Wednesday, June 26, 2019

Galaxy Quilt Secrets Revealed: Quilting & Binding

Care to space out with me? In today's installment outlining techniques used to create the Galaxy Quilt, I'm be orbiting the topics of quilting and binding. Check out my previous posts in case you missed them.

Quilting


For the quilting, I used spiral variation using a matching thread. 50 wt was used for the top and 80 wt was used in the bobbin. I left the planets unquilted so they would pop, but stitched around them to define the shape of the planets on the back of the quilt.


Instead of ending the center of the spiral in a u-turn or a point before changing direction, I made a circle before coming out of the spiral.


If I had a tight space to fill, I would use S-curves or C-curves.


Faux Flange Binding


To create the faux flange binding, I cut the flange fabric 5/8" wide and the main fabric 2 1/2" wide. I connected the 5/8" strips end to end, and did the same with the 2 1/2' wide strips these end to end. I sewed the 5/8" strip to the 2 1/2" strip.


 I trimmed the seam allowance to 1/8" to reduce bunk using an Add An Eighth and pressed it toward the flange fabric. I then pressed in half with the wrong sides together. I machine sewed the binding to the front with the flange portion facing the top. I hand-stitched the binding to the back using 80 wt Aurifil.


Thank you for joining me, and learning my little secrets. Make sure to subscribe via e-mail or your favorite blog reader as I will have an inside look at Quilt Market and more tutorials coming soon.


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Wednesday, June 19, 2019

Galaxy Quilt Secrets Revealed: 3-Dimensional Details & Embellishment

You've probed, and I'm going to spill all the information. (Yes, my alien friends and those from my native planet, my puns have reached cosmic proportions.) Today, I'll  be sharing methods for adding 3-D and embellished details to my Galaxy Quilt that first appeared on the Aurifil blog as part of the Slice & Stitch Challenge sponsored by OLFA and Aurifil.

3-Dimensional Details & Embellishment


To create the pleats in the striped planets, I pressed a strip in half with the wrong sides together. I lined the raw edges of this strip in between two strips of a different color with their right sides facing and sewed at 1/4".


To create a planetary ring, I cut a strip the desired width multipled by 2 plus 1/2", by the desired width plus 1". Using a Clover Hot Ruler, I pressed each short end over 1/2".


Then I folded wrong sides together and pressed in half lengthwise. I took a planet block and sliced it down the middle. Then I sandwiched the strip in between the two planet halves with all the raw edges lined up. I made sure the outer edges of the planet matched up and sewed the layers together with a 1/4" seam.


To add details to the moon to match the fabric, I used a Fabrico marker.


There are many permanent fabric marker options. I suggest not using a regular Sharpie as these bleed when washed.


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Saturday, June 15, 2019

Anna Maria Horner Showcase

It's my pleasure to bring you my project for the Anna Maria Horner Showcase.


I and the other participating Aurifil Artisans were provided 3 fat quarters of Anna Maria Horner's Passionflower collection and a spool of Aurifil thread.


My spool was 50 wt #1310 Medium Blue Grey, which paired very nicely.


I've been wanting to put those underrated diagonal lines on my OLFA acrylic rulers to use, and determined Dresdens would be a great application. I cut 5" strips. Then I cut a 15 degree angle from the end. Next I proceeded to cut a 30 degree angle.


I flipped the ruler and cut another triangle using the 30 degree angle. I continued until I reached the end of the strip. That's my Fairy Floss Pink OLFA Splash, by the way, in case you need one.


Next I trimmed the tips off the triangles by lining the base up with the 4" mark.


Each wedge was folded in half, and I stitched along the top with a 1/4" seam allowance.


I did a backstitch to secure the end as I chained them through the machine.


I trimmed a little corner from each wedge without crossing through the line of stitching


I finger pressed the seams open.


Using the Clover Point 2 Point Turner, I reversed the wedge and poked out the corner before pressing flat.


I stitched each wedge together along the raw edges.


Using the Hey There Home tutorial for an envelope pillow cover, I took my creation from quilt sandwich to usable home decor.





I used a Clover Hot Ruler to turn over the seams.



I free-motion quilted a layered hot pink solid, batting, and muslin with feather, pebbles and paisleys. I appliquéd the Dresdens to the top using a zigzag (stitch length 2 and width 1) and covered the open centers with shiny buttons.


Check out the other projects:
https://pieceloveandhappiness.blogspot.com/2019/06/anna-maria-horner-showcase-passion-play.html
http://www.tishnwonderland.com/2019/06/passion-flowers-fat-quarter-fun.html
http://www.hilltopcustomdesigns.com/2019/05/anna-maria-horner-showcase-with-aurifil.html
https://meadowmistdesigns.blogspot.com/2019/05/favorite-finish-monthly-linkup-may-2019.html
https://wendysquiltsandmore.blogspot.com/2019/05/my-project-bag-and-peacock-party.html
https://kimlapacek.com/2019/05/anna-maria-horner-showcase-with-aurifil-threads-and-popcorn-pouch-sal.html
https://www.50sqftstudios.com/2019/05/anna-maria-horner-aurifil-showcase.html
https://centerstreetquilts.wordpress.com/2019/05/29/aurifil-anna-maria-horner-challenge/
https://b-craft.pl/co-uszyc/
http://thenotsodramaticlife.com/anna-maria-horner-aurifil-showcase-project/
https://saranaave.wordpress.com/2019/05/13/anna-maria-horner-showcase/
https://www.instagram.com/p/ByBjySznjQ6/
https://www.instagram.com/lilabellelane/?hl=en

As much as I enjoy hoarding my precious fabric, I had a altruistic thought. How about a giveaway? Enter using the Rafflecopter widget to win three fat eighths of the fabric I used.


a Rafflecopter giveaway


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Wednesday, June 12, 2019

Galaxy Quilt Secrets Revealed: Paper-Piecing

If you are new here, and come in peace, I'm so glad to have you. You may want to check out my previous posts about the Galaxy Quilt here and on the Aurifil blog. Today I'm going to share some pointers pertaining to paper-piecing.

Resizing Paper-Pieced Units


When resizing paper-pieced units, set the scale to whatever percentage you desire. Since I wanted a 6" block instead of a 12" one, I set the scale to 50%. This will make the seam allowance 1/8", which is not what I want. Therefore, regardless of resizing ratio, cut a seam allowance that is 1/4" when you cut out each unit. Use the cut edge as a guide for seam allowance while ignoring the printed seam allowance line.


Matching Seams and Fussy Cutting Paper-Pieced Units


Spoiler Alert: The key to matching points on my 6" star blocks is a glue pen. I used the Bohin brand one (though any thin-tipped glue pen should work. It twists upward as shown in the video.


I ran the edge of the glue pen within the seam allowance. Then I finger pressed the seam allowances together with the units open enough to match the star points.



I heat set the seams to dry the glue, sewed as usual, and pressed open.


Since I didn't want a bunch of half planets floating in space, I decided to be intentional about how I positioned the fabric within the larger paper-pieced sections.


To accomplish this, I laid the fabric face down and positioned the paper units so planets would be intact. Holding the fabric up to a glass window or light can help if a fabric is darker. A lightbox would be fantastic for this. When the desired positioning is achieved, I used a glue stick to adhere the paper to the wrong side of the fabric.


An alternative is tracing the section on template material or a dollar store cutting mat, adding seam allowance, and using this as a template. Make sure to flip the template over, as the process of paper-piecing reverses everything.


Now, I'll throw a few general suggestions into the mix. I love using an Add-A-Quarter Plus ruler. It has a side for folding back the paper, and another with a groove that hugs the fold of the paper so you can cut a 1/4" without actually lining up the ruler and measuring. Confession: Coordinating things makes my heart happy, so I'm all 💕👀 over the pink Add-A-Quarter Plus paired with my pink OLFA Splash.


I prefer to do Step 1 with all of my units, chaining them through the machine, before doing Step 2 with all of my units, and so on. This means less running around the sewing room, less change of a piece flittering to the ground to be lost forever, and a greater chance all the units will be ready to be pieced together at the same time.


When I paper-piece really smallish things, I use a 1/4" seam, but then trim it down to 1/8" to reduce bulk. Sewing with the 1/8" seam is living dangerously since you can end up having the seam allowance disappear entirely if anything shuffles.



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