Dancing Stars Quilt Along Week 1 – Gather Your Supplies

Leave a comment

Welcome to Dancing Stars quilt along! We will take it nice and easy this week. Jut gather up the fabrics you plan to use and do whatever prep you normally do (prewash, starch etc. if so desired.) The quilt pattern includes 3 sizes and it calls for fat quarters, but this patten works very well with scraps, or fewer colors, too.

Colorway Ideas for Dancing Stars

When choosing colors, think about complementary pairs of fabrics that will work well together, such as black and white, shown above or think in terms of value like light and dark. In order for this quilt to work successfully, you want to clearly see the boundary between each star block and it’s background color. Scraps will work well as long as you sort them together into pairs that contrast.

I used a fat quarter bundle of Confetti Cotton Solids in black, white and grey for my first go-round.

In my black/white/grey version I used 12 fat quarters – half of them were white to light grey, and the other half went from medium gray to black. However, I did NOT try to make any sort of pattern with the placement of the black and white in the quilt. I made sure each individual block contrasted well and then I placed the star blocks rather randomly. However, I did do a checkerboard of dark-light-dark in the border to unify the design.

Each fat quarter will be enough fabric for one star, and one background. So you can make two opposite stars with a positive/negative vibe, OR you can mix up the stars and backgrounds so that no two fabrics are paired together more than once.

For my Americana version of Dancing Stars, I had less than a fat eighth of each fabric to work with (1/2 of a fat quarter). So I chose 12 different red and blue fabrics for darks and 12 different cream batiks for lights. In the color layout above, I made sure that every other star was a contrast to its neighbor (light-dark-light) and I repeated that pattern in the stars, too. I didn’t use any of the lighter fabrics in the border like I did for the black/white version. Instead I only cut those squares from red and blue fabrics. In fact there ARE a few fabrics in the border that aren’t in the stars. Sometimes, limitations can lead to creative outcomes!

These are the fabric scraps I had to work with. Here’s a sneaky hint: I made this batik version of Dancing Stars to test out Riley Blake batiks. That’s because I’m going to design a line of modern batik fabrics in the future and wanted to make sure I was happy with their performance. The answer was yes – so stay tuned!!

Here are some other color combinations I came up with. Just remember, The sky is the limit when it comes to your creativity so be fearless when it comes to choosing colors. After all, you make want to make this quilt more than once, like I did!!

Share Your Work in Progress!

Each week as you work on this quilt, I would love to see how you are doing and cheer you on. It’s important to note that everyone will work at their own pace, so please don’t ever feel left behind. These blog posts will stay up indefinitely so you can sew on your own schedule. Even if you make it much later in the future I still want to see!

Click here to share your work in progress in my Christa Quilts Group on Facebook.

Next week it’s time to cut everything out, so if you haven’t already done so, be sure to grab a copy of the Dancing Stars quilt pattern to follow along!

Brand New Quilt Pattern – Mosaic Knots!

Leave a comment

I”m so excited to introduce my latest and greatest quilt pattern, called Mosaic Knots. It can be made either from fat quarters or precut strips and includes 4 sizes to choose from.

Click here to get the Mosaic Knots quilt pattern – PDF download.

I’ve been on a roll, regularly releasing new patterns featuring Riley Blake Designs Confetti Cotton Solids. I chose to make this quilt in the throw size from neutral fabrics, but it looks fabulous in bright colors and prints, too!

In all of my patterns I love to include machine quilting suggestions so that you can actually finish the quilt, and I had plenty of room in this pattern to include details of the quilting, diagrams of the quilting motifs I used, plus a coloring page which you can also use to sketch out other quilting plan ideas.

I recommend asking for this quilt pattern from your favorite quilt shop, or you can grab the PDF download from me and get starting making this quilt right away!

Dancing Stars Quilt Along Supply List and Schedule

Leave a comment

Are you excited to join me for another quilt along? Below you’ll find the supply list and schedule to make Dancing Stars, one of my newest and most versatile quilt patterns. I’ve already made it twice, and it’s one of those fun patterns that looks great in any fabrics you choose!

Dancing Stars quilt pattern in black and white by Christa Watson

Dancing Stars Quilt Along Schedule

  • Week of Sept 4 – Gather Your Supplies
  • Week of Sept 11 – Cutting the Fabrics
  • Week of Sept 18 – Sewing the Star Blocks
  • Week of Sept 25 – Completing the Quilt Top
  • Week of Oct 2 – Catch up & Basting Your Quilt
  • Week of Oct 9 – Finishing Your Quilt – with a Bonus Machine Quilting Video!

I love including quilting suggestions in my patterns so that you can actually FINISH your quilt! Here’s a close-up detail of the quick and easy loopy stars motif I stitched in the black/white/grey version. I’ll be sharing tips on exactly how I did this in the bonus machine video, so stay tuned!

Then I re-imagined those motifs as a denser design in my Americana version with echoed stars and swirls! I’ll share how I came up with the quilting plan for this one in the video as well, so you’ll have lots of options to choose from!

Dancing Stars Supplies Needed

  • See the back pattern cover for a list of yardage requirements. In addition, you’ll need basic cutting and sewing supplies. I recommend pre-washing and starching your fat quarters. You can zig zag the edges or wash them in a small garment mesh bag to prevent fraying.
  • Although the quilt along itself is free, you’ll need a copy of the quilt pattern to make this quilt. You can ask for it from your favorite quilt shop. They can order it from Riley Blake Designs, or Checker Distributors.
  • If you can’t find it locally, you can always get a copy of the quilt pattern from me, either as a printed hardcopy or instant PDF download.
  • Your “can-do” attitude. This is going to be fun!!

Share Your Work!

If you’d like to show off your progress so that I can cheer you on, you are welcome to tag me on social media (@christaquilts). You can also share progress and ask any questions in my Christa Quilts group on Facebook.

Join Me for Dancing Stars Quilt Along This Fall!

Leave a comment

It’s quilt along season and I’m excited to share one of my newest patterns with you! This fall beginning in September we’re going to make my Dancing Stars quilt. This is a fat quarter friendly design that’s easy to customize and make it your own!

In additional to including three size options and colorways in the pattern above, I’ve already made two versions of this eye catching quilt. The first one was made from black, white and grey Confetti Cotton Solids shown below.

Then just for fun, I whipped up a patriotic version made from batik scraps, shown below.

Then by request, I digitally recolored another version using Lori Holt Family Reunion from Riley Blake Designs. Isn’t it cute??

To join, you just need to purchase a copy of the Dancing Stars Quilt pattern in print or PDF and you’ll be all set. I’ll include weekly updates here on the blog, including a bonus machine quilting video showing how I quilted both versions shown above.

So what say you – are you in??

Celebrating America 250 With Patriotic Quilts!

Leave a comment

I recently finished two patriotic quilts that I’m excited to share as I say, “Happy Birthday, America!”

This first one is called Positive Vibes and is a remake of a pattern I first had published in a magazine nearly 10 years ago. That was before I became a fabric designer and I always knew I wanted to remake using red, white and blue scraps of my own fabrics.

I quilted it with Red, Aqua, Navy and Gold Metallic threads. In each of the aqua, red and navy rows of plus blocks, I quilted straight lines to represent stars. In the alternating rows I added the gold stars with pebbles for added texture.

The second one I literally just finished today in time to share for the 4th of July is called Dancing Stars. I made this from Riley Blake Batik scraps to test them out. It’s been years since I’ve sewn with batiks and I wanted to make sure I love working with them before I dive in and design my own line of batiks in the future…

The fabrics were wonderful to work with during piecing, basting, quilting AND binding. So they definitely get my stamp of approval! Here’s me proudly showing off my patriotic Buc-ee’s shirt that we picked up on a cross country drive earlier this summer.

And here are so closeup details of the quilting. I stitched an edge to edge free motion mix of echoed stars and swirls.

My #1 free-motion quilting tip is to practice one motif across an entire quilt. When you’re done with the quilt, you’ll be an expert at that design!

Both of these quilt patterns are available as PDF downloads in my Etsy shop. Click the links below to grab them:

Happy 4th of July, and Happy Quilting, Friends!!

Daisy Chain QAL Week 5 – Backing & Basting

Leave a comment

We are nearly to my favorite part of any quilt – the machine quilting! But first we need to prep our quilts by making sure the backing is big enough, and then basting. I love making pieced backs from leftovers or other coordinating fabrics because that makes the quilt twice as nice!!

Because I had too many pictures of this process to share, I thought it would be much easier to put them all together into a super short video and talk over the process. You can watch that by clicking play below:

Once the quilt is basted, you are ready to quilt. Just remember, all of these quilt along posts will stay up indefinitely so you can make your quilt any time you wish. I’m here to help you every step of the way!

Have You Subscribed to My Free Machine Quilting Video Tutorials on Youtube?

Leave a comment

In case you missed it, here’s a super short recap of all of the free domestic machine quilting tutorials I shared over the past year. Click play below for a quick peek of all 99 designs. Credit to my son Ryan for composing the original music to go along with it!

If you’d like to catch up on any of them that you’ve missed, I’ve created a playlist of all 99 Machine Quilting Designs. These come straight from my best-selling book of the same name. The playlist spans a total of 56 videos plus an in-depth introduction to the series which shows how to set yourself up for machine quilting success.

While you are visiting my YouTube channel, be sure to like and subscribe to stay in the loop of what’s next!

The number one question I get when showing these tutorials is how to quilt these designs on a real quilt. In each of the video tutorials I share a few quick tips and show examples of real quilts.

However, due to popular request, I’ve created another, on-going playlist that walks you through from start to finish how to quilt a real, full sized quilt. I will be adding more to this series on a regular basis, each time a make a new quilt, so stay tuned for more!

Click here to view my other video playlist called, “How I Quilted It.”

This playlist is also based on my newest book of the sae name which is available in both print and PDF:

Now, more quilty adventures await!

Daisy Chain QAL Week 4 – Sewing the Quilt Top

Leave a comment

How are your Daisy Chain blocks coming along? If you are just starting, be sure to grab a copy of the Daisy Chain quilt pattern and join the fun. We are currently working through pages 12-13 of the pattern. But the tips I’m sharing below can apply to any quilt in your UFO pile!!

Click here to see how I made my design wall.

The first thing I like to do whenever sewing a quilt top together is to get all of my blocks up on the design wall and spread out the color. Then I’ll take time to arrange them into a pleasing layout. That’s what I did for the first version of this quilt I made in Autumn colors shown above.

A Design Bed Works Too!

If you don’t have a wall, you can use the floor, a bed, or anywhere there’s room to spread out a little. For my Purple Vibrations colorway below, I sewed the entire top in a hotel room when I was out of town teaching. My bed worked great for the layout, LOL!!

Use what you have to lay out your blocks!

Once I’m happy with the layout, I will take a picture that I can refer to while sewing everything together. This helps me keep the blocks in order. I’ll pick up the blocks in stacks of 2 and then put them next to my sewing machine in order. Just like when sewing my blocks, I press each and every seam as I go. I pin generously and prefer to press all my seams open, but you can press whichever way works for you.

Below is a pic from when I was sewing in my hotel room. I had borrowed a BERNINA 335 machine to sew on which was perfect because it’s so lightweight. It didn’t take up much room in the hotel but it did the trick and I pieced the entire quilt top on it!!

As I complete each row, I will press the entire row from the front and again from the back, then put it back up on the design wall (or bed) to make sure everything stays in the correct order. I’ll repeat this until all of the rows are complete. Then I’ll join rows together to make bigger sections of the quilt.

Once the rows are done I will add the borders. I often like to add a “floater” border which is just more of the background fabric that frames the quilt and gives it a little breathing room. This also comes in handy later when it’s time to square up the quilt and add the binding.

Finished Daisy Chain Quilt Top

Ta-Da! Both of my quilt tops are complete and ready to quilt!

Quilty Homework

Finish your quilt top and share pics of your work. Next week it will be time to prep the backing and baste. That will give you some time to catch up if you’re just getting started. But remember, you can work on this quilt on your own schedule!

Sneak Peak of Quilt in Color Fabric Line from Riley Blake

Leave a comment

I’m so excited about my debut fabric line with Riley Blake called Quilt in Color. Now you may be wondering why I switched fabric companies? Simply put, it was time for me to stretch my wings and grow. In all of my previous 10 fabric collections, I had help with the technical aspects of design. But this one is ALL me and I couldn’t be more proud! Take a look at the color cards below:

What do you think? I poured my heart and soul into this collection. It includes 21 colorful prints + 3 machine quilting practice panels. Each of the 1 yard panels includes 4 different fat-quarter sized pieces that are perfect for free motion AND walking foot quilting.

Now I have a favor to ask – please ask your favorite quilt shops to pre-order this collection. It won’t be out until November, but sales reps are showing it to shops now so they can gauge how much they’ll need to print. This can really boost a collection and ensure that there will be more to come in the future.

So what do you think – would you want to add this to YOUR stash? I’ll be sharing more projects made from these over the next few months, so stay tuned!

Daisy Chain Quilt Along Week 3 – Sewing the Chain Blocks

Leave a comment

Follow along in the Daisy Chain quilt pattern pages 8-11 as you work on this week’s quilty “homework.” Start by chain piecing your strips that create the small 4-patch units. I’ve given step-by-step diagrams to follow in the pattern so it shouldn’t feel so daunting. Just remember to take it one section at a time!

Aren’t these units so cute??

Keep all similar colors together so it’s easier to create each chain block or border unit. I’m pressing all of my seams open and sewing with a shorter stitch length so my small pieces will lie flat as everything goes together. I’ll work on the border blocks first, since those are smaller and it’s nice to get them out of the way.

Once the 4 patches are sewn, they can be treated as a single unit when sewing the rows together in each block. I’ll stack all of the same units on top of each other so I can sew a whole bunch at once.

This is one of the border units. Each piece is the same color so you can play around with final block placement later.

I use lots of pins and press after each and every seam. The Daisy Chain pattern includes the correct sizes that each unit should be at each step so you can double check your measurements as you sew. Accuracy is key to getting things to line up, so test your 1/4″ seam allowances and adjust if needed.

I chain piece, and then I assembly line press to speed things up.

Now it’s time to organize everything else for the full size chain blocks. It’s a lot of pieces but as long as you organize all the smaller units by color, they go together fairly quickly. I make sure that the pieces for all of one block are laid out correctly first.

It’s really fun to sew all of these units at once, then stack them together by color.

Next, I stack all of the rest of the units on top right next to my sewing machine. I like to chain piece, or assembly line sew as I go. This means I don’t cut threads in between each pair of units I’m sewing. I’ll do that at the end. It looks like the background pieces are so much smaller, but that’s only because the seam allowances aren’t sewn yet.

Bonus tip: be sure to use a contrasting fabric for your center square of each block so the colors don’t look “muddy.”

When I chain piece, I will sew 2 units together at a time and finish up a whole stack at once.

Below is my pretty stack of finished blocks! I used pins at each intersection so that my corners matched up nicely. Here you can see that I’ve pressed each an every seam open, resulting in super flat blocks!! I made another stack in another colorway, but sadly forgot to take a pic of my finished blocks, but you’ll see more of the other version in the next post, so stay tuned!

Homework for next time

Don’t forget to sew the corner blocks, and next week it will be time to assemble the Daisy Blocks, Chain Blocks and border blocks into the quilt top.

If you are just finding the quilt along, it’s never to late to jump in! Grab a copy of the quilt pattern and get started!