Category Archives: Reach for the Stars sampler quilt

Reach for the Stars: Border Breakthrough, Part 2

Border Breakthrough? More of a Corner Crisis. Okay, that’s a bit dramatic. It wasn’t really a crisis, but what I had envisioned as an easy way to extend the points of a narrow inner border into the wide outer border on the corners of my Reach for the Stars quilt turned out to be anything but.

(As regular readers know, my quilt is based on designer Terri Krysan’s quilt of the same name that was recently serialized in Quilter’s Newsletter magazine. I’ve been working on this quilt for the better part of a year, posting progress reports as often as I had something to show. The previous post recounts my efforts to achieve a symmetrical border and to carry the symmetry into the corners. If you haven’t read that post yet, you might want to, as it helps put today’s post in context.)

I could have taken the easy way out and simply attached the corner units without fussing with inner border points at all. The quilt has strong diagonal lines, and it probably would have looked just fine:


Corner 1

Butting the components up against each other gives you a better idea of what a corner would look like sewn together:

Corner 2

But I wanted the point of the solid black border to extend into the print border. Although I have departed in several ways from Terri Krysan’s design, this was one element I wanted to preserve. All I needed to do — I thought — was replace a 2″ black print square with a  block that included a solid black piece, like this one:

Corner 3

Easy enough to make. I toyed with the idea of paper piecing the unit but it was just as fast to sew two half-square triangles to a larger triangle. I made a 2½” block and then trimmed it to the finished size of 2″ square to test its position as a replacement block. Much to my dismay, it was too small. The bottom edges of the triangle didn’t match the seamlines in the solid black border.

The cause of the discrepancy, I finally figured out, was the finished width of the narrow black border: 1⅜”. I had cut the border strips 2½” inches wide, not knowing how wide they would turn out to be, knowing only that the finished width would be determined by where the setting triangles came together at the corners. This is because of the highly unscientific but vaguely mathematical way I figured and constructed the borders. If the narrow black border had finished at 1¼” wide, I think it might have fit.

But it didn’t. What to do?

The solution came to me only when I started thinking outside the box. Literally. Instead of working with a 2½” square (the box), I played with a 2½” x 6½” rectangle of black print — the equivalent of three squares — and larger triangles of the solid black. That gave way to two 2½” x 3½” rectangles when I realized they would give me the shape I desired in the size needed to match the other seams. Let me show you what I mean:

Corner 4The larger pieces are the 2½” x 3½” rectangles. The solid black pieces are 1⅝” squares, about to become foldover corners:

Corner 5

When I joined the two pieces in the middle and tested the edges of the resized triangle against the seamlines in the black border, they were right where they needed to be. Hurrah!

Here is the new rectangular unit inserted into part of a corner unit . . .

Corner 6 rep

. . . and here is that corner unit joined to the quilt:

Corner 7

 

This close-up shows how the seam joining the two solid black triangles becomes, in effect, an extension of the mitered seam in the narrow black border:.

Corner 9a
This view of the second corner shows you how it all fits together:

Corner 8

Two more corners to go. Then all that’s left is to add the final border of background fabric, which helps float the nine-patch units. Can you believe it? I am almost done!

 

 

 

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Reach for the Stars: Border Breakthrough

When I posted almost a month ago on my Reach for the Stars sampler quilt, pictured here . . .

2014-10, RFTS before borders

. . . I had finished the center medallion and 14 surrounding blocks and was getting ready to tackle the intricate pieced border. I say “tackle” because I knew it would be a challenge figuring out how to get the corners perfectly symmetrical. I knew I wanted to emulate the lacelike effect designer Terri Krysan achieved by putting nine-patch blocks on point in her border, but I also knew I wanted all of my corners to match.

First I added a narrow black border on all four sides, mitering the corners. Next I made several nine-patch units and cut several setting triangles and then just started playing with their positions around the perimeter of the quilt top, which had been moved to the floor after outgrowing my design wall. I walked around the quilt countless times, trying out nine-patch units and setting triangles in different spots along the outer sides.

Border Breakthrough #1 occurred when it became apparent to me that the corner design needed to include two nine-patch units with a strip between them, like this:

Border Breakthrough 1
I mocked up the rest of the corner and even sewed some pieces together. I expected I would need to miter the corner with a seam in the middle of the center strip to match the mitered seam in the narrow black border.

Border Breakthrough 2
When I looked at the photo I had taken above, it hit me that I didn’t need to miter the seam at all! If you follow the horizontal line at the tip of the narrow black border, you’ll see what I saw. Here is Version 2 of the corner unit . . .

Border Breakthrough 3
. . . showing a much easier way to finish the corner. And here is Version 3, which assures the continuity of the black print fabric all around the quilt next to the narrow black border:

Border Breakthrough 4
The position of the black print setting triangles at each corner coincided with a black print setting triangle hitting the exact center of the top and bottom of the quilt. You’ll see what I mean when you look at the next photo:

Border Breakthrough 5
See the point of the black sashing on the middle block, right where it touches the narrow black border? Follow the line into the border and note how it intersects both the black print setting triangle next to the black border and the blue setting triangle on the outer edge.

Unfortunately, there was no way that same design element was going to hit the middle of the long sides. That’s when Border Breakthrough #2 came into play. After much fiddling around, I determined that if I completely removed one nine-patch unit from a long side and added one more strip to two of the remaining nine-patch units, the middle of a black print setting triangle would hit the middle of the long side. Just what I wanted it to do!

Here’s what the “nine-patch plus” unit looked like just before adding the setting triangles . . .

Border Breakthrough A

. . . and here’s what it looked like next to a regular nine-patch:

Border Breakthrough B
I sewed all of my blocks together and then discovered that the border strip was about an inch too long (much better than an inch too short!). My solution? To re-sew the nine-patch units taking a full quarter-inch seam rather than my regular scant quarter-inch seam. Doing that with six nine-patch units and two “nine-patch plus” units took up the excess fullness, and my border fit perfectly. Was someone doing the Happy Dance? Oh, yeah!

Here’s a look at the middle of one long side, with the setting triangle hitting in just the right spot. Look above the small blue and black hourglass block in the valley between the two blocks near the top center of the photo:

Border Breakthrough 6
Here you are looking across the quilt to one corner:

Border Breakthrough 7
The “nine-patch plus” units — the ones with two black print squares on point — are evenly interspersed along the long sides, and even though the two short sides have no “nine-patch plus” units, everything still looks balanced because the borders match. My approach was strictly trial and error — no graph paper, no computer software program, no calculator work — with just a dash of intuition and a lot of luck.

I do have one more thing to figure out. It has to do with preserving the points of the narrow black border and it just may involve some paper piecing. Have I piqued your curiosity? I hope so! Please come back in a few days to see what I’m talking about.

 

 

 

Posted in Reach for the Stars sampler quilt, update | 11 Comments

Around the World Blog Hop

Today’s my day to post in the “Around the World Blog Hop.” It’s like a chain letter passed from one blogger to another. What a fun way to meet new quilters and discover new quilting blogs! My assignment is to respond to four questions and then tag another quilter who will post on the same questions a week later.

I was tagged by Debbie Scroggy of All Quilted, LLC. Debbie is a local award-winning professional longarm quilter whose clients keep coming back because she does beautiful work. She takes care to bring out the best in every quilter’s project. I know this because she has quilted two quilts for me — and they will certainly not be the last. I’ve seen examples of quilting Debbie has done for other people as well as quilts she has made herself.  You’ll see for yourself when you click on the link above. And when you do, you’ll find a link to the blogger who tagged her. This blog hop takes you backward as well as forward.

Moving forward, you will hop from Oregon halfway across the North American continent to visit Jennifer Gwyn of Seams Crazy. Jennifer lives in Houston, Texas with her husband and two young children. Despite the demands of working and raising a family, she still manages to get a lot of quilting done. Jennifer’s fabric choices are always pleasing to the eye. I especially admire her ability to go scrappy when the quilt calls for it. I have Jennifer to thank for the project you see below. She wrote about it on her blog late last year and got me hooked.

On to the assignment at hand.

1. What am I working on?
Ah, the easy question first. I always have several projects underway. One is my series sampler quilt, Reach for the Stars:

2014-10-11 02.40.46
Reach for the Stars Border Puzzle

I’ve been working on this quilt since the beginning of the year, and the end is tantalizingly in sight. At the moment I’m trying to solve the puzzle of how to make the borders match in all four corners, something the original design does not do. The math doesn’t work out, and I’m trying to figure out a creative way to make it work.

Another work-in-progress is this Bow Tucks Tote, designed by Penny Sturges of quiltsillustrated.com:

2014-10-11 01.13.43
Tote Bag in Progress

I’m currently teaching a class on this bag at the Pine Needle and need to make a tote along with my students to demonstrate the steps. In the photo above, that’s the lining you see on the left. The green strip turns into pockets that go around the entire inside of the bag. Clever!

Yet another project is this Rotary Cutter Coat, one of my own designs:

2014-10-11 02.49.42
Rotary Cutter Coat in the Works

Look closely at the fabrics in the unfinished project above: those are zipper pulls and zipper teeth on the front and straight pins on the back. So cute! (I posted a tutorial a few days ago that includes a link to the free pattern; perhaps you’d like to make a rotary cutter coat yourself.) As soon as the zipper pull coat above is finished, I’m going to give all three away. I hope you’ll come back later this week for my Giveaway.

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?
I would be hard pressed even to identify what genre my work fits in. I’m all over the map in terms of the kinds of quilts I like — and the kinds of quilts I like to make. Am I a traditional quilter? Absolutely. Non-traditional quilter? Yes. Modern quilter? Yes. Art quilter? That too. I tend to make what pleases me, and most of the time my work pleases others. That’s satisfying on both fronts.

3. Why do I create what I do?
It’s all about the fabric. I love fabric! I love to make things with it. My mother taught me to sew when I was 12 years old, and I honestly can’t remember a time I didn’t have some kind of sewing project underway. I made all of my own clothes well into the 1980s (past the time when it was cheaper to make clothing than to buy it), along with pillows and curtains and other “soft furnishings.” By then I had also discovered quilting, which became a creative outlet and antidote to an intense work schedule. When I retired six years ago, quilting — and then teaching quilting — took over my life. Oh, and sewing for my sisters, who think I’m the Home Dec Queen.

4. How does my creative process work?
Often an element in a quilt — a block, perhaps, or a border — will catch my eye, and I will think about how I might incorporate it into a quilt of my own. Or I will look at a traditional block and ponder how it might be jazzed up a bit. I will look at a design element and think, “What if I did this or that to it?” Some of my best ideas have come from asking myself, “What if . . .?”

Some of my work is frankly derivative. Case in point: the rotary cutter coats pictured above. A couple of years ago I saw a pattern in a magazine for a quilted eyeglasses case. I was instantly transported back to the age of four, when I got my first pair of glasses. I came home from the optician with glasses on my nose and a faux-leather case to store them in when I wasn’t wearing them. The case was cut along the same lines as the one in the magazine. I examined the eyeglasses case in the photo and said to myself, “What if . . .?” The result was a case (or coat, as I like to call it) designed specifically for a rotary cutter, though it could certainly double as a case for a pair of large eyeglasses.

I find inspiration everywhere: not just in books and magazines but also in nature, the work of other quilters and crafters, designs in fabric, a sidewalk, a coffee cup. I study quilts I like — and quilts I don’t much care for — to understand what appeals to me and why. Straying from the familiar path and trying something new are parts of the creative process, so I take classes whenever I can.

***

Jennifer’s “Blog Hop Around the World” post is due Oct. 20, one week from today. But you don’t have to wait till then to visit her blog. Go there now and see what she’s working on. Not only will you get a glimpse of her Reach for the Stars fabrics, you’ll be able to check out the size of her stash. Oh my!

 

 

 

Posted in Giveaway, Reach for the Stars sampler quilt, rotary cutter case, tote bags, tutorial, update | 2 Comments

Reach for the Stars: All but the Border!

The setting triangles and corners have been added to my Reach for the Stars series sampler quilt. Do take a look:

2014-10, RFTS before borders
Reach for the Stars — Borders to Come

 

In my last post about Reach for the Stars, I was debating whether to set the hourglass blocks in the setting triangles vertically or horizontally along the long sides of the quilt. To refresh your memory, here’s another look at my two choices:

RFTS setting triangle options
Vertical (Left) or Horizontal (Right)?

 

I was leaning strongly toward the horizontal placement and asked for feedback. Thanks to all of you who responded! The vast majority liked the hourglass blocks set horizontally. If you scroll up and look at the first photo again, you’ll see that I wound up setting them vertically along the sides.

Oddly enough, it was a nonquilter who helped me make up my mind. My nephew Gary suggested I rotate the photo 90 degrees and view the quilt along the long sides. When I did that, I realized I wanted the hourglass blocks to be horizontal when viewed that way — exactly the way they would look if the quilt were on a queen-size bed.

If I knew for sure I would be displaying the quilt on a wall, I would probably have left them all horizontal. Alas, I have no wall in my 1913 Craftsman house large enough for a quilt that will measure about 86″ x 106″ when finished. I do, however, have a queen-size bed.

Right now my version of Reach for the Stars measures about 60″ x 80″. How exciting to be at this point! I started this quilt at the beginning of the year after seeing Terri Krysan’s original design on the cover of the Oct./Nov. 2013 issue of Quilter’s Newsletter magazine. Directions for the quilt began with that issue and continued for the next six issues. Starting with the center medallion and then making 14 blocks over the better part of a year allowed for a somewhat relaxed sewing schedule — a boon for someone like me who likes to work on multiple projects at the same time.

Now all that’s left are the borders. I say “all that’s left” but in fact there’s much more to the border than four strips of fabric. You’ll see what I mean when you look at Terri’s beautiful quilt:

RFTS by Terri Krysan
Terri Krysan’s Quilt, 2012
 (Copyright Quilter’s Newsletter. Used with permission. Photo by Melissa Karlin Mahoney.)

Viewed from afar, the border design looks almost like lace, doesn’t it? That effect is cleverly achieved by setting nine-patch units on point. For some reason, though, the lacy design is not the same in all four corners. The upper right and lower left corners are the same, and the upper left and lower right corners are the same. To me this quilt is all about symmetry. That means I have to figure out a way to make all four corners on my border the same while maintaining the lacelike effect. Just the kind of challenge I relish!

 

 

 

 

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Reach for the Stars: Final Layout

When I showed you my completed Reach for the Stars blocks in my post of Aug. 18, I thought I had settled on a layout. Here’s a photo from that post:

RFTS potential layout
Layout Under Consideration

 

Nope. I changed a few blocks around:

RFTS final layout 3
The Winning Layout

Now it seems the heavier blocks — the ones that seem to fill up more space in the block, if you know what I mean — are more balanced, and I’m pleased with the distribution of greens and blues in the background. I’m so certain of this layout that I am ready to sew my blocks together!

I did discover a bit of a design dilemma after starting to make the setting triangles. They all contain a small hourglass block the same size as the ones in the center medallion. Terry Krysan, the designer of Reach for the Stars, calls for the hourglass blocks to be placed horizontally on the top and bottom of the quilt and vertically on the sides. Here’s what that looks like on my top:

RFTS vertical hourglass
Hourglass Blocks in Setting Triangles: Vertical on the Sides

 

But I like the look of those hourglass blocks placed horizontally on the sides:

RFTS hourglass horizontal
Hourglass Blocks in Setting Triangles: Horizontal on the Sides

 

This is the kind of design decision I can easily obsess over. My friends know what I mean.

I’d love to know what you think. Here are my two choices, side by side.

RFTS setting triangle options
Vertical (Left) or Horizontal (Right)?

 

Which look do you like better? If you’re so inclined, please tell me why. It’s very easy to leave a comment!

 

 

 

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Reach for the Stars: Last Block

I’ve finished the last of the 14 blocks that surround the center medallion in my version of Reach for the Stars, the queen-size sampler quilt designed by Terry Krysan that I began working on last fall. The block below is actually Block 13 but it was the last one I made:

2014-8, Block 13
Dawn’s Last Reach for the Stars Block

 

Here it is in its proper position on point:

2014-8, RFTS Block 13 on point
On Point

 

I’ve been playing with the final arrangement of the blocks. Because I used a variety of blue, green, and black fabrics in the background of the blocks, my goal is to find the right balance of pattern and color across the quilt top.

RFTS potential layout
One Medallion and 14 Blocks

This may well be the final layout — but I reserve the right to change my mind. Once the setting triangles are in place, I think I’ll know for sure.

One thing I know for sure right now: it’s thrilling to be at this point in the process! I’m hoping to have the setting triangles done before the next issue of Quilter’s Newsletter arrives with the seventh and final set of instructions on the making of this series quilt.

 

 

 

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Reach for the Stars: Jenn V’s Blocks are Done

Jennifer Varney of Hudson, New Hampshire is the first in our little band of quiltmakers to finish making the blocks in her Reach for the Stars sampler quilt. RFTS has been featured since last fall as a series quilt in Quilter’s Newsletter magazine, with instructions coming in installments.

Jenn’s quilt top is gorgeous! Take a look:

Jenn V's RFTS top 56 x 56 (2)
Jennifer Varney’s Top

 

Jennifer did have a little advantage over the rest of us: she chose a straight set for her blocks rather than setting them on point. This meant that she needed to make 12 blocks instead of 14 and could also dispense with the setting triangles.

Right now Jenn’s top measures 56″ square. She is still pondering border ideas. Whatever she decides, she will wind up with a lovely lap-size quilt. Those of us making the on-point version designed by Terri Krysan of Lakeville, Minnesota (there’s a photo of it in the preceding post) will have a queen-size quilt.

I’m so inspired by Jenn V’s quilt top that I’m heading to my sewing room right now to work on my last block!

 

 

 

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Reach for the Stars: Block 14 — Done!

My Reach for the Stars sampler quilt has been on the back burner the last couple of months. This is the series quilt that’s been featured in the past six issues of Quilter’s Newsletter magazine. To stay on track I need to make one more block (lucky #13) as well as the setting triangles before the next issue with the final set of instructions lands in my mailbox.

Before I show you my Block 14, take a look at the one in the original quilt designed by Terry Krysan of Lakeville, Minnesota. It’s in the lower right-hand corner:

RFTS by Terry Krysan
Terry Krysan’s Reach for the Stars, 86 3/4″ x 106 1/2″

(Used with permission. Copyright Quilter’s Newsletter. Photo by Melissa Karlin Mahoney.)

Her Block 14 is very simple: a Sawtooth Star with a fussy-cut center. The issue for me is that this block is too simple. Every other block contains some interesting design elements. For my Block 14 I kept the basic Sawtooth Star shape but added pinwheels in the center:

block 14 1
Dawn’s Block 14

I didn’t realize when I fussy-cut the print fabric that it would form a tiny pinwheel in the very center of the block. What a fun surprise!

Here is Block 14 on point, as it will be in the final version:

Pictures10
On Point

 

Coming soon: Block 13. Please come back to see it!

 

 

 

Posted in Reach for the Stars sampler quilt, update | 6 Comments

Oh, Dear Jane!

PicturesPictures2Pictures6

I wish I could say these lovely blue and white Dear Jane blocks were mine. In fact, they were made by Sherri Crisp of Knoxville, Tennessee. (Sherri and I are in the same Reach for the Stars cohort; I posted pictures of her latest sampler blocks in this post about a month ago.)

Sherri is one of those quilters (like me) who work on multiple projects at the same time. It seems to me that Dear Jane is one of those quilt designs that lends itself to working in fits and starts. Something about sampler quilts, perhaps?

The original Dear Jane was made by Jane A. Stickle of Shaftsbury, Vermont and completed in 1863:

original dear jane quilt

(Photograph by Ken Burris, Shelburne VT, courtesy of the Bennington Museum and the Vermont Quilt Festival)

Thanks to Brenda Papadakis, who drafted the 225 designs that appear in the original quilt and compiled them in the book Dear Jane (published in 1996 by EZ Quilting by Wrights), modern-day quilters can create their own versions.

Sherri’s inspiration was this blue and white version she found on Pinterest:

Jane Stickle Dear Jane quilt

(If anyone knows who made this quilt or the source of the photo, please let me know so that I can update my post.) 

Sherri has also made five of the border triangles, employing some clever fussy-cutting:

Pictures9

Pictures5

Breaking it down, the Dear Jane quilt contains 169 blocks, 52 setting triangles, and four kite corners. These triangle blocks finish at 5″ x 8″, and the square blocks at the top of the post finish at 4½”. Can you even imagine how many teeny tiny pieces there are in a finished quilt?

“I’m not sure if I will ever finish this quilt,” writes Sherri, “but I am having fun playing with it. I can make two to three blocks with only one fat quarter, so I am having so much fun buying fabric.” And I am having fun watching Sherri’s blocks come together!

 

 

 

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Reach for the Stars: Four New Blocks from Jenn V

Goodbye, June —  hello, July! Can you believe the year is half over? I swear, the first six months of 2014 have just flown by.

June was a productive month for Jennifer Varney of Hudson, New Hampshire. In addition to revamping the center medallion of her Reach for the Stars sampler quilt earlier this month — you can read about here — she has completed four new blocks.

Here is Jenn’s Block 8:

JennV's Block 8
Jennifer Varney’s Block 8

 

Block 9:

JennV's Block 9
Jennifer Varney’s Block 9

Jennifer modified Block 9 so that the center blocks would form stars. I like it much better this way than the original design. (In fact, I did the same thing on my version!)

She skipped Block 10 — more on that later. Here is Block 11:

JennV's Block 11
Jennifer Varney’s Block 11

She modified Block 11 so the center is simply a four-patch rather than eight half-square triangles.

My personal favorite in this group of four is her Block 12:

JennV's Block 12
Jennifer Varney’s Block 12

The border print makes the block appear much more complicated than a nine-patch with four-patches in the corner. Check out the fantastic optical illusion of curves when all the pieces are square.

The original Reach for the Stars quilt was designed by Terry Krysan of Lakeville, Minnesota and presented in Quilter’s Newsletter magazine as a series quilt beginning last fall. As you can see, the quilt features a center medallion and 14 blocks, all set on point:

RFTS by Terry Krysan
Terry Krysan’s Quilt

(Used with permission. Copyright Quilter’s Newsletter. Photo by Melissa Karlin Mahoney.)

Jennifer’s plan is to arrange her center medallion and surrounding blocks in a straight set, which means her quilt will be smaller than queen-size and will require 12 blocks instead of 14. Of course it makes sense to pick her favorite 12 of the 14 blocks. That’s why she skipped Block 10. If I’ve counted correctly, she has one more to make, and then it’s on to the borders. Onward, Jennifer!!

 

 

 

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