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.



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).



 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.



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.



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



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.



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.



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.



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


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.



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.



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



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.



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.



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.



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

Stars, a table runner

Here is Stars. She is a table runner - or a wall hanging, about 36" x 12". Stars, for all her simplicity, took a long time to imagine and then make.



Stars began when that fantastic bundle of Oakshott Lipari shot cottons arrived at my house courtesy of Michael Oakshott and Lynne from Lily's Quilts. These shot cottons have a black warp  thread and then a shining colourful one and they are luminous.



That is a picture of them after I washed the bundle. The light coloured weft threads are visible and you can see how much the black thread tones down the light colours.



I was unsure as to how to use these amazing fabrics. They would make the most beautiful cocktail dress but I had smaller pieces to work with. The shining fabric made me think of the night sky and stars. The Ohio Star is such a classic, sophisticated yet simple star - I decided it was a nice fit for these fabrics.



I auditioned many things but eventually paired the Liparis with Essex linen in light grey - classic and simple. Eventually many 3" stars were made and pieced.



I sought advice about borders and binding from the members of the Edmonton Modern Quilt Guild, which, by the way, I have joined this fall. There was no consensus but many people suggested I add a grey border and then a coloured binding, which is ultimately what I decided on.



I quilted it with a grey variegated Superior King Tut thread. I echoed the stars twice and then I quilted the inside square. This approach made many thread ends to mend in, but I think it was worth it. The Liparis are the star of the show, the quilting plays a supporting role - as I had hoped.



You can see the scrappy binding better in the close ups. I had various strips of Liparis left so I used them in a single layer thin binding. It is hand stitched on the back.

And I have yet to wash this one. Many of you will know how much I love the texture that washing adds to my quilts, but I have decided to enjoy this one without the the changes that washing brings for a while.



On the back I used this print from Jovial which is a fabric line from last Christmas by Basicgrey. I love those reindeer with bow ties and wreaths, perhaps sophisticated enough to back up the Liparis.



So that is the story of Stars. She has graced my dining room table over the holidays and will continue to do so into the winter. She reminds me of the clear, cold winter sky, twinkling with stars and shining with northern lights.

Thank you Michael Oakshott and thank you Lynne, it has been great fun to play with these stunning fabrics. And just in case you want some too, Oakshott is having a sale until January 6 (Lipari bundles are here).

I hope you are enjoying the holidays, I am off to start quilting my Mod Pop quilt, I got it basted this morning.

Best,

Leanne

21.12.12 - Optimism and the Solstice

If you were making a calendar, would you envision it being useful for 5125 years into the future? The Mayans were a most optimistic people. I think that is the message they meant to send to us, 5125 years into their future - believe in the best of humanity, and just watch what we will do.



And today is the winter solstice - the shortest and darkest day of the year. It means that I get one more minute of sun tomorrow in my day. This is one of my favourite days of the year.



There are the stars in the sun, they just shine. I started quilting the runner last night. I love the quilting part.



I hope that, despite the awful things that people do and the bad things that happen both personally and on a larger, even huge scale, that we will remain the stunningly optimistic people that those calendar makers envisioned. If we do, imagine where we will be 5125 years from now.

All the best for the holidays and the new year to you and yours. This coming year is going to be amazing.

I will be reading and likely posting here over the holidays, but today is a special day and the day to make this wish for you. Oh and surely this is a felicity, see you over at Felicity's.

Best,

Leanne

Making some stars

In the morning light, I trimmed.



The quarter square triangle units just glow. Oakshott Lipari shot cottons with Essex linen in light grey.



So shiny.



One more picture while the sun was up.



Later I finished sewing. These Ohio stars finish at 3" square.



I need more green ones, but it is late now. I will put them in the sun in the morning and take more pictures. And make more green ones, and then make them into something nice.

I worked hard this week and the lurgy is lurking again so I am taking it easy in the hopes of fighting it off. There were naps and healthy food in between star making. And tea.

I hope you are enjoying your weekend.

Best,

Leanne