Monday, August 3, 2020

Journey to Nebula: A skill builder series

I’m hosting a sew along! It's called Journey to Nebula. Sign ups for it are now closed, but you can follow along on Instagram at @journey2nebula, and use the #journey2nebula to share your posts with us and be featured in our @journey2nebula stories. Plus! ++ Exclusive bonus content for everyone who signed up.

As the anticipation grows for the arrival of the Nebula Block of the Month quilt, I want to help you use this time to get comfortable with the tools and techniques that you'll put to work making Nebula in 2021. We'll sew together through the end of 2020 with a series of tutorials and patterns to get you all set up for Nebula. 

The goal is to help you familiarize yourself with using the Hex N More & Super Sidekick (or Sidekick) rulers, cutting, & piecing shapes from the rulers. We'll work through small, approachable patterns together so that when Nebula hits quilt shops in 2021 you are totally ready to get into it. We'll dedicate two weeks to each skill building pattern.
Other than the cost of the rulers, patterns, and materials, there is no additional cost to participate. Templates are included in all of the patterns and in the Nebula BOM. All of the patterns have full color directions. 

The projects that we'll make and when we'll make them are:
Seaside, September 1 to September 14: We'll cut and piece diamonds from the Sidekick or Super Sidekick ruler.

Lucky Charm, September 15 to September 28: We'll cut and piece half hexagons from the Hex N More ruler.

Jawbreaker, September 29 to October 12: We'll work on strip piecing, then cut and piece triangles from the Hex N More, Sidekick, or Super Sidekick ruler.

Rock Candy, October 13 to October 26: We'll cut and piece diamonds and triangles from the Sidekick or Super Sidekick ruler. How the table topper is sewn together will demonstrate a similar approach used to sew together the Nebula quilt top.

Candy Dish, October 27 to November 9: We'll cut and piece hexagons and triangles from the Hex N More ruler.

Gazebo, November 10 to November 23: We'll cut and piece half hexagons and triangles from the Hex N More ruler. How the table topper is sewn together will demonstrate the same approaches used to sew together many of the blocks and the Nebula quilt top.

Exclusive Bonus Patterns
- November 24 to December 7: We'll cut and piece triangles and half triangles with the Sidekick or Super Sidekick ruler.
- December 8 to December 22: We'll cut and piece triangles and diamonds with the Sidekick or Super Sidekick ruler.

These patterns each offer dedicated focus with the rulers, shapes, and any sewing techniques mentioned. All patterns are rotary cut from fabric strips and machine pieced. They are precut friendly, using 5" squares or 2.5" strips, great for breaking into those precut bundles or stash busting. 

If you want everything to coordinate with Tula's True Colors that will be featured in Nebula Block of the Month, you'll want to get two 5" charm packs and one design roll of 2.5" strips, that will be enough for the feature fabrics in all of the patterns. 2 yards muslin and 8 yards of a variety of fabrics will cover the background, binding, and backing fabrics for everything. 

You'll be all set up with coordinating pillows, table toppers, and a table runner when you add the finished Nebula quilt to your home. Not to mention having the sewing skills and confidence to put the Nebula blocks and pattern together with ease.

Patterns and rulers are available from independent quilt shops. Ask the shop where you've signed up for the Nebula BOM if they'll be offering any Journey to Nebula patterns or packages.
Sign up now to stay up to date with our Journey to Nebula progress, tricks, tips, and exclusive content only available via email to everyone who signs up. Can't wait to sew with you soon!

Post one of the "I'm In" images below to your Instagram account to be in the running for our first giveaway. Giveaways during the course of this program will include fabric, patterns and gift certificates to quilt shops. More details to come.





We hope you'll join us!



© Blog post written by Julie Herman
For more information visit http://www.jaybirdquilts.com/