I finished the latest project in the Journey 2 Nebula this week. Jaybird Quilts Jawbreaker is a pillow that uses the Hex n More Ruler to create triangles that turn into hexagons. Last week I had a little trouble with my rotary cutter, but I'm all healed now. You can barely even tell where I had the accident!

I watched Julie's video that had tips for assembling the hexagons and set to work. I don't have an ideal place in my sewing area to layout projects, so I usually do it on the spare bed. Then I have to walk between the two rooms, which isn't a huge deal, it's extra steps, but I like to figure ways to still be accurate without making too many trips. I did figure out a way to chain piece these rows and make it easier. First, I took a picture with my phone of the layout, so I had a reference to double-check the layout. Then, I stacked the triangles from one for and lined them up in order next to my sewing machine. Chain pieced them in pairs and brought them over to the ironing board to press, still attached. When pressing open, I picked up a tip from Kimberly Jolly of Fat Quarter Shop. I set my seams and then press them to one side, then flip them over and press open. I have tried both this and just pressing open in the same sewing session, and I find this way much easier. After pressing open, I bring them back to space next to my machine, still attached, and lay that down. Next, I clip the threads and rotate the pieces to the appropriate layout. After double-checking my layout, I sewed the first two and the last two together, cut the threads, checked the layout, and sewed those two pieces together. I stitched together the rest of the rows and just kept them stacked next to me, so I had them for reference from the next row.

I was a little anxious about trimming the pillow's center since I didn't have a ruler big enough to use for the total square. I followed Julie's direction in the video, and I successfully trimmed the oddly-shaped piece into a square! I was pretty darn proud of myself the other day when I did that successfully.

I used another strip from the jelly roll I used for the strip sets for my inner border. I added the two borders and let the top sit for a day to decide how to quilt it. I've seen some lovely quilted Jawbreakers on Instagram and Facebook, and even the simple quilting on the cover of the pattern is appealing. I love the hexagons and didn't want to take away from them at all, so I went with very simple stitching in the ditch. I've never been overly successful with this, but since I haven't tried it in a while, I went for it, and I'm pretty happy that my seams must have been straight because I didn't have trouble stitching in the ditch.

Assembling the pillow should have gone a little more smoothly than it did for me, and if I had paid more attention to what I was doing, it probably would have. After basting the front and back together, I realized that I did the opening vertical to what I was considering the top and bottom instead of horizontal. I momentarily debated ripping it out and starting over. In the end, I decided since this wasn't a learning-how-to-pillow journey, and since it's a pillow that will only be out for about a month and a half, and you can't tell it's wrong, I left it. I did insert a label the same way I did with the last pillow. I printed it on paper with my inkjet printer and then sewed it into the backing.

I love the finished pillow! I didn't purchase another pillow form, so this is just the same form from Amazon that I used on Lucky Charm. Before Christmas, I'll probably pick up another one so that I can use the pillow to decorate. I used the same fabric (and leftovers from the jelly roll) for the Jelly Snowflake. I still haven't quilted that project, but it's on the list before Thanksgiving! Whenever I look at how the hexagons came together so nicely, I am so pleased! I also really like how the black fabric pops. The tiny scattered trees is my favorite print in the collection, which is why I used it for the outer border, binding, and backing.

Details
Fabric: The Christmas Card by Sweetwater for Moda
Thread: Aurafill 50wt, 2000
Pattern: Jaybird Quilts Jawbreaker
Batting: 100% polyester
Total Hours Spent: 7 hours, 39 minutes

The next stop on the Journey 2 Nebular is Jawbreaker. In this pattern, we practice cutting strip sets and turning triangles into hexagons. I've pieced Jaybird Quilts Science Fair before, so I'm pretty familiar with the technique.

For this project, I decided to use some leftover strips from my Jelly Snowflake Quilt, The Christmas Card by Sweetwater for Moda. (Yay! Using up stash!) I'm sure I must have mentioned it before, but I have realized that jelly rolls are not my favorite pre-cut. No matter what, they seem to end up wobbly, plus the ones I've been using are slightly over 2.5," which isn't necessarily bad, but for this pattern, the size is essential.

I felt a little lazy, so I didn't want to deal with starching the pieces for this one, so I went with Best Press. It performs similarly to the starch that I use, but I don't have to wait for it to dry. I use the unscented because I'm quite particular about scent, and it works well. I laid my strips out as straight as I could get them, sprayed, and pressed. There's a little shrinkage, and it stiffens the fabric up a bit.

After that, I pieced the strips so I could get to cutting. I did have a bit of a mishap while cutting this one, and unfortunately, the accident wasn't the fabric. It was my finger. Don't worry; it's not a major injury. I try to be very careful when using the rotary cutter since I tend to be accident-prone. Before I cut, I make sure my hands are out of the way, everything is stable, and I have created the habit of closing my blade every time I'm done with a cut, even if I'm just shifting the ruler. I've seen too many Facebook posts in my quilting groups of slices, and I'm not good with blood! Anyway, I have a feeling it was coming. When I thought, "you know, I think it's going to happen today...I'm going to get cut," I should've just put the rotary cutter down and walked away. Not me! As I moved to close my blade with my right hand, my left hand decided to have a mind of its own and moved just close enough to the blade that it cut my index finger between my second and third knuckles. It was an instant, and all I could think was, "Oh no!" I immediately applied pressure after seeing how much it would bleed (not the best plan for someone who doesn't like blood) and went to grab a paper towel. I laid down and applied pressure for a bit. After a while, I checked it, and the pressure worked, and it seemed to stick itself back together. After that, I cleaned it up, applied my trusty antibiotic ointment and a bandage, and moved on with my day. It stung for a bit, about the same as a nasty cat scratch, but it's not too bad now.

Despite all of that drama, I managed to get my triangles cut. It's a pretty easy cut. After repositioning the ruler each time, you just have to make one cut.

I'm not sure which fabrics I'm going to go with for assembly, but I think I like this layout. I know the black stands out, but I really love the Christmas tree print, so I don't hate that it's a feature fabric. I have a week to decide!