Tori McElwain from The Quilt Patch by Tori
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Designing this quilt was rough. It was designed originally at a pretty rocky time and I was not able to give it the attention and detail that I wanted. I turned to pattern testers. I had such a wonderful experience with pattern testers such as Target the Stars, that I thought their input would be the next step. I set a date to release for late June and I was going to stick to it! Despite my stubbornness, I did not stick to it (obviously!). My husband's recovery from back surgery and my toddler adjusting to being two, was not the creative mix that makes great patterns.
I made a lot of mistakes with the very first draft. My computer even cut off part of the cutting table! Ugh! Luckily, I had a couple amazing pattern testers that stuck by me and helped me figure out these stubborn stars! They are saw tooth stars, but they required unusual dimensions. My reliance on the quilt design software to be accurate was also a down fall of mine. I learned a lot and took an extra month to make this pattern ready for you!
I absolutely love how versatile this pattern is. It is stripes! Any stripe combination that you love can be incorporated into this pattern. I use the original 5 blue design to write the pattern, so essentially each stripe is numbered 1 - 5 to make it easier. Just assign a fabric to a number and away you go!
It is wonderfully fun and quick! I put the top together in about 5 days. This was with my husband back to work full time and a two year old who refused to nap, so I can imagine how quick it would be with more free time!
I chose to make my Navigate the Stars a rainbow! Me and the ladies at my local quilt shop, Sew Easy Sewing, had fun picking out the fabric! Have a mentioned how much I love Moda’s Grunge fabric??
I also could not get the alternative version of this pattern out of my head! I loved it so much that I took a couple hours the DAY BEFORE I released this pattern to add this alternative to the pattern!
From concept to reality! This alternative version of Navigate the Stars turned out better than expected! I used Navy Blue Grunge and an amazing Ombré Batik. Wow!
I based this quilt off of the Aura Borealis. My husband and I took a trip to the Arctic Circle in 2017 and the Northern Lights were mesmerizing! I’m so excited to be able recreate this reminder of such a wonderful and magical experience!
It is a very simple adjustment to the placement, but wow! What a fun change!
There are a few things I would like to suggest when making this pattern:
~Utilize the coloring sheet! All my big release patterns have coloring sheets to help you design your unique version! It can be used for the regular version of Navigate the Stars and the Alternative version of Navigate the Stars!
~I have 2 ways to make the Flying Geese! Yes, all that time it took to perfect the flying geese I create 2 different ways to do it! One is to make them one at a time (which I believe is the most common way), the other is to make 4 at a time. You can make them the traditional way (instructions in the pattern). If you want to be a little more efficient, I have also outlined how to make 4 Flying Geese at a time in the pattern and in the short video below! I hope you find that useful!
~When making the two-toned stars, I found it easier to sew on the corners of the center diamonds at the same time. That way I didn't have to keep track of which direction they would need to be when flipped over. For some reason, when flipping is involved my brain just shuts down. If you're like me this strategy may help!
~I also suggest choosing different colors for the stripes! Instead of a solid, you could have multiple colored stripes and a single color in the background. Or you can fade a color into the next by utilizing the stripes. For example, the bottom could be red, the strip orange, the next section yellow and the stripe greenish yellow, then the section green...you get it! I hope that sparks a few ideas!
I hope you can feel free to be creative with this pattern! I can't wait to see the combinations you come up with! Feel free to reach out via social media or email me a picture at thequiltpatch@thequiltpatchbytori.com.
Pattern Testers
Below I have pictures from my wonderful pattern testers that stuck with me through the rocky process of Navigating those little stars!
Jean:
This is a beautiful Christmas version Of Navigate the Stars by Jean! I love the festive feel!
Rachael:
Look at this gorgeous pastel Navigate the Stars! Wow! She made this for her young daughter. I think she hit it out of the park!
Candy:
Candy utilized her scraps for her Navigate the Stars and it came out beautifully!
Here is my Navigate the Stars Quilt top!
Here is the video to go along with the flying geese! You can also find it on my YouTube channel!
Get your Navigate the Stars PDF Pattern, with the alternative pattern included, here!
To see my Target the Stars Pattern, go here! Click here to see and subscribe to my YouTube channel! If you’d like to keep in touch and receive my monthly Newsletter feel free to sign up here!