The closest star in the night sky is about 25 trillion miles away, give or take. If you plan to visit, be sure to pack a lunch; it will take 75,000 years to arrive. Of course, if you’re short on time, you can create your own gorgeous stars at home!
This week Jenny is stitching together a breathtaking star quilt made with jelly rolls and the Missouri Star Equilateral 60 Degree Triangle Ruler.
This pattern produces very little waste, and the bits of extra are used to make a fun, pieced strip for the back of the quilt!
Are you anxiously waiting for spring to arrive? You are not alone! The residents of Longyearbyen, Norway, have lived in darkness since October 25th. That’s 3,000 hours with no sunshine at all!
But on March 8th, the sun will finally peek over the horizon, and the townsfolk are ready to par-tay with a week-long festival called Solfestuka. Choir children dress like sunbeams, folks feast on sunshiny pastries, and a few brave souls dress in swimsuits and sunglasses!
Of course, no celebration is complete without a quilt, so Jenny has whipped up a gorgeous new pattern to welcome the springtime sun.
Skylight is a quick and easy layer cake quilt made with Moda’s gorgeous Spring Brook collection.
A variety of Missouri Star exclusive templates and notions.
You’ve gathered your supplies, you’ve studied your basic skills, and you’ve even put together your first quilt block, but what comes next? Using templates and notions to create one-of-a-kind quilting designs is even more simple than you may have imagined. In fact, if you’re using a ruler to line up your cuts, then you’re already experience in the process! The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a template as “something that establishes or serves as a pattern”, so that handy ruler you’ve been using is the first step in mastering the template process!
The most familiar template for all of us is the trusty 5″ x 15″ ruler. This simple straight line device is used in quilting to cut an even and straight line, but they come in a variety of different sizes! If you’re sewing a big project, consider using a bigger ruler. Many quilting rulers are designed exclusively to feature one inch blocks in a transparent plastic so you will always be certain that you’re cutting and measuring precisely.
An assortment of templates and notions displayed upon a gridded mat for quilting.
This is just the beginning of the world of templates and notions! Consider the Dresden Plate block for example, it’s a time-honored traditional quilt block that demonstrates expertise in crafting and has long been a staple of the quilt world:
“The popular name for this quilt, Dresden Plate, reflects the romance of the Victorian Era with its love of elaborate decoration on household items and décor. Dresden, Germany was a center of 19th century romanticism movement in art, one that included the fine decoration of porcelain. The plates were embellished with elaborate design using flowers, fruits and foliage. The beautiful plates would surely have been admired by women of the early 20th century.”
Thanks to new quilting innovations however, the Dresden Plate has never been easier to create with a template. Using the Missouri Star Large Dresden Plate Template for 10″ Squares, Jenny demonstrates how to create this gorgeous vintage block in her Dresden Blooms quilt tutorial.
The Dresden Blooms quilt created with the Missouri Star Large Dresden Plate Template for 10″ Squares.
The fun doesn’t stop at just dresdens! Templates and notions are designed to make your quilting career easy and approachable. Whether you’re quilting with curves or using a notion to push out the corners of your project, take some time to research the available options to streamline the process. There is no limit to the ingenuity being utilized within the crafting world, so the next time you’re dreaming up some inspiration for your next project, consider challenging yourself to improve your skills by adding a new element to your quilting with a template.
The night sky is an ocean of glittering stars. Have you ever tried to count them? In our galaxy alone, there are 100 billion, and we plan to quilt at least that many!
Over the years, Jenny has stitched up stars galore. This week, she’s adding one more to the bunch.
The Outstanding Star is a quick and easy layer cake pattern made in a patriotic palette of red, white and blue batiks.
Imagine the perfect neighborhood. Are the homes quaint and colorful? Are the streets lined with stately oaks? (Is there an ice cream shop on the corner??)
Best of all, who lives next door? Is it your dearest friend? Your grandkids? Maybe it’s Jenny Doan!
This week you can stitch up the neighborhood of your dreams with tiny houses, big houses, two-story houses, and even trees made with the scraps! Click HERE to learn how to make this quick and easy layer cake pattern!
