Fat Quarter Shop

Feathered Star Tutorial – Part 1

Let’s start out with a little disclaimer…this block looks intimidating and scary, but once you break it into small sections, it really isn’t that hard. Especially if you use the bias strip piecing method for the HSTs – I am sending you to 2 fabulous tutorials.

I am going to show this tutorial in 2 parts, cutting with links for the HSTs and then assembling on Tuesday. I think that will be a good break, as cutting takes me a good while.

Finished block size – 15.5”x15.5”

You will need:

2 Squares: 10×10” of focus fabrics
Scraps from 4 different fabrics
Peekaboo fabric for center – 4.5″ square
White Background fabric
Sewing Machine
10×10 inch quilting ruler
Quilting Ruler with 45⁰ lines on it
Nice to have but not necessary: 45⁰ Ruler by EZ Quilting or Marsha McCloskey Feathered Star Ruler

Cutting White Fabrics: Everything is pictured with the Feathered Star Ruler – but you can easily cut these with the 10” ruler listed above.

Using Larger 10×10 ruler to cut next one:

Simple Squares

Using 45⁰ Ruler – cut diamond shapes – 8 total

Using standard quilting ruler marked with 45⁰ markings:

Cutting for center square:

Half Square Triangles (HSTs):

I used the Bias Strip Piecing method to assemble my HSTs. I learned this method from 2 fabulous tutorials. One by Erin at One Piece at a Time and the other by Molly at It’s Molly’s Place (you will need to scroll down a bit to get to the triangles).

For this block you will need 32 HSTs measuring 1.5”. You will use the two 10”x10” squares for this – the part that is confusing from both tutorials is how wide to cut your strips – follow their method for cutting and sewing and cut your strips 2” wide.

Come back tomorrow and I will show you how to put it all together! And don’t forget to enter the Fat Quarter Shop giveaway for a Layer Cake of Quilt Blocks – which is what I am using to make my feathered stars!

Marsha McCloskey’s Feather Star Ruler Review

Happy Friday Everyone! As you all know I have spent the last 2 weeks working on Feathered Star blocks – I now have 3 completed and with each one I get faster and the look better.  At the beginning of the month Fat Quarter Shop sent me Marsha McCloskey’s Feathered Star Ruler to play with and I have definitely enjoyed it!

So I will start out with, I have NEVER done a Feathered Star block before and all I knew for sure was that there were going to be some challenging seams in this block. When the ruler arrived there were 4 pages of instructions, which I really appreciated, but the one thing I really hoped would be in there but wasn’t is a pattern or block tutorial.  This was somewhat disappointing because as I said…I’ve NEVER done a Feathered Star block before.  Well, you know me…I’m resourceful!  I started scouring the web for tutorials, I found 2 that were excellent (I will share them both with you on Monday), and finally I went to Electric Quilt 7. I went into the block library and found that there were 16 blocks in the library!  I took one and changed it a bit to fit my personal style.

I learned how to make the half square triangles from the 2 blogs mentioned above – they use an awesome technique I had never heard of before, bias strip HSTs. Awesome for small piecing.  The rest I took into my own hands.

The cool thing about this ruler is that it is designed specifically for these blocks. Almost every single piece of fabric you have to cut for this block is an eighth or sixteenth measurement. This ruler has these measurements from 7/8″ to 4 3/16″.

Things I like:

  • There are four sections on this ruler that give you different cutting measurements
  • Each section has a line down the center – this is perfect for cutting triangles – and you have to cut A LOT Of triangles for this block!
  • The included cutting instructions mentioned the bias strip HST method that I spoke of above – because of this I have learned a whole new method that I will use forever!
  • While I could use a regular cutting ruler to cut these blocks, this ruler guarantees accuracy because it has sixteenth inch measurements on it. It is the only ruler I have seen with measurements that small.
  • I see this ruler being useful with lots of different blocks, especially ones that involve triangles.

Areas for Improvement:

  • This is the first ruler I have ever used that did not come with a tutorial or pattern. That was disappointing, but on the upside I have became self-sufficient and figured out a difficult block, pieced it and made it my own.

Final Thoughts:

Ignoring the fact that there is no pattern, this is a good product. It can be used for Feathered Stars and other projects as well.  I would recommend it with the caveat that there is no pattern so you will need to find a tutorial or purchase a pattern if you would like to make a Feathered Star.  On Monday I will have a tutorial for the one that I made above.

If you haven’t already, make sure you go enter the giveaway from Fat Quarter Shop for a Quilt Blocks Layer Cake – it is the same fabric that I used to create the stars above.

Fat Quarter Shop Highlight

Happy Thursday Everyone! I would like to say welcome to Fat Quarter Shop, they are such a wonderful sponsor of me and this blog. Fat Quarter Shop is a leader in the online fabric business. They carry lines that will appeal to every style of quilter. Their customer service and quick shipping is amazing! I have been known to email them and ask for help with color matching – my vision is not the best and trying to color match on the computer is difficult for me, and they always get back to me as quickly as possible. Beyond helpful!

This month they debuted their Little P Patterns. P is for one of Emma’s little brothers, Peyton.  The patterns are mini-sized and can literally fit in your pocket!  Each one is available for digital download and is only $5.99!  These are small projects that are meant to be sewn up quickly. What I like best is that they are perfect for baby quilts! Did you forget to get your best friend a baby shower gift? A Little P can be completed in about 4 hours (quilting and all!).

These are adorable!  Go check them out!

Fat Quarter Shop is one of the most generous shops out there and today they are spreading that generosity to one of my AMAZING readers! A layer cake of Quilt Blocks by Ellen Luckett Baker!

Here’s how to enter:
1. Head over to Fat Quarter Shop and tell me your favorite It’s Sew Emma pattern (1 Entry)
2. Go like my Facebook page or follow me on Twitter (1 Entry)
3. Spread the word – blog, tweet, pin or facebook this giveaway. Leave me a link! (1 Entry)

This giveaway will be open until June 7th, 7:00 pm Pacific Time. I will be using the And the Winner Is plugin for WordPress to pick the winner, who will be announced next Friday.

 

Blocks, Books and Blueberries

First the Blocks: This month I decided I needed a quilting challenge, something new for me (haha), so I decided to do a Feathered Star.  I will tell you all about the 2 tools I used to make the block in a future post (and if you want a tute, let me know, I will have to make a 3rd block, but hey, 3rd time’s a charm!).  I found a Feathered Star in the Block Library on EQ7 and then I edited the block to make it more my own. I also picked the Quilt Blocks line by Ellen Luckett Baker in an effort to modernize it a bit.

This is my first attempt…

This is my second attempt (much happier with this one!)

Both Stars Together

I’m thinking of turning them in to pillows – but I would love your suggestions too! Wait…it would help if you knew the measurements – 15″ x 15″.

Next the Books: I have received so many touching emails since I spoke of my husband’s deployment. Most about Anne and how she is handling everything.  She is still struggling, but each day she gets a little bit better.  I have been blessed with 2 wonderful book suggestions. The first from my Twitter friend @PhotinaH. She sent us the most wonderful book Hero Dad by Melinda Langdo. If you or your spouse is in the army and you have young children, I highly recommend this book. Anne is only 2.5 and after only 1 week of reading this book, she had the whole thing 100% memorized. She has even “read it” to her daddy on the phone in Afghanistan. She requests this book at least once per day – last night we “read” it without even holding the book. We were in the dark on her bed after she woke from a nightmare and we said it out loud together. She fell to sleep afterwards.

The second book was recommended by my wonderful friend Brandy who writes Bella Bea Quilts, it is called Lily Hates Goodbyes by Jerilyn Marler. The cool thing is that there are two versions of this book, one specific to the Navy and one for all Military.  This book is absolutely wonderful and we have been reading it at least 3 times a week. There are all kinds of suggestions on how to handle the different emotions your child is going through and also different activities you can do, like making a “Memories for Daddy box” – we have done this, I will show you ours on a different post.

These books are both geared towards younger children, I would say 7 and younger, and they are worth every penny. Whenever Anne has nightmares (which is almost nightly), she always requests one or both of these books, she finds a lot of comfort in the, I think they help her feel connected to her daddy and also like she is not alone.

Now for the Blueberries: Anne has a thing for berries. Especially blueberries. My parents have a thing for indulging her…last weekend we went to Ojai to visit my aunts and we learned that one of my Aunts has blueberry plants on her deck!  Needless to say…Anne fell in love.  My parents got up with her on Sunday so I could get some sleep (sleep has been scarce for me since my hubs left) and ran a few errands. They went to a friend’s house to pick up the mail and they went to OSH, Orchard Supply Hardware.  Anne saw a blueberry bush and the next thing I know they come home and she is telling me they bought a “berry pant”!

How was your weekend?

Today I’m linking up with Jenna at SewHappyGeek for Manic Monday and Connie at Quilting by the River for Linky Party Tuesday.

Fat Quarter Shop Winners!

Happy Hump Day! The week is half over! Woot Woot!  To make that fact even better I have the fun job of announcing 2 winners of the Flock Fat Quarter Bundles from Fat Quarter Shop.

Author: Mike Pearson
Website: http://amateurquilter.blogspot.com
Comment: permalink
I like the Seasonal Little Gatherings at the Fat Quarter Shop: http://www.fatquartershop.com/store/stores_app/Browse_Item_Details.asp?sid=4891426155634891&Store_id=499&page_id=23&Item_ID=66537&Parent_Ids=

And…

Author: Beth
Comment: permalink
I think I would like to have a FQ bundle of ten little things – it just looks so cute and I sew for children often.

Congratulations to both the winners! I will be contacting you later today!

Scroll to Top