KEEPING BUSY

 There are always multiple projects going on in my Studio. Take a look: 

At my guild meeting last week I picked up two "Comfy Quilts" that needed binding. The first I did by machine, the second I am hand sewing the binding to the back. They will be returned next month and will be donated to one of several organizations the HERITAGE QUILTERS OF HUNTSVILLE  supports with quilts:

This is the time of year I work to finish the current Block of the Month for THE QUILT SHOW so I can concentrate on the NEXT BOM coming in January 2027. Game On! is  designed by Becky Goldsmith. I am making BOTH the SOLID and PRINT kit versions:

SOLID through Month 11, almost done:

PRINT through Month 11, ready for Month 12 to be completed. Flight of the Bumblebee, 2027's BOM, is on the wall behind it--I don't want to take it down until it's finished so the wall is a bit distracting:

I spent some time cutting all the fabrics/pieces needed for the remaining four borders that are made in Month 12. This allowed me to plan the fabrics as I like and each border is ready for sewing as I get to it:

LUCKY STARS is still ongoing. The next star is made by paper piecing using the pattern my friend Cyndi R created and the next ring of wedges is ready to be sewn by hand, English Paper Piecing (EPP):

I had another idea of how to use the great fabrics I get each month from my Sunday Sew and Sew friends should I decide not to make any more Lucky Stars. I have always been taken with Timna Tarr's Circle quilts and this would work. 

First, I considered using one neutral background like any of these, OR the neutral Charm Packs I have on hand:

Here is one of hers using neutral backgrounds and several fabrics in each circle:

Scrappy Snacks by Timna Tarr

But then I saw this one of hers and REALLY LIKE it:

O Happy Day by Timna Tarr

Good thing I don't have to decide today...

Some people may only work on one project at a time. That doesn't work for me as I always have several deadlines looming. 

This is also when I  plan next year's local classes. If you are local OR want to come to Huntsville for classes, let me know what interests you. My usual WORKSHOPS are listed above under the WORKSHOP TAB.  Here are a few thoughts at this moment:

FLIGHT OF THE BUMBLEBEE:  DEMO CLASS once a month, 2 hours, I will show exactly how to make that month's segment of this complex quilt. Membership in The Quilt Show is required--that gets you the FREE PATTERN once a month. You will sew at home:

FEATHERED STARS PAPER PIECED: learn detailed paper piecing while making the perfect block for a center medallion or start a full quilt of Feathered Stars:

MY FAVORITE THINGS: a four-day, once a month class that teaches so much, my favorite blocks, AND how to design your own unique layout, or use mine:

OH MY STARS: this will happen somewhere in 2027--perhaps a one day Workshop for a local guild. Stay tuned: 

Let's quilt.

Barbara

LUCKY STARS PROGRESS

 A few months back I mentioned a new handwork project: LUCKY STARS. I was inspired by my friend Jackie Kunkel of Tuscon AZ as she showed all the great stars she was preparing: 

Jackie Kunkel photo

The Pattern from KUSTOM KWILTS
www.kustomkwilter.com

Read that first post for much more information: HERE

Getting fabric from my 12 Sunday Sew and Sew friends is a fun and easy way to gather a wide variety of fabrics each month. There is an assigned color each month and we each bring one light and one dark 3.5" square of that color for each person. These are very easy to cut from fat quarters. 

We "deal" them out as people arrive and everyone goes home with 12 light and 12 dark squares of the color. Here is the first month's table with the color Orange:

I thought I was going to LOVE this project. It's been a bit of a struggle. The pattern is great, the instructions are fine, I LOVE the design BUT...  I really don't know why I feel this way. 

I  LOVE making the 15 wedge ring by English Paper Piecing (EPP)--that is fun and simple handwork:

Joining the center star with black background to the outer wedge ring I find a bit more challenging:

So far I have made these 3, using different techniques each time:

I left the cardstock papers in before the machine applique--BIG mistake, it was a challenge to remove them after the applique

The "papers" were printed on Print n Piece Fuse Lite, easy enough and they stay in but they don't provide much of an edge for the EPP

Hybrid method, some hand, some machine applique and I took out the card stock wedges first--much better. 

I decided to machine applique the completed star to the black background, so much faster hand applique, and I am satisfied with that.

It is lucky that I have smart friends. One of them, Cyndi R., would rather Foundation Paper Piece (FPP) by machine than hand piece by the English Paper Piecing method (EPP). She worked with Electric Quilt (EQ8) to create a few star/centers that are the right size and shared those patterns with us.

Here are a few of Cyndi's blocks:

I printed her Split Star pattern on Freezer Paper and used it for my Blue/Aqua one:

For this one, I hand appliqued the outer Wedge Ring to the pieced Star, leaving the extra black background to be trimmed away after the applique was done.  I carefully removed the card stock papers from the Wedge Ring before the applique.  

After trimming the excess black background from behind the Wedge Ring, I machine appliqued the completed Star with Wedge Ring to a pieced black background square. Then I cut away the extra back background behind the Wedge Ring/Star.  I was happiest with this plan. 

A few of the Sunday Sew and Sews took a local class on how to make this entirely by machine, gluing all the pieces together then machine appliquing each seam. That is an interesting technique BUT this was supposed to be my ongoing HAND project so I am not interested in that method. 

So, for now, I will keep making Stars by Foundation Paper Piecing, using FREEZER PAPER as the foundation, then doing BOTH hand and machine applique to complete the block. 

If you want to know more about Foundation Paper Piecing with Freezer Paper, see my TUTORIAL HERE.

Susan C. said "I was DREADING this project BUT I LOVE this block and English Paper Piecing!" I am thrilled she is loving it. Look at her progress:

A few of our group haven't started yet so time will tell how many of us make a complete quilt. I can always use more placemats...

Let's quilt.

Barbara

GAME ON! MONTH 7

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 add the fourth 3" border, the one at the bottom of the center. This is another one of those "good to know" borders, easy to make and interesting to use. Arranging colors makes the border flow.

The units are easy to paper piece. Simply start by figuring out your colors and keep the fabrics organized. 

Becky has a great tip to make it easier to get intersections to match well. After removing the paper, repress the seam allowances of EVERY OTHER BLOCK in the opposite direction they were pressed when paper piecing:

Now the seams at top and bottom will "nest" 

The intersections will be just where you want them with little bulk:

Be sure the 3" borders measure 36.5" long. I "measure as I go". Each pair needs to measure 6.5" wide. Two pairs sewn together will be 12.5" wide. There are six pairs--I check them all after joining them to each other. Finding the mistake as soon as I make it and fixing it then makes it much more likely the border will be 36.5" wide when complete. 

If the border is longer than 36.5",  measure each unit/pair to find the ones that are too wide and snug up that seam allowance. The FIRST PAIR will measure 6.25" when sewn to the next PAIR, allowing for the outside SEAM ALLOWANCE:

The pairs already sewn to other pairs need to be 6". It is very EASY for borders to GROW just a little with each seam. It is best for me to check each unit/pair as I create the border.

Next we make the four SMALL CORNER BLOCKS that will are used as you add the four 3" borders to the center. Becky shows two LOG CABIN options: a Log Cabin with a CORNER square and a Log Cabin with a CENTER square. 

You can use ANY 3" unit you like. I used Nine Patches for mine:

Here are some alternative ideas:

Once your borders are the right size follow the pattern instructions to add a Log Cabin or your choice of block to the LEFT and RIGHT sides of the TOP and BOTTOM borders to complete the center. 

Finally, carefully cut the narrow BROWN SASHING strips to the EXACT size of the center and add them. Good job! The MIDDLE is getting DONE!

The final 6" CORNER BLOCK also gets made this month. I had a little trouble with my first one. I sewed the wrong sections together:

I should have taken my own advice: WATCH THE VIDEOS, READ THE PATTERN! 

The second time was better. And I didn't trim the outside edges of the papers until the star was assembled. This allowed me to be sure my star was 6.5" and I had a 1/4" beyond each star point:

Another thing I tried to do was keep straight of grain on the outside edge of each section. This meant I usually placed the white fabric on the paper first, then added the blue star point:

Whenever I sew seams with ODD ANGLES or more than FOUR FABRICS coming together, I machine BASTE the seam first. It is much easier to remove basting threads and readjust if I need to:

Machine basting, long stitch set at 5.0

Check to see if you are happy with the intersections. If so, set the machine back to normal piecing length, 2.0 for me, and now sew the complete seam. Here I like this basting so I will complete the seam:

This is a good FIVE POINT STAR and a block I like. Paper piecing it works well for me. I use Freezer Paper so I can use the pattern multiple times. 

Next month we get started on the wider 6" Borders. This will be regular piecing--NO PAPERS TO PRINT!

Let's quilt.

Barbara

LUCKY STARS -- NEW HANDWORK PROJECT

 Recently I decided I needed a new Hand Piecing project to take with me on my travels. My friend, Jackie Kunkel, has been showing her tantalizing LUCKY STARS blocks on Social Media and she SUCKED ME RIGHT IN.

A few of Jackie's photos:

Who wouldn't be tempted with all these fantastic fabric selections of such amazing COLORS?! 

But I don't have a lot of orange, or lime green, or aqua, etc. A group swap would be the perfect way to get some. Fortunately, my Sunday Sew and Sews were all excited to join in this project. 

Twelve of us are swapping 3.5" squares of a LIGHT and a DARK shade of specific fabrics each month.

Cyndi took on the task of ordering the 12 sets of patterns. She also made us each a set of cardstock templates for the 3 shapes needed so each person could get started right away. That was an unexpected surprise! Thank you, Cyndi:

The pattern is excellent and a reasonable price for all the information included. There is an additional password-protected file online with even more instructions, including the best way to baste each shape and files for printing your own paper templates. There are video instructions there as well.

See the designer's website: Kustom Kwilter.  There are several options for ordering.  Just the pattern--printed or PDF, the pattern and 3 acrylic templates for easy cutting of the shapes, or a complete set with the pattern, templates and ALL the pre-cut papers for the 60" x 72" quilt. There are additional intriguing designs available as well:

We met recently and did our first swap: ORANGE:

I made a name page for each of us and as people arrived they put their LIGHT and DARK orange squares on each person's page. I didn't get a photo of the beautiful stacks but here is what I received:

We are using lights and darks for the 15 wedges that make the circle around the star and background shapes. We will discuss color and contrast--"COLOR gets all the credit but CONTRAST does all the work."

As a demo for our first meeting I was working on an ORANGE block:

Next month is GREEN so I cut that one out too:

Cyndi had also done some pre-meeting work so we could discuss alternatives to the pattern instructions. Here you can see what we had ready for the group to enjoy, Cyndi's orange and aqua stars and my two in progress:

We are looking forward to seeing what each person does. There are NO RULES, and NO DEADLINES, each person can do as she pleases. I love picking the fabric and using glue to baste shapes to the papers. The sewing is not as exciting to me. But I love how they turn out. 

This is going to be FUN!

Find a project you like, see if a few of your friends want to join in, and get a group together. These small squares of fabric would easily lend themselves to a "distance group", where those not nearby could mail the fabrics in a regular envelope. 

We are a group of 12. Cutting 3.5" squares from a Fat Quarter is easy--cut two strips 3.5" x 21", lay them on top of each other and cut into 3.5" squares--exactly 12 are cut from those two strips. And you still have a 11" x 21" piece of fabric left for your collection. So buy ONE LIGHT and ONE DARK fat quarter of a color and get 11 more different fabrics for your rings. Easy and fun!

Let's quilt.

Barbara