Tag: quilting stars

Posted in quilting, sewing

WIP Wednesday: SAHRR Round Three

Posted on by Laura Kate

It’s all Japanese quilt blocks all the time around my house these days. First of all, let me show you the fabrics that came yesterday from kimonomomo on Etsy;

They are all types. There’s smooth cotton and homespun, shiny metallics and quiet two-color prints. What I forgot to buy was fabric in light colors. So my completed squares are about to get darker.

But not this week. Quilting Gail asked us to make star blocks for round 3. I found only one Japanese star block in Susan Briscoe’s book. The Japanese word for star is hoshi.

This is a basic eight point star assembled from diamond shapes. But it is not an easy one. The directions are rated difficult and the technique includes sewing lots of Y-seams. No thank you.

A google search helped me get out of this assignment. I discovered many Japanese quilts that incorporated hoshi blocks in different techniques and styles. So I decided to use this criss-cross star block as described by Anorina on sameliasmum.com

To give the block a little Japanese style, I made the center square with an appliqued crane, which symbolizes longevity for the Japanese. This applique is included in Susan’s pattern book and described as a crest.

Crane on gold square
Crane on dark square

I sewed three criss-cross blocks in all. And here is my quilt at the end of round 3.

I will be continuing to stagger the placement of blocks. That means I need to wait for Round 4 to finish this row. Two blocks from Round 4 will replace the outside stars in this row. They will be moved to row 4.

I hope you are enjoying my little adventure in international quilting. Be sure to visit the Linky party. It can be found on Quilting Gail’s site.

Here is the line up of all 2025 SAHRR designers.

See you next week.

Posted in quilting

SAHRR 2023 Round 2: Stars

Posted on by Laura Kate

Pieceful Wendy has suggested stars, and I’m tickled about her choice. A star block will fit perfectly at the points between my rows of spools.

SAHRR Border 2

I’ve decided to adopt Wendy’s little four-point star for my own. The yellow batik fabric will form the star body and arms. I’ll vary the construction by using three rectangles and one square with stitch-n-flip triangles sewn on. These pieces are then sewn around the center as in log cabin block construction.

Test Block completed

The result is slightly wonky star arms – a look I find sort of charming.

Stars in the heavens like snowflakes: No two alike.

And here is my quilt with the addition of rounds two and three.

While I’m happy with the result, it’s clear that I will need a plain border to give breathing room to the center. I’ll continue with the little sparks of yellow throughout the design, hoping that this device will create unity and lots of rhythm.

Feb 3 – Border sewn together and added to the center block.

Don’t forget to check out the work of other participants at the InLinkz party.

SAHRR Border 2
Posted in quilting

Update on Creation Project

Posted on by Laura Kate

It’s time to turn my full attention to incorporating the panels into a quilt. After perusing my Quilter’s Recipes book, I settled on a block called “A” Star Variation.

This version of a nine-patch block is described as Easy. I notice that the book shows a small quilt made with four blocks. This would work very well for my four panels. A secondary design is revealed right in the block’s middle. I have a good idea for an embellishment on that location.

As of today, I have all the patches cut and assembled.

The middle rows of each block, featuring the applique patch, are sewn up.

The next step is to assemble the first block. This will be a true test of my cutting and piecing skills.

It looks…………okay. The three-piece triangle blocks show my weakness in cutting and matching points. I’m not bothered sufficiently by the block’s wonkiness to take it apart and re-make those patches. But I will double-check the remaining patches of that type for accuracy and size.

Soon the assembly will be done, and I can move forward to making surface designs, which will make me happy. I also plan to add a double border using dark teal and rust red fabrics. Those fabrics are visible in the upper left corner of this block.

Have a great day. It’s nice here – I plan to take a walk.

Posted in quilting

SAHRR Quilt Round 3: Oh, My Stars!

Posted on by Laura Kate

Chaos reigned in my studio yesterday as I attempted to make star blocks. Stars were chosen by Roseanne and Sue @ Home Sewn by Us for Round 3 of the round robin quilt-at-home challenge. This picture is me trying to play catch up.

I got behind during round 3. It was that week my mother, aged 91, had a stroke and was taken to hospital. Our father, who is 94, needs a little help at home. In response, my husband and I traveled home to stay with Dad and help out my siblings with Mom’s needs. We took turns visiting Mom daily while she recovered well enough to move to assisted living quarters. It was a busy and emotional time for all of us.

I’m back home now. The temporary crisis has passed, but my mother is no longer the energetic and capable person who raised me. She will need help daily.

Life can be cruel.

So I’m working through the chaos today. But first, here is how I started this block. I married together two weaving samples for the background of the Sky section of my quilt. This area will represent the element Air.

I like the horizontal bands of color. They look like clouds at sunset. To represent the setting sun, I used the foundation paper piecing method and created this:

This piece will be attached to the top of the fringed weaving.

Eventually my stars were finished up.

I sewed them together into a border and attached it to the right of the sunset.

A narrow piece of gray swirled fabric represents the wind.

To finish this block, I attached border strips to the left and bottom.

FINISHED AIR BLOCK

The fringe flies freely so that it can wave in the breeze. And my studio has been tidied and carpet vacuumed.

Now that the Elements are all present, I am ready for the final round of Stay At Home Round Robin. With a bit of diligence, I’ll have something to show by Sunday, when the linky party ends.