Who says you can’t make a quilt with only 5 quilt blocks? I’m not positive that anyone has even said that, but I am positive that it is possible! With a one day window to make this quilt happen I had to think of something quick and easy to execute, minimal piecing and minimal number of blocks. So take five blocks and throw in lots of sashing/background and there you have it.

But even a simple pattern doesn’t necessarily equal fast and easy quilt. Sometimes your creativity gets the best of you and gets you in trouble. You see where this is going right? Why, yes, the easiest, fastest and simplest option is straight line quilting. But no, inspiration struck and I had to shadow quilt wonkily, just to match the wonky stars. By the end of my one day window the quilt was sandwiched and I had only quilted 3 shadows around each star.

Of course you don’t need to know the all details about the scrambling that ensued the following day in order to get the quilt done aside from the fact that I finished. And also.. the quilt is awesome.

Unfortunately I didn’t have time to wash the quilt before I snapped these shots. The quilt is for a baby shower for B’s college friend and wife. Since I can’t attend, B’s delivering the goods and I’ve put him in charge of washing, packing and taking photos of the wrinkly goodness. It will be so much more awesome when it’s puckered and krinkly!

More details? Sure!

Pattern: Superstar Quilt based on a wonky star block
Fabrics: Heather Ross Mendocino, Alexander Henry Beach Stripe, Woodstock Running Dots, Kona Cotton Ash, and Kona Cotton Coal
Size: Approximately 40”x40”

I made little curlie-q stars in the center of each start and it reminds me of an atom. B’s college friend flies satellites so hopefully he’ll appreciate the happy accident.

And of course, I could keep it if I could. I really need to stop making gifts for people, but it’s the only way I seem to actually finish projects these days.

I know it's not April yet, but I couldn't help myself from starting (and finishing) my April One Shiny Bee blocks.

Becki chose the wonky star as her theme and pointed us to this tutorial to get started. It was simple and straightforward. Make sure to heed her advice to cut the squares for the points larger than 4.5". This will help you get wonkier stars without worry about the triangle not covering the entire square when pressed open.

The wonky star as desired came out great except for one thing. I should have used darker fabric instead of lighter ones for the star points. While the ones I chose had colored backgrounds, the white in the foreground washed out those values and made it blend into the neutral background fabric. This is why people advise you to step back and view your blocks from afar. I would have caught this sooner before I finished it.

For my second block, I decided to make a spread of smaller stars. I fussy cut the mermaid, seahorse and turtle and offset the layout. This is my favorite of the two!

I had fun making both these blocks. Despite the light points on the larger star, I hope she likes them!

Half of march has come and gone and I've already completed my One Shiny Bee blocks for March! It's Val's month's and her theme is pinwheels.

She sent some awesome Heather Bailey fabrics. Remember that whole Iron Chef analogy I referenced in my last post? This is where it comes into play. What blocks could I use with these fabrics that will show off the beauty of the fabrics without being distracting or overpowering? It's party strategy and part beauty. Because the prints on fabrics were a larger scale than I normally work with, I felt really challenged. After much thought, I decided to deal with them in two ways, picking pattern with large enough pieces to show off some of the prints and strategic cutting.

Block: Twisting Star

By name, this is technically NOT a pinwheel. But my pinwheel requirements are pretty lax. As long as it's directional and conveys motion, it's a pinwheel!

Block: Disappearing Pinwheel in a Double Card Trick
(so aptly named by Carolyn)

I used this tutorial to make this block. But notice something different, yes? As I was laying it out, I decided to play with the border and came up with this. I instantly fell in love and now I have to make one of these for myself!

So there you have it, two pinwheels and off they go! Hungry for more pinwheels? There's a pinwheel sampler quilt-along happening here.

I've become a blockhead over the past weeks. I've been making quilt blocks, but not for a quilt, just to make them. Participating in One Shiny Bee is the reason why my crafting as of late has turned this way.

It's been really fun. It's challenged me to make quilt blocks I'd never consider, and also work with fabric that I have no control over. It's kind of like an Iron Chef for quilting (without the competition). Here's the theme and your fabric. Now go forth and create!

L-R: Improvised Block, Mexican Star

It's also sparked my interest in new techniques, like foundation paper piecing. Print off a pattern. Sew through the paper and fabric. Rip off the paper and ta da. O.. hai! I have a boat!

Paper piecing boat tutorial

And now, I think I'm hooked, all starry eyed for paper piecing.

Galaxy Star

Can't wait to try out more!

Hello, folks!

Yours truly needs a new sewing machine more than she needs sock yarn. Head here to check out the goods.