Star Light Star Bright Quilt-A-Long - Center Stars

**  NOTE  - This post is part of a series of posts for the Star Light Star Bright Quilt-A-Long.  If you would like to join (and have a chance to win one of 4 of the $75.00 Gift Certificate grand prizes sponsored by The Intrepid Thread and Fat Quarter Shop ) you can find a list of the post links here :)  Here is the schedule

Jan 15 - Intro, Fabric Requirements, and Prizes Announcement

Jan 29 - Cutting

 Feb 5 - Flying Geese

Feb12 - Half Square Triangles

Feb 19 - Building Block Centers

Feb 26 - Building Block Sides

Mar 5 - Building Block Corners

Mar 12 - Piecing Top and Grand Prize Linky

April 2- Star Light Star Bright Parade and Grand Prize Winners

Before we get to this weeks assignment, we need to pick a winner for the Half Square Triangle Assignment.   And great job to everyone on finishing that assignment, I know it is a ton of sewing and trimming, especially trimming.  And  I am sorry that some of you found the directions confusing.  I try so hard to write clear directions with plenty of pictures but when we are doing so many layouts and sizes I think that it can get a little crazy.  I hope you were all able to muddle your way through and that we didn't lose any of you.  If you are still lost, just email me, we will work through it :)

Okay, so let's get back to a winner.  The cutting  assignment winner who will receive 2 charm packs from The Scarlet Tread Quilt Co. is . . .                #52 - Cindy1959!!! - Congrats :)

  

So now, onto this weeks assignment ;)  If you are just finding this QAL, it's never to late to join in the fun :)  You don't have to sign up or anything, just start following along with the weekly assignments ;)

THIS WEEKS ASSIGNMENT - BUILDING THE STAR CENTERS

Yippee, I am so excited!!  We are finished with making units and now we are going to start making blocks!!  I can't wait to see how everyone's comes together ;)

Alright, to start go to your pile of HST's for your first (or only) block.  You should have 32 HST's.  For today's assignment you will only need the 8 HST's in the black box.  Those are the (4) Star 1 Fabric/Background HST's and the (4) Star 2 Fabric/Background HST's.  The other 24 HST's put aside back in those zip-loc baggies keeping them grouped as a block.

To those 8 HST's you will be adding some squares.  These are coming from your piles of squares that you haven't touched yet and they will be the same size as your trimmed HST's  :)  You will add 4 Background squares and 2 of each of the two Star Print Fabrics from your HST's for a total of 16 ;)

Now with your 16 squares you are ready to layout your Center Star.  Layout the Star as shown below.  You can sew these together in rows, or columns, but my favorite way is to sew 4 quadrants (4 blocks in a square make up each quadrant)  so that is how I will be showing it, but if you like doing it a different way go right ahead :)

Quick Note before we start sewing -When I sew stars after each seam I sew I lay my block back out into the star.  I find this keeps me from making mistakes in my layout :)  Oh, and for those doing multiple blocks, If you want to assembly line piece all of your star centers I find the easiest way is to layout the pieces on top of one another so that you are only ever looking at one star on top, and it has layers of stars beneath it.  Just take care when clipping your threads to always stack your pieces back up in the same order so that the same star always ends up on top ;)  

Okay, lets get to sewing.  Think of the layout as 4 sets of 4 blocks instead of all 16.  Place the right hand squares onto the left with right sides together and aligning raw edges.  Sew a 1/4" seam along the edges, chain stitching the 8 sets.  Press the seams towards the squares.  You will now have quadrants that are 2 rows.

Now you are ready to turn your 2 rows into quadrants.  Place the top rows onto the bottom rows with right sides together.  Nest the center seams and pin them in place.  Sew a 1/4" seam along the pinned edges.   Press the seams open.  And now you have 4 quadrants :)

Be sure that you layout your 4 quadrants so the prints are opposite each other in the layout as shown.

Place the right hand side quadrants onto the left with right sides together.  Nest the center seams and pin them in place.  Sew a 1/4" seam along the pinned edges,  *see next picture for sewing note.  Press the seams open.

When sewing the 1/4" seam you have a little guide in your seam allowance that will ensure you a perfect point.  The background fabric will make a little V in the seam allowance, sew your seam directly along the bottom of that V and it will give you that nice perfect point.  And yes, if that means I have to make a slightly larger or smaller seam in that area I will so that I can get pretty points ;)

So now your Star is in two halves.  Almost there!!

Just place the top onto the bottom with right sides together.  Once again, align your three seams and pin them in place.  Sew a 1/4" seam along the pinned edge and again, **see the next picture for another little sewing note.  Press the seam open.

On the two side seams, you once again have a sewing guide but this time you will see it in the thread as the seam is pressed over.  So look at your seam and find the V made from the thread.  Sew directly along the bottom of that V again to get those pretty points ;)

And now enjoy your beautiful Center Star.  Aren't they just so pretty!!!   If you are doing multiple blocks and were assembly line piecing, enjoy all your Center Stars.  If you were doing one star at a time, just repeat the process for however many blocks you have in your project :)

And that's it!!    And now you can enter to win the weekly prize :)

The Weekly Prize is sponsored by Southern Fabric and a huge thanks goes out to them for their support of the Star Light Star Bright Quilt-A-Long.

This weeks prize is a $25.00 Gift Certificate to Southern Fabric.  Oh, nothing like a little shopping spree!!

    

So what do you have to do for a chance to win the charm packs?  Simple . . . Just link up your beautiful Center Stars :)  You can link to a blog post or a flickr picture, or whatever.  Just make sure to link up by next Wednesday morning as I will be announcing a winner in next weeks post :)

If you don't get your Center Stars done  by next week you can still link it up :) (just not in time for the prize :) The linky will remain open until the end of the Quilt-A-Long.  So if your out of town, or just had a busy week, no worries!!!  Just link up when you can :)

And don't forget to add your Stars to the Happy Quilting Quilt-A-Long Flickr group!!!  I can't wait to see them all, this is where it really starts to get fun!!!

So let's get sewing!!  Oh, and if you have questions, don't hesitate to email me at happyquiltingmelissa@gmail.com.  Have a Happy Quilting Day!!

An InLinkz Link-up

Up for the Challenge

Did you see??  The Modern Quilt Guild announced their next challenge!!  Yippee!! I had so much fun with the last challenge and have been eagerly awaiting the announcement of this one.   This time it will be using Micheal Miller's new line Petal Pinwheels.   I am loving these colors and designs!!!

I am all signed up and the ideas are starting to swirl.  I can't wait!!!

So how about you, are you up for the challenge.  It really is so much fun to be a part of.  It just blows me away seeing everyone's own personal creative take on the same fabrics.  The variety of projects created is just amazing!!

Kwyltyng To Kyrgyzstan

I have said over and over that quilters are some of the nicest people in the world so when Julie shared this with me I just had to pass it on.  You see, There is a child that has been waiting to come home to her family. 

Here are the worlds of her mother:

Six years is too long for a child to spend without a family. My sweet Diana has been waiting patiently in Kyrgyz orphanages to join my family since we first met in 2008, shortly before Kyrgyzstan placed the first of two moratoriums on intercountry adoptions. But another window is opening. Kyrgyzstan has re-re-started their intercountry adoption program. And I am trying for a third time to bring Diana home, to be her family at last. But it's with great humility that I tell you, Diana and I need your help.
While I have the resources to pay for her adoption for the third time (home $tudy, do$$ier, agency fee$, documentation and processing fee$), I will need help covering our travel expenses. I plan to travel with my daughter, Pilar, and stay in Kyrgyzstan for the duration of the finalization process, which will be approximately six to eight weeks if all goes smoothly (big 'if' there). I'm estimating airfare, lodging, local driver and translator services and living expenses to run upwards of--gulp--$10,000.
Because I really don't like asking people for money outright, I've created a fundraiser called Kwyltyng To Kyrgyzstan. For every $25 donated, you will earn a virtual raffle ticket. Winners will be selected at random, with gorgeous kwlyts (quilts), handmade by my friends and me, as prizes. You can watch the kwylts--and our family--take shape on the Kwyltyng To Kyrgyzstan Facebook page.

So what can you do . . . 
If you have a quilt that you can donate to raffle for this more than worthy cause, please consider doing so. Also if you would like to give $25 to get a chance to win one of the donated quilts you can do that too. 

I will be donating my Jelly Roll Jam Quilts so those will be part of the raffle drawing :)  

You can find all about this wonderful fundraiser here ;)

Mister DJ - A New MBS Tutorial

Today I am so excited to share a new Moda Bake Shop Tutorial.  The tutorial actually went up a few days ago but there was a bit of a scheduling mix up and I am just being able to post about it today.   Anyhow , The design for this quilt was inspired by music equalizers (those little bars you see when watching music that jump up and down) .  So I decided to call the quilt Mister DJ.  It is a super easy quilt to put together, in fact, I never used a pin :) 

This quilt is made with 2 jelly rolls and 2 yards of Bella Solids.  The fabric I used was Sphere by Zen Chic.  I loved how easy I could use Low Volume and High Volume contrasts which really was a huge part of the design.  It also has such a fun modern vibe and this quilt was being made for a certain someone who thought it was "awesome".

You see, my oldest son is the only person in the family that did not have a homemade bedspread.  It has been put on hold because he was insistent that he wanted to have one made of "cool" fabrics. When I showed him Sphere, I was given the go ahead approval. As mentioned, the design was based on a music theme and I choose that because my son loves music (of all varieties and volume)  He is super excited to finally have his homemade bedspread and I am super happy to check that off the list :)

 

And now that this Moda Bake Shop Tutorial has been published for a while, I can now post it here on my blog for your convenience ;)   So just follow along below for the full step-by-step tutorial.    And if you love it, you can get the printer friendly version here :)  

So let's get going!!! 

To make a twin sized 70" x 89" Mister DJ quilt you will need:
2 Sphere Jelly Rolls
2 Yards of Bella Solid Grass
5 1/2 Yards of Backing

STEP 1 - CUTTING

Begin by separating your jelly roll strips into 2 piles, one of Low Volume (or light) prints and one of High Volume (or dark) prints.

From the High Volume Strips cut 21 of each of the following strip sizes:
2 1/2" x 11"        2 1/2" x 10"          2 1/2" x 9"        2 1/2" x 8"           2 1/2" x 7"
2 1/2" x 6"          2 1/2" x 5"            2 1/2" x 4"        2 1/2" x 3"           2 1/2" x 2"
I found the easiest way to do this is to stack up 4-5 jelly rolls and cut all the even sizes from each strip and  repeat the process for 21 strips so you have a total of 21 pieces of each even size.  Then do the same for the odd sizes.  (You will have to cut a few from the scraps as you will have 40 strips and not 42)

From the Low Volume Strips cut 21 of each of the following strip sizes:
2 1/2" x 11 1/2"        2 1/2" x 10 1/2"          2 1/2" x 9 1/2"        2 1/2" x 8 1/2"           2 1/2" x 7 1/2"
2 1/2" x 6 1/2"          2 1/2" x 5 1/2"            2 1/2" x 4 1/2"        2 1/2" x 3 1/2"           2 1/2" x 2 1/2"
Once again,  stack up 4-5 jelly rolls and cut all the even sizes from each strip and repeat the process for 21 strips so you have a total of 21 pieces of each even size.  Then do the same for the odd sizes.

Now, pair each High Volume piece with the opposite size Low Volume strip.  So the 11 1/2" goes with the 2" and the 10 1/2" goes with the 3" and so on down the line.  Set these aside for the moment.

From the Bella Solid Grass yardage cut the following:
(9) 2 1/2" x wof (width of fabric) strips to be used for binding
(10) 1 1/2" x wof strips - Trim the selvage and sew 2 strips end to end to create (5) 1 1/2" x 84 strips.
(210) 2" x 2 1/2" rectangles

STEP 2 - ASSEMBLING THE STRIPS

Now with the cutting done you are ready to start assembling the blocks.   Grab the first set of your grouped fabric strips  (The 11 /2" Low Volumes and 2" High Volumes).  You will be sewing these into a row by first sewing the Solid Grass rectangle to the Low Volume strip and then second, adding the print strip to the Solid Grass Rectangle.

The easiest way to do this is by chain stitching.  (Meaning, not clipping your threads after each strip but continually feeding strips through the machine until you are done with your pile.)  Start by placing the Grass rectangle onto the Low Volume strip with right sides together.  Chain stitch a 1/4" seam along the edge of all 21 of your sets.  Clip the threads between your strips.

Now, you can add the High Volume strip.  Place the High Volume strip onto the Grass rectangle with right sides together and again chain stitch a 1/4" seam along the edge of all 21 strips.  Clip your threads.

Now repeat this process for each of your (10) grouped sets of 21 strips.  In the end you will have 210 pieced strips total.  You want the Low Volume print to always be on the top.   Press your strip sets.

STEP 3 - ASSEMBLING THE BLOCKS

With your strips all set, you are ready to start sewing your blocks together.  So take all of your strip sets and mix them up in a large pile.

Now, grab 2 random strips and place them right sides together taking care that the Low Volume print in both strips is on the top and the High Volume print is on the bottom.  Sew 1/4" seam along the side of the strip, aligning the edges as you sew.  Chain stitch 30 of these to make 30 strip sets of 2.  Clip the threads between the 30 sets.

Now, you are going to add a third strip to the sets of 2.  Align another randomly chosen strip along the side of the second strip with the Low Volume prints on top and sew a 1/4" seam along the edge, aligning as you go.  If you happen to have randomly chosen a strip where the Grass Rectangle is in the same spot as the strip set, take care to match the seams.  You can just align these with your fingers as shown.   Chain stitch all 30 sets.

Clip your threads between your sets and you are ready to add a fourth row.  Continue this process until you have added a total of 7 rows in each set.    Clip the threads between sets.

So now you will have 30 blocks each consisting of 7 vertical rows that have the Low Volume prints on top and the High Volume prints on the bottom.

Press the seams in the blocks to one direction.  They should now measure 14 1/2" square.

STEP 4 - ASSEMBLING QUILT TOP

And now you can put your quilt top together!   Layout 6 rows of 5 blocks.  Play with the layout until it is pleasing to the eye.  Once you have layout complete mark the blocks so you remember which row is which :)  Now, sew the blocks into rows.  To do this, just place the second block onto the first with right sides together and sew a 1/4" seam along the edge.  The place the third block onto the now sewn together first and second block with right sides together and sew a 1/4" seam along the edge.  Continue in this fashion until all 5 blocks in the row are sewn together.  Repeat for all 6 rows.

Now place a Grass Sashing Strip that you made clear at the beginning onto to the top of rows 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 with right sides together.  Sew a 1/4" seam along the edge aligning the fabric as you sew.

Press all of the seams towards the sashing.  Trim the excess sashing at the end of each row.

Now sew the rows together.  This is just like making the rows only on a larger scale.  Place row 1 onto row 2 with right sides together.  Sew a 1/4" seam along the edge.  Press the seam towards the sashing.   Now place row 3 onto the now sewn together row 1 and 2 with right sides together.  Sew a 1/4" seam along the edge.  Press the seam.  Continue in this fashion until all the rows are sewn together.

And your quilt top is complete!!!  Great job!!!

STEP 5 - FINISHING

So now it is time to turn that finished quilt top into a finished Quilt ;)  Time to  Baste It, Quilt It, and Bind It!!!  Which is a whole lot in one little sentence.  If you are new to quilting, you can see my Finishing Your Quilt Series of video tutorials that will walk you through Basting, Quilting, and Binding step by step ;)  

When it came time to quilt mine, I quilted this up with a fun "firework" all over design.  It is a little hard to see in the pictures as the grey thread really blends, but just think along the lines of the "pow" and "smash" graphics from the old batman series and you are pretty close :)  It was a super fun design to quilt and really matches the overall theme of the quilt.

You will use the 9 strips you cut and set aside at the beginning to do the binding.

STEP 6 - ENJOY

And you are done, and have one ultra modern, High/Low Volume  70" x 89" Mister DJ twin sized quilt. Mister DJ measures 70" x 89", perfect for a twin size bed with some wonderful overhang.  So if you have a young tween who might like a little pizazz in their room, maybe it will be the perfect fit, it certainly was for my little guy :)

I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial and if you make your own Mister DJ Quilt I would love to see it!!  You can email me a picture at happyquiltingmelissa@gmail.com, post it to social media with #happyquiltingwithmc  or or add it to my flickr group here ;)  I can't wait to see your Mister DJ Quilts!!!

Linking up to Sarah's, Amanda's, and Fort Worth Fabric Studio's :)

Kitchen Stitches Winner

Thank you so much for your sweet comments on the Kitchen Stitches book and the fun camp apron I made ;)  You all are so sweet!!!   And now, I need to send someone a little Valentine's Day Goodie :)

The winner of the Kitchen Stitches book is . . . .

Who just happens to be . . .

Congrats Josie!!!  I will be sending your book along ;)  And sounds like I need to get that meatloaf recipe ;)

Have a Happy Quilting Day!!!