Yes that does say June in the title, and I know it’s the middle of July, but in my defence, June’s queen, the fabulous Terri, said we could hand them over at FQR, so I’m, like, days early… ;o)
Our brief this month was stars, and we were sent an FQ of Kona in a solid colour, and then 2 colourways of prints to make into the stars, with strict instructions not to mix the colours up (she’s a hard task master ;o) ). I also had an additional challenge of trying to fit a frog in the middle of one of my stars. As you do…
Firstly I tackled the grey, frog-free block, and chose the ‘Another Star’ from the Solstice Stars series from last year that was run by Faith of Fresh Lemons Quilts. I altered the tutorial slightly to make the border of the centre square using the partial seams technique, but other than that I followed it as written:
My second one required a bit more hunting – the piece of frog fabric was only 3″ across, so any simple 9 patch options were out, however I had a vague recollection of a star within a star block in the Modern Blocks: 99 Quilt Blocks from Your Favorite Designers
Now I will tell you now, that I would only tackle this block for a dear friend – would you look at all those triangles!!! o.O My tips for this one would be – on the inner star, if you can, cut the print pieces to about 2″ square before cutting on the diagonal rather than 1 1/2″, there is virtually no margin for error if you use the 1 1/2″ option *sigh* Thankfully, after the 2nd round with the seam ripper, I realised that if I marked the seam allowance on the print triangles it was easier to line things up. I cut the next round slightly bigger too, although that wasn’t as critical. For the final round, when cutting the rectangles on the diagonal, remember to cut 2 one way, and 2 the other, otherwise it won’t work ;o)
Looks great Katy, and that reminds me, I need to make your second block to hand over on Friday, whoops! :o)
The second one totally looks 3-D–love it!
Your blocks look awesome, especially the froggy one! 🙂
Sounds like the voice of experience talking on that second block!
Great blocks. Jude made me the bottom block in the HipBee's. She must really like me. 🙂
Beautiful blocks – no.2 scares me just to look at it, no chance I'd want to tackle it! Juliex
You've made 2 very cool blocks!!! I like the choice of fussy cut centers!!
Wow,just beautiful.The last one caught my eye!
Beautiful stars K! Like you I found the 3 wishes block tricky with inadequate instructions in the book. But I love how it turns out. Not for the faint hearted! Jxo
Gorgeous blocks Katy!! I have some June blocks to do *ahem* 😉
Ooow!!! I love doing stars. I think yours are beautiful.
oh gosh, for a fellow HST. avoider. you've made some stunning star blocks (-:
I think your second block is just awesome! AWESOME! I love the little frog and the little star he lives in. Terri will too 🙂
That second block looks like torture to do but you nailed it. They both look really terrific!
I've made both these blocks for Bees and like you, I had trouble with skimpy fabric instructions in the 3 wishes one. Yours look great and I especially like your frog!