This week, I finished the first step on the Journey 2 Nebula, the Seaside table runner from Jaybird Quilts. I watched Julie's video that had tips for successful piecing. Even with that, I have a few points that don't exactly match, but I know what adjustments I need to make, so I do not doubt that I'll successfully complete the diamond section of Nebula.

Since I'm not always happy with my quilting, I decided to go simple here to have a finished project. It's not that I can't do the quilting, I'm just the kind of person that wants to be perfect from the start, and free motion quilting is an entirely different skill from any that I have. It also doesn't help that my machine has a painfully small throat space. Even navigating the simple walking foot lines on the table runner got a little cumbersome.

For my binding, I went with a coordinating solid. I usually do a 2.5" binding, but since this is a smaller project, I went with 2.25". I know that the quarter-inch shouldn't make that much of a difference, but it did. It would've been faster to machine bind it, but I prefer hand binding. It always comes out cleaner. Even after attempting it many times over the years, I've never been happy with the finished results on anything I've done machine binding on.

Since I wanted to use up my scraps, I did a pieced backing for this project. I've started adding labels to my projects since I don't always know what I'm going to do with them. When figuring out the backing for this project, I selected the layer cake squares I knew I wanted to use for the front, then laid out the remaining squares. I wanted to make sure to get the label in there and liked the lighter flower print, so I decided to use that as a strip down the center. I wasn't going to have quite enough length, so I went even scrappier with it. I'm almost as happy with the back as I am with the front.

I really enjoyed this project, using my stash and seeing what everyone else is doing with theirs. It's a great way to use scraps, so I'm sure this will be a project that I revisit!

Details
Fabric: Bloomington by Lella Boutique for Moda (Petite Layer Cake), unknown white from stash, Bella Solid from Moda in Lead
Thread: Aurafil 50wt; piecing and quilting: 2000, binding: 5004
Batting: Happy Cloud from Fat Quarter Shop 80/20 Silky Blend
Pattern: Jaybird Quilts Seaside
Total Hours Spent on Project: 13 hours, 24 seconds

I have spent a lot of time digging around in my stash, doing some figuring with pen and paper, and throwing fabric around the room in preparation for Journey 2 Nebula. As I mentioned, I wanted to purchase new fabric for this project, since new and shiny is fun, but I also have a lot of it that doesn't have a reason to be in my stash. I like to keep it mostly project-based to actually see what I'm doing with the fabric. It doesn't mean I'll stick with the intended project, but at least I've kept yardage and/or yardage and pre-cuts together.

After much digging, I decided on the Petite Bloomington Layer Cake by Lella Boutique that came in the May 2020 Sew Sampler Box. The pattern that came with the box was lovely, but it didn't speak to me, so I added the layer cake to my stash. It has 20 10" squares, and after putting pen to paper, I worked out that I would have enough for the contrast diamonds and a scrappy backing.

Next, I had to locate background fabric. This is harder in my stash. I've thought about purchasing bolts of a couple of solid basics, but I haven't made that leap yet. After more digging, I found an ancient layer cake that had background and backing yardage. I may revisit this particular layer cake later in the journey, but for now, I grabbed 5/8 yard of the white (I don't know which white it is, but it's likely a Bella Solid) for Seaside.

In addition to the pieced, scrappy backing I assembled this weekend, I also prepped my fabric for the front. I cut the background into 2.5" x WOF strips, and cut my layer cake pieces into 2.5" strips. I know it's a bit controversial, but I prefer to starch my projects, so I starched my layer cake pieces, knowing that they would shrink. This would not affect what I was going to do with the fabric, so I went for it.

I've completed several Jaybird Quilts patterns, so I'm familiar with how the rulers work, but I have found any time I participate in a quilt along I always pick up some tidbit, so I'm looking forward to starting tomorrow!