Star Thistle ~ Cloud 9 New Block Hop

Welcome to the last day of the 2016 Cloud 9 New Block Blog Hop!  If you have been following along, you no doubt have seen some amazing blocks!  If not, you can check out all the beauties on my Pinterest Board!  

A huge thank you to Cloud 9 fabrics for sponsoring this Blog Hop and to Yvonne @Quilting Jet Girl, Cheryl @Meadow Mist Designs and Stephanie @Late Night Quilter.  It's always a pleasure to participate in this event and pushing myself to create a new block!

This year I tried something new!  Star Thistle is my first paper pieced design!  You can get the free download with templates at my newly opened Craftsy store!

Let's get started!

STAR THISTLE
12 1/2" UNFINISHED

Template #	Color	Size	Quantity	Subcut
A 1	Pink	3” x 2”	4
A 2 - A 3	Dark Blue	3” x 3”	4	Cut Diagonal
A 4 - A 5	Light Blue	2 1/2” x 3 1/4”	8
B 1	Dark Blue	6 1/2” x 3”	4
B 2 - B 3	Grey	5 1/2” x 9”	4	Cut Diagonal
C 1	Pink	3" x 3 1/2”	4
C 2 - C 3	Grey	2 1/4” x 4 1/2”	8

Print four (4) copies of the template.  (Download template)  Using paper scissors, cut around each section about 1/4” from the outside line.

SECTION A - MAKE 4

Using the cutting chart from above, prepare your fabric for piecing.  

***If you are using a print fabric, the first piece will be face up on the back of the template, all other pieces will be stitched together right sides together.

Starting with Template A, center A1 fabric on the backside of the A1 section.  Using a dab of glue on the first piece is helpful.

Align fabric A2 on fabric A1,  1/4” over the seam line.  Holding the template up to a light source helps.  Note:  a little more than 1/4” is advised.  The seam will be trimmed.

Shorten your stitch length, stitch along the line between A1 and A2, back stitching at the point.   ***I back stitch at points and inside seams when I paper piece.  All other lines are from one side the the other.

Fold the paper back, and trim your seam to 1/4”.  Unfold the paper, flip the fabric open and press.

Repeat steps 4, 5, 6 for the A3 section.

Align fabric A4 on A3 fabric, 1/4” over seam line and stitch from one side the the other.  Trim and press.  Repeat with section A5.

SECTION B - MAKE 4

Center B1 fabric to the backside of the B1 section.  Glue in place.

Align fabric B2 on fabric B1, 1/4” over seam.  This section is a little tricky!  Flip your B2 fabric making sure it covers the template.  Pin in place to avoid shifting.

Stitch along the line between B1 and B2, back stitching at the point.  Fold the paper back, and trim your seam to 1/4”.  Unfold the paper, flip the fabric open and press.

Repeat for section B3

SECTION C - MAKE 4

Center C1 fabric to the backside of the C1 section.  Glue in place.

Align fabric C2 on fabric C1, 1/4” over seam.  Stitch along the line between C1 and C2, back stitching at the point.  Fold the paper back, and trim your seam to 1/4”.  Unfold the paper, flip the fabric open and press.

Repeat for section C3.

TRIM FINISHED TEMPLATE SECTIONS

For one (1) block you will need four (4) of each template.

Trim your templates 1/4” from the dark line around all the templates.  

Your pieces will look like this.  Neat and tidy and ready to assemble!

Join A and B sections, stitch together.  The hope is everything fits together perfectly.  If you are unsure, stitch along the seam using a longer stitch length.  Check alignment and re-stitch using a shorter stitch length.  

After stitching, press seams open.  ***I like to remove the paper in the seam after stitching and before pressing.

Join section C to B, stitch together.  Press seams open.  You will have four (4) blocks like 

this.

Arrange the blocks according to the diagram below.  Stitch blocks together and press seams open.  

 

 

And there you have it!  Your Star Thistle Block is complete!  Carefully remove the paper, this is where tweezers come in handy!

There are Helpful Hints for paper piecing attached to the pattern on Craftsy, along with a color sheet!

I made a table runner using this block and it turned out great...sharing that in a couple days!

There are options in terms of color and layout with this block:

                  

 

Here is the list for today's New Block Blog Hop:

Wednesday, September 14th

Host: Stephanie @Late Night Quilter

Kathy @Kathys Kwilts and More

Paige @Quilted Blooms

Mary @Strip Quilts Pass it On

Allison @Woodberry Way

Seven @The Concerned Craft

Olusola @Alice Samuel’s Quilt Co.

Ann @Brown Paws Quilting

Jodie @Persimmon + Pear

Vicki @Orchid Owl Quilts

Kitty @Night Quilter

Francine @Mochawildchild

Shelley @The Carpenter’s Daughter who Quilts

Jayne @Twiggy and Opal

Geraldine @Living Water Quilter

Velda @GRANNYcanQUILT

Shannon @Shannon Fraser Designs

Lisa @Sunlight In Winter Quilts

Jessica @Quilty Habit

Cassandra @The (not so) Dramatic Life

Deanna @Stitches Quilting

Denise @Craft Traditions

And again, all the blocks can be seen on my Pinterest Board!

LINKING:

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Needle & Thread 

Epic Sampler BOM ~ The End Is Near

This weekend was spent in paper piece heaven!  What started as a catch up on the Epic Sampler BOM, ended in a flurry of frustration!  The good news is there is only one month left!

I was two months behind, meaning I had six blocks to make.  One 6", four 12" and the mother of all mothers...one 18"!  I'll get to that story a little bit later!

6" - Star Quest

This was quick and painless!  I just had to figure out my colors, and decided to use four different colors for the star points.  Hopefully, they will jive with my rainbow and tie in the colors.  

12" - Love Wins

This was described as looking like a succulent on instagram.  I have to agree.  I'm not a green person, but I love this combination!  It has a fitting name for the way I feel about it.

12" - Cat Corners

Tying in pink, yellow and a tiny bit of orange with this block.  I feel like I'm a little shy on yellow. Not good with three blocks left to go!

12" - Faceted Star

Pretty?  I like the illusion that there are curves with this one.  



Here's the yellow!  I still don't know if it's enough yellow, but what are you gonna do this late in the game!!

Now Big Birtha and the back story!  Naturally I saved the 18" block for the very last one.  It's a good thing I did, because if I did this one first I'm sure I would still have five other incomplete blocks!

Saturday started with the coloring sheet of 'Kapow Star'.  The name is exactly what my brain nearly did by the end of this one!  I cut my fabric, numbered each stack, numbered each section on the coloring sheet, had to cut more fabric because I kept missing sections...mind blowing!!

18" - Kapow Star

It looks pretty harmless.  It isn't.  It's a death star if it's anything!  A grand total of 176 pieces in this square.  176!  The piecing of each section went pretty well.  I was clipping along, dinner in the oven, thinking I could easily get the piecing of each section done before we eat.  

And then the storm hit.  It got very dark, very windy, very fast.  Thunder, lightning, rain.  And then...a huge boom!!  And...the power went out...and everything stopped.  Dinner.  (which thankfully was done) Sewing.  Kapow, was sidelined.  The power went out at 4:30 pm and was out until after 1 am!  Awww, those summer storms!

I picked it back up Sunday thinking the rest is a breeze.  You know when you think you know how all the pieces should go together?  You think you do, turns out you don't.  The illustration was so confusing!  The seam ripper and I had the best time...not!  Eventually I finally figured out the puzzle and got it together.  But man, the odds were stacked against me!  

This is where it stands as of today!

Three more to go!  The one on the right, the long skinny one.....I'm looking forward to the simplicity of that one!

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Looky Looky ~ Sunday Stash

It wasn't that long ago when I would buy batting by the yard.  I always made sure I had that special 50% off coupon first!  Usually I would get 6, 7 or 8 yards as a time and you know what? Nearly every single time when I was ready to baste a quilt at the end of the 'wad', it was always too small.  Frustrating?  Yes!  I know many of you know what I'm talking about.  

The past couple years I have been buying rolls of Warm & Natural batting (40 yards x 90", queen size).  The frustration is gone!  I always have it on hand, it's never too small and it's less expensive in the long run.  



The last two times I have bought by the roll it was through Amazon.  Free shipping and I don't have to worry about coupons.  

Getting that big box is one of my cheap thrills...my kind of thrill, I must say!  I store the roll in the spare room.  My daughter had one of those dress forms that sits on a pole, she doesn't use it, so I took the stand and popped my roll on it.  It's like it was made for it!



Those cheap thrills I told you about...Giddy Up!  

Instagram is full of wonder, inspiration and yes, even giveaways!  I've been known to enter a few or six...it's hit or miss, but you never know it might be your lucky day!  And it was for me!!



This bundle is good enough to eat, don't you think?!  Mmmm...I do believe it is!  I see brussel sprouts, mushrooms and egg plant!

RJR Fabrics has been having a 'What Shade Are You' blog hop, featuring quilts made from curated bundles.  They also have a giveaway on Instagram seemingly every week.  I was lucky, lucky, lucky enough to win one of those beauties!  

  

I know I will stare at it for a while before I rip the perfect ribbon off.  Admire it.  Instead of opening it up, I thought I would just take pictures.  They are worth a thousand words, pictures that is!



Do you enter fabric giveaways?  Are you lucky?  Sometimes there is a dry spell, and then all of the sudden you win two or three.  Well, not me.  I've heard about it happening!



I'm very thankful to RJR Fabrics for their generosity with these giveaways!  They make a lot of people very happy!

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Sunday Stash

Round Peg ~ Square Hole

I was drawn in by the colors.  The muted tones, the subtle shades.  Shot cottons, Peppered Cottons and Moda Cross Weave ... the weft & warp, nothing can compare!  With little or no plan at the outset, I quickly became inspired by a simple stack of fabric.  

In a weird way, the combination of colors remind me of being in a dense fog.  Where visibility is obscured but you can just make out shapes.  This quilt is a little less hazardous than fog, thankfully!

Round Peg ~ Square Hole
30 1/2" x 39 1/2"

If the colors weren't enough, I wanted to work in a little Raw Edge Weaving.  I saved the scraps from my 'Inspire' quilt, knowing full well they would be perfect for another weaving project.  These were wider than my first weaving project (Raw I), yet perfect for the idea I had in mind.



The wider strips made it much easier to weave and naturally, the finished piece was bigger which gave me more to work with.  Endless possibilities as they say.  



All those squares...may as well go round!  Six Minute circle to the rescue!  The weave circle is 4" across, which allowed me go bigger with the outside.  



I like things perfect and precise.  I also like things organic and seemingly chaotic.  Raw edge weave and the six minute circle combine both in the most perfect way! 



The small circles took care of every last piece of fabric, which is good!  Good that there aren't scraps left over.  Good that there wasn't more fabric or I would have/could have gone overboard!  



The quilting was a pure joy!  With grid work in the raw edge weave circles and carrying the 'wonky' of the circles around each of the three center blocks.  The rest of the quilting was organic or natural.  I love that term, you've probably guessed that by now.  Lines from side to side with the occasional bump.



I'm not sure what the color of this backing is.  A cross between taupe and grey, I think.  It may even be a sateen, but I cannot be sure because I haven't a clue where it came from! All I know is the color was a perfect match to the colors on the front!



Little bundles are the best!  After washing, this quilt was so soft and supple!  The combination of the shot cotton and the mystery backing is seemingly the right combination.



Besides more raw edge weave, more six minute circles, I also have more matched binding work!  Enough already!!!  Just a little bit on the bottom.



Lately I have seen several posts from other bloggers about naming their quilts.  Do you name your quilts?  I try, and I try to be clever coming up with just the perfect name.  But it's hard!  Instead of being clever this time, I'm going with Round Peg ~ Square Hole.  How's that for literal?! 

This quote from Steve Jobs says it all:

"Here's to the crazy ones, 

the misfits, the rebels,

the trouble makers, 

the round pegs in the square holes..."

While this describes so many people, it seems quite appropriate in describing quilters too!

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TGIFF

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop!