Thursday, January 24, 2013

New Leaf Bee Block Blog Hop - Ohio Star in Star



I was so surprised and flattered when Jan invited me to participate in the Daisy Janie Bee Block Blog Hop. I have been a long standing fan of Jan's beautiful fabrics which she sells under the Daisy Janie label - I have owned every line I think, and still have some of most. Daisy Janie fabrics are not just stunning, they are made from 100% GOTS certified organic fabrics. You can go here to read about the cotton industry and the benefits of supporting organic cotton - I highly recommend that you do.

New Leaf Ohio Star

Jan asked us to consider the concepts of turning over a new leaf, renewal, refresh, growth, change in direction for inspiration and to make a block with the fabrics she sent. Well, since I love stars and always see the stars as inspiring me to grow, to dream, to stretch and to be all that I can be, I made a star - this one is an Ohio Star. And I thought that having a star in star suggested even more growth and renewal too.

I did not have any organic solid fabrics on hand and realized I could not get any by online order in time. So I pulled out the Dapple Dot print from Jan's Shades of Grey line to pair with these beautiful bright New Leaf prints. I can already see these prints shining on a low volume background, maybe made of several scrappy low volume prints - can you?

Here is how you make this block which will finish as a 12" square (12.5" unfinished).

New Leaf Ohio Star

 The Ohio Star is a 9 patch block which uses quarter square triangle units (QSTs). For the large star you will need four 4.5" square background pieces, two 5.25" squares of the star point fabrics - you will see I made the star points from floret lemon and rhapsody lemon, one 5.25" square of the triangle inset fabric - I used floret raspberry, and one 5.25" square of background fabric. If you were not putting a star in the centre, then your centre would be a 4.5" square.

New Leaf Ohio Star

Pair one of the star point 5.25" square fabrics with the 5.25" square triangle inset fabric and the other with the 5.25" square background fabric with right sides together. Draw a line from corner to corner and then stitch 1/4" on either side of the line for each pair. Cut along the line and press. I pressed the seams towards the star point (yellow) fabrics.

New Leaf Ohio Star

You will have the above set of  half square triangles (HSTs).

New Leaf Ohio Star

Pair the HSTs right sides together so that the triangle point fabrics are kitty corner to each other and the seams line up with each other. Nest the seams so that they match nicely.

New Leaf Ohio Star

Draw a line from corner to corner, perpendicular to the seam line. Stitch 1/4" on either side of the line. Cut along the line and press open. I press this seam open.

New Leaf Ohio Star

The resulting four quarter square triangle (QST) units look like this. Take a minute at this point to trim them, if need be, to 4.5" square.

New Leaf Ohio Star

Lay out your Ohio Star as shown. The triangle inset fabrics are placed toward the centre square.
New Leaf Ohio Sar

To make another Ohio Star to go in the centre of our large star, you repeat the steps above. Use four 1.5" squares of background fabric - I used fantail lemon, one 1.5" square for the centre square - I used floret lemon, two  2.25" squares of star point fabric - I used fantail raspberry, one 2.25" square of triangle inset fabric - I used foret raspberry, and one 2.25" square of background fabric. Make four QST units using the 2.25" squares in the same way as the large star. Trim those units to 1.5" squares, press and lay out the small Ohio Star.

And by this time you will have noticed the formula to make QSTs - add 1.25" to the finished size of unit you want to have - so for units that finish at 1" we start with 2.25" squares, for units that finished at 4" we started with 5.25" squares.

New Leaf Ohio Star

Sew together the three units of each row. Press. You can see I press the top and the bottom rows so the seams point to the outside edge and the centre row so the seams point toward the centre. Match the rows, nest the seams. and sew them together. Press. I press these seams open.

New Leaf Ohio Star - small star

Here is your small star, at this point it is a 3.5" square.

New Leaf Ohio Star - centre small Ohio Star

Frame the centre star with 1" strips - I used more of the floret lemon. Press and then trim this unit down to be a 4.5" square.

New Leaf Ohio Star

Add the centre star to the perviously laid out big star and sew the rows. Press as for the small star and join the rows. Press again.

New Leaf Ohio Star

Admire your beautiful Ohio Star in Star block. I love how full of rich colour the New Leaf fabrics are.

Jan sent us a piece of each of the eight fabrics in the New Leaf line. Since I had only managed to use five of the prints for the Ohio star in star, I made one more block that used them all - an improv but not wonky log cabin with a beautiful fussy cut flower in the centre.

New Leaf Improv Log Cabin

I hope you will have time to check out all the beautiful blocks made in the blog hop. The schedule is:

New Leaf Bee Block Blog Hop Schedule
Mon, 1/14 - Becky Moyer, My Fabric Obsession
Tues, 1/15 - Lynn Harris, The Little Red Hen
Wed, 1/16 - Candy Glendening, Candied Fabrics
Thurs, 1/17 - Holly DeGroot, Bijou Lovely
Fri, 1/18 - Melanie Thornton, Melanie Dramatic

Mon, 1/21 - Emily Cier, Carolina Patchworks
Tues, 1/22 - Rachael Gander, Imagine Gnats
Wed, 1/23 - Maureen Cracknell, Maureen Cracknell Handmade
Thurs, 1/24 - Leanne, She Can Quilt
Fri, 1/25 - Cindy Wiens, Live a Colorful Life

Mon 1/28 - Cheryl Arkison, Dining Room Empire
Tues, 1/29 - Jacquie Gering, Tallgrass Prairie Studio
Wed, 1/30 - Shanna Bailey, Fiber of All Sorts
Thurs, 1/31 - Katy Jones, Monkey Do

And for those of you doing the Fat Quarter scramble - if you have not been, go back to the previous stops on the blog hop, see the blocks and get the letters, and unscramble them so you can enter to win a fat quarter bundle of the New Leaf fabrics - my FQ scramble letter is E.

Best,

Leanne

38 comments:

Rachel said...

Very pretty block with very pretty fabrics!

Patti said...

Great Ohio Star block, and those fabric colours!! Wow! Just gorgeous!

Svetlana said...

Your Ohio star block is totally amazing, Leanne!!!! LOve!

Celtic Thistle said...

Gorgeous block Leanne, those fabrics really sing!

Cheryl Arkison said...

I KNEW the New Leaf prints would play well with that Dapple Dot (one of my most favourite fabrics ever!)

Pam @ Quilting Fun said...

Love the star block and the log cabin. Looks fabulous in the new leaf prints!

Debbie said...

Lovely, Leanne. And I love the grey dots as background.

Sarah said...

Lovely star, especially love the mini in the middle!

Carla said...

Gorgeous block. Beautiful fabric combination.

Diann said...

The Ohio Star in Star is very nice.

Savannagal said...

That was a great tutorial! Thanks so much. I am a complete beginner. I've been trying to learn as much as I can from blogs and reading magazines. Often times steps are left out because it is assumed the reader knows the steps. But as a newbie, I can tell you every step is important. Missing a step can stop me dead in my tracks. Thanks for showing such clear and close up photos, and for your clear and concise explanations. I really like this block and hope to make a quilt using it some day. Thanks again!

Canadian Abroad said...

What a beautiful block in stunning colours. That inner star is so very, very tiny! Thanks for the tute, Leanne.

Tammy said...

I just love those fabrics. Those colors are so vibrant & lively. And your block is absolutely beautiful...One day I hope to be abel to make quilt blocks like that.
conn_and_vans_mom(at)yahoo(dot)com

Archie The Wonder Dog said...

An utterly gorgeous block!

Mrs Flying Blind... said...

Beautiful x

Catherine said...

Love the block and the fabrics

Katy Cameron said...

Aww, so cute with the baby block inside the mammy block :o)

leanne said...

love daisy janie - those yellows and purples really pop in your blocks :)

Unknown said...

Beautiful blocks! I think it's neat how you were able to make the star block and have fabric left over to make the wonky log cabin block. Very creative!

Jess @ Elven Garden Quilts said...

Spectacular block! I really love this one Leanne :o)

Susan said...

What a brilliant block! I love Ohio Stars- and now there are two of them in one! Yours shines in this incredible fabric!

Annabella said...

Wow - these fabrics are so warm and toasty! The block is gorgeous and the teeny star is stunning. Thanks for the tute Leanne.

Marg said...

That is a very pretty block, love the bright colours.

Michele T said...

I love your block!!! Great idea!!

A.J. Dub. (Amy) said...

That fabric has serious pizazz! LOVE your block! Had to pin for later. :) Thanks!

www.randomthoughtsdoordi.com said...

Star blocks are my favorites and this one is lovely with these fabrics.

Poppyprint said...

Beautiful block Leanne!

Nat at Made in Home said...

Great lock! Thanks or the tutorial!

QuiltSue said...

What a beautiful block in such rich colours, thank you.

Lisa said...

I'm in a new quilting bee and I'm in the star hive. I may just have to try this block, I love it!

Live a Colorful Life said...

A really beautiful block! I just love these fabrics.

Cindy said...

Look at your wee central star. Love that little cutie. Great fabrics :)

Claire Jain said...

Super cute block! I love those colors!

Sheila said...

Love this star in star.Ohio Star always a favourite of mine.

rachael {imagine gnats} said...

love it all! but i most love that teeny star in the middle :)

Swedish Scrapper said...

Beautiful use of this fab fabric! Love the teeny tiny detail in the center!

Hope said...

Beautiful.... A sing colore too!

Unknown said...

What a beautiful block within a block. Fabulous fabric choices, I can't wait to make it. Do you have a printable PDF?