Showing posts with label hourglass star block. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hourglass star block. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Hourglass Stars Complete!

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This finished quilt measures 36.5” square. I am really happy with how it turned out.

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The Kona celery sashing is a buttery-green color.

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The back is simply Kona ash.  I used gray thread from Connecting Threads for the quilting on the front and back.

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I really like the look of stippling.  This is one of the last quilts I finished before my husband modified my sewing table, so I am ready to try some new fmq designs.

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Do you machine bind or hand sew your binding?  I am so impatient that I nearly always machine bind everything.  The first couple bindings were pretty poor looking, but practice really has improved my ability to match up the zig-zag on the front and back.  There is only this one little hiccup where the black thread shows a little bit on the backing.

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I cut my binding 2.75” wide instead of the regular 2.5”.  I attach the binding to the back and then stitch it down with a zig-zag to the front.  I don’t use pins or Clover clips to hold it down.  I simply feed it through my machine matching up the needle with the first binding seam.  It’s easy to get arcs if you are pulling on the binding, but as long as you don’t manipulate it too much, the zig-zag will be pretty smooth.  I think cutting the binding a little bigger reduces the need to pull on the binding.  The entire rest of the binding looks perfect like the photo above.

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Linking up to Freemotion by the River and Fabric Tuesday.  If you are interested in making a similar quilt, this is the tutorial for hourglass stars.  Have a great day!

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

More Hourglass Star Blocks

Here are  a few of the other stars using oval elements.

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Yesterday was my first day doing a blog hop…it was so much fun!!!  If you missed it, you can enter the giveaway for a $25 Quilt Taffy gift certificate here.

Yesterday was also my birthday.  I got a gift card to Joanns and am so excited to go and spend it.  I will be getting a new cutting mat and some rotary blades.  No fabric for me…I’m sticking with my diet, although of course I first thought I might get backing for my Summerlove quilt.  I keep thinking a bright blue backing would be the icing on the cake.   But I’m going with stash fabric, and I plan to do wavy line quilting.

Linking up to Freemotion by the River and Fabric Tuesday.  Have a great day!

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Dots on Dots Blog Hop and Giveaway

Hourglass Star Block

Hourglass Star Block, finished size 11 x 11 inches.  I made my block from fat quarters picked by Maureen Cracknell for The Intrepid Thread that came in this bundle (photo from Maureen Cracknell Handmade).  The dots are called oval elements.

Fabrics for Friday's Giveaway!

I started by separating the 10 fat quarters into 5 sets of dots/solid combos.

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From the dots I cut two 5 x 5 squares and from the solids I cut five 4 x4 squares and two 5x5 squares.

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Mark 1/4 lines on either side of the diagonal.

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Pair up the dot/solid 5 x 5 squares and pin.  Sew along each line.

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Cut right down the middle into two halves.

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Then subcut the triangles into two by making a right angle.

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You will end up with a little pile of triangles.  Press them all before opening up to set the seams.

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Now, this is the most important part.  Finger press the seam open before pressing flat.  Finger pressing will keep your seams from getting wonky or distorted.  Pressing the seams open also makes the finished block flatter.

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After pressing flat, I like to give it a little spray of starch and set everything one more time with a hot iron.  I don’t use steam.

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Now, match up two triangles to make a square.

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I pin the triangles together since the seams don’t nest.

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Chain sew all your pieces.

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Finger press again and flip over. 

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Voila!  A pretty hourglass block.

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Line up the diagonal on a square ruler with the seam line.  Trim to 4 inches square.

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Very pretty!

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Now lay out all your hourglass blocks with the solid 4 x 4 squares.

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Press the seams toward the solid squares and you will end up with this hourglass star block.

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Now, onto the important part!   I am giving away a $25 gift certificate to Quilt Taffy.  I’ve ordered from Corrie’s shop tons of times and she has sweet fabric and great customer service!  To enter, you must be a follower and leave a comment telling me your favorite fabric.  If you are a no-reply blogger please leave your email address in the comment.  Open to international entries and the winner will be announced next Monday, September 17th.  Have a great week and don’t forget to check out the other stops on the blog hop today:

Cat Patches

Busy Bee Quilts

Stitch by Stitch

Mary on Lake Pulaski

Just Let Me Quilt

[Amy's] Crafty Shenanigans

PolkaDotClassic

AnnieOak Designs

Blueberry Moon

You can find the entire schedule on Corrie’s blog here:

http://quilttaffy.blogspot.com/2012/08/dots-on-dots-blog-hop-schedule.html