Star Cakes Shortcut Quilt with the FQS!

Today I'm sharing my finished flimsy that I made following the Fat Quarter Shop's Star Cakes shortcut pattern. I'll admit that I did it slightly differently, but that's mostly because I didn't have all the notions that they had. It was still a pretty easy way to make a twin sized quilt! They've even got a YouTube video to show you their shortcuts!

Here's the whole thing laid out in the back yard. 

I made this quilt using a layer cake of Kona solids in Citrus Burst, and for the background I actually bought some yardage. I knew I wanted the main background to be the Kona Bluegrass, but I wanted to add some interest so instead of a layer cake of Bluegrass I purchased 3 yards of that plus half yard cuts of Glacier, Asparagus, and Celadon. The Celadon wasn't as different from the asparagus as I had thought it would be, but I just stuck with both of them. I feel it keeps the variation subtle, which works because some of the yellows and oranges are only slightly different. 

Since I am a trimmer, I tried using the amazingly simple FQS method for making 8 HSTs at a time, but mine kept coming out wonky. My solution was to simply keep the starting squares at 10 inches, follow the same methods and trim down at the end using my creative grids bloc-loc ruler. It may have been an additional step, but at least everything came out the right size and shape in the end!

So many half square triangles!

My method regarding color selection was to randomly pair the colors, and with each progressive step I maintained that randomness. I never pre-planned any placements, or laid out any of my blocks. I just crossed my fingers and hoped the ratios of the colors I had chosen worked out!

My favorite part is this darker plus!

I'm pretty happy with it. I went on a photo shoot around my yard, though still using the iPod camera. Someday I'll get a new DSLR. It's hard adjusting to the Texas landscape, and getting whole quilt shots without so many fences or fire escapes to hang the quilt off of. I tried though!

Hanging off the grapefruit tree. Fits right in with the citrus theme. 

I'm pretty sure I'm going to bind this in leftover scraps, but I'm not sure what I'll back it in. I was thinking maybe some Freefall by Tula Pink, because you can't go wrong with a double wide fabric for backing. No piecing involved! Though, I just saw there's Meteor Shower available, and I do love that print - just not sure if it would fit in as well. Oddly enough, I'm not even a super huge Tula fan. Though I love her fabrics they tend to not fit into my piecing style, so I don't usually buy them. Or, if I do they languish in my stash. They do make excellent backings though, because you really get to appreciate her artistic viewpoint when you don't break up the fabrics.

Enough of that sidetracking. I enjoyed making this quilt and participating in the blog hop. I hope that I was able to show a unique take on this simple pattern, and that you try your hand at it as well! To make it more affordable to start working on this, for 3 days only (through Sept 9, 2015), Fat Quarter Shop is offering 20% off all layer cakes.

All rolled up - just waiting for quilting inspiration to hit!

Thanks for visiting!

Layers of Charm with FQS!

All rolled up on the docks. 

Late last year I was contacted by the Fat Quarter Shop to participate in the release of one of their shortcut quilt patterns. It's called Layers of Charm, and is layer cake and charm pack friendly (see what they did there?) To make things even easier, they've got a video tutorial!

This was actually my first time using precuts. Can you believe it? I've just always bought yardage. I ended up getting August by Sarah Watts for Cotton and Steel, and I cut up a bunch of 5" squares from coordinating solids (lost the details on those). I chose August because after a quick look at the pattern I saw that each block was going to be large and fairly simple, so I wanted to highlight a larger-scale print that might otherwise get chopped up. I felt like this collection had a lot of great focus fabrics.

Fabric selection. I was suckered in by those lions!

The top came together super fast, for me. I think I had it done in about 2 hours, and that included arranging the fabrics; sewing, trimming, and pressing; sewing rows together; realizing I didn't like the arrangement; and tearing out some blocks to better obtain the look I was going for.

Quilt top. 

I was aiming for a colorwash effect with the larger squares, and a faceted look on the interior 'diamonds'. It kind of worked, but there's still a few things I would change. Since it's so quick to whip one up, maybe I'll actually try again!

Quilt back. 

I used more Cotton and Steel for the back, and the left over HSTs that I trimmed off from the front. I made them at the same time, just took one extra pass through the machine. 

Binding. And lions!

I bound the quit in Forest Trail by Sarah Watson. I liked how it played with the colors in August, and acted as a nice border.

Quilting detail. 

My favorite part is the quilting. It's kind of hard to see in these pictures, since there wasn't much contrast that day, and the fabric was rather busy. I did diagonal lines that radiated out from the center in a couple of ways. This is the first time I marked every single line (with painters tape), and I used gardening gloves for grip. I think it really helped with my stitch regulation, and my desire for straighter lines. Double win!

Just another day at the Ikea park. 

This was also my first time following a pattern for an entire quilt. Lots of firsts here, apparently! Usually I like to sketch and then play around with proportions and maths. Then I choose fabrics, and inevitably have too much or too little of something, which I like because it adds in another challenge. Following along with this pattern was a nice change. No surprises! All in all, I'd highly recommend it. Super straightforward, and really allows you to play with your fabric choices. If you don't feel like arranging fabrics, it also makes for a great scrappy quilt. Check out the other talented quilter's versions at the FQS's Jolly Jabber! 

p.s. I'm also checking it off my list for my 2015 Q1 Finish Along.