8 different pieces for each block, so for all of the blocks you can mix up the different charm pieces)
120 – 4.5″ x 4.5″ of your solid color

For your border cut your fabric into 10 – 5” strips. With these strips make 2 – 80.5″ x 5″ and 2 – 105.5″ x 5″ pieces.

For the binding cut your fabric into 10 – 2.5″ strips. Sew these all together to make your binding. I use a fold-over binding method.

For the backing cut all of your yardage into 3 – 97″ x WOF or 3 – 2 3/4 yards pieces. Then with your 3 different panels, cut the WOF down to 38“. Then sew the 3 panels together to give you approximately a backing of 97″ x 113″.

Now lets put together one block. You will do this same thing for a total of 30 blocks.

1. Take your 4 – Solid color charm pieces and your 8 – Flirt charm pieces and cut each of them on the diagonal. (There are MANY other ways that you can make a half square triangle, but this is how I prefer to make them. Simple and to the point. You can make the half square triangles using a different method but you will need to figure out the fabric required for it.)

2. Now I am a very visual person so at this point I lay out my block (see picture below –Yes I did this for all 30 blocks.) I think laying out your block helps reduce mistakes and having to use the dreaded seam ripper!

Once you know which piece you are going to sew together, I work on all of the half square triangles. Just place the right sides together and sew a 1/4″ seam down the diagonal of the pieces. Then press (always towards the darker side) and trim down your piece to 4 1/2″ x 4 1/2″. There may not be a lot of discard but if you combine all of the discard for the entire quilt, you will see that it makes a difference when assembling your quilt top.

You can see above all of my half square triangles sorted and piled all together. See my trimmings pile? If you were to keep all of that it would have made assembling the blocks and eventually the quilt top a lot harder. This also helps give you your nice points!

3. Once you have all of your half square triangles assembled, sew together two of your smaller blocks (your finished block will have a total of 16 smaller blocks – but you will now have a total of 8 sets of blocks, refer to the picture above if you are confused). Then press each block pieces.

4. Sew 2 sets to make 1 block (you will have a total of 4 sets now) and press. Then sew together 2 sets to make 1 block (you will now have a total of 2 sets) and press. Then sew your last two sets together to make your finished block!

Now at this point you have finished one block. Continue making 29 more blocks using the 4 steps above. I did not take a picture of this, but at this point I trim all my blocks to measure 16.5″ x 16.5″. Once again I might not get much trimmings, but it makes sure that when I assemble my quilt top, that it is easier. (I guess you could say that this is optional)

5. Now we will need to assemble 6 rows of 5 blocks. I used a random order and pulled one block after another to make my rows. Always press your seams when finished.

6. Then we will take our 6 rows and sew them together to give us our quilt top. Don’t forget to press your seams!

At this point your quilt should measure approximately 80.5″ x 96.5″. I say approximately because even though I trim and make sure that I use only a 1/4″ seam allowance I am sometimes off. But this gives you a good idea of where you should be.

7. Now we are to our last step! Attach your borders to your quilt top, but doing adding the top and bottom strips (80.5″ x 5″) and then adding strips to each side ( 105.5″ x 5″). Make sure you press all of your seams when you are done.

There you have it, your quilt top is done! Now you can baste, quilt and bind any way you like. I did add fabric and cutting information that you may use for your binding and backing if you like.

Congratulations! You have yourself one large quilt measuring approximately 89″ x 105″. I find this to be a perfect size for my bed! You can make a few extra blocks and attach them to pillow cases (or actually make pillow cases using your blocks – as you can tell I did not) and even make a few throw pillows! You will have some left over scraps, not a lot, but enough to be able to make a few things.

I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to see your version of this quilt pattern or any quilt pattern tutorial that you used to make a quilt for either yourself or someone else. You will never know how much seeing your work brightens my day!

If you have any questions or have found where I have made an “oops” please send me an email! I will help you the best I can!

Thank you all!

Crystal Hendrix

{hendrixville.blogspot.com}

nmommy02(at)gmail(dot)com

Flirtatious Hearts Table Topper & Pincushions

Feb11

Hey, there! I’m so glad you’ve popped in to see what’s cookin’ at the Moda Bake Shop today! This is my first time here, so let me introduce myself. My name is Julie Cefalu and I share my quilting and crafting ideas at my blog, The Crafty Quilter. I have been quilting for 14 years, plus I get to work and teach at my favorite local quilt shop, The Granary, in Northern California.

I love working with Moda pre-cuts and today I am going to share a tutorial for an adorable table topper and pincushions that will be perfect for the month of February! You might decide that you want to hang your quilt on the wall instead, but it’s small enough to place on a table (with a vase of flowers on top)! And the pincushions are actually what started this project for me. They were so cute, I thought why not make a table topper to go with them? And so it goes…

One Charm Pack of Flirt by Sandy Gervais for Moda
1/2 yard of Flirt 17705-23 White Tonal Lacy Hearts
1/8 yard of Flirt 17705-14 Blue Bird Lacy Hearts
1/4 yard of Flirt 17707-12 Red Wavy Plaid
1 yard backing fabric
34″ x 34″ batting

Paper backed fusible web (I used Heat ‘n Bond Lite)
Lightweight fusible interfacing
Craft felt in pink and/or red (for pincushions)
Polyester stuffing and/or crushed walnut shells (for pincushions)
Buttons (for pincushions)

Table Topper Instructions:
First, you will want to separate the charm pack into color families. Set aside four of each color family for the four-patch blocks used in the table topper.

Next, pick out 4 squares of white and 4 squares of red to use for the heart appliques.

The rest of the charm squares can be used for the pincushions.

Cutting Instructions for the Table Topper:
White Tonal:
Cut (4) 2″ strips and sub cut into:

(4) 2″ x 9 1/2″ rectangles for sashing
(2) 2″ x 20″ rectangles for first inner border
(2) 2″ x 23″ rectangles for first inner border

Cut (4) 3″ strips for outside border. I prefer to measure my quilt top first before sub-cutting these into the correct length. But here is what they should measure for your reference:

(2) 3″ x 24 1/2″
(2) 3″ x 29 1/2″

Blue Bird:
Cut (4) 1 1/4″ strips and subcut into:

(2) 1 1/4″ x 23″ rectangles for middle border
(2) 1 1/4″ x 24 1/2″ rectangles for middle border

Contrasting charm square:
Cut (1) 2″ square for sashing corner stone

Red Plaid:
Cut (3) 2 1/4″ strips for binding

Assembly Instructions for Table Topper: (All seams are 1/4″ wide)

A. Make 4-patch blocks: Sew together the four charm squares of each color family into a 4-patch unit as shown. The block should measure 9 1/2″ square (unfinished). Press seams so that they oppose and the final row seam can be pressed as shown:

Make a total of (four) 4-patch blocks.

B. Prepare Appliques

1. Fuse a 4 3/4″ square of lightweight interfacing to each of the white 5″ charm squares to prevent the background fabric of the four-patches from shadowing through.

2. Print out the heart shape (available in the printer friendly version at the end of this post) and trace 16 of the large hearts onto the paper side of the fusible webbing. Cut out shapes roughly about 1/4″ around each heart.

3. Press fusible heart shapes onto wrong side of each white and red charm square. You will be able to fit 2 hearts per square if you’re careful.

4. Cut out hearts on drawn line carefully. Remove paper layer from fused hearts. I use a pin to score the paper and then it’s easier to tear away.

5. Arrange four hearts on each 4-patch block with center of hearts on the 4-patch seams as shown. Fuse into place following manufacturer’s instructions.

6. Stitch around raw edges of hearts using a blanket stitch or zig zag stitch. I used a small zig zag stitch and a red/coral variegated thread.

C. Assembly:

1. Lay out the 4-patch applique blocks, sashing strips and 2″ square as shown below. Sew together into rows, pressing toward the sashing strip.

2. Sew rows together. Press toward sashing row. This should now measure 20″ square.

3. Add first border. Sew a 2″ x 20″ rectangle to top and bottom of quilt top. Press towards border. Sew a 2″ x 23″ rectangle to both sides. Press towards border.

4. Add middle border. Sew a 1 1/4″ x 23″ rectangle of blue bird fabric to the top and bottom of the quilt top as described above, pressing towards the blue bird border strips. Repeat for both sides using the 1 1/4″ x 24 1/2″ strips.

5. Add outside borders. I have given cutting dimensions for the last four borders, but it’s a good idea to measure your quilt top first before cutting your 3″ strips to the correct length. If you live in a perfect world, your first two outside border strips would be 3″ x 24 1/2″. Stitch those to the top and bottom of your quilt, pressing towards the outside borders.

Repeat for both sides borders using 3″ x 29 1/2″ (if perfect) strips.

You’re almost done! You get to baste, quilt and bind your table topper next. I stitched in the ditch along the main seam lines (blocks and borders) and then had some fun with free motion quilting.

One table topper measuring 29” x 29″.

Pincushion Instructions:

Use the left over charm squares from the table topper and the “garnishes” listed at the beginning of this post.

Cutting Instructions for two pincushions:

Using two charm squares for the top, cut them in half to make 4 rectangles, 2 1/2″ x 5″.
Using two charm squares for the bottom, cut them into 4 1/2″ squares.
Cut fusible interfacing into (4) 4 1/4″ squares.

Make 4-patch units.

1. Sew together (2) 2 1/2″ x 5″ rectangles, and press towards the darker piece. Repeat to make two sets.

2. Cut each set into 2 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ units.

3. Sew the units together to form a 4-patch. Press. Unit should measure 4 1/2″ square.

Fuse Interfacing:

I like to add a lightweight interfacing to my pincushion at this point. Using the 4 1/4″ squares of interfacing, fuse one to the wrong side of each of the 4-patch units and to each of the 4 1/2″ square bottoms.

Prepare hearts from craft felt:

Print out the pdf file (available in the printer friendly version) for the heart templates. Using the small hearts, you can create a template out of freezer paper or template plastic and trace shape onto felt. Cut out 4 hearts for each pincushion.

Place hearts on the four-patch units so that they are centered on the seam lines. Stitch in place. I used “Sliver” thread which is an iridescent thread by Sulky and stitched down the center only of each heart.

Sew together the four-patch top and the 4 1/2″ square bottom using a shorter stitch length (1.5 – 2.0) and leaving a 1 1/2″ opening on one side for turning. Trim corners. Turn right side out.

Stuff the pincushion with either walnut shells, polyester stuffing or a combination of both.

Hand or machine stitch opening closed.

Add button to the center of the hearts by using two strands of embroidery floss and starting at the bottom of the pincushion, bring your needle up to the center top and through the button. Bring back down to the bottom and repeat. Cinch it down on the bottom and knot thread. Finished!

Two pincushions measuring 4 1/2″ square.

And if you have left over fabric, make a bow for your favorite vase!

Thanks for joining me today and I hope you visit my blog, The Crafty Quilter, for more tips, techniques and inspiration for your creative side!

Julie Cefalu
{thecraftyquilter.com}

Easy as Pie Layer Cake Quilt

Dec29

Hi! My name is Sherri, and I blog over at A Quilting Life! I’m happy to be here today to share a fast and fun Layer Cake Quilt! What I love about this quilt is that there is absolutely no fabric waste, the quilt goes together quickly, and it’s the perfect classic pattern to showcase the fabrics you love!

1 Moda Layer Cake, you’ll need 42 squares
Extra Background Fabric, if desired*
1 1/4 yard Border Fabric
1/2 yard Binding Fabric
4 yards Backing Fabric
*If your Layer Cake has a lot more dark fabrics than light and medium, you might want to get a little extra yardage and cut a few 10″ light squares. For this quilt, I used 1/3 yard of one of the light prints and cut 4 squares 10″ x 10″ to add into the mix. I took out 4 of the darker squares, so that I still had 42 squares for my quilt.

Choose a Layer Cake…

Pick out some coordinating fabrics. Shown below, from top to bottom, are my binding, border, a little extra background fabric, and my quilt backing.

Start out by dividing your 42 Layer Cake squares into groups of two. Be sure there is good contrast between each set of two squares.

Next, draw a diagonal line from corner to corner on each of the lighter squares in each pair. Next you will sew 1/4″ from either side of the drawn line. I’ve drawn the stitching lines on either side of the diagonal line, shown above.

It saves a lot of time if you do the stitching by “chain piecing”…just stack up your fabrics and start sewing!

Next you will cut each pair of fabrics on the diagonal line.

Press seams toward the dark fabric. Each pair of squares will give you two matching half-square triangles.

Next, put your half-square triangles into sets of two. Again, go for contrast and variety…each pair of half-square triangles will make two quarter-square triangles for your quilt.

Now, put each pair of half-square triangles right sides together. be sure the dark fabrics of each pair are on opposite sides so the seams “nest” together.

Now, draw lines as you did when making the half-square triangles. Draw a diagonal line that goes across your stitching line. Sew 1/4″ away from either side of the diagonal line. Again, I’ve again drawn the stitching lines to the right and left to make it easier to see.

Once again, cut on the diagonal line…

Then press each block to one side. You will now have 42 quarter square triangle blocks! At this point you will want to trim your blocks to measure 9″ by 9″. The easiest way to do this is to use a 9″ or larger square ruler and line up the 4 1/2″ marks with the centers.

Lay out your blocks, mixing up the fabrics. Make 7 rows of 6 blocks each, and turn the blocks so that the darks from one block are next to the lights in the surrounding blocks.

Sew the blocks in each row together, and then sew the rows together. Since there are so many seams coming together, I pressed the block and row seams open to reduce bulk where 4 blocks come together. This helped the points to meet evenly.

Now it’s time to attach your borders. Cut 8 border strips 5″ by width of fabric. Piece together for length. Measure the sides of your quilt and cut two strips to equal that measurement. Your strips for your left and right borders should measure close to 5″ x 60″. Sew these borders to your quilt, pressing towards the border fabric.

Next, measure your quilt at the top and bottom and cut two border strips equal to that measurement. Your top and bottom border strips should measure close to 5″ x 60 1/2″. Again, sew these borders to your quilt and then press towards the border fabric.

Your quilt should now measure about 60 1/2″ x 69 1/2″. Piece your backing fabric to make a backing at least 68″ x 78″. Layer Backing, Batting, and Quilt Top…then quilt as desired.

Cut 7 strips 2 1/2″ x width of fabric and piece for length, to make your binding. Bind…

1 Fast and Fun Quilt, 60″ x 69″

And be sure to enjoy your quilt!
Thanks so much…I hope you’ll enjoy making this!

Sherri McConnell
{www.aquiltinglife.com}

30-Minute Gift: Padded Steering Wheel Cover

Nov9

I’m Sarah from Sweet Dreams by Sarah, and I am incredibly excited to be sharing my first Moda Bake Shop tutorial with you for this fun steering wheel cover! I live in the insanely hot Arizona desert, and there are frequently times in the summer when it’s impossible to grab the steering wheel.

This cover serves to help keep that problem at bay, as well as making it much easier for those winter months when clutching a freezing cold steering wheel can make your hands ache. It’s also completely customizable, since it’s perfect for any set of charms you might have lying around! It makes a lovely gift, too.

Please also stop by my blog for other tutorials and adventures in quilting!

10 Charms of your choosing (I used Flirt by Sandy Gervais for Moda)
1 piece of backing fabric measuring approx. 48″ by 5″
1 piece of Insul Bright Heat Resistant Batting measuring approx. 46″ by 3.5″ (Side note: if you aren’t worried about your steering wheel being too hot, and you just want it to be padded, you could use regular cotton batting in place of the Insul Bright)
2 lengths of elastic, measuring approx. 32″
4 safety pins, no bigger than about 1″ long.
Optional, but helpful: Basting spray

The first step is to measure your steering wheel! The measurements that I will be working with are for my 14.5″ steering wheel, which is a pretty standard size. If your wheel is a different size, your first step is going to be to measure around the circumference of the outside of the wheel. For me, this measurement is 46″, and it will be come the length that you will need both the piece of backing fabric to be as well as the piece of batting. Also, take this measurement and subtract 14″ – this is the length that you will need your lengths of elastic to be. If your wheel measures more than 46″ around, you may also need to add one more charm to the first step below – see the note in that step for help with the modification.

Now that we know what we’re working with, it’s time to dive into the fabric. Pull out your charms, and line them up. Arrange them in the order in which you want to see them going around your wheel, and remember that this is going to be a circle – the first and last ones are going to connect to each other.

Sew the charms end to end with a scant quarter inch seam, and press the seams to one side until you have one long strip:

*Side note for larger sizes: You’ll want to sew extra charms end to end here, so that you have a longer strip of fabric to work with. For instance, upping it to 11 charms yields a strip about 50″ long. You can then trim it down if, say, your circumference is only 48″. Just be careful not to trim it too short – the elastic makes having a slightly bigger wheel cover very forgiving.

Prepare your backing fabric next! There are lots of options as to how to do this. You could actually use another 10 charms, if you want it to be reversible (see side note above if you have a larger steering wheel). Just follow the steps above to connect them all together. You could also cut two 5″ strips from yardage, sew them together end to end, and then cut down to length. The first time I made this, I actually used a scrap piece of quilt backing that I had trimmed off of a quilt I’d made just the week before, so feel free to be creative! This is just the backing, so if you aren’t worried about making it reversible, you can use just about any piece of fabric that meets the measurements. For this particular cover, I used one 5″ strip of backing fabric, and sewed one extra charm to the end to get the right length. Note that the length of the backing is a couple of inches longer than the strip of charms – this gives you a little wiggle room to cover up the final seam.

The strip of charms for the outside is on the left, and the backing is on the right.

Putting it all together:

Position your backing fabric and the strip of charms right sides together, and making sure that the edges are aligned. Pin these pieces, and then sew them together lengthwise:

Now we need to turn the long tube we just created inside out, and get the batting in the middle. There are a couple of ways that you can do this. One option is to turn it inside out, press it flat, and then try to wiggle the batting up the middle. You would then just pin the batting in place before moving on to the next step.

The other way to do it, and how I did it when making this particular cover, is to use some basting spray as a helping hand. Once you’ve sewn the cover and backing together, and before you turn it inside out, spray baste the batting to the charm side of the strip, like this:

Spray the batting, and lay it down the center (you can just eyeball it). Make sure you press the batting on well, and then go ahead and turn it inside out. Be gentle so that you don’t separate the batting from the fabric.

I found it easiest to hang on to the batting and fabric together on one end with my left hand:

… while pinching the fabric and batting together and pulling it out with my right.

Ta da!

Once it’s inside out, go ahead and press the tube and batting combo so that it’s all nice and flat.

Now, whichever way you’ve gotten your tube inside out and batting inside, it’s time to make the casings for the elastic. Sew down the length of the tube again, this time about 1/2 inch from the already sewn edge.

You can go ahead and remove all of those pins now (if you were using them), and grab your lengths of elastic. Use one safety pin to attach one end of the elastic to one end of the tube. Take the other safety pin and attach to the other end of the elastic, since we’re going to use that as a bit of a shuttle to take it through the casing.

Work that safety pin up the casing, bringing the elastic along. This will get a little tougher as you get to the end. Once you’ve got it through the other side, it’s time to stitch it in place. Be careful here, because that elastic already has some tension on it, and you don’t want to send it careening back into the casing! Remove the safety pin, and holding the elastic and casing together, ease the elastic back to where it just lines up with the edge of the casing. Use the safety pin to secure this:

Note: Definitely use a safety pin for this part – a straight pin has a way of popping itself out when under the pressure of the elastic!

Then sew down the elastic, using a few passes on your machine:

Sew down the elastic on the other end of the tube in the same manner, and then repeat the steps above to take care of the elastic in the casing on the other side of the strip.

The final step is to get this into an actual circular shape! Just position the strip right sides together, so that you can sew the ends together. That elastic will make this a bit squirrely, so pin it to keep it all together as you sew.

See that extra couple of inches of backing fabric sticking out there? If you aren’t worried about this final seam being finished off, you could just snip it off, and be done. For a cleaner finish, carefully fold up that extra bit of fabric to cover up the seam you just made.

Pin it in place…

And sew!

Pop it inside out, and voila! Your cover is done! It doesn’t look like much now…

… But pop it onto your wheel, and behold!

One awesome steering wheel cover, and two fewer burnt hands! These are so fun and easy to sew up, that you could easily make a couple different ones to “decorate” your car depending on your mood or the season. I see myself making a holiday themed one, to get me in a cooler frame of mind very soon!

Sarah Connolly
{Sweet Dreams by Sarah}

"Flirty" Jelly Roll Lap Quilt

Oct13

A 55”x55” lap quilt featuring Sandy Gervais’ “Flirt” for Moda, composed of (36) 9.5” (unfinished) square blocks.

Recipe by Erin Davis of Sew at Home Mummy

1 Moda ‘Flirt’ by Sandy GervaisJelly Roll

2.75 yards Bella Solids ‘Etchings Slate’ #9900-170 for background fabric

3.5 yards of backing fabric; I used #17703-16 from the ‘Flirt’ line

64”x64” piece of batting

Unused jelly roll strips for binding

Cutting:

From Jelly Roll:

PIECE A (2.5”x 5.5”): from jelly roll strips, cut 36 pieces of 2.5” x 5.5”. For a scrappier look, use as many different patterns as possible from the roll.
Binding: use your discretion, but I cut 14″ strips, using as many fabrics from the roll as possible for a scrappier look

From Background Yardage:

PIECE B (2.5” x 2.5”):cut 72 pieces
PIECE C (4” x 9.5”):cut 36 pieces
PIECE D (5.5” x 9.5”): cut 18 pieces
PIECE E (2.5” x 9.5”): cut 18 pieces

Piecing:

Assume 1/4″ seam allowance.

1. Stitch (2) B pieces to the short sides of (1) piece of A creating a center block strip as seen below. To save time, chain-piece like I have in the picture. Press seams to gray.

Chain piece! It’s more fun that way…

2. Repeat Step 1. to create (36) block center pieces.

3. Separate your block center pieces into two piles of (18) each. I divided the two piles by strip color; for every primarily red strip I put in one pile, another went in pile #2, and so on.

Your blocks will be assembled like this:

4. Stitch (2) C pieces to the long sides of (18) block center pieces. Press towards gray. You’ve created your “Block 1″s!

5. Stitch a D piece and an E piece on either side of the long sides of the other (18) block center pieces. Press seams towards gray. You’ve created your “Block 2″s!

Composing your Quilt Top:

1. This is where a design wall or large table comes in really handy. Randomly lay out your blocks in a 6 block x 6 block grid. Make sure to vary block orientation (i.e. center strips lying both horizontal & vertical). Create a balance that you’re comfortable with.

Make sure to have fun with it! I do suggest looking at the layout you choose close up and from a distance, and to leave it overnight and come back to it with fresh eyes to make sure you love the placement of the blocks.

There! I’m happy with this layout!

2. Once you’re happy with the layout, take a piece of masking tape, and number the rows from 1 – 6, on the first block on the far left of the quilt, like this:

Numbering the rows will allow you to remove them from the design wall and make sure that you maintain the right order and orientation you painstakingly decided on in the above step:

3. Stitch your blocks together in rows. Make sure to press your seams in alternating directions for each row.

4. Join your rows, nesting your seams to eliminate bulk. Press long seams open.

Nest & pin, nest & pin!

5. Remove your masking tape number markers – your quilt top is done!

Finishing the Quilt:

1. Cut your 3.5 yards of backing fabric into 2 pieces 1.75 yards (63”) long; join pieces vertically. Press seam open.

2. Layer your backing, batting and quilt top; quilt as desired.

3. Use the remaining jelly roll strips to bind your quilt – cut several shorter pieces and sew together for a scrappier look. I joined my 14″ pieces together using a 45 degree angle.