GAME ON! MONTH 6

 Game On! is the 2026 Block of the Month quilt designed by Becky Goldsmith exclusively for THE QUILT SHOW: find Game On! information here. Join as a Star Member to get all the patterns and all the videos FREE. Membership is just $49/year and provides access to almost 20 years of shows and tremendous additional content. Join HERE

This month we make another 3" border and one more 6" Corner block. 

This border is comprised of 2 units--A and B--they are Reverse Mirror Images of each other. It is important to keep organized, especially with the white fabrics.

As always there are excellent instructions and Becky's Videos to guide you.

MY CUTTING SUGGESTION: The only cutting change I made was for the white fabrics, large and small triangles. To save time and fabric I cut 6 rectangles of white, 2.5" x 8.5". (You could make them slightly larger for more "insurance".)

Stack in 3 PAIRS. It is VERY IMPORTANT they be RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER.  Using a ruler with a 30 degree marked line, cut from the lower left corner up to the other side:

You now have 6 large triangles, 2A and 2B, 3 Left and 3 Right. And 6 small triangles, 4A and 4B, 3 Left and 3 Right.

After sewing each unit, trim carefully and join the units as shown in the PRINTS photo above. Or the SOLIDS  photo, as I have done with my SOLIDS version:

This Border is a great one--the Blue/Aqua center strips really make it flow and the large colorful triangles add a lot of interest. I liked it so much I decided it was perfect for my Star of Texas I've been working on, off and on, for many years:

The 6" corner block is easy too. Here are my SOLIDS and PRINTS versions. Feel free to use any fabrics you like should you want to make changes to the KIT selections:

Next month we make the final 3" inner Border and another 6" corner block. 

Be sure to Share Your Progress on the FORUM. We love to see how you are doing.

Let's quilt. 

Barbara

DIAMOND JUBILEE PROGRESS

 You may remember I decided to greatly alter my plan for my "Diamond Jubilee" quilt. It was begun 12 years ago in anticipation of my 60th birthday. This year I will be 10 +1 more than that so it was time to get this done.

Here is  where I am today:

Still to come is a pieced border of half square triangles and an outer border of the paisley print used in the center of each star and the sashing between the stars. 

Here is the original plan--to replicate a quilt made by Catherine Butterworth I saw in a magazine years ago. It won a big award at the Sydney Australia quilt show, where Catherine lives.  I tracked her down and we became "friends".  My colors would be much different but I LOVED her design. Her stars are almost 20", with 4 "feathers" on each side, mine is 15", with 3 feathers on each side:

"Julie's Quilt" by Catherine Butterworth, 96" square

A year ago I only had 4 stars done of the 13 needed. So I got back to this project in earnest. I made 5 more Feathered Star blocks, using the detailed color plan I developed 12 years ago.

Over time, things change. I decided I didn't need a king size quilt. And I didn't want to make 8 HALF STAR blocks and 4 QUARTER STAR blocks. I had 9 Feathered Star blocks done, 15" square each. So what to do???

I played around in Electric Quilt 8 (EQ8), quilt design software, to get an idea of what I might want to do. Sixteen Feathered Stars set straight would look like this:

That was ok, I already had 1 star done with the light yellow background. I would still have to make 7 more Feathered Stars. And 80" x 80" is still a pretty large quilt.

Ultimately, I settled on this:

BUT, the yellow stars look way out of place. I made 3 more Feathered Stars, each with darker backgrounds. Putting them on the design wall gave me this--the yellow one is still a problem:

SO, I made ONE MORE FEATHERED STAR: with a GREEN background. Now I had this and I liked it  much better:

OK, on to the sashing. I pulled one fabric after another out of my deep stash closet, auditioning many options: light, dark, striped, solid. Nothing seemed to work:

Sometimes you just need another set of eyes to help you see. My friend, Jan Davis, was out of state at the time but I was able to send these photos, and others, to her for her opinion. Jan is making several of these same stars to finish up her own "long brewing" quilt project. I knew she would understand my dilemma and how I wanted to get it "right".

Jan agreed with me about the yellow star--it had to be replaced. Then she suggested the idea I had been toying with: what about the big paisley print that is the "focus" fabric for all the fabrics included in the quilt? Would it be busy? Yes. Would it be unexpected? Yes. Would it WORK? Maybe... I have a BOLT of it so that wasn't a problem:

It's not awful

It was so much better than anything else I had tried I declared it the winner. The cornerstones really help to break up some of the "chaos" a busy print brings to the table:

Now it was time to make the half square triangle borders. I had designed them to be 3" so I made a bunch of the 80 needed. When I put them on the wall beside the top I knew they were JUST TOO BIG. I made a few that were 2" finished, much better.  I need 130 of those but they are quick to make so that is my new plan:

There will be a large outer border of the paisley once the half square triangle borders are done. The quilt will  be about twin size when done, significantly smaller than the original plan. But that will make it a good size as a class sample to teach the paper pieced Feathered Star block. I already have a YELLOW sample block done!

The pattern is FEATHERED STAR HEAVEN by Sue Garman--all the papers you need to make 9 blocks are included in the pattern. Sue's instructions are excellent. I recommend it highly. The Star is 15" finished. See my TUTORIAL on FEATHERED STARS here

So, you have to be prepared to change your mind on a long-term project when it no longer sings to you. Right now, I am happy to charge ahead to get this top finished before my Joyful Journey Retreat March 5-9. There I will be able to baste it so I can quilt it later this year.

I really look forward to having this BUCKET LIST QUILT finished.

Let's quilt.

Barbara

 

LAUREL RIDGE -- MONTH 2

Laurel Ridge is the 2025 Block of the Month quilt designed by Lynn Wilder exclusively for The Quilt Show.  Star Members have FREE access to the patterns starting January 1, 2025. Made in two colorways, the complete patterns are excellent. You will love making this quilt. Lynn supports the pattern instructions with Videos too. 

This month the pattern is for the 5" applique blocks. There are 4 sets of 3 applique blocks this month. Lynn has a Video for the applique and discussed applique in her show, #3601, FREE FOR ALL  to watch this entire year. Follow Lynn's excellent instructions for her applique designs. 

I chose not to include any applique in my quilt so I looked through Barbara Brackman's Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns for ideas of what to substitute. 

BIG WARNING: if you are using either of the KITS,  my substitution Blocks and/or Fabrics were not part of the Kit calculations. I know there is a "little" extra fabric in each Kit, but there is NO GUARANTEE you will have enough Kit fabric with my changes. If this makes you nervous, just FOLLOW THE PATTERN INSTRUCTIONS with NO CHANGES. 

Here are 3 options I think will work. The first two I paper-pieced, the third is a regular pieced block.

Option 1: X Block 5", 3 in a row

One block 5" FINISHED: the yellow is an additional fabric I added

The pattern is drawn in EQ8 but it is very easy to draw with a pencil and paper. Each of the 4 squares are 2.5" FINISHED--draw a 3" square, this accounts for the seam allowance around the edges. The center white strip is symmetrical on the square and 7/8" wide FINISHED--OR whatever size you like. I wrote in the 4 colors I used for the triangles so I wouldn't get confused. Make 4 of the small squares, sew them together as a four-patch and the block is 5" FINISHED, 5.5" including seam allowance.

                                                            

OPTION 2: Rolling Block 5", 3 in a row: I like the circular feel of this one

One block, 5" FINISHED: the yellow and dark green are additional fabrics I added

Again, my pattern is drawn in EQ8 but is very easy to draw on paper. Each unit is 2" FINISHED, the outer white triangles are 1.5" on the outside edge, the smaller inner white triangles are 1" on the outside edge. My colored strips are 1" FINISHED OR whatever size you like. The white sashing and green squares are 1" wide FINISHED. NOTE: the center strip is NOT centered symmetrically on the block:

OPTION 3: Another X Block, 3 in a row: I love the simplicity of this. NOT paper pieced:

I simply drew a 5" square on paper, made the center white strip 1" wide and symmetrical on the square; what is left are the 4 colored QST triangles. Cut a 5" square of four different fabrics, cut on both diagonals and there you have the quarter square triangles (QST) needed to make 4 blocks. There are a total of 12 blocks in the quilt:

At this moment I am leaning toward Option 3, the easiest and fastest. I won't decide until much later in the year when a lot more of the quilt is done. 

If you want to substitute a pieced block for the applique, ANY 5" block might work. Try a few to see what you like. You can always make a "test" block with extra fabrics from your stash to see if you like it before using your "official" Laurel Ridge fabrics. You DO have extra fabrics right?!

Later this year we will have the other applique block to make, 5" x 7.5" FINISHED. I have some ideas on what I plan to do there too. Stay tuned...

I have written about paper piecing with Freezer Paper several times. Find one HERE if you are new to using Freezer Paper for foundation.

I have also written about applique, both machine and hand, quite a few times. THIS ONE might be helpful for this month's applique if you are doing that. 

Share your progress on the FORUM we want to see what you are doing!

Next month we move on to a very easy block that will get us further along on the journey.

Let's quilt.

Barbara