This week, I am adding a second block, the scrappy star. It is pictured here as a 4 1/2″ block. It could easily be made into a 8 1/2″, 12 1/2″ or 16 1/2″ block.
This tutorial reads like a picture book. I learned how to edit photos! Many of the directions are right in the picture. This also matches my YouTube short that shows how to use up some of those bonus triangles we all have. Most of the pictures are the same as those in the video, too.
Here is the finished star:
I have been making these as leader/ ender blocks for the entire summer. I have a nice little pile going.
The first image is parts you need if you don’t cut triangles to make this block. The directions are in the pictures below to make the triangles from squares. Just look for the tan and yellow squares.
This second picture, with the lavendar background, is the number of pieces that you need if you ARE cutting the triangles. I use an accuquilt die to cut those little triangles, but it is not necessary to have one of those to cut pieces.
The easiest way to make any block, is to lay out the pieces before you start.
The first sewing step is to make the 8 half square triangles, whether you are using triangles or squares.
The images with brown fabric are constructed from squares.
I love the washi 1/4″ tape. It doesn’t leave a residue. It stays on for a long time. There is a lot of it on a roll.
Now that your star points are sewn, it is time to press.
Background fabric should be towards the inside. Star points should be on the outside.
Sew the star point pieces together in pairs.
I prefer to press these seams open to reduce bulk. You can press the seams to the side if you prefer. I know this is a controversial topic in the quilting world. No judgements here!
Lay your pieces out again. This is a double check of your star points, etc.
You have the parts assembled for all 3 rows.
Time to finish the block. Sew the rows together.
Again this is to reduce bulk in these little seams.
Here it is again…the cute, scrappy star block.
I hope you are enjoying making little scrap blocks. There are many more blocks to come!
I am slowly making progress on this block of the month. Here is block seven, eight and nine.
Janice did a great job with the directions on this one! Thank you, Janice! I changed the color placement from the original pattern to make the red pop out a little more.
I changed the middle reds on this block so that they looked like hearts. The original block only had one red.
This block had a lot of little tiny trimming to make it fit perfectly. Once it was trimmed, it was easy to assemble. There is a lot of swirl going on there!
Are you working on any “installment” projects? Please share! I love hearing from you!
You will need 16 blocks of your choosing for this block. Choose one of the following sizes for the best results: one and a half inch, 2 1/2 inch, 3 1/2 inch or 4 1/2 inch. Block should I have a nice contrast between them.
Lay the blocks out in a 4 x 4 formation like the illustration above.
Sew the blocks in each row together. You will have four rows.
it is now time to press the seams of your block. There are two options. You can press the seams to one side or the other or you can press the seams open. I recommend pressing the seams open even though this seems counterintuitive. It creates a flatter block in the long run. I have never had any problems with weaker seams because of pressing seam allowances open.
Recently, I have been trying my best to catch up with the blocks of the month from Hale Country Quilters. Slowly, but surely, I am getting there! Whew!
I am loving the teal, purple and red combination in each block.
Block 4Block 5Block 6
I am going to take a little break before I start the next block. Block 7 has a bunch of small pieces…and I changed the color placement just a little bit…so I need to have my head in the game!
What project are you catching up on this weekend?
To help you relax, I am sharing a sunrise picture over Lake Huron from our recent trip to Mackinaw City, Michigan.
I am making slow, but steady progress on my BOM for the Hale Country Quilters group.
I would have more of the blocks completed if I hadn’t had an epiphany. Darn those epiphanies!
I decided to make a center big block from a Pat Sloan sew along. I like this big star block.
Then I saw a block on Pinterest. It was screaming at me to be 16” corner blocks.
Here are the first three BOM installments.
Are you participating in any BOM’s this year? They are a great way to build skills…and if you don’t love the top when you finish it, it can become a gift or charitable donation. Someone will love it for you! 💕♥️💕
Recently I joined Hale Country Quilt Guild. I have only been to 3 meetings, but I am enjoying this experience. At the last meeting, I shared my Sweet Childhood Memories quilt tops. The ladies made me feel so good!
Sheryl, my wonderful Up North neighbor, invited me to a meeting because she knows how much I love quilting and sewing. When we joined, the BOM was on the 10th out of 12 blocks.
Sheryl has several blocks completed. I love her colors! So pretty! I love the Autumn colors and earth tones with a touch of blue she chose.
I needed some time to make this project more complicated. Yes…that means I have not started the blocks yet. I am using teal, purple and a touch of red.
However, I have all the setting blocks completed for the quilt in my head. I am using the large center start from Pat Sloan’s Festivals and Fireworks quilt sew along.
I am using a block I saw on Pinterest for the four 16” corner blocks. Here is a link to the free, printable pattern. It is called Blue Ridge Mountain Star.
Just as a side note, look at all of these bonus half square triangles!
Here is a quick snapshot of the patterns:
I like that the patterns all use 1 background and a light and dark of two colors. The directions are well written thanks to Janice Berg. I love playing along with friends. Time to get to work!
I love yard sales! Yesterday we found this for $20! The seller thought about making it into a table…oh, the horror!
It is a White. I don’t know much about this brand. All the mechanisms are loose…nothing frozen or locked up. There are many, many YouTube videos about them. Thank goodness!
The drawers are in good shape. Only one little spot of veneer damage.
The decals are in good shape.
This is the back before I cleaned the wood. Beautiful!
Do you see the ruler inlaid in the wood case? Fantastic!
It was a little dusty underneath. It came with a nice ball of lint. It cleaned up easily.
I wiped it down with machine oil. What a beauty! I need to bring my treadle book back with me so I can put a new belt on it. (There is a new belt in one of the drawers.) I also need to watch some videos about threading it.
Oh, this will not be a table on my watch! What wonderful treasures did you find recently?
This week has been a travel week. I have worked on a few things…not much. Here are a few pictures of works in progress:
I made these pieces last summer in 2022. I am finally going to put them on the border where they belong.
I will add more of these flowers once I get these ones sewn down to the background. Oh, did I mention there are four borders, not just these two?
This block is from Pat Sloan. It is part of the fireworks quilt along that is just ending. It has this center square that I have decided to use in a block of the month quilt.
This picture has two outside borders on it. Next I will add the blocks for the month and big 16 inch corner squares. My colors are purple, teal, and a bit of red.
This is a practice block for the center of each cornerstone block of that same quilt. The section with the blue and purple square is actually made up of two triangles, which makes it a bit of a challenge.
Hope you are living your best life and doing things that bring you joy!
What are you working on during these last toasty days of summer?
I finally got it all together. Well, maybe not ALL, but this fourth and final version of the Sweet Childhood Memories quilt. This is the quilt that holds my memories. Ta-Dah!
In this quilt, Sweet Childhood Memories, designed by Pat Sloan, each block has a theme. I chose fabrics from my stash to represent the given theme of each block. Here is a detailed look at my fabric choices:
My favorite color is teal. Any shade of blue is great, too. Purple and red are great accents. The inner border that looks black is in reality a deep purple.
Block: Fairy Tales
When I was young, I had a Raggedy Ann doll that I loved to pieces. She had several surgeries to reattach her arm, her leg, etc. I also had a book about the adventures of Raggedy Ann and Andy. There are many of these books still available from Amazon, Etsy, etc. The dolls are also very collectable. I have several of the dolls decorating my sewing room, but not the poor original that was so well loved.
This block reflects the colors in the Raggedy Ann’s clothes. I even found some striped fabric…just like her socks.
Block: Best Friend
My best friends were all in the band. The fabric selection in this block reminded me of a John Philip Sousa march…that my friends would have been playing. Listen here.
Block: Bedtime Routine
Like I said, all four of these quilts had the printed background. Story time or reading was an important part of the bedroom routine. Brushing teeth and taking a bath was important, too.
Blocks (from left to right): Easter Sunday, Outdoor game, and Summer Break
Easter Sunday was the time to visit with grandparents. My grandmother loved to color Easter eggs with us. My grandparents had 200+ chickens, so eggs were never in short supply. They also had rabbits. One always left tracks somewhere in the house for us to find.
I had an basket that I used year after year. A Gardener’s solid chocolate rabbit always appeared in it. I always got a new Easter dress and dress shoes.
As a teenager, our youth group was always in charge of the breakfast after the sunrise service. Someone from the Ladies Auxillary group usually supervised us. That poor lady!
The middle block represents outdoor games. I used to love to play hide and seek with my brother. I would hide and he wasn’t good at the seek part…because I was in the hay loft in the barn where we weren’t supposed to be. I didn’t fall and break my neck…no harm, no foul, right?
Ahhh! Summer! This block goes well with the block above it. I loved playing outside…or reading a book outside. I spent a great deal of time in the hay loft of the barn or up a tree, hiding and reading a book.
Block: Ride a Bike
The Christmas that I was six years old, I got a bicycle. It had a purple and silver paisley seat, that my dad immediately changed to a more comfortable plain, white one. The body of the bike was purple sparkles. It took me forever to learn to ride, because I was so afraid of crashing! No helmets back then!
Blocks (from left to right): Books, Sing a song, and Movie Time
My favorite book was Charlotte’s Web. When the movie came out, I was thrilled, but as always, it was not as good as the book. I used web fabric in memory of Charlotte and pink fabric for Wilbur. Sorry, Templeton, no rat fabric was available.
The middle block is for Sing a Song. Senor Don Gato was a favorite song from elementary school. Listen to it hear. The fabric speaks for itself.
The last block in this row was for favorite movie. I would have to say Cinderella. She did have to clean up a lot of cobwebs!
Blocks: Nursery Rhymes on the left, Fun School Memory on the right
Ring Around the Rosie was my favorite nursery rhyme. We would join hands and spin around like maniac, then all fall down. I used as much flower fabric as I could. The contrast in this block is not the best, but it is still a pretty block.
When I was in high school, I did a term paper on nursery rhymes. I was appalled to find out it was about the black plague.
The tulip block is the fun school memories block. My greatest school memory was a school wide trip to Philadelphia, PA for the bicentennial celebration. Our school did fund raisers for two years to make sure that every student got to go on this trip. It was a five hour bus ride from central PA to get there. We left at 4 AM, but I got to touch the Liberty Bell. I still have the miniature version on a shelf in the sewing room. We got to see the mint in action making money. I was in 4th grade. Don’t waste time on calculations…I am old.
The flower body was cut from red, white, and blue calico. I probably have some Liberty Bell fabric in the tub of American fabrics, but I was content with the red.
Block: Childhood Home
This block is so appropriate for my childhood home. That whirling shape in the middle…someone was always coming or going…Mom, step-mother, etc.
The purple in the center is for a great patch of irises that were beside the house. There was wild garlic mixed in with the irises, so when it was time to mow them off for the fall, it had a wonderful garlic aroma.
My parents had beef cattle and milk cows, thus all the cow fabric. My mother used to make butter in my Grandmother’s antique barrel churn to sell. She also sold pastuerized milk, too. When my parents divorced, dad sold the cows.
The house itself had gray tar paper siding on the outside. At one point, the house had belonged to my great-great-aunt and uncle…maybe more greats. Then it was sold and turned into a hunting camp for a while before my parents purchased it.
Blocks: Toy Box on the left, and Favorite Teacher on the right
My favorite toys were Barbie dolls…and, yes, I still have some. They are friends with my elf and sasquatch statue.
I have two favorite teachers. In high school, Mrs. Neary was a wonderful teacher. She had my dad as a student when she was a brand new teacher. From the stories he told, it is no wonder she became strict and scary. She was wonderful!
My other favorite teacher was Miss Richards in 6th grade. She was sweet and kind. She taught me a lot about being compassionate…that carried over into my own teaching career.
I chose the fabrics for this block because I liked them. I am not sure when I learned to be the recycling “hippy” that I am. Maybe it was on that walk in 6th grade when we didn’t get to go camping…
Blocks: Favorite Bedtime Toy on the left, Holiday Memory on the right
On the right, the block represents bedtime toy. Again, Raggedy Ann.
The block on the left was favorite holiday memory. For years, my grandparents had a big Christmas party. All the aunts, uncles, cousins, great aunts, great uncles, etc. came to this party. I hated it. I whined about it. My dad said that someday I would miss that stupid party. I hate to admit it, but he was right. He was so right.
Block: Something You Learned
This block is about something I learned. There is not enough space here…Let’s just say I survived, I adapted, I overcame and here I am! Now I am old enough to wear purple and red anytime I want!
All four quilts pieced and ready to be quilted. I hope to have these ready to give as Christmas gifts (this year, smarty pants!).
I am already working on my next two projects. I need to keep busy so that Dan doesn’t think I have time to substitute teach. I am having way too much fun being retired!
