Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Skill Builder #2 (almost)

It's that time of the month!  No!  Not that time of the month!  Let me rephrase...the second block for the Technicolor Galaxy Skill Builder BOM  

My first block was the center color wheel.  You can see it here: Technicolor Madness. Block 2 will be the Star Points.  Paper piecing fun!  


     
I pulled out the color wheel from last month and located the bag with the templates for the stars.  Good start so far.  (that was the easy part!)  

All of the paper piecing templates I printed on wash away stabilizer sheets.  Have you ever used them before?  This will be my first time. One of those new skills I wanted to learn!



I really didn't plan what or how I wanted my finished piece to be.  Since I was hoping to learn new things, I decided to keep it simple and stick with the color wheel.  However, had I known the possibilities that were out there I may have veered off the path a little!

This is the stage where I have to figure out my star point colors.  It seems easy enough. One of these days I should really time myself to see how long it actually takes me to make up my mind!



I got it now!  Neatly pinned, organized and ready to go!



Squeal!!!!  Love these!  I could look at them all day, every day.  I wonder if I could make these over and over and over...they were fun!




This is the plan.  Yes, that step was fun.  But there is so much more to do!



Like picking the coordinating prints for the second part if the stars!  That was difficult and made me want a glass of wine.  But I didn't cave...I stuck with it and eventually came to my final picks.



First I needed to cut a bunch, like a lot, a lot 1 3/4" low volume strips. And I might add, I'm glad I finally got on the low volume band wagon and now have a respectable stash...that was very helpful!

These are my first two 'test' pieces.  I was anxious to see how they would look.  With these two done, I have 22 more to go.  Hold on...let me whip those out...be right back...tick tock, tick tock...



That wasn't a long wait, right?  I spent most of the morning making these! Time consuming as they are one of the perks of using the wash away stabilizer - you don't have to remove it, so no paper piles and having to pick the little pieces off!  Also, you don't have to use small stitches.  Helps if you have to rip it out!  



If all the stars align correctly and you hold you head at just the right angle...they all come together just like this!  (and even then, they didn't) What a relief!  

If, I am to be honest with you, I'm not even close to done with block #2!  I knew I had to get started on this lesson.  It won't be long and block #3 will be out.  I didn't want to get behind and I hate being late to the party!  For now, I will put these star points away.  I still have to quilt them, which will take a while for me.  Did I mention this is a QAYG (quilt as you go) project?  Yet one more skill to learn!




You get the picture.  This is the pieces together, ready to quilt, ready for another skill to learn and one day master!

I tried to add a movie that I shared on Instagram.  I wasn't sure how to make it work on here, so if you would like to check it out you can see it here:  Technicolor Galaxy



  I DID IT!

20 comments :

  1. Oooooooh this is looking fabulous!! :D I think a medallion quilt is an interesting take on a sampler quilt! Seriously love where you're going with this one. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was hoping this would teach me a few new things and so far it has! I wish I would have thought a little more outside the box!

      Delete
  2. This is going to be a gorgeous quilt! I love the color scheme and am intrigued that you used the wash away stabilizer for this part of the project. It sounds like a great idea, but I haven't gotten up the nerve to give it a try!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think its going to be great when its finished, just having a hard time figuring out how it will all go together! The stabilizer is a totally new area for me.

      Delete
  3. Wow-this is really coming along. Great fabric and color choices. I'm excited about seeing this one progress.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's coming along and its so fun to see, not to mention doing it and learning new things!

      Delete
  4. I like to watch what you do and your explanations

    ReplyDelete
  5. Jayne, it is looking fabulous! It is so cool seeing you progress through this project! Can't wait to see the quilting and I'm totally intrigued as to how you are going to put block 1 and 2 together with QAYG!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have never tried the QAYG method. I see quilts using that method all the time, so it will be great to finally learn how to do it!

      Delete
  6. Looks fabulous! I'm still on the colour wheel block - yikes!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Very pretty, love the rainbow colors.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Jayne this is jaw droppingly gorgeous!!! You are doing amazing work and it boggles my mind that this is a learning experience for you! I would Squeal!!! too! I noticed right away the wonderful quilting you did on the center block. I've never seen a QAYG project like this before. Thanks for the tips about the wash away stabilizer. I was so surprised at how it kept its shape through the printing process. also thanks for the giggles... "tick tock, tick tock" :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. To be honest, I know just enough to make it through without hurting my brain. I'm very happy you got a chuckle out of the post too!

      Delete
  9. I am really enjoying watching your progress on this project, Jayne. Your fabric choices are awesome. Love the low volume choices you made as well. This is turning out beautifully!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Chugging along on this one! Hopefully I won't lose interest!

      Delete
  10. Your Galaxy looks wonderful! I am so behind, I am on the step of making the bias tape now

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for visiting my blog! I love getting comments, and try to respond to each and every one.