Dystopian Reads

I don't know why, but lately I've been reading a lot of books that are about dystopian societies, and they've been all really good.  Hunger Games was the beginning and now I can't get enough.

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My friend told me about a trilogy written by Alie Condie (also a BYU graduate) that sounded like it was right up my alley (complex plot with a love triangle), and it did not disappoint.  Here's a brief description:

"In the Society, Officials decide. Who you love. Where you work. When you die.  Cassia has always trusted their choices. It’s barely any price to pay for a long life, the perfect job, the ideal mate. So when her best friend appears on the Matching screen, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is the one . . . until she sees another face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. Now Cassia is faced with impossible choices: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she’s known and a path no one else has ever dared follow—between perfection and passion."

I enjoyed the second book as well.   Crossed had some mixed reviews, because some people thought that after the amazing first book the second was a bit of a disappointment, but I read them back to back, so it was almost like one continuous book for me.  There wasn't any waiting, so I liked it just fine.  The last book in the trilogy comes out in November and I can't wait!!

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Another trilogy I enjoyed started with Truesight.  We read it for Book Club this month.  Here's a brief description:

"Everyone in Jacob's colony is born blind. It has always been this way. They embrace the philosophy of Truesight: Blindness brings unity, purity, and freedom. It is an exceptional community. Everyone is happy. As Jacob nears his thirteenth birthday, he anxiously anticipates his new role as an adult and all the changes that will bring. But as the day approaches, a far greater change threatens Jacob's future. It all starts with a searing pain in his eyes..."

I really liked the first book; I definitely liked it the best of the three books in the trilogy.  I'm not a huge science fiction person, so the third book was a little much for me, but I was invested enough in the characters that I read all of it.

My sister recently read Divergent, also a dystopian book, and I'm curious to read it, because I heard it's really good.  Anyone else read it?  I wonder why we have such a fascination with dystopian societies.  Do we worry it will happen to us or is it nice to pretend that our existence is so much better (even if it's not)?  Either way they are very fascinating reads when written so masterfully. 

Back Up and Running

After sewing at a blistering pace trying to get everything ready to teach a beginning quilters class last week, I got a bit burnt out.  I took a few days off, read a good book, and then finally headed back to my sewing machine last night.  I'm happy to say I have progress on 2 fronts:  I completed the July Bloggers BOM and then quilted some Bare Branches.

Split Ohio Star

 I made things hard on myself with the travel stitching by quilting with black thread, but I didn't want the quilting to stand out in the borders, so that's the color I needed. 

 I think what I love about this design the most is how versatile it is.  I didn't want the quilting on the Quarter New York Beauty, so I made the branches go all around it, but then I quilted through the Tumblers, and it looks great either way.  A view from the back:

Linking up to BOMS Away and Free Motion Quilt Along.

Last of the Samplers

I put together the last of my Skill Builder blocks this past week.  I wanted to do something different with the sashing than I had previously done with the other 2 Skill Builder quilts.  I decided to make the sashing the same as the background color, so that the blocks look like they're "floating" around the quilt top rather than boxed into their particular square. 

It's now layered, pinned, and ready to be quilted.  Now if only I could decide how I want to quilt it.  :)

Pinwheel Baby Quilt Top Tutorial

This tutorial is for the slightly more adventurous beginner.  It's honestly not that much harder than the 4-patch, but I won't be giving quite as much detail, so if some things aren't making sense then head back to the other tutorial.  I chose the pinwheel, because there's no reason to be scared of triangles, and they make super cute kid quilts.

This is the quilt top we will be making:  It's final measurements are about 36" x 36."

Fabric Requirements:
Theme fabric (Pink Cupcakes)- 1/3 yd.
Light Fabric (Circles)- 1/3 yd.
Dark Fabric (Brown Cupcakes)- 1/3 yd.
Inner Border (Hot Pink)- 1/4 yd.
Outer Border (Pink Cupcakes)- 3/4 yd. (for a total of 1 1/4 yd.)
Backing- 1 1/4 yd. (not shown, but will be the back of your quilt)
Binding (not shown, but I'll be using the same fabric as Inner Border) 1/3 yd. (for a total of 5/8 yd if you decide to make it the same fabric as the inner border)

 
1- We'll first cut the light and dark fabrics for the pinwheels.  You'll need to cut 2 strips of your light fabric at 5" (remember to line up the selvages and then fold again).  Your strips with be 5" x 42"

2- Cut off the selvages, and then cut 10 squares that are 5" (10 squares equals 5 cuts since your fabric is still folded in half once).

3- Repeat steps 1 & 2 with your dark fabric, so that you have 10 squares that are 5" in each fabric.

4- Next, take each of your light squares, and draw a line diagonally on the back (wrong side of the fabric).  You can use any old pen, because it's not going to remain in your quilt.

5- Layer a light square on top of a dark square right sides of the fabric facing each other (the marked line should be facing up toward you).  Layer all 10 squares.  Pin in place if you're nervous about them shifting.

6- Line up the right of your foot with the line, and sew a scant 1/4."  This means hug the line, because you want your seams to be slightly less than 1/4."

When you get to the end of the side DON'T cut the thread yet.  We are going to chain piece all of our blocks at the same time.  This means that you lift up your presser foot, pull back your block a little and then place your next block in and sew as you did before.  Once all 10 of your blocks have been sewn then you can cut off the thread.  This saves time and thread.

7- Without cutting the triangles apart, flip them all around and sew down the other side of the line (remember to hug the line for a scant 1/4" seam).  Keep a firm grip on them as you sew down the line, so that the other squares attached don't pull it off the line.

 8- Using your sewing scissors cut both threads connecting the squares and then cut down the pen line of each square.  You will have 20 triangles.  See below:

9- Press the seams toward the dark fabric.  You will have 2 little dog ears on each block.  Cut them off with your sewing scissors, so that it is a smooth square again.

Before

After

10- Lay out all of your smaller squares to form 5 pinwheels.  Make sure all of your squares are rotated in the correct direction.

We are going to sew side by side and then top to bottom.  Take the squares on the right and place them on top of the squares on the left, so that right sides are facing each other.  See below:

You are going to be sewing down the right hand side of these blocks, so when you stack these blocks make sure they are all going the same direction, so that you don't accidentally sew the wrong side.  Keep track of which side you're sewing on as you take them to your sewing machine.  I like to place the edge that I will be sewing parallel to my machine, so that I don't get confused.

11- Again, chain piece all of your blocks.  You'll notice that one corner where the triangles meet should interlock with seams touching.  Pin it in place. 

Press the seams open to avoid bulkiness and confusion. 


12-  Lay out your blocks.  Flip the bottom of the block onto the top of it, so that right sides are facing each other. 

You will be sewing along the bottom.  First, line up the center section of seams and pin it in place.  After sewing the blocks, press the seams open.

And wa-lah! You have a pinwheel block!



13- Measure your blocks to determine the size of the smallest block.  Square up all of your blocks to that size.  My blocks are 8 7/8 inches.  You will need to cut 4 theme blocks the same size as your pinwheel blocks.  You should be able to get all 4 blocks from one strip (for me it was 8 7/8" x 42")

 14- Lay out all of your blocks.  You will have 3 rows of 3 blocks.  We are going to assemble the blocks within each row together first.  Take the blocks in the middle and lay them right side down onto the blocks to their left.  See below:


Remember that you are sewing down the right side of the block, so keep track of that side as you stack the 3 rows and take them to your machine.

Once all 3 sets of blocks are sewn, cut your thread and this time you are going to press your seams toward the themed fabric.

15- Lay your blocks back out, and repeat the process by taking the block on the right and placing it on top (right side of fabric facing down) of the middle block.

Chain piece them again and press seams toward the themed fabric.

 16- Now we're going to sew the rows together.   Take the bottom row and flip it up onto the top row (so that it's upside down and right side is facing in).  You will be sewing along the bottom edge.  See below:

This is where pinning is really important.  You want line up the center blocks with seams interlocking so that they touch each other and pin in place on both ends of the middle block.

Sew down the entire bottom edge, and then press the seams open.


17- Repeat the same process with the bottom row, and you have the center of the quilt done.

18-  It's time to sew on the borders.  You will need 4 strips that are 2" wide each from your inner border fabric & 4 strips that are 4 1/2" wide from your outer border fabric.  (Don't forget to cut off the selvages)
 

19- You are going to sew a strip of the inner border along the right and left sides of the quilt first.  The right sides of the fabric should be facing each other, so you will see the quilt top facing up at you.  (If you have a solid colored fabric look closely to see if there is a right side to the fabric.  Sometimes it doesn't matter which side you use).



You will have fabric left over off the edge.  Using either sewing scissors or your rotary cutter you will need to trim the border fabric to be even with the other fabric.

Press the seams toward the border.  

20- Repeat this same process when adding the inner border on the top and bottom of the quilt.


21- Adding the outer borders is done the same exact way we just added the inner borders. Remember to press the seams toward the outer border.


Congratulations - you just completed the quilt top!  I will post the next step on how to layer it together and top stitch the quilt.

Alternating 4-Patch Baby Quilt Tutorial

A Fair Warning:  This is an extremely long post.  In the words of my husband, "I may die of old age before reading this whole post."  Duly noted, honey.

This is the quilt top we will be making:  It's final measurements are about 33" x 41."  It's a perfect size for a baby quilt, and is something small enough that you can finish easily.

Fabric Requirements:
Theme fabric (Lions)- 1/2 yd.
Light Fabric (Circles)- 1/4 yd.
Dark Fabric (Roars)- 1/4 yd.
Inner Border (Turquoise solid)- 1/4 yd.
Outer Border (Colored Lines)- 1/2 yd.
Backing- 1 1/4 yd. (not shown, but will be the back of your quilt)
Binding (not shown, but I'll be using the same fabric as Inner Border) 1/3 yd. (for a total of 5/8 yd. if you decide to make it the same fabric as the inner border)

The Light & Dark fabrics are for the 4-patch.  A high contrast is usually recommended, so try not to use 2 light colored fabrics or 2 dark colored fabrics.  In my case, they both have a white background, but since the Roar fabric is more concentrated in color I am considering it the dark fabric while the Circles fabric is the Light Fabric.

One other tip:  I typically like to use the same fabric for the Theme Fabric & Outer Borders.  In this case I broke the rules slightly, because I wanted to use the colored stripes so much, but it's easier to buy 1 yd. of the Theme fabric for the large blocks and the outer borders.  I also would encourage staying away from fabric that reads in only one direction (such as my Roar! fabric).  It's so much easier for a beginner to not have to worry about if the fabric is upside down or not. 

Let's get started:

1- It's time to cut your light and dark fabrics.  Take your dark fabric and fold it in half, lining up the sides that have the selvages.  The selvage typically has the Fabric Line written on it and little holes punched into it.  (Make sure your mat is on a flat surface).

2- Fold it in half again, making sure that the fabric is straight and smooth.  Particularly check the fold at the bottom that it doesn't have any bunching or bubbles in it.  Align it on the grid, so that it's straight and the fold it resting evenly on one of the grid lines.

3- You are going to use your rotary cutter to trim off the uneven edges of the fabric.  I'm left-handed so my fabric pokes out to the left.  Most of you will do it the opposite of me with your right hand.  Line up your ruler with a vertical line on the grid below and above the fabric, so that it's perfectly straight, and then run your rotary cutter along the edge of the ruler (if it's new you shouldn't have to apply too much pressure to the cutter).  Make sure you're holding down on the ruler (fingers away from the edge), so that the ruler doesn't wiggle around while cutting.

4- Now that you have a smooth edge.  You are going to measure over 4 1/2" and cut a strip of fabric.  Pull the cut strip slightly away, and without moving the fabric move the ruler over another 4 1/2" and cut another strip.  When you are done you should have 2 strips of dark fabric that are 4 1/2" wide and about 42" long.

5- Take both of your strips (one at a time), and unfold the strip, so that it is now only folded in half.  Line up the top of the strip, so that it is along one of the horizontal lines on your mat.  Line up your ruler on a vertical line, so that all of the selvage is sticking out.  You are going to use your rotary cutter to cut the selvage off.

Repeat steps 1-5 for the Light fabric.

6- You should now have 2 strips of both the light and dark fabric.  Take one of the dark strips with the right side of the fabric facing up, and place a light strip on top of it, so that the right side of the fabric is facing in (the back of the fabric should be facing you).  Side note: the right side of the fabric is the side of the fabric that you want seen in your quilt that has the most color.  This means when the fabrics are on top of each other they should have the patterns (right sides of the fabric) facing each other.

7- Once they are lined up, you are going to sew along the right-side edge (1/4" seem allowance) from the top edge all the way to the bottom edge.  If you are worried about keeping them lined up feel free to pin them together down the side of the fabric.

It should look like this when you're done:  (Normally you want to choose a thread color that will blend in the best with your fabric choices.  I normally would have probably used white for this quilt, but I am using black so that you can easily see it in the pictures).

Repeat steps 6 & 7 with the last 2 strips.

8- Open up the fabric so that the right side of the fabric is facing down on the ironing board and your seam allowance is sticking up.  Press the seams of the back of the fabric toward the dark fabric for both strips.  Reminder: turn the steam function off on your iron, and there's no need to pull and tug on the fabric.  Just lightly press the seams down otherwise you might distort the fabric and change it's size.

9- Bring your 2 strips back to the cutting board.  Line up the first sewn strip, so that it is horizontally straight along the grid of your mat.  If the edges are not straight, trim of the uneven part (similar to what we did with cutting off the selvages).  Measure 4 1/2" away from the edge and cut along the edge of your vertically straight ruler.  You should have a 4 1/2" x 8 1/2" strip.

You need 12 total.  You should have some extra left over on your second strip.  Just put it to the side for now.

10- Now it's time to put our 4-patches together.  Lay out your strips so that they are opposite of each other and form 6 blocks.  Then take the strip on the right hand side and put it on top of the strip on the left hand side (right sides of the fabric facing in to each other.  See below:

You are going to be sewing down the right hand side of these blocks, so when you stack these blocks make sure they are all going the same direction, so that you don't accidentally sew the wrong side.  Keep track of which side you're sewing on as you take them to your sewing machine.  I like to place the edge that I will be sewing parallel to my machine, so that I don't get confused.

11- Before sewing it you want to make sure your seams line up down the center.  Because of the way we pressed our seams they should lock into place exactly touching each other.  This is where pins become important.  When you are happy with your seams touching, pit it in place.  I also pin the top and bottom edges together as well, so that they don't shift while I'm sewing.

11- Sew along the right side edge (remember it's always going to be a 1/4" seam allowance.

When you get to the end of the side DON'T cut the thread yet.  We are going to chain piece all of our blocks at the same time.  This means that you lift up your presser foot, pull back your block a little and then place your next block in and sew as you did before.  Once all 6 of your blocks have been sewn then you can cut off the thread.  This saves time and thread.

Take your chain of blocks to the ironing board and use sewing scissors to cut the thread in between each block.

12-  Press the seams open on all of your blocks.  This will reduce bulk and help your blocks lay flatter.  Congratulations - you just completed the 4-patch block!!

 13- Measure your blocks on your cutting board.  They should be 8 1/2" x 8 1/2."  If they are smaller than this don't panic.  Cut all of your blocks down to the size of your smallest block, and then cut your theme blocks the same size.  No one will ever know. :) (This is why I didn't have you cut the themed fabric until now!)

14-  Using the same techniques we used in Steps 1-5 we're now going to cut 2 strips of themed fabric that are 8 1/2" wide.  Once you have the 2 strips cut, you are going to cut off the selvages and then without moving the fabric, move the ruler over 8 1/2" and cut.  It should form an 8 1/2" square.  You need a total of 6 blocks (3 cuts since the fabric is folded in half).  You will have extra on your second strip.  Put it aside for now. 

15- Lay out the patches alternating back and forth between a theme block and a four-patch block.  You will have 4 rows of 3 blocks.  We are going to assemble the blocks within each row together first.  Take the blocks in the middle and lay them right side down onto the blocks to their left.

Remember that you are sewing down the right side of the block, so keep track of that side as you stack the 4 rows and take them to your machine.

16- Once again, you are going to chain piece these blocks.  Don't forget to line them up (right sides facing each other) and pin if desired.  Once all 4 sets of blocks are sewn, cut your thread and this time you are going to press your seams toward the themed fabric.

17- Lay your blocks back out, and repeat the process by taking the block on the right and placing it on top (right side of fabric facing down) of the middle block.  See below:

Chain piece them again and press seams toward the themed fabric.

18- Now we're going to sew the rows together.   Take the 4th row and flip it up onto the 3rd row (so that it's upside down and right side is facing in), and also flip the 2nd row up onto the 1st row.  You will be sewing along the bottom edge.  See below:

This is where pinning is really important.  You want line up the center blocks with seams interlocking so that they touch each other (just like when you lined up the 4-patch seams) and pin in place on both ends of the middle block.I would also pin the top edge and bottom edge.

Sew down the entire bottom edge, and then press the seams open.

When you open it up and look at your rows, if you pinned it correctly the corners of the blocks should line up.  See below:


19- You're almost done with the center of your quilt.  All you need to do is flip the bottom half up onto the top half (it will be upside down and ride sides facing each other).  Pin, sew and press the same as you did in step 18.

Yay!  The center of your quilt is completed!  Now all we need to do is add our borders and our quilt top is done.

20- Using the cutting techniques you learned in steps 1-5 you are going to cut out strips for the inner and outer border.

You will need 4 strips that are 1 1/2" wide each from your inner border fabric & 4 strips that are 4" wide from your outer border fabric.

21- You are going to sew a strip of the inner border along the right and left sides of the quilt first.  The right sides of the fabric should be facing each other, so you will see the quilt top facing up at you.  (If you have a solid colored fabric look closely to see if there is a right side to the fabric.  Sometimes it doesn't matter which side you use).

You will have fabric left over off the edge.  Using either sewing scissors or your rotary cutter you will need to trim the border fabric to be even with the other fabric.

Press the seams toward the border. 








It should look like this when you're done:

22- Repeat this same process when adding the inner border on the top and bottom of the quilt.


23- Adding the outer borders is done the same exact way we just added the inner borders.  See steps 21 & 22 if you have any questions.  Remember to press the seams toward the outer border.

 Congratulations - you just completed your first quilt top!  I will post the next step on how to layer it together and top stitch the quilt.  In the meantime, give yourself a big pat on the back and enjoy the rest of your week.