The Modern Quilt Guild's blog has a new post today (part of the ongoing 100 Days of Modern Quilting feature) with my tutorial for this lovely block, which was adapted from this lovey pillow by Heather Bostic.
Here's a peek at a project I'm working on using the blocks. Most of these were made with assorted orange and gray scraps from my stash. The background is Kona Charcoal.
Find the Sparkle Punch Quilt-Along main page here.
Read about Mo’s Sparkle Punch quilt here.
Now that you have all of your star components made, it's time to sew them together to make the quilt top!
Start by clearing a design wall or clean floor area at least 70" x 84".
Before we start, I just want to give a quick reminder that we're still working with 3-1/2" x 3-1/2" star components (center squares and points units). Making the quilt top will result in their being sewn together, but they should not be sewn together yet.
Download Sparkle Punch Quilt Top Layout
Use the Quilt Top Layout as a guide to arrange your sets of star components as you would like them to look in your finished quilt top, creating 24 rows of 20 components each.
The sets of components for the three-quarter, half, and quarter stars will end up around the edges of the quilt top, making the whole thing rectangular.
When I was arranging my block components, I found it helpful to start near the center and work my way out to the sides until my composition was 20 components wide x 24 components high.
If you want to create more negative space in your composition (i.e. not fill it in entirely with stars) you can replace as many as you want of the star components with 3-1/2" x 3-1/2" squares of your negative space fabric. Just keep in mind that, if you want your quilt to finish at 60" x 72", you'll need to create a grid with 24 rows of 20 squares each.
Once you're happy with the layout, pull aside the 30 star components (5 wide x 6 high) in the lower right corner, making sure not to disrupt their arrangement.
Note: All seams are sewn with a quarter inch seam allowance and pressed open.
Sew the 5 components in each row together, and then sew the 6 rows together to make a block. This is Block 4D.
Repeat this process with the remaining star components, creating a total of 16 blocks, and making sure not to lose track of each block's placement in the overall composition. You may find it helpful to label the blocks 1A, 1B, 1C, and so on, as shown above.
Sew Block 1A to Block 1B to create a row. Sew Block 2A to Block 2B to create a second row and sew this row to the bottom of the first to create the Upper-Left Quadrant of the quilt top.
Sew Block 1C to Block 1D to create a row. Sew Block 2C to Block 2D to create a second row and sew this row to the bottom of the first to create the Upper-Right Quadrant of the quilt top.
Sew Block 3A to Block 3B to create a row. Sew Block 4A to Block 4B to create a second row and sew this row to the bottom of the first to create the Lower-Left Quadrant of the quilt top.
Sew Block 3C to Block 3D to create a row. Sew Block 4C to Block 4D to create a second row and sew this row to the bottom of the first to create the Lower-Right Quadrant of the quilt top.
Sew the Upper-Left Quadrant and the Upper-Right Quadrant together to make the Upper Half of the quilt top.
Sew the Lower-Left Quadrant and the Lower-Right Quadrant together to make the Lower Half of the quilt top.
Sew the Upper Half and the Lower Half together to finish the quilt top.
And that's it! Your quilt top if finished.
***
The next quilt-along post, Making the Quilt Back, will be on January 25.
Find the Sparkle Punch Quilt-Along main page here.
Read about Mo’s Sparkle Punch quilt here.
Today's post is about how to make the stars. I say make the stars instead of make the blocks because the way this quilt top comes together is a little different than other star quilts you might have seen.
Conventional star blocks are usually made with 9 components, like the block shown above. In a conventional star quilt, blocks would be finished and then sewn into a quilt top.
For this quilt, we're eliminating the four corner units so the stars can be nestled together. This creates a plus-sign shape that could be difficult to sew together in the conventional way. Instead, we're going to make sets of block components and wait until we're planning the quilt top layout to sew them together.
Cut Your Negative Space Fabric
Last week's post detailed how many 3-1/2" squares are needed to make the stars. You'll also need to cut squares from your 3-1/2 yards of negative space fabric. (This will be the background behind the stars.)
To do this, cut the negative space fabric into 35 strips 3-1/2" by width of fabric. Subcut the strips into 384 squares 3-1/2" x 3-1/2".
Note: If you're planning an asymmetrical composition with more negative space (i.e. not entirely filled in with stars) you'll need more squares cut from your negative space fabric. However you won't necessarily know exactly how many until we get to the Making the Quilt Top stage next week.
Make the Stars
1. Each star will be made from 5 star fabric squares and 4 squares of your negative space fabric. Reserve 1 of the star fabric squares for the center of the star and cut the other 4 in half diagonally, creating 8 right triangles. These triangles will become the points of the star.
2. Place 1 of the triangles, face down, over the lower right corner of 1 of the negative space squares, tilting it at a slightly wonky angle. Sew in place, keeping your seam within 1/4" of the edge of the triangle.
3. Use a ruler and rotary cutter to trim away the excess negative space fabric, creating a 1/4" seam allowance.
4. Press the seam open, creating a wonky star point where the negative space fabric used to be.
5. Repeat the same process to sew a second triangle to the lower left corner of the same square of negative space fabric.
6. Trim away the excess fabric, creating a 1/4" seam allowance and press the seam open.
7. Square up the finished points unit to 3-1/2" x 3-1/2".
8. Repeat Steps 2 - 7 to make 3 more points units (for a total of 4). Stack the finished points units together with their matching center square.
Important Note: The triangles need to be placed so that, after being sewn down and pressed, they cover the entire area that was formerly occupied by the negative space fabric. This will ensure that your finished block components measure a perfect 3-1/2" x 3-1/2", which is essential to having your quilt top come together smoothly.
Using larger triangles (or other scraps) can make this step easier, but it can also produce a tremendous amount of waste, which is why I recommend using the triangles cut from 3-1/2" squares. With a little practice, it won't be so difficult to make those points work!
I mention this whenever I post about wonky piecing, but I'll say it again here: A little wonkiness goes a long way. The crazier your angles, the more trouble you're likely to have covering the corners of your block components. If you've never done piecing like this before, it may help to practice on some scraps before moving on to your "good" fabric.
Repeat these steps to make the following sets of star components for the front of the quilt:
80 Whole Stars: Follow directions, as written.
14 Three-Quarter Stars: Follow directions, cutting only 3 star fabric squares in half (to make 6 triangles) and making 3 points units.
2 Half Stars: Follow directions, cutting only 2 star fabric squares in half (to make 4 triangles) and making 2 points units.
18 Quarter Stars: Follow directions, cutting the star fabric square in half (to make 2 triangles) and making 1 points unit.
Note: If you're planning to make an asymmetrical composition with lots of negative space, there isn't a specific number of stars that you need to make. Just make however many you want to have in your composition. You can always add more later if you find you need them.
Helpful Tools
A 3-1/2" x 3-1/2" ruler can make it easy to square up the individual block components.
If you want to get really fancy, use a rotating cutting mat to square up sets of block components without moving them.
***
The next quilt-along post, Making the Quilt Top, will be on January 19.
I've been trying for months to figure out just what I wanted to do with Melody Miller's awesome-giant-bee-featuring Ruby Star Spring, and I finally decided that a new Mod Mosaic quilt was the way to go.
I started by fussy cutting the large prints to make some featured tiles for my mosaic blocks.
I added a bunch of monochromatic print and solid fabric scraps in tangerine, sea green, and violet.
Then I just went crazy making blocks! No plan for the block or finished quilt size. I just tried to make blocks in a variety of sizes and to include some of the featured prints in each one.
Here's some of the blocks up on the wall. So far, so good!
I'm going to use these blocks to make a quilt similar in composition to this one. The negative space on one side will be Kona Raffia and the negative space on the other side will be Kona Emerald.
By the way, I just published a new tutorial for making Mod Mosaic Quilt Blocks! You can find it here.
When I wrote the original Mod Mosaic Floor Pillow tutorial, I had no idea that it would catch on like it has, and it's been so fun watching people use it to make blocks and quilts!
I recently started working on a new Mod Mosaic quilt and I noticed that the method I was using to piece the blocks was slightly different from the method I used to make the original pillow, so I thought I would publish a Mod Mosaic tutorial specifically for making rectangular quilt blocks
Download Mod Mosaic Quilt Blocks
You can use the block tutorial to make a fabulous quilt like this one.
And here's my original tutorial for the Mod Mosaic Floor Pillow.
Download Mod Mosaic Floor Pillow
Mod Mosaic Pillow Back
As always, if you make something with one of my tutorials, I would love to see it in my Flickr Pool.
Find the Sparkle Punch Quilt-Along main page here.
Read about Mo’s Sparkle Punch quilt here.
Today’s post is all about the materials you’ll need to make your very own Sparkle Punch Quilt.
These fabric requirements are for a 60” x 72” quilt (generous lap quilt size) but don’t hesitate to make your own calculations/revisions to make the quilt in a different size.
This quilt design, with nestled stars that appear to continue off the quilt top, uses both whole and partial stars.
Clockwise from top-left: whole star, three-quarter star, quarter star, half star
All of the stars are made with sets of 3½” x 3½” squares. For the stars (just the stars - not the negative space behind them) you will need:
If you prefer, you can make your composition include fewer stars, arranged in an asymmetrical arrangement kind of like this. If you do that, you’ll end up needing fewer sets of squares to make stars and more fabric for your negative space. (I’ll talk more about this kind of composition in the Making The Quit Top post.)
The color scheme for my quilt was inspired by this gorgeous Echino print so, for my stars, I raided my scraps to select monochromatic print and solid fabrics in pinks, purples, sea greens, grays, browns, beiges, and black. I also fussy-cut some squares from the Echino print.
You can use as many or few different fabrics for your stars as you want, but here are a couple of suggestions:
Most of my sets of squares are cut from the same fabric, but I did include a few sets with 4 identical squares for the points and 1 fussy-cut square for the center.
Quilt back from Mo’s Sparkle Punch Quilt
In addition to the star fabrics, you’ll need:
Note: These requirements contemplate fabric at least 42” wide.
I’m using Yarn-Dyed Essex Cotton-Linen in Flax for my negative space. For my quilt back, I’m using Kona solids in Stone, Jade Green, Pomegranate, and Charcoal. Because I just can’t get enough faux bois, I’m using a brown woodgrain print from Joel Dewberry’s Aviary 2 collection for the binding.
What colors/fabrics are you using for your Sparkle Punch quilt?
***
The next quilt-along post, Making the Stars, will be on January 11.
There seemed to be a lot of interest in more specific instructions for making a quilt like the one I made Mo, so I'm going to start the year with a quilt-along!
Like any of my quilt-alongs, this is going to be a series of posts without a specific timeline for completion. My goal is simply to provide instructions that you can follow on your own time.
My instructions for making a 60" x 72" quilt will be posted as follows:
January 4: What You'll Need
January 11: Making the Stars
January 19: Making the Quilt Top
January 25: Making the Quilt Back
February 1: Finishing the Quilt
More photos of my finished quilt can be found here.
I'm not going to start a separate Flickr Pool for this quilt-along but, as always, I welcome photos of your work in my regular Flickr Pool.
Looking forward to quilting with you!
The Modern Quilt Guild's 100 Days of Modern Quilting feature started on January 1. If you aren't already following along, check it out today!
Read about the construction of this quilt here.
Here's Jill's finished quilt. Unfortunately, this is another nighttime photo shoot, so these were taken on the floor at PNCA during our PMQG meeting. If you follow the PMQG link and scroll down, you can see a photo of Jill with the quilt and me holding the awesome bag she made me. (As an aside, I should never wear flats. I look 4 feet tall in that photo!)
Here's a closer shot of the quilt.
And a little closer, so you can see the fussy cutting.
And, finally, here's the back.
Now that it's safely in its new home, I can tell you about the quilt I made for Jill for our PMQG holiday swap. The yummy yellow and gray scraps pictured above were selected by Jill.
For this swap, we were supposed to make something from our partner's scraps, while only adding one fabric. My added fabric was a Free Spirit Designer Solid in Gold. Because I wanted to make a quilt, I needed enough fabric for binding, so I bent the rules and also added more of the Secret Garden floral print that Jill included with her scraps.
I went back and forth and back and forth over how to make this quilt, but I eventually focused on the Heather Ross print with the little girls playing with horses. I decided that I wanted to fussy cut it, so I ended up cutting all of the scraps into 2" squares to make Stamp Collection blocks.
I'll admit that I had to cheat a little bit to get 4 whole blocks with 100 squares each! Fortunately, I had most of the prints and solids Jill had given me in my stash, so I was able to add more squares when I ran out of certain fabrics. Just like the ones I made for this quilt, each finished block measures 15" square.
I pieced the four blocks into a quilt top, centering them with lots of negative space around the edges of the quilt. I honestly cannot remember the exact size of this quilt, but it was around 50" x 50" square.
For the back, I pieced the leftovers into two columns and used more of the gold solid for the negative space.
I chose a butter yellow thread for the quilting. I wanted something that wasn't quite as stark as white, but that wouldn't detract from the lighter grays and whites in the pieced blocks.
I free-motion quilted the entire thing with a pattern of intersecting boxes . . .
. . . and I bound the quilt and wrapped it up just in time to take it to the December meeting and give it to Jill! I'll show photos of the finished quilt in my next post.
