Halo Star Medallion--Month 8

This month we will finish the pinwheel borders, attach them to the quilt, and start making flying geese borders.

Making the remaining pinwheel borders is just a matter of repeating the steps from month 7, to create the bottom and side borders. 

Now let's talk about those "floaters". On page 4 of the instructions, Sue talks about using two fabrics to fill the space between the pinwheel border (57.5") and the quilt center (54.5"). If you have everything perfect, the space to fill is 1.5" finished on both sides.. Sue said she prefers smaller floaters over one large floater.  Here is what she did:

First, Sue added a 1/2" finished "border" to the center of the quilt--this increases the size of the quilt by 1" finished. Now, if you are perfectly the same as her measurements, you will add a 1" finished size "floater" to join the pinwheel borders (57.5")  to the quilt center, which is now 55.5" after you added that small .5" "border". 

Here is what I did. I looked in my stash for a border print stripe that might work--Sue mentioned using border prints to fill all that space, instead of using two borders/floaters. The complex fabric makes it look like you did complex piecing. Of course, I didn't have any border stripe that would work. So I decided to use only ONE fabric, the dark purple woven fabric I  had used earlier as a floater. 

Lucky for me, my quilt center has grown by .5" and my pinwheel borders are also .5" larger than they should be--don't know why, they should be perfect, but that's just quilt life sometimes. I had 3" to fill, 1.5" per side, so my purple floaters were cut 2" wide and the  proper lengths needed. I was happy to only make one "floater" and I think it looks just fine.  I will do this same fabric in the same size later in the quilt. Stay tuned...

Now it's time to make ONE flying geese border, with 43 geese. If you did all the fabric cutting last month, you are ready to get started. Flying geese shapes are one large triangle--the "goose"--and 2 two small background triangles--the "sky". These geese finish at 3" wide by 1.5" high--you can and should check your paper patterns to be sure that is the size you printed. 

IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO PAPER PIECE: you do not have to. I usually prefer to make four geese at a time, oversized so I can "trim to perfection". I have a tutorial here  for this process, use the measurements in the chart for a 3" x 1.5" goose unit. Make 11 sets for 44 geese, save one for next month for the other side.

Here is what I DID NOT do--I did not tape all the papers together to make one long paper with 43 geese. That would be too unwieldy for me. I preferred to sew the papers in separate segments, laying out the geese fabrics for each one. How about some photos:

Ready to sew

Sewing on the line

The first "goose" is in place

Fold the line for the base of the second goose down over a postcard

Use the Add-a-Quarter ruler to trim away the excess "sky" fabric 

Place the second goose on the line you just trimmed, it is now exactly a 1/4" seam allowance

After sewing the second goose in place, fold over the paper and trim the seam where you will add the "sky"

Continue to add geese and sky until you fill the paper.  Here is what NOT TO DO and when you know it might be time to stop for the night:

Darn!

After all the geese are sewn trim the paper exactly 3.5" wide, using the printed lines

Two rows done, ready to sit on the porch swing and remove the paper

Once I had all 7 segments and one lonely single guy made, I removed all the paper and joined the segments together to make one side border with 43 geese. 

Guess what? In keeping with my .5" too big process, this border is 65.5"--a half inch too big. Don't know why but since the second one was exactly the same size, made later, I just rolled with it. Remember, my center is still a half inch too big too. Just don't tell anybody.

You are done for this month, unless you want to make the other side border--and I know some of you will. The process is exactly the same for the right border as it is for the left.

Let's Quilt!

Barbara