Halo Star Medallion--Month 11

This is the Block of the Month 2017 from The Quilt Show. It is available free to Star members of TheQuiltShow.com until December 31, 2017. If you are a Star member and haven't already done so, now is the time to download all these patterns so you have them.

We're almost there. Month 11 is a repeat of Month 10, where you made two of the four Delectable Mountain borders.

One of the TQS members, Margaret Longstreth, AKA Mlongstreth, posted on the Forum her method for making these Delectable Mountain borders WITHOUT making 6" blocks like the pattern shows. She still paper pieced the half square triangle units, but added two triangles to one unit for ease in construction.

Those large triangles are 10" finished on the long outer edge so  need to be cut as Quarter Square Triangles, to have straight of grain on the outer edge. Cut those from squares at least 11.25"--I would cut them 11.5" and trim the borders when they are completely sewn. Margaret also told me she found she needed one more large triangle on the bottom edge of TWO of the borders--you will see where they are needed as you complete the borders.

You can find her Forum posts here: Show and Tell. Her posts were made on October 2 and October 4.

With her permission I am also including them here:

And her completed top:

This is a brilliant idea and one that would not have occurred to me. If you are just now getting to these borders you might want to try this. Thank you, Margaret, for sharing this with us--and Happy Birthday!

Let this remind you to check out the Forum regularly--I always check it by selecting "Recent Topics" and then "Since My Last Visit"--not only can you see how others are progressing but often people make substitutions, like Margaret did, and you may get a new idea.

Until next month, when we finally complete our quilts, enjoy the process. Later this month the NEW 2018 BOM should be revealed--are you in?

Let's Quilt!

Barbara

Halo Star Medallion--Month 10

This is the Block of the Month 2017 from The Quilt Show. It is available free to members of TheQuiltShow.com until December 31, 2017. After that you can buy it from www.comequilt.com.

It's time for that final border: Delectable Mountains. Here I will show you tips for making them. BUT I chose to do a different outer border.  See the blog HERE for my choices.

The blocks are made in pairs, reverse mirror image. Using the printed patterns and paper piecing them makes this process very easy--just follow the words on each paper pattern to know if you are making a left or right facing block. I recommend you make ALL 6 of the RIGHT blocks then ALL 6 of the LEFT blocks, taking a break between then. It's less confusing than switching back and forth, to me.

The blocks finish at 6"--check your printed pattern to be sure yours do. If you are not paper piecing, you need to know those half square triangles are an odd size, just about 1 3/8" finished. You still need to make 6" finished blocks, however you make them.

Cut all the fabrics as listed in the cutting instructions. NOTE: There are two size small triangles for the Half Square Triangle strips in the middle of each block. If you don't mind wasting a little fabric, all of those can be cut from 2.75" squares, instead of cutting some squares 2.75" and some 2.25". You decide. I find it easier to just use the larger size so I don't have to keep track of small/large triangles--when they are cut in half  they look pretty similar.

Here are some step-by-step photos with suggestions. NOTE: I prefer to add the two outside smaller background triangles AFTER I have the 5 pairs of HST sewn in place--I find the beginning much less confusing so I start with pieces 2 and 3, a background and a color triangle.

1. So you could see it, I drew a pencil line on the back of the pattern where the Half Square Triangle (HST) appears. Line up the outside point of the triangles centered on that line. To be sure you are getting started correctly, remember--put the Butt side of the background fabric (labeled W) on the Butt side of the paper. If you start off with the color triangle first, you'll be mixed up:

After sewing the first pair of triangles, finger press them open, use the Add-A-Quarter ruler to trim the edge, ready to add the next background triangle:

Triangles 2 and 3 are sewn, the edge is trimmed, and triangle 4 is ready to be placed and sewn:

Triangle 4 ready to be sewn. TIP: when you turn the paper over, CHECK CAREFULLY by looking under the paper, to be sure the fabrics have not slipped or become folded back before you sew those tiny stitches:

 I begin and end my tiny stitches outside of the seam allowance and I trim all the threads close, on both sides. You don't want a bunch of threads on your work:

 Moving right along, here you can see there is a pin out of the way of where I will sew--the pin helps keep the pieces from shifting when you turn it all over:

The 5 HST sewn and the 2 outside background triangles in place:

Use a long postcard to fold the edge of the paper over so you can trim the seam, ready to add the big triangles:

 This is a LEFT side of the block, ready to sew the 2 big triangles. Always double check to be sure you are putting each on the correct side:

If you have trouble lining up the triangle so it fits properly, use a pencil to draw a line on the BACK side of the paper, from corner to corner. Now you an place the outer point of the triangle on the seam. Or you could fold the triangle in half and match it to the center of the block; since the block doesn't have a real center, I prefer to draw this line:

Both triangles sewn:

 Now for the important part,trimming the block so it is square. I use a 6.5" square ruler, so helpful to be sure it's square. I found that the paper had "shrunk" just a bit from the sewing since the pattern was exactly 6.5" when printed. I carefully place the ruler so all 4 corners have the diagonal line crossing the corners:

All trimmed:

 Left and Right Sides trimmed, ready to have paper removed so they can be joined together:

There are 6 fabrics coming together where the rows of HST meet. TIP: any time I have 6 or more fabrics coming together at one point, I machine baste that spot first with a LONG stitch--I use 4.5 on my machine. I stitch about a half inch before and after that point:

Take it out of the machine and check it. If you are happy, turn your stitch length BACK TO NORMAL,  then sew the entire seam, stitching right on top of those basting stitches. If you are not happy, it's a snap to pull out the basting stitches, fiddle with the join again and re-baste. After sewing the seam, if I can easily remove the basting stitches, I do. If they are really sewn in there, I simply trim the thread ends and leave the thread. I was able to easily remove these:

The "block" now consists of a Left and Right block, with the center seam pressed OPEN. It should now measure 6.5" x 12.5" unfinished size:

You will make two borders this month. Each has twelve 6" finished blocks, 6.5" unfinished. Alternate left and right facing blocks so your borders look like the diagram on page 3. When sewn together the borders should measure 6.5" x 72.5".

That's it for this month. Next month we make the other two Delectable Mountains borders, exactly the same as this month. So for those of you ready and eager to move ahead, just print another set of this month's patterns and keep  making blocks and borders.

Let's Quilt.

Barbara

Halo Star Medallion--Month 10 My Alternative Border

We all  have favorite blocks, borders and quilt designs. I am not a fan of Delectable Mountains, it's just not my favorite. I also wanted to get my focus fabric back on the outside of the quilt, more than the Delectable Mountains would allow.

As I thought about what alternative block I would use, I looked at border books, block books, and "quilts I like" photos I've saved over the years. I spent a lot of time thinking about this. Each time I thought I had decided, I made a block or two to see how they looked next to the quilt:

I was sure this was it until I put two of them side by side, no focus fabric. NO...

Love this block, lots of focus fabric--looks awful!

How about half focus/half focus background--still NO...

This might be it--NO...

More scrappy, better, but still NO...

I was running out of ideas and losing sleep--this was what I thought about each night when trying to fall asleep. I wanted the decision made--I was just tired of thinking about it.

One night I was teaching a class that used 3.75" finished Nine-Patch blocks. Set on point they would be 5.30" across finished, a wacky number. But I didn't want big Nine-patches--the next size up would be 4.5" blocks, almost 6.375" set on point. That would make the floaters needed larger than I wanted.

Ultimately, I decided to go with the 3.75" finished Nine-patches--those squares are 1.25" finished, small enough to be in keeping with the rest of the quilt. Some I made from 9 individual 1.75" cut squares, some I made by strip piecing, using 5.5" x 1.75" strips for maximum scrappiness.

Yes, this will work. Time to move forward...

If anyone else wants to make this border, be my guest. The rest of this blog provides the information to make it.

Each border starts with half square triangles on the outer edge, then quarter square triangles for the perimeter sides. This keeps straight of grain on the outside edges, no bias wanted here:

By the numbers:

Side borders contain 14 Nine-patch blocks, 4.25" unfinished
Top and Bottom borders contain 16 Nine-patch blocks, 4.25" unfinished
If you want to cut individual squares, that's 300 colored squares, cut 1.75" and 240 background squares

Perimeter Side Triangles cut from Focus Fabrics:  Cut 6.75" squares, in quarters, diagonally--this puts the straight of grain on the outside edge. You do not want bias here. You need a total of 28 squares, 6.75" for all the borders.

Corner Squares cut from Focus Fabric: Cut 4" squares, in half, diagonally. You need a total of four 4" squares for all the borders.

Steps to Create:

1. Make Nine-patches, a total of 60, 14 for each of the side borders, 16 for the top and bottom borders

2. Lay out the Nine-patches for desired color placement:

Top border laid out, ready to sew. Enough focus triangles to keep me on track. Start and end with half square triangles

3. Sew a perimeter quarter square triangle to one side and a corner half square triangle to the first block:

4. Press toward the focus fabric triangles, use a ruler to remove the excess "dog ears", then add the other corner triangle.

5. Continue to add perimeter quarter square triangles to each side of the blocks, being sure to keep them going in the correct orientation. Finish the other end with two half square triangles:

Laid out, ready to sew

The first two blocks with their Focus fabric triangles in place, ready to join together

6. I trimmed all the edges with a 3/8" seam allowance. This will allow the 9 patches to appear to "float" on the background. Also, I use a 3.8" seam allowance when sewing on the binding--if I don't add another border beyond this, the 3/8" trim is what I need for the binding.

7. Measure the side borders and the top and bottom borders to be sure they are all the correct sizes. My sides were 75.5" x 6" unfinished, and the top/bottom borders were 86.125" x 6". I fold them in half and use a metal tape measure them--here is the top border, in half the border is 43 1/16":

These measurements are more than would be expected mathematically--with all these bias seams, that is what can happen. Fortunately for me, the space  I needed to fill with floaters/borders was 2" finished--perfect! I repeated the 1/2" blue finished "border" around the quilt center, then added a 1.5" purple finished "floater" that I used previously.

After looking at this quilt on the wall for a week or so, I knew I wanted to add one final border from the purple woven fabric used 5 other times for floaters. I cut it 2.5" wide by the required side and top/bottom measurements and added this last final touch. My quilt is 90" square unfinished:

And, before anyone says I was "wrong" to change Sue's border design, let me say this:

Sue would be the first person to tell you to make your quilt your own. She loved it when students or customers took her design and changed it. She celebrated those choices, often saying she wouldn't have thought to do that, but she loved the variation. It's your quilt, you decide.

I was inspired by Sue's earlier quilt designs I have made. We both love blocks set on point with triangles to offset them:

Joyful Journey from Sue Garman's pattern Washington Medallion

Old Stars, New Day from Sue Garman's pattern Old Stars for a New Day

Joyful Journey Too, also Washington Medallion

Both of these patterns are available from Sue's website: ComeQuilt.

Feel free to create your own border--I would love to see what you come up with.

Let's Quilt!

Barbara

Halo Star Medallion--Month 9

Let's make more geese and add them to the quilt:

The right side border is made exactly as we made the left side last month, 43 geese in all.

The top and bottom borders are made the same but have 47 geese each. WATCH OUT when adding the the first two geese to the top and bottom borders--they go on in a different direction so they turn the corner nicely. PLEASE NOTE: MY TOP BORDER IS WRONG! (The two geese on the far left should face down--OOPS!)  I discovered this after the entire top was completed so it is staying this way. So, do as the pattern says, not as I did, if you want your top border to look like the pattern.

After you have all four borders made, use the chart on page 3 to calculate the size "floater" you need to join the flying geese borders to your quilt center. I needed a .5" finished floater so mine were cut 1" wide by the required length.

It's no more difficult to add a tiny border than a wide one. Here are my steps whenever I add a border to a quilt, no matter how wide or narrow:

1. Carefully cut the borders exactly the required size based on your calculations--don't fudge

2. Mark the center of the border and the center of the quilt--I fold and press both, the border right sides out, the quilt rights sides in, use a mechanical pencil to make a mark on those folds

3. Pin the two outside edges and the center of quilt and borders. I sew with the pieced border on top

4. Carefully pin one side from the outer edge to the center. Use as many pins as you need--I place pins about 3" apart. Repeat pinning from the other side to the center. The more pins I use, the easier it is to sew straight and it slows me down, which also helps me sew straight

5. Sew as straight as you can, slow down. With the pieced border on top, you can see the seam allowances and won't get them flipped in the wrong direction

6. After sewing on the floater, carefully press it, seam allowance pressed in to the floater. Try not to distort that tiny floater--steam is not your friend during this step--a hot, dry iron is best

Once the four floaters were in place, I added the four flying geese borders. These I also pressed in toward the tiny floater--my floater is 1/2" finished--that is just enough space to hold the two seam allowances and it helps give just a bit of definition to that floater, almost like trapunto.

That's it for now. Next month it's on to Delectable Mountains--unless you do a completely different border like I did. Stay tuned...

Let's Quilt!

Barbara

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