I am so excited that my Hooty Supernova quilt is complete!  This is quite possibly my favorite quilt that I've made thus far, and not just because it's all mine.  :)


Once upon a time last fall, I positively fell in love with MoMo's fun It's a Hoot line.  I quickly managed to stockpile a darn good bit of it, thanks to obsessive shopping habits and a husband who bought me some lovely fabric for Christmas.  Fast-forward a few months...while I still enjoyed eyeing the fabric, I just wasn't sure what I wanted to do with it.  Then, Lee announced the Supernova Quilt Along.  She advised against large prints, so I hesitated about using my prized It's a Hoot stash, but ultimately, I decided to go for it.


I definitely learned some things on this quilt, and not just technically speaking.  I learned (the hard way) about the importance of labeling rows whilst working on the quilt back, I learned that pressing seams open seems to lead to more accurately pieced blocks, and I learned that I have a 1/4" stitch on my sewing machine...which isn't compatible with my 1/4" piecing foot.  It's something to use with my regular plain sewing foot, but it was nice to learn that.


I learned to trust my instincts about fabric - even when I'm wrong.  There are a few prints that look kind of unusual in this quilt, because of their large scale, but I actually kind of like that about them.  Normally, I'm a big rule follower, but I guess I'm learning that when it comes to quilting, it's best to let your gut lead the way rather than the rules.


I also realized something...while I love straight-line quilting and the clean look it gives, I really prefer the way a stippled quilt washes and gets all crinkly.  Not only that, but I really enjoy FMQ.  It's one of my favorite parts of quilting, aside from the sore shoulders it often gives me.


Thank you, Lee, for sharing this pattern.  I had so much fun putting this quilt together and I'm so glad I participated in this quilt-along.  If you haven't joined in yet, what are you waiting for????  Hop on over!

Quilt Stats
Name : A Hooty Supernova
Size: 62" x 62"
Fabrics: MoMo It's a Hoot by Moda Fabrics
Quilting: All-over free-motion stipple with white Gutermann thread
Pattern: Front- Supernova Quilt Along at Freshly Pieced; Back - loosely based on Jeni's Plus Quilt tute

Linking up today with {Sew} Modern Monday at Canoe Ridge Creations - I can't wait to see what everyone else finished up this weekend :)

After shedding a few tears and uttering many curse words, I think I can tell you how dreadfully my evening of sewing has gone.

I was super excited to finish up the backing for my Supernova quilt tonight.  I am putting together some plus-style patchwork, and it's looking really awesome...or I thought it was, until I tried to finish putting it together.  Only to find...

I screwed it up!



I should have labeled every single row here, but I felt like I kept them organized enough to avoid any headaches with the layout.  Things seemed to be matching up, the rows came together super fast...I should have known something was too good to be true.  Obviously, these fabrics should match up when they're right side up...not with one row right side up and the other wrong side up.  :(



So, now, it's time to get up close and personal, again, with my seam ripper.  I think I'm done cursing.  At least for now.  Between a seriously cranky, testy 3-year-old and these foibles tonight, I think it might just be time to call it a night.  Argh.

OK, so this month's Friday Night Sew In didn't exactly go as well as last month.  In fact, I didn't manage to sew a single stitch.  But, I did get a lot done, believe it or not!!


I spent a lot of time preparing for sewing.  I cut all of my fabric for the pieced backing that I have planned for the back of my Supernova quilt, totally based on Jeni's amazing Plus quilt from last year.  That was one of my first favorites when I started using Flickr last year, and it's been on my To Make list since then.  I had so much It's a Hoot leftover after the Supernova quilt that I wanted to make another quilt top basically for the back of this quilt.  Here's hoping I can pull off making the seams line up.


My dog was positively freaked out about all of the fabric all over the floor.  He sat in front of me, shaking, pretty much the entire time that I was working on laying out the squares.  Now that I'm all done, he's calmed down, chilling out on the couch, but he was just so bothered by how busy I was tonight.  It was so strange!  He's always been neurotic, but this was a new level of neuroses.