Twinkler Quilt Finishing Instructions ~ Jelly Roll Quilt

Quilting the Twinkler quilt is underway at last!

Today I'm going to share how I set my blocks and some basic quilt information to help you recreate the quilt.

The first thing you need is a Jelly Roll or (42) 2.5 x 42 strips of fabric.  You can get by with 40" strips or a tad smaller because there's a little scrap leftover from 42".  

I used a Lori Holt Flea Market Jelly Roll plus (2) fat quarters because there were only (40) strips in this roll.  The background fabric is solid white.  I did not do the math for how much I used or what will be needed.  I let EQ8 do the work.  EQ8 says the quilt will need 6.75 yards of background fabric.  If I wasn't working from a full bolt of fabric, I would buy at least an extra half yard for human and computer errors.  So that would be 7.25 yards of background fabric.

Each Jelly roll strip makes one block.  There are (42) blocks.  (6) blocks across and (7) down.

From each jelly roll strip you will need.

B (4) 2.5 x 2.5

C (8) 2.5 x 3.5

Background cutting for the blocks only 

A (546) 2.5 x 2.5

D (168) 3.5 x 3.5

E (168) 2.5 x 3.5

You should have a small piece of scrap left over from each strip.  This is enough for one sewing or cutting error per block.

The star points were made using the flippy corner method.  Place Fabric A and C, right sides together, sew from corner to corner, then cut 1/4" away from stitched line. I pressed to the dark.  Pay close attention to the direction of your diagonal seams, we only have enough scrap fabric for one error per block.

For my quilt the blocks were set without cornerstones.  If you prefer cornerstones, you will have enough fabric leftover from the jelly roll to add them to your quilt.   Below is the sashing and border cutting for my quilt.

Sashing a quilt with no cornerstones isn't hard.  Here's how I make sure the blocks line up perfectly.  Below is row 1 and the first (G)sashing sewn in place.  Now that they are sewn together, you'll need something for making a small mark. I prefer a blue water-soluble pen, but anything will work as long as it doesn't show through your background fabric.  We will be marking on the backside of the fabric.

 

Make a mark in the seam allowance at the sashing seams.  Do this at the sashing between each block.

Here I've pressed the long sashing towards the sashing and added row 2 below row 1.  You can't see the marks because they are on the back of the long horizontal sashing.

Now flip row 1 onto row 2.  Line up the pen marks with the sashing seams between each block on row 2.

Of course you want the edges of the fabric to line up before pinning in place.  Pin at each sashing and each mark.  And anywhere else you would like to pin.  I'm a pin-aholic so I added several more to the area with blocks.

Sew the rows together, press to the sashing and TADA perfectly lined up blocks and sashing!  See that's not so hard and it's much quicker than cutting and sewing cornerstones.

Continue adding each long sashing in the same manner then add your borders.

For the backing I chose to use (3) yards of 108 wide backing from my stash.  Since this quilt is only 86" wide, I trimmed off the excess on the sides.

Here she is on the frame and patiently waiting.  There's a lot to do around the house today but I hope to get at least one more row quilted and make a few more Bow-Tie blocks. 

 

Fabric Pull ~ Old Town Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt

Hello Happy Quilters!  Come along with me as I play around with choosing fabrics for a mystery quilt.  

The Bonnie Hunter Mystery quilt along is an annual event.  Yes, it's an event like no other in quilting!  Quilters from all over the world follow Bonnie all year, waiting for end of the year quilt along. The fabric requirements are released on or around Halloween.  The first cutting clue is released around Thanksgiving.  Click here to go to her blog where you can find the fabric requirements.

 Over the last week hundreds, possibly thousands of quilters have been posting their fabric pulls in Bonnies Facebook Group called 

Quiltville's Open Studio (Official) ⬅️Click to go group.  

To view the group, you must join by answering some questions and agreeing to follow some rules.

Bonnie's quilts are generally controlled scrappy.  Sometimes she may use some yardage but it's rare.

 I'm always impressed with quilters changing the suggested fabric colors.  

Here's the suggested colors for the Old Town Mystery.  I like them!

As soon as I saw them, I thought "This is the easiest fabric pull ever".  Just a quick walk across the room and TADA!  I'm ready if I change salmon/coral color to pink and the other two colors to lighter shades of red and blue/aqua.

A few days passed, all the while Bonnies Facebook group is a sea of beautiful fabric pulls.  Reproduction fabrics, batiks, Lori Holt, so many different color combinations.  

I've made three Bonnie mystery quilts. Choosing different colors than the ones suggested in the patterns.  This is the first time that I sort of like the suggested colors, but I feel the need to go rogue.  What on earth is wrong with me? 

 I toyed with the idea of using three different prints/yardage instead of working from the scrap bins.  Thankfully the idea faded after a few hours.  

The whole point of this mystery quilt along is to use those ever-growing scraps.  I need to find a different color palette in my scrap bins.

How did I find a new palette?  I took a look at my scrap bins to see which color had the most scraps then start building a palette around that color.  Blue was the winner.  There are three blue bins, light, medium and dark.  I could make a monochromatic quilt (same color different shades).  Nah, boring. 

Dark blue, yellow and green?  Nah, too predictable.  Let's see if google can help. 

In the search bar...blue color palette 3 colors.

 It helped but not in the way you might think.  The color swatches triggered a memory of a Camille Roskelley line of fabric.  Another google search for Camille Roskelley quilt patterns, and this is my inspirational piece.  The quilt is called Edelweiss by Thimble Blossoms.

My scrap bins are lacking in sage green, so I pulled the bin with brighter greens.  The brighter greens would blend better with a brighter light blue, right?

The only way to know how they will look together is to pull of few of each color.  Bonnie suggests different shades but don't too dark or too light.

And just a few more.  Yep, this will be my colors and there's plenty more in the bins.

For now, they are tucked away waiting for me to decide whether or not I'll take part in the mystery.  That's right, all this work and I'm not completely committed to the project.  You see I typically build a scrappy quilt in the other direction.  Picking a pattern first then find the perfect fabrics.  Choosing the fabrics without knowing the pattern is scary.  The what if I choose poorly?  

Bonnie's quilts are labor intensive because you're working from scraps.  Do I want to take the risk of making a color fail quilt?  Only time will tell.  

How about you?  Are you joining in this fun quilt along with Bonnie?

Here's the three Bonnie Mystery Quilts I've made over the last few years.

The first one was En Provence.  You can see more up-close detail here.

On Ringo Lake.  You can see close ups here. 

Good Fortune.  You can see the close ups here.

A Quick Project And A New Quilt Plan

Guess what I got to do this week?  Fabric shopping! 

Mr. Podunk needed two new pillows and pillowcases to go with his new camping quilt.  When he camps and hunts it's a bit rustic.  He hunts with a bow and arrow or a muzzleloader.  There's no running water or electricity and he cooks over a campfire. So, fancy bedding is out of the question.  The blue fabric used for the pillowcases was purchased at Hobby Lobby on sale for 40% off.  

Each pillowcase requires one yard of fabric.  The fabric on sale was $3.59 yard!  What a bargain. 

 They whipped up in a mere 20 to 30 minutes. Peek inside and at the French seam.  Sounds fancy, huh?  Guess what? Those French seams are a piece of cake!

If you're interested in making a pillowcase, I found a helpful video tutorial below that was pretty close to how I made mine.  The first difference is I used cotton fabric instead of silk.  The next difference is I used a quarter inch seam for the French seam, she used a half inch seam.

And the last difference is I used a 2.5" cuff, she used a 4" cuff. 

Mr. Podunk is happy with his new pillows, and the fact that they're homemade and budget-friendly was icing on the cake.  

The other blue fabric was an impulse purchase.  It's a 108 wide backing, also on sale at Hobby Lobby for $7.19 a yard!  What a deal!  

Remember the Frosty's Forrest quilt I made about this time last year?  I like this style of a two-color quilt with the background being the darker color.  So, it's time to make another two-color quilt, but this time in blue. I'll be using this backing for a quilt top as soon as the current works in progress are finished...or close to finished...HAHA!  See you soon!

Cutting, Cutting And Cutting

I've been on a cutting spree this week, slicing through fabric like I'm the long-lost cousin of Edward Scissorhands.

You see, I got this wild idea to cut all the fabrics for the remaining 400 Bow-Tie blocks.  It was quite the challenge.  But where there's a will there's a way.  I would sit while starching and pressing the fabrics.  When I tired of sitting, I would stand and cut fabrics until the old bones said it was time to sit, starch and press more fabrics.

The plan was a success! In the coming week, I'll be stitching up a storm, piecing together the blocks and finally giving some love to the Twinkler quilt that's been untouched on the frame since our last chat.

I'm pleased that I cut all the background fabrics right at the start of this project. Now that this quilt is nearing completion as a quilt top, I need to choose a new project to begin once it's finished.