New Improv Stripes Project

Remember the wavy, curvy improv stripes from a while ago? 

Don't they look awesome cut into 2 1/2" strips? I just love the curves and varying widths!

I got the itch to pair them with an ombre fabric, and knew I had some in the stash somewhere - I just didn't know what color. Fortunately, I didn't have to turn the room upside down looking for that ombre! In the fourth bin I opened, I found this green, which has tiny black and white dots in it, working perfectly with the stripes.

So, after a bit of cutting and sewing yesterday, I now have this on the design wall:

Doesn't look like much at the moment, and not sure if it will turn out really cool, or be a wild mess to look at! Every time I walk by it though, I keep thinking there's a bunch of zebras hiding out in a forest, which is odd, since zebras live on the tree-less grasslands of Africa. But the zebra image is certainly providing inspiration for a quilt name!

So what am I absolutely loving about this? Those curvy stripe strips - say that three times fast! - in the block centers. This is one of the center blocks,

and this is an end block, for one column style at least.

The plan is to have two more columns, switching the light and dark areas, and off-setting the blocks. I'm thinking of topping off each block with a black strip, giving the whole thing a bit of a woven look. That might work, and it might not.

Today's project is to finish up making the other blocks, testing the black strips, and hopefully birthing a quilt top!

Wish me luck!

Update: check out Zee Quilt, the fabulous finish!

Have a great weekend quilting everyone!

Improv Freehand Cut Striped Fabric

I'm loving this second set of improv striped fabric - this one is a winner for me! (Update: to see what became of these stripes, check out Love Match).

Improv Freehand Cut Fused Stripes

Though I like the first one, with it's crazy waves,

Improv Freehand Cut Stripes

it's not quite what I'm wanting for my project. But both of them are definitely inspiring aren't they? Let's have a look at how these two were made, shall we?

Improv Freehand Cut and Sewn Stripes

The first set, the wavy ones, were all freehand cut, by overlaying the fabrics to get a matching cut curve. The overlay shown below starts the process.

The small black and white scrap pieces are discarded, then both fabrics are separately freehand cut again to make two strips. Makes it easier to sew!

Remember the first overlapping cut, the one in the center of the picture above? That's the seam that gets sewn together, because the curves match up, making the process so much easier.

For the next stripe, the trick is to lay the cut curve on top of the next fabric, and cut a curve to match. Below, I've laid the white stripe onto the end of the black, leaving enough black exposed for the next stripe. Then cut, following the curve of the white.

And so on, and so on, until the needed size piece is sewn.

Those were certainly fun to make, but I wanted the stripes narrower, like a 1/2", and not as wavy. Onto my next construction idea - fusing!

Improv Freehand Cut and Fused Stripes

For this, I started with a decent width of white fabric, and a bit less of black, then added fusible web to the entire WOF piece of black.

And then happily cut away, stripping that black into lots of 1/2" WOF pieces!

But the fun doesn't end there! Next came placing and fusing the strips,

and stitching them down with a trusty zigzag (2.0 width, 2.5 length).

Don't you just love the rolls - keeps everything all neat and tidy! And stitching on each side of the piece also meant no scrunching in the machine throat, though it did mean stitching on the left side of the stripe. But I'm a big girl - I can do it!

Super happy with how this came out - it's what I envisioned!
But don't worry, I'm not throwing out the other piece - I just need to find a suitable project for it.

Now that you've seen how it's done, are you ready to make some stripes???

Happy Quilting!

Playtime Quilt

Incredibly fast and incredibly cute! The Playtime quilt is done!

Using the Playtime pattern

 in the Sew a Modern Home (affiliate link) book,

a striped fabric and some ric rac, 

makes for a super easy, fun quilt! It may be cheating, but it sure is adorable, don't you think?

The wavy line quilting adds to the playfulness, which was carried into the borders.

Though the pattern does not have borders, I added the yellow 4" border to make the finished size 40" x 40", a size I prefer for baby quilts.

And on the back, a soft flannel, and the fun quilting.

Got striped fabric? Ric rac? Need a quilt in a hurry? I definitely recommend this pattern--just too cute!

Happy Quilting!

Spangled Stars Quilt Assembly

Welcome back to the Spangled Stars QAL! The blocks are made and it's time for the assembly instructions! All that work has been building up to a fantastic quilt top! Yeah!

If you're just joining in, all of the previous block instructions can be found through the pink links below.

Welcome to the Spangled Stars QAL - April 30, 2015 

       Uneven Nine Patch Block - May 7, 2015

Bar Block - May 14, 2015

Stripes and Cross - May 21, 2015

Star Block, Unit A - May 28, 2015    

Star Block, Unit B - June 4, 2015

Quilt assembly - June 11, 2015

Completed Top Linky - June 18, 2015

 Completed Quilt, Grand Parade - July 2, 2015

Now grab all of those lovely blocks, and let's make a quilt top!

The assembly is quite easy, as there's very few seams to match. Essentially, it consists of alternating rows of bar/uneven 9-patch blocks, and stripe and cross/star/bar blocks. Attention is required for orientation, and what row is being assembled.

A special note for those making a queen size. This size is the same layout as the double, but it has an extra column of bar blocks and background blocks on each side. Cut (14) 6 1/2" x 6 1/2" squares of background fabric to set in between the bar blocks. 

Now for some of the sewing and pressing. I laid out two rows at a time, 

then stacked each row to go to the sewing machine. The first row is easy to put together, no seam matching involved. The second row does require seams to match at the blue bars.

The instructions for these three blocks has the seams pressed toward the blue bar, which means they won't nest with their neighboring blocks. Personally, I'd rather work with un-nested seams than have dark fabric shadow through my quilt. So here's how to deal with matching up those seams.

Lay the blocks right sides together, and lift up the edge of the top block at the seam to be matched, turning it back just 1/4". Line up the seams, and place a pin just before the first seam. Line up the next seam, and place a pin just before it.

By putting the pins in front, it helps eliminate the push of the top fabric by the foot, throwing off the matching. Sew the seam, and check it before moving on.

The blue bars are the only areas that need matching, which makes this top go together pretty fast. The other block to be aware of is the stripe and cross - make sure the red/white/red stripes in the middle go up and down.

Pretty easy! This is how far I've gotten with one of my twin sizes,

and I have four more rows to put together. Then it's on to sewing all of the rows.

And a word about pressing. This quilt really doesn't work well with the one row pressed right, the next row pressed left idea, because of the star points. So I'm pressing mine based around those stars, with the seams pressed out, away from the star, eliminating bulk. The seam above and below it will go the opposite direction. I'm also treating the stripe and cross block the same way as the star. Sorry no pictures - haven't done any pressing yet!!

Now, go sew! Be sure to link up the completed quilt tops next week. I'll be sending out reminders, along with pictures of mine. 

Happy Quilting!

Spangled Stars QAL Block 3 - Stripe and Cross Block

Time for the Spangled Stars QAL Block 3 - Stripe and Cross Block! Here's a recap of the schedule:

        Welcome to the Spangled Stars QAL - April 30, 2105 

       Uneven Nine Patch Block - May 7, 2015

Bar Block - May 14, 2015

Stripes and Cross - May 21, 2015

Star Block, part 1 - May 28, 2015    

Star Block, part 2 - June 4, 2015

Quilt assembly - June 11, 2015

Completed Top Linky - June 18, 2015

     Completed Quilt, Grand Parade - July 2, 2015

After today, the majority of the blocks are done, as there is just one block left, with it's construction spread over two weeks. Hang in there - it's almost a top!  

Now on to the Stripe and Cross Block!

The number of blocks to make is much less than last week, and it is composed of 3 units (A,B,C). The following chart displays how many blocks for each size, and how many of each unit to make for those blocks.

	# of Stripe and Cross blocks	# of A units needed	# of B units needed	# of C units needed
Wall Hanging	4	4	8	8
Throw	8	8	16	16
Twin	15	15	30	30
Double/Full	18	18	36	36
Queen	18	18	36	36
King	25	25	50	50

See? A lot less! Let's start working on Unit A, 

then at the end, we'll sew all the units together to make the block. The following chart for Unit A gives the number of 40" width of fabric strips to cut for each size quilt. I'm making a twin, so I'll cut (3) 2" background strips, and (5) 2 1/4" red strips, to then make a total of 15 Unit A's.

WOF=40”	A unit White background	A unit Red for stripes
Wall Hanging	(1)  2”x WOF	(2) 2 1/4” x WOF
Throw	(2)  2”x WOF	(3) 2 1/4” x WOF
Twin	(3)  2”x WOF	(5) 2 1/4” x WOF
Double/Full	(3)  2”x WOF	(5) 2 1/4” x WOF
Queen	(3)  2”x WOF	(5) 2 1/4” x WOF
King	(4)  2”x WOF	(7) 2 1/4” x WOF

In the picture below, I've got cut strips on the left; a red and white strip sewn, with seams pressed to the red, in the center; and a full strip set of red/white/red, on the right.

For efficiency, the strip sets are stacked,

and subcut to 5 1/2", 

making (15) Unit A's at 5 1/2" x 5 1/2".

On to Unit B.

From the top chart, I need 30 Unit B pieces, because they are going on two sides of Unit A. For the twin size, the next chart says to cut (4) 2 1/4" background strips, and (2) 2" BLUE strips. Notice the color change!

WOF=40”	B unit White background	B unit Blue for bars
Wall Hanging	(1)  2 1/4” x WOF	(1) 2” x WOF
Throw	(2)  2 1/4” x WOF	(1) 2” x WOF
Twin	(4)  2 1/4” x WOF	(2) 2” x WOF
Double/Full	(5)  2 1/4” x WOF	(3) 2” x WOF
Queen	(5)  2 1/4” x WOF	(3) 2” x WOF
King	(7)  2 1/4” x WOF	(4) 2” x WOF

The assembly of this strip set is the same as Unit A, except the background pieces are on the outside. In the picture below, I've got strips, on the left; a white and blue strip sewn, with the seam pressed to the blue, in the center; and a complete white/blue/white strip set, on the right.

Stacking those strips sets again,

they are subcut to 2 1/2"

yielding (30) 2 1/2" x 5 1/2" Unit B pieces.

Unit C is last, and again, from the topmost chart, my twin size needs (30) Unit C pieces, for the remaining two sides around Unit A.

This chart displays the number of strips to cut for Unit C

WOF=40”	C unit White background	C unit Blue for bars
Wall Hanging	(1)  4 1/4” x WOF	(1) 2” x WOF
Throw	(2)  4 1/4”x WOF	(1) 2” x WOF
Twin	(4)  4 1/4”x WOF	(2) 2” x WOF
Double/Full	(5)  4 1/4”x WOF	(3) 2” x WOF
Queen	(5)  4 1/4”x WOF	(3) 2” x WOF
King	(7)  4 1/4”x WOF	(4) 2” x WOF

and for the twin size, I need (4) 4 1/4" white strips, and (2) 2" BLUE strips.

In the following, the strips are on the left; a 4 1/4" white strip is sewn to a 2" blue strip, with seams pressed to the blue, in the center; and a complete white/blue/white strip set on the right.

Layering yet again,

the strip set is subcut to 2 1/2", yielding (30) units 2 1/2" x 9 1/2".

Now all three units are ready to be sewn together.

Make sure all Unit A's are oriented with stripes heading up and down (vertical). 

Chain stitch all of one side of the Unit A's, then chain stitch the other side. I have my Unit B's on the bottom because I have red thread in the needle, and want that on the red fabric. But you can stitch your Unit B's on top!

Press the seams to the red.

Now attach the Unit C's,

carefully nesting the blue bar in with the white strip of Unit A.

Chain stitch one side, then repeat for the other, saving on time.

Press the seams toward Unit A.

Now stand back and admire that beautiful block!

Happy Quilting!