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WEEK 5 – NQC Block Challenge with the Starlight Mountains Quilt

This post may contain Affiliate Links. When using the link, you pay the same amount for the items, I just receive a small commission.

Wow! That Quilt along went by so fast! We are on WEEK 5 of the Starlight Mountains Quilt Along with the National Quilters Circle! We have all these beautiful blocks, now it’s time to turn them into a comfy quilt!

This week you can download the Finishing instructions. These will give you instructions on how to sew your top together, add your borders and how to turn your quilt top into a cozy quilt!

DOWNLOAD THE PATTERN: Starlight Mountains Quilt Block Challenge | National Quilters Circle

Things you will need to finish your quilt:
Backing Fabric (at least 6 inches wider and longer than your quilt top)
Quilt Batting (at least 6 inches wider and longer than your quilt top)
Basting Spray or Basting Pins
Binding Fabric
These are helpful but not necessary:
Hera Marker to mark out your quilting lines
Walking Foot (Helps pull your quilt from both the top and the bottom)

Finishing our Quilts!

Quilt Sandwich:
First you will need to make your Quilt Sandwich. You will need to cut and sew your backing fabric to make it fit under your quilt correctly. Make sure it is at least 3 inches wider than your quilt top on all sides (quilt top size + 6 inches). Trim your selvage edge off after joining your pieces.

Make your quilt sandwich by first laying down your quilt backing, wrong side facing up. Tape down to a hard surface, making fabric taut. Next lay your batting on top. Smooth out with your hands, do not stretch. Then lay your quilt top right side up, smooth out with your hands.  

Basting Your Quilt: 

Spray baste: My favorite way to baste my quilt is by using Spray Baste! It makes basting so much easier. If you have allergies, this is probably not a good option for you.
Find a place where you can lay out your quilt. Make sure to tape the backing fabric taut to the floor (or large table).
Here’s  great spray baste tutorial by Emily Dennis of Quilty Love.  Spray Baste Tutorial

Pin basting: You can use safety pin about 3 to 4 inches apart (about the width of your hand). I like to use the large curved basting pins. This takes a little longer than the spray basting, but is a great option.

Quilting your Quilt:
This step is totally up to you!

For my original quilt I used my walking foot and quilted about 1 inch apart. I used my hera marker a 6×24 inch ruler to mark out my line on the borders and larger finished pieces in my quilt top. I used my seams as a guide. I like to sew about 1/2 from the seam, this helps avoid the bulk of the seams.

Hand Tie your Quilt: Some prefer to tie there quilt. Suzy Quilts has an cool way of tying quilts. Check out her Tutorial!

Hand Quilt: Here’s a wonderful video tutorial by Suzy Quilts all about How to Hand Quilt.

Machine Quilt using your Walking Foot: 
Emily Dennis from Quilty Love has a great tutorial on how to Zig zag quilt your quilt with a Walking foot. Click here I love this method of quilting, it give your quilt great texture.

Free Motion Quilting:
Free motion quilting can give you great texture and if you aren’t great at quilting straight lines, this would be great for you. Suzy Williams from Suzy Quilts has a great Free Motion Quilting Tutorial. Click here.

Binding Your Quilt:

Binding is the fabric strip that goes on the edge of your quilt. It covers all of the unfinished edges and rounds out your quilt.

You will want to make sure to square up your quilt before you attach the binding. Cut off the extra batting around the edges and make sure your sides are straight and corners are squared.

Most quilters will cut 2 /12 inch by width of fabric strips and then sew them together at the ends at a diagonal. Then press the strip in half, so that you are wrapping 2 layers of fabric around all of your edges.

You can machine sew the binding to the front of your quilt and wrap it around to the back and hand stitch it down. Or some prefer sewing the binding to the back of the quilt, wrapping it around to the front and machine stitching it down.

One of my favorite binding tutorials is by Suzy Williams of Suzy Quilts. Go check it out!

I’m so excited to see everyone finished quilts!

How do I participate?

Make sure to Post your finished quilt top photo in  The NQC Block Challenge Facebook group 
OR Post your photos on Instagram using the hashtags #HappyCloudCreations and/or #NQCQuiltBlockChallenge

You can also JOIN my Facebook Quilt Along Group – Happy Cloud Creations Quilt Alongs I will be posting my photos over in my quilt along group also!

You can sign up for my Newsletter!

QUILT ALONG SCHEDULE:

 Fabric Requirments
My Blog – Explaining this Quilt Along
September 7th – Week 1 – Small Star Block #1 (Make 6)
September 14th – Week 2 – Small Star Block #2 (Make 6)
September 21st – Week 3 – Mountain Block (Make 6)
September 28th – Week 4 – Large Star Block (Make 3)
October 5th – Week 5 – Quilt Borders and Assembly

Happy Quilting!
Andrea

FOLLOW ME:
FACEBOOK
INSTAGRAM

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WEEK 3 – NQC Block Challenge with the Starlight Mountains Quilt

Welcome to WEEK 3 of the Starlight Mountains Quilt Along with the National Quilters Circle!

If you have not joined yet you can join here to get the weekly email reminders from the National Quilters Circle.

If you have already joined, but you still need the Fabric Requirments, you can download them HERE! To find the previous weeks information CLICK HERE!

This week we will be making 6 Mountain Blocks for the throw size quilt! If you are making an alternative size, make sure to check the fabric requirments to see how many blocks you will need to make!

DOWNLOAD THE PATTERN: Starlight Mountains Quilt Block Challenge | National Quilters Circle

QUILT ALONG SCHEDULE:

 Fabric Requirments
My Blog – Explaining this Quilt Along
September 7th – Week 1 – Small Star Block #1 (Make 6)
September 14th – Week 2 – Small Star Block #2 (Make 6)
September 21st – Week 3 – Mountain Block (Make 6)
September 28th – Week 4 – Large Star Block (Make 3)
October 5th – Week 5 – Quilt Borders and Assembly

I’m so excited to see everyone’s Mountain blocks!

Make sure to join The NQC Block Challenge Facebook group 
OR Post your photos on Instagram using the hashtags #HappyCloudCreations and/or #NQCQuiltBlockChallenge

You can also JOIN my Facebook Quilt Along Group – Happy Cloud Creations Quilt Alongs I will be posting my photos over in my quilt along group also!

You can sign up for my Newsletter for weekly quilt along reminders!

Happy Quilting!
Andrea

FOLLOW ME:
FACEBOOK
INSTAGRAM

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WEEK 2 – NQC Block Challenge with the Starlight Mountains Quilt

It’s WEEK 2 of the Starlight Mountains Quilt along with the NQC Quilt Block Challenge!

If you have not joined yet you can join here to get the weekly email reminders from the National Quilters Circle.

If you have already joined, but you still need the Fabric Requirments, you can download them HERE!

This week we will be making 6 Small Star #2 Blocks! This block is similar to last weeks block, but it had a different center and made up of different colors.

DOWNLOAD THE PATTERN: Starlight Mountains Quilt Block Challenge | National Quilters Circle

QUILT ALONG SCHEDULE:

 Fabric Requirments
My Blog – Explaining this Quilt Along
September 7th – Week 1 – Small Star Block #1 (Make 6)
September 14th – Week 2 – Small Star Block #2 (Make 6)
September 21st – Week 3 – Mountain Block (Make 6)
September 28th – Week 4 – Large Star Block (Make 3)
October 5th – Week 5 – Quilt Borders and Assembly

I’m going scrappy with this quilt. So I will be making 2 of each of my color combos this week. Each color combo is different than last weeks combo.

I’m so excited to see your blocks this week! Make sure to post them in the The NQC Block Challenge Facebook group 
OR Post your photos on Instagram using the hashtags #HappyCloudCreations and/or #NQCQuiltBlockChallenge

You can also JOIN my Facebook Quilt Along Group – Happy Cloud Creations Quilt Alongs I will be posting my photos over in my quilt along group also!

You can sign up for my Newsletter for weekly quilt along reminders!

Happy Quilting!
Andrea

FOLLOW ME:
FACEBOOK
INSTAGRAM

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WEEK 6 – Happy Block Swap with National Quilters Circle

happy block swap 2This post may contain Affiliate Links. When using the link, you pay the same amount for the items, I just receive a small commission. 

Welcome to the last week of the Happy Block Swap Quilt Along! I can’t believe this quilt along is already finishing up. It has been so much fun quilting with you all! Thank you to the National Quilters Circle and Sulky Threads for making this quilt along happen!

You can download the finishing instructions here!

This week we will be putting our quilt tops together, the we will make this quilt top into a real quilt! Yay!!

JOIN ME today at 11:00am PDT in the NQC Block Challenge Facebook Group! I will be going over the finishing instructions and answering any questions you have!

Things you will need:
Backing Fabric (at least 6 inches wider and longer than your quilt top)
Quilt Batting (at least 6 inches wider and longer than your quilt top)
Basting Spray or Basting Pins
Binding Fabric
These are helpful but not necessary:
Hera Marker to mark out your quilting lines
Walking Foot (Helps pull your quilt from both the top and the bottom)

Finishing our Quilts!

Quilt Sandwich:
First you will need to make your Quilt Sandwich. You will need to cut and sew your backing fabric to make it fit under your quilt correctly. Make sure it is at least 3 inches wider than your quilt top on all sides (quilt top size + 6 inches). Trim your selvage edge off after joining your pieces.

Make your quilt sandwich by first laying down your quilt backing, wrong side facing up. Tape down to a hard surface, making fabric taut. Next lay your batting on top. Smooth out with your hands, do not stretch. Then lay your quilt top right side up, smooth out with your hands.  

Basting Your Quilt: 

Spray baste: My favorite way to baste my quilt is by using Spray Baste! It makes basting so much easier. If you have allergies, this is probably not a good option for you.
Find a place where you can lay out your quilt. Make sure to tape the backing fabric taut to the floor (or large table).
Here’s  great spray baste tutorial by Cluck Cluck Sew: Spray Baste Tutorial

Pin basting: You can use safety pin about 3 to 4 inches apart (about the width of your hand). I like to use the large curved basting pins. This takes a little longer than the spray basting, but is a great option.

Quilting your Quilt:
This step is totally up to you!

Happy Block swap 9.JPG

For my original quilt I went with 1 inch apart multi-zig zag stich from the top to the bottom of the quilt. This is quick and easy way to quilt and it gives your quilt great texture!

Hand Tie your Quilt: Some prefer to tie there quilt.
Here’s a tutorial on how to do this on BluePrint.

Hand Quilt: Here’s a wonderful video tutorial by Suzy Quilts all about How to Hand Quilt.

Machine Quilt using your Walking Foot: 
Emily Dennis from Quilty Love has a great tutorial on how to Zig zag quilt your quilt with a Walking foot. Click here I love this method of quilting, it give your quilt great texture.

Free Motion Quilting:
Free motion quilting can give you great texture and if you aren’t great at quilting straight lines, this would be great for you. Suzy Williams from Suzy Quilts has a great Free Motion Quilting Tutorial. Click here.

Binding Your Quilt:

Binding is the fabric strip that goes on the edge of your quilt. It covers all of the unfinished edges and rounds out your quilt.

IMG_7232 (2).JPG

You will want to make sure to square up your quilt before you attach the binding. Cut off the extra batting around the edges and make sure your sides are straight and corners are squared.

Most quilters will cut 2 /12 inch by width of fabric strips and then sew them together at the ends at a diagonal. Then press the strip in half, so that you are wrapping 2 layers of fabric around all of your edges.

You can machine sew the binding to the front of your quilt and wrap it around to the back and hand stitch it down. Or some prefer sewing the binding to the back of the quilt, wrapping it around to the front and machine stitching it down.

One of my favorite binding tutorials is by Suzy Williams of Suzy Quilts. Go check it out!

I’m so excited to see everyone finished quilts! Make sure to post them in the NQC Block Challenge Facebook group or on Instagram with the hashtag #NQCBlockSwap

QUILT ALONG SCHEDULE! 

Meet Andrea Smith of Happy Cloud Creations
Happy Block Swap Fabric Requirments
SEPT 20th – WEEK 1 – Quilter 1 (Block A) and Quilter 2 (Block B) and Flying Geese Supplemental
SEPT 27th – WEEK 2 – Quilter 1 (Block C) and Quilter 2 (Block D) and Flying Geese Supplemental 
OCT 4th – WEEK 3 – Quilter 1 (Block E) and Quilter 2 (Block F) and Flying Geese Supplemental
OCT 11th – WEEK 4 – Quilter 1 (Block G) and Quilter 2 (Block H) and Flying Geese Supplemental
OCT 18th – WEEK 5 – Bonus Block  Instructions
OCT 25th – WEEK 6 – Quilt Assembly Instructions

SIGN UP FOR THE NATIONAL QUILTERS CIRCLE EMAIL NOTIFICATIONS

JOIN THE QUILT ALONG GROUP!

Make sure to join the NQC Block Challenge Quilt along group! In the group you will get weekly reminders of the NEW blocks. You will be able to see everyone fabric combos. And you will can view the LIVE weekly check in videos! All the information you need for the quilt along will be listed in the Announcement section of this group!

CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE GROUP!

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WEEK 5 – Happy Block Swap Quilt Along with the National Quilters Circle

Week 5

Welcome to Week 5 of the Happy Block Swap Quilt Along brought to you by the National Quilters Circle! This week we received the LAST BLOCK!!! I can’t believe how fast this quilt along is going!

It’s not too late to join this FREE Quilt along! Click here to go to the National Quilters Circle Week 5 Blog post. You will find this the Bonus block here. Scroll to the bottom to find last weeks blocks!

WEEK 4 of the Happy Block Swap Quilt Along

This week everyone will make only ONE block! If you are making this as a swap make 1 of your assigned blocks. If you are making this solo use Quilter 1’s instructions.

Friday I filmed a LIVE Video going over this weeks blocks. You can view the video in the National Quilters Circle Block Challenge Group on Facebook!

QUILT ALONG SCHEDULE! 

Meet Andrea Smith of Happy Cloud Creations
Happy Block Swap Fabric Requirments
SEPT 20th – WEEK 1 – Quilter 1 (Block A) and Quilter 2 (Block B) and Flying Geese Supplemental
SEPT 27th – WEEK 2 – Quilter 1 (Block C) and Quilter 2 (Block D) and Flying Geese Supplemental 
OCT 4th – WEEK 3 – Quilter 1 (Block E) and Quilter 2 (Block F) and Flying Geese Supplemental
OCT 11th – WEEK 4 – Quilter 1 (Block G) and Quilter 2 (Block H) and Flying Geese Supplemental
OCT 18th – WEEK 5 – Bonus Block  Instructions
OCT 25th – WEEK 6 – Quilt Assembly Instructions

SIGN UP FOR THE NATIONAL QUILTERS CIRCLE EMAIL NOTIFICATIONS

JOIN THE QUILT ALONG GROUP!

Make sure to join the NQC Block Challenge Quilt along group! In the group you will get weekly reminders of the NEW blocks. You will be able to see everyone fabric combos. And you will can view the LIVE weekly check in videos! All the information you need for the quilt along will be listed in the Announcement section of this group!

CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE GROUP!

Here are my WEEK 5 Bonus Block!!

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