As Your Norah Grows....

Hi Everyone! We are seeing some amazing Norah Quilts out there!!! Yayyyayyyy! 
I want to touch base on a few things to remember as your Norah Quilt grows.
First of all, cut your strips carefully. If you see a wave in the middle of the strip, it would be best to cut a new one and make sure your fabric is pressed and that you have a clean raw edge to begin cutting. 
Measure and cut your strip to the correct length before stitching. I simply lay my strip above or just underneath the side it's to be added, and trim it up to size. Use your acrylic ruler so you are certain to get a straight cut (it's also another opportunity to make sure everything is squaring up). 

Once you have your strip cut, pin - pin - pin before sewing!!! I pin on both ends and the middle, then fill in between. Pinning helps keep you from stretching the fabric as well as keeping everything square. 

 

As your quilt grows you may need to carry out these steps on a large table or even on the floor.

Most likey, you will need to piece strips as the sides get longer, this is a fun way to add interest to your quilt. I like to piece using similar colors, but every once in a while, I will pop in a color from my center unit to carry that out into the quilt.

If you find that the center is getting a wee bit "puffy" it should be fine. There is a lot of fabric going around that center! A couple of things that might help. As much as you want to iron it .... remember to not iron back and forth, but rather press (up and down). Ironing is only going to stretch your fabric and you don't want that. 

You can increase the width of your strips as your quilt gets larger....less trips around the center to get the size you want. 

A little bit of puff can easily be smoothed out when basting. I prefer to spray baste with 505 Temporary Basting Spray. Start at the center and smooth the quilt as you work your way out. 

And lastly, I measure my quilt every few rounds. I measure from side to side the top, middle and bottom. Then I measure from corner to corner, both ways....just to make sure it's staying square!

There are some beautiful quilts out there! 

        

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