We’ve gathered our fabrics and cut everything out, so this week we finally get to sew those pretty star blocks together. This is the part I love – seeing all the different fabric combinations turn into actual stars!

If you are still cutting, no worries. You can work at your own pace and jump into the sewing whenever you are ready. Keep your Dancing Stars pattern handy and follow the block assembly steps there. Today I’m sharing a peek at how both of my versions came together.

• Click here to get the Dancing Stars Quilt Pattern – Digital PDF
• Click here to get the Dancing Stars Quilt Pattern – Printed Hardcopy

Sewing My Americana Version with Riley Blake Batiks

I started with my red, white and blue batiks from Riley Blake Designs. Last week I had all of my light and dark fabrics separated into stacks. Now I could start pairing them up and watching the star points take shape. Before sewing a star together, I like to lay out the pieces so I can see the whole thing at once. Half of the stars will be light with darker backgrounds and the other half will be the reverse with darker stars and lighter background fabrics.

I like to assembly-line sew and press so that I can whip these out very quickly. I prefer to sew with a short stitch length (2.0 or less) and press all of my seams open so they lay nice and flat. But go ahead and use whatever cutting, piecing and pressing methods you prefer!

Bonus tip: you may wish to wait and add the extra pieces around the stars until you lay them all out on your design wall. You may decide to place your colors randomly, or do a light/dark/light pattern. And you can rotate the stars in any direction to make them spin once the other pieces have been sewn around the edge.

My Black, White & Grey Confetti Cotton Solids Version

I also made a second version with black, white and grey Confetti Cotton Solids from Riley Blake Designs. With these fabrics, the contrast is even more obvious, and you can really see the shape of each star as the pieces come together. I preplanned the exact color placement for this version so I know exactly where I want to sew each of the side units to make the stars “dance.”

I like to keep the pieces for the next block laid out beside my machine. It gives me a quick visual check of the fabric placement, especially when I’m switching between different shades of grey. I also pin generously so that I can get perfectly matched points.

Now my blocks are finished and reasy to assemble into the quilt top for next week!

Share Your Star Blocks!

How are your stars coming along? Whether you’ve finished just one block or you’ve already made a whole stack, I’d love to see your progress. It’s always fun to see how the same pattern looks in everyone’s different fabrics!

Tag me on Instagram at @christaquilts, or click here to share your progress in my Christa Quilts Group on Facebook so I can cheer you on!

Next week we’ll arrange the blocks and complete our quilt tops. Get ready to see those Dancing Stars come together! If you are new to this quilt along, grab a copy of the quilt pattern in your favorite format below and join the fun!!

• Click here to get the Dancing Stars Quilt Pattern – Digital PDF
• Click here to get the Dancing Stars Quilt Pattern – Printed Hardcopy

It’s been awhile since I’ve hosted a quilt along, but I’m home for the rest of the summer before travel picks up again in the fall. So August is the perfect time for me to guide you through the process of making an entire quilt from start to finish. However, there’s only 1 problem – I need to know which quilt you’d like to make! Here are two choices up for consideration:

Click here to get my Beaded Lanterns free PDF pattern download

Choice #1 – Beaded Lanterns QAL

Beaded Lanterns is one of my free patterns, and it’s designed using my latest fabric collection, Dazzle Dots 2. I designed it with several background options, and kits are available for all 3 versions. However, I will make my version with the icy blue background because that one really speaks to me.

Click here to get the optional Beaded Lanterns Quilt Kit in 3 Color Options

Choice #2 – Bling QAL

I’ve made this quilt several times over the years with different fabric collections I’ve designed. However, my latest iteration combines both my Dazzle Dots 1 and 2 fabrics for a colorful scrappy look! You can get the Bling quilt pattern as a stand alone option; or if you get the optional Bling kit, it comes with the pattern included.

• Click here to get the Bling Quilt Pattern – PDF Download
• Click here to get the Bling Quilt Pattern – Printed Hardcopy
• Click here to get the Optional Dazzle Dots Bling Quilt Kit

Please do me a favor and leave me a comment letting me know which quilt you would rather make: Beaded Lanterns or Bling. The quilt with the most votes wins, and I’ll announce the results along with the quilt along schedule at the beginning of July.

Then we will kick things off during the last week of July/beginning of August. So – who’s in??

Want to see how I actually apply my quilting designs to a “real” quilt? Check out this week’s bonus video, tutorial, where I show you how I quilt two different designs on two different versions on the same quilt:

Get the Surplus Strips Quilt Kit!

Interested in making these quilts yourself? You can grab quilt kits with either the light or dark background. This quilt is made from my Dazzle Dots 2 fabric, which is also available in my online shop in both precuts and yardage.

Click Here for My Surplus Strips Quilt Kit

Already have fabric? Click here to purchase the pattern for Surplus Strips! A PDF version is also available!

And just in case you’d like to make something completely different from Dazzle Dots 2, here’s a little eye candy for you. The soft pastels are perfect for a spring-time quilt!

How are you enjoying my year of machine quilting videos so far? Are you finding time to practice? I have another fun set of Walking Foot quilting designs for you to try – Shattered Lines and Wavy Shattered Lines. Take a look below:

Bonus Video – Quilting Shattered Lines on Bling

If you’d like to see how I quilted shattered lines on a “real” quilt, take a look at my bonus video below. I’m demonstrating on one of the versions of my Bling quilt pattern.

Get the Bling Quilt Pattern

• Click here to get the Bling PDF quilt pattern.
• Click here to get the Bling printed quilt pattern.

I love including quilting suggestions in all of my individual quilt patterns. You’ll never see the words “quilt as desired” from me, LOL!! Bling was such a fun quilt that I made it twice. Isn’t it fun to see how different fabrics, layout and quilting can affect the look of a quilt? Grab the pattern and get started making this quilt today!

Wavy lines are literally one of the easiest designs you can quilt on your domestic machine. In fact, it’s my go-to motif when I’m in a hurry. For this week’s machine quilting tutorial, I’m sharing 2 fun variations to try. Grab a practice sample, and try this one out below:

That short and sweet video will get you started. Once you’ve finished your practice sample, I have 3 – Yes 3!! more videos you can watch, all showing how to quilt wavy lines on different full sized quilts. If you’d like to make a similar quilt, be sure to grab the patterns and supplies from my shop, or change things up and truly make it your own!

How to Quilt Wavy Lines on Churn Dash Slide

This is the quilt on the wall behind me in the video above. Click the links and image below and you can easily make this quilt from start to finish:

• Grab the Churn Dash Slide PDF Pattern Here
• Or Grab the Churn Dash Slide Printed Pattern Here
• Check out the Stitchy Fabrics I used to make this quilt

How to Quilt Wavy Lines on Streamers

This is my newest free pattern, and you may already have it in your stash. If not, click the links below to snag it along with an optional kit in your choice of colors:

• Grab my free Streamers PDF pattern here
• Click here to grab the Streamers Kit in Pink, Aqua, Navy, Light Grey or Dark Grey
• View Dazzle Dots to pick a coordinating backing fabric

Watch the free companion video by clicking play below:

But Wait… There’s More!

If you aren’t quite yet tired of quilting wavy lines, try it on this fun jelly roll quilt called Puzzle Box. You know the drill, click below for bonus goodies to go along with the video tutorial:

Get the Free Puzzle Box quilt pattern here
Grab the Optional Puzzle Box Quilt Kit here
Click here to View all Good Vibes fabric used in this quilt

By the way, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with finding a machine quilting design you love and quilting it on All.The.Quilts!!

In fact, when I first learned to Stipple, that’s all I did for a few years. Speaking of which, Stipple will be next week’s machine quilting video tutorial, so stay tuned!! Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel so you don’t miss a thing!