August 16, 2010

Quilt-Along: Part One

Welcome to the Quilt-Along!

Anyone can join in at anytime... there's no race to the finish line :) If anyone has any questions about anything along the way, please don't hesitate to ask!

This week I'm going to start with the diamond star block.


1. For each diamond star block, you'll need six 5.5" square pieces from four different fabrics.
Fabric A: 2 pieces
Fabric B: 2 pieces
Fabric C: 1 piece
Fabric D: 1 piece

And from either Fabric A or B, cut four 3.5" square pieces. Set these aside for the time being.

2. Take the six 5.5" squares and pin them right sides facing in this combination...
Fabric A + B (two sets)
Fabric C + D (one set)

3. Sew around the four sides.


4. Then take your rotary cutter and ruler and cut diagonally both ways*.
* I recommend instead of moving your squares, you move around the mat or use a rotating mat because you'll want to keep all the points nice and straight.

5. Press the half square triangles (HSTs) open* and trim the little corners. You'll end up with twelve 3.5" square HSTs all up. (Trim the HSTs to 3.5" if necessary.)
* Please be sure to not move your iron when you press the HSTs because they are going to be cut on the bias and you don't want them to stretch.

6. This block has a diamond in the centre of the star, so place the HSTs like so. Take the four 3.5" squares you cut from Fabric A or B and place them on the four corners.

7. Sew them together... I went row by row so that I didn't lose track of what HST was facing in which direction.

And there you have your first 12.5" square block! Press all the seams however you wish. I tend to always press my seams open and I like doing that for this to keep the seams less bulky.

You'll need to make five diamond star blocks for the quilt. They're really not as daunting or time-consuming as they seem! Pinkie swear!

I chose to use a mish mash of prints, but you could use a combination of prints and solids or all solids. The point of this quilt was to make a dent in my scrap pile, hence all the prints.

If you have any questions, please let me know :) Have fun with the blocks!!!

10 comments:

Meg said...

Audrie, these are scrap-tastic! I can't wait to head home and cut into my lovely vintage-y scraps for this!

Amber said...

been looking for a block for my 3x6 bee this quarter - think I found it!

by Daisy said...

I don't know when I'll start because meanwhile I started another project and I try not to juggle too many things at the same time. but i'm uber excited. your instructions are great and the end result is lovely. thank you for doing this!

Renegade Quilter said...

Oh!!! I love how the scrappy blocks looks. I can't wait to get started on these blocks.

Thanks for doing the quilt along!

Caroline @ Artfully Caroline said...

Ok, you win I'm going to quilt along... 1/3 scale. I need a doll sized quilt :D. Does it still count as stash buster ?

Caroline
http://ateliercaroline.blogspot.com/

Bec said...

I have just finished my first block! I have never quilted anything like this before (I have only done a shaggy quilt and a stripe quilt) your instructions were very easy for me to follow I loved the pictures and the labeling - well done!!

I still need to do the other 4 blocks, I'll leave that for tomorrow though, give me something to look forward to other than housework :D

Simone de Klerk said...

Love the blocks!
And thank you so much for showing how to make 4 squares with two big ones!
Is there a calculation of how large the large squares have to be to make 4 of a certain size?
Great color choices.

Simone de Klerk said...

PS: I have never seen HST made this way! Perfect!

Briana said...

Just started this tonight, hope to have two quilts finished by Christmas ...

Christine said...

I just found your blog. I love it. I should not start another project but I think I will start this today.

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