Stella QAL Kick-off

Birds of a feather flock together, right? It's awesome to see how many of you are game for a Quilt Along in the month of December. That said, there's absolutely no pressure to complete this quilt in one month. Take your time, quilt when you can. I will post videos in Gudrun's Quilt Crew on Facebook and on YouTube, and keep you updated on the blog. Here's the schedule, 

• November 27th Kickoff & Cutting
• December 7th Sewing
• December 14th Trimming (your blocks, not your tree)
• December 21st Assembly (your quilt, not your family)

Ready, set, GO! 

 A review of the video~ 

To complete the Stella quilt you will need:

1. The pattern ~ is found on pg 78 of Stripology Mixology OR for the month of December ONLY as a stand alone PDF pattern. Stripology Mixology can be found either at your local quilt shop or here. The single Stella PDF pattern is only available on my website, here's a link.  Please note the QAL is for the regular size Stella. 
2. A ruler ~ the Stripology Squared ruler is the best option but instructions are given for the original Stripology ruler and regular rulers. The newest Stripology Squared Mini will not work for the full size Stella as we are using 10" squares
3. Fabric ~ we are going to be cutting 10" squares. Refer to the pattern to determine how many dark and light squares your project will need. We'll talk about fabric options in a bit
4. Starch ~ a light spray will help firm up the fabric because we will be cutting on the bias. If you'd prefer not to use spray just give your blocks a good steam iron. 

I want to talk a little more about fabric selection. As you can see from my quilt on the pattern cover, the stars in the center of the blocks are created by using two contrasting fabrics. Here are my fabrics for this new quilt, both will end up with distinct stars. There are a number of ways you can get this effect.

1. Use 2 or 3 fabrics only. See Katie's pull of red, black and cream fabrics. 
2. Use different color darks (and/or lights) of the same value. See Lesley's Tula Pink pull. 
3. Use a variety of dark and light fabrics. If you're unsure if there's enough contrast take a photo and look at in black and white. Can you see a distinct difference in tone and value? If so, you're good to go! See Jane's black and gray photo. Jane says, "credit to Colleen at Cotton Corner in Shipshewana Indiana for her help!"
4. If you're debating about how to use a variety of 10" squares, you could go completely scrappy like the quilt shown on the pattern or try to keep groups of 4 similar colors together. It won't matter during cutting but will give you options when it comes time to sew and assemble. I'll cover this in during the next steps. 

  
 examples from Katie Figari, Jane Pierucki Stahl and Lesley Salmi

Many of you have asked about using directional or novelty fabrics. If you're Type A and need all these blocks to line up the same way, there's a simple solution in the video. Isn't it slick how you can simply rotate the direction of each block before cutting to get them to line up? 

That brings us to cutting. Remember, 

1. lightly starch or steam your blocks before cutting
2. use your GEasy Ruler stickers to mark your ruler prior to cutting
3. if using a 45mm rotary cutter, stack up to 4 blocks at a time, if using a 60mm you can cut more
4. DO IT. 

Are we good? Make sense? GREAT! Your task is to have all your blocks cut by the next check in during Facebook Friday, December 7th, 3 PM CST in Gudrun's Quilt Crew. Join the crew if you haven't so you won't miss out. 

Keep stripping,

Gudrun