Scrap-A-Palooza! Quilt #1 Part Three

Here we are, already on part three of our quilt sew along!  Hope those joining in are enjoying seeing their scrappy quilts come to life.  Barb over at Mountain Quiltworks has already gotten her rows sewn together and Diann at Little Penguin Quilts is finishing up getting her scraps cut!  

How fun it will be to see everyone's finished quilt top!

Last week, we started sewing our rows together.  You can sew them together pulling them off your design wall as you go or use the row markers like I suggest in the last post and sew them up as you sew other projects using the leaders and enders method I mentioned.

You can press your seams all to one side as there will be no seams to be matched up. (Gotta love that!)





Once you get them all sewn, it is time to decide on a sashing.  (You can also decide to just skip the sashing - it's your quilt, go with what you like!)  Once you have your fabric chosen, you need to decide on how wide to cut your strips and if you want the sashing to run on the top and bottom.

I had chosen a black solid to use as mine.  It was a 3/4 yard piece I had that was a different dye lot than the yardage that was in my stash.  Because I had a limited amount, I did some quick math and determined if I cut the sashing at 2", I would have just enough to have a slighter larger sashing on the top and bottom and use up all the fabric.

I put it up on my design wall so you could see how it is coming together.

Now it is time to sew it up!

...well, not quite.  One would think that you could just sew all the strips together and just trim off the uneven edge.  I have learned that in doing this, you may end up with a quilt top that is a lot wider on the bottom than the top. (This is caused by the way your machine feed dogs pull the fabric through.)

To prevent this, I find my shortest strip and measure it.  Then I trim all other strips to that width.  Before I sew two strips together, I pin at the beginning, the end and the middle of the strips to ensure the quilt stays squared up.  When I press, I press toward the sashing so everything looks nice and flat.

Before you know it, you will have a quilt top all ready for quilting!

....and most importantly a few less scraps in your sewing room!

Now if you are really lucky like me, you will already have a fabric in your stash that will work for the backing. 

And speaking of quilting, I thought I would also give some suggestions on some quilting patterns for those who might want to try something new!  Remember, this is a scrap quilt so it is perfect for practicing your FMQ.  I think accentuating the horizontal bars looks great and you can use those horizontal seams as a guide to keep your stitches straight.

This quilt really lends itself to some straight line quilting with a walking foot.   You can space them out evenly or quilt irregularly spaced lines like this one.












Want to practice a little free motion?  A soft curvy line is also fun.

Depending on your machine, you can also program in a serpentine stitch and use a walking foot and get a similar look.  Just check your manual to see if your machine has the capability.

For the very adventurous, here is a fun swirl that would also work well.  Just start by quilting a swirl and travel down to where you want the next swirl to be.  Needle down and then reposition your hands and go into the next swirl going in the opposite direction.  Easy Peasy!




Here's an overview of the important stuff to keep you moving along!

• Finish sewing up horizontal rows
• Choose sashing material and cut to size
• Trim all strips to desired width
• Finish sewing up the quilt top and pick out a backing
• Choose a quilting pattern and start quilting!

I should have my quilt all finished for next week.  I am hoping to share not only some of my other quilts made using this pattern but also some being made by others.  While many may not be completely finished, it will still be fun to see them.

  If you are sewing along, feel free to grab the button in the sidebar to share with your readers what you are up to.  And if you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me.

Now let's get back to the Party!

Linking up with Linky Tuesday at Freemotion by the River, Quiltsy, WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced, Let's Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts and Needle, I Quilt Thursday at Pretty Bobbins and Thread Thursday with My Quilt Infatuation.