Friday, November 30, 2012

Olivia's quilt - a finish Friday

I just finished up Olivia's quilt for Christmas!

Olivia's Quilt front

It was about this time last year that I started making these machine appliqued blocks with the intention of making matching quilts for both my niece and my daughter, Olivia, who are only 3 1/2 months apart in age.  It was also about this time last year that my niece was diagnosed with AML Leukemia.  The family quickly circled the wagons and helped out with whatever was needed while Nina spent the next 6 months in the hospital.  I was not able to be at the hospital for the first few months because, living in the petri dish that is having 3 small kids in daycare or elementary school, I had a continuous cold.  While Nina was receiving chemotherapy, no one that was sick was allowed to be near her.  I felt useless, so I sewed.  

(In case you are wondering, Nina is doing great.  She has been in remission since being released and is one of the most adorable little tikes I know.)

With little time to spare, I finished Nina's quilt on Christmas Eve last year.  I then put Olivia's blocks aside for another time when I wasn't so stressed, and wasn't so rushed.  They sat in a box until a few weeks ago when I FINALLY pieced them together.  It took another week for me to get around to basting it, and I finally started the quilting on Tuesday.  Once I get a quilt going, I can focus enough to get it done, but actually getting it under the machine is a struggle sometimes.  (For example, have you seen my Vintage Holiday quilt lately?  No, because it is still sitting there basted and waiting.)

Olivia's quilt close up
closer up


I am so happy this one is done.  I felt a little guilty having my 3rd child, quiltless!

Olivia's quilt back
backing fabric - cheater!
I will be wrapping this one up and putting it under the tree.  

I even had a little fun with the binding.  After trying out the spirals on November's FMQ Challenge, I checked out some other designs my machine has.  There was this "Sweet" stitch.

sweet binding
Sweet binding

And this "love" stitch.

love binding
Love binding

Olivia is very "Sweet" and I "love" her very much, so it seemed a cute idea.

I am linking this up with TGIFF, Can I Get a Whoop Whoop, and Leah Day's UFO Sunday.  Since this one sat, languishing, for a year, I think it qualifies to be included in UFO Sunday.  Since it is still not labeled, it is still not completely finished - I hope the TGIFF people won't mind too much.

Thanks for reading,

Jen


UFO Sundays on the Free Motion Quilting Project

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Spirals - November Free Motion Quilting Challenge

November's theme for the Free Motion Challenge over at Sew Cal Gal was spirals.

November FMQ Challenge Front

Now I admit that I have been on a bit of a spiral kick lately.  This time last year, paisley was the only FMQ filler I was able to do.  Spirals have now become my "go to" FMQ filler.  It has become a shape I am comfortable with and I am usually confident that I won't get stuck in a corner too often.

spiral mosaic

1. spirals for Olivia, 2. November FMQ Challenge Front, 3. spiral binding, 4. November FMQ Challenge back, 5. contained spirals, 6. October FMQ Challenge, 7. Batik spirals, 8. teacher quilt spirals, 9. totally groovy spirals

I think it is safe to say, I like spirals!

November FMQ Challenge back

The tricky part of this month's challenge was that we were supposed to TRY to make our spirals uniform in size.  I am much, much better at random sizes.  For my place mat this month, I tried to make each row of spirals the same size.  As you can see, some of my rows got a little crooked = not the same size spirals. I also seem to have forgotten to keep the rings of my spirals an uniform distance from each other.  And another issue with doing rows of spirals, is that I have a few awkward gaps here and there. Ah, well, this is supposed to be a learning experience.

My machine even has a spiral decorative stitch - so I put it on the binding!

spiral binding

Fun, right?

As always, I can't wait to see what next month's challenge is!  I can honestly say that this challenge is THE REASON I have progressed at all with regard to FMQ skills.  Thank you, Darlene, for putting it together!

Jen

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Feels good - WIP Wednesday

Not a whole lot to report this week.  With Thanksgiving over, I hope that will change for next week.

spirals for Olivia

I've finally started quilting Olivia's quilt for Christmas!  I am about half finished already.  I decided to quilt each block differently, but spirals seem to be predominant (more on that tomorrow).

I also started to hand quilt my Medallion quilt from the Handstitched class I took over the summer.  It seems to be the perfect project to take with me up to the mountains (IE when I am away from my machine).  I am nowhere near complete, but it feels good to have started.

We are also 2/3 of the way through the 100 Day Hustle.  I have made pretty decent progress on my list, but the drawback is that I am considering adding some projects to my plate - not necessarily 100 Day Hustle projects.  For instance, last year around this time, I was intrigued with Bonnie Hunter's annual mystery quilt.  Last year it was "Orca Bay", which turned out just beautiful.  Well, she just started this year's mystery, "Easy Street", one she promises is less intense than previous years.  It sounds like the perfect opportunity to try out a mystery quilt along, doesn't it?  The practical side of my brain is screaming, "NOOOOOOOO!!!", but the go where the wind takes me side of my brain is saying, "But why not?"  I think if I can manage to cross Olivia's quilt and my teachers' holiday gifts off my list by next week, I might just try it.

Have you ever done a mystery quilt before?  What was your experience?

Jen


This Wednesday......

Completed Projects:

On-going Projects:

AKA - "stuff I plan to touch this week or next".

Back Burner:

These will likely be touched in a couple of weeks.
  • Handstitched Medallion Quilt - quilting in progress.  It will be a long process, so that is why it is still down here.
  • Star of Africa Bee - November's Block is due December 15th 
  • Charity quilt for the guild - not started.   
The Back, Back Burner:

Lightning would have to strike twice.

This week's stats:
Completed projects - 1+
New projects - 0
Currently in Progress - 5 - ish

Don't forget to link up any blocks you have been working on to yesterday's post!  The linky stays open for a whole week, so feel free to add them as you complete or wait for next Tuesday (or both)!

Quilter in the Closet

Linking up with Freshly Pieced WIP Wednesday's and .
WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

I haven't gotten far - Building Blocks Tuesday

I survived the Thanksgiving Holiday!  My turkey even came out well!  I am happy to be back to our regular schedule - at least for a few weeks until the Christmas break begins.  

It seems I haven't gotten very far in the How Far Will You Go? QAL.  I just added up all the blocks left for me to complete, and the ones I have done so far - and I am not even half done!  Yikes!


HFWYG QAL block 9

This one is called "Dutch Rose".  I simplified my version a little by only using 2 different fabrics in the outer "ring".  This block is huge!  20 inches!  It took a long time to make - I stopped counting after 4 hours.


HFWYG QAL block 7

This little one is called "Another Star", and I had quite a bit of trouble with it for some reason.  The center of the star was easy enough, but the components of the points were tricky.  Mine just never wanted to be long enough.  In the end I am a little shy of square in 2 spots.  I may have to redo this one.

2 down, 18 more to go!

Now then, what have you been working on?

Link up your fabulous blocks.  You put a lot of hard work into them - show them off!  And, don't forget, you have all week to add them if you like.

Quilter in the Closet

Rules:

1) Please link up only to the page in your blog showing your wonderful blocks, not just the blog homepage
2) Make sure to put your blog name as the description so people know where they are going or the name of your block!
3) Please consider grabbing my button and posting it in your blog post
4) Visit other linky participants!


Thanks for reading today!

Jen

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

The Grinch - Building Blocks Tuesday

And then, "THE GRINCH GOT A WONDERFUL, AWFUL IDEA!"

Last month's Queen Bee for the Star of Africa Bee wanted blocks with our favorite children's book characters.  Initially she said "fairy tale" characters, but most of the traditional fairy tales originated in Europe making it a little tough for us in the rest of the world.  I still had trouble because a lot of my favorite authors are British.  Luckily, browsing our library (which is enormous), I came up with 3 books that are favorites in our house.

  • The Berenstain Bears Spooky Old Tree, which was a favorite of mine when I was a kid too, and now my girls love it.  My mother even sent us a copy of this book when my first child was born.  But, when it came time to draw out a block for this book, my bears looked terrible.  No really, truly terrible.  They may have improved a tad in the fabric stage, but not enough.  My tree was fantastic though.
  • Fancy Nancy by Jane O'Connor.  My girls absolutely adore anything related to Fancy Nancy right now.  We must have 2 dozen books with her as the main character.  We also have dress up clothes, oodles of accessories, etc.  This character would have been so much fun to make a block of.  I could have really embellished it to hilt!  However, the block size was supposed to be around 8.5 inches, which would have made it a little more difficult.  Plus, I am really not good at drawing people, and Nancy's face was getting a little awkward looking.
  • Finally, there was How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss.  Thank heavens Dr. Seuss was American!  I loved the Grinch as a kid.  I even recall making a hard dough Christmas tree ornament of his face as a child.  My kids frequently ask for this book at all times throughout the year, but it has been growing in frequency with the holidays approaching which is why I probably thought of it.  Plus, the Grinch is rather easy to draw since he is a furry green figure with an evil smile.  So, my block was born. 
Did you know they even have a Dr. Seuss "holiday" here in the US?  My children celebrate it at school by wearing "Cat in the Hat" hats, and reading a bunch of his books.  Now that's a holiday I could really get into!

I am waiting on the final instructions from the Queen Bee who would like a block of a book spine to accompany this block.  While I wait, I am thinking of embroidering the line above from the book, just to add a little something to it.


Now then, what have you been working on?

Link up your fabulous blocks.  You put a lot of hard work into them - show them off!  And, don't forget, you have all week to add them if you like.

Quilter in the Closet

Rules:

1) Please link up only to the page in your blog showing your wonderful blocks, not just the blog homepage
2) Make sure to put your blog name as the description so people know where they are going or the name of your block!
3) Please consider grabbing my button and posting it in your blog post
4) Visit other linky participants!


Thanks for reading today!

Jen


Sunday, November 18, 2012

Quilt Retro - book review - Inspiration Sunday


Today's book review is on Quilt Retro by Jenifer Dick.    I actually won my copy when I completed a quilt for the Hands 2 Help charity quilt drive back in the summer.  I was pleasantly surprised by the fun patterns I found inside.


Why do I like this book?
  • The title says "Retro" but the 11 patterns in the book have a modern flair.  This is aided by the quilting patterns (some by Angela Walters), which are beautiful.
  • There are 6 quilt patterns, 3 table runners and 2 smaller projects.  All fun, all different.
  • The skills built in this book mostly have to do with machine applique and a lot of time is spent explaining her process so you can achieve similar results.  
  • Bonus tips and hints are in the book - including some talk about color theory (my favorite tip in this section is "when in doubt, go with blue".  She has a laid back approach to her quilting and it makes you feel relaxed about trying out her projects.
There are also some additional skills that I wasn't necessarily expecting in this book:

  • Choosing a quilt pattern that is either representative, contrasting, or matches the "feel" of the quilt
  • A pieced binding technique to match up to sections of the quilt (this one I would really like to try)
  • One other little bonus - FULL sized templates.  I didn't realize what a pain it is to enlarge things until I did a couple blocks from another book.
The project I can't wait to try...
  • Outside My Kitchen Window - this is the quilt featured on the front cover above.  So simple, yet beautiful.
  • Handyman - such a great pattern for MEN.  Luckily, I know several.
Do I recommend it?  
  • Well......yes and no.  I think the price tag of this book is a bit high for 11 projects, especially when compared to some of the other books I've reviewed.  In fact, even on sale on Amazon, it is the most expensive of the books I've reviewed.  I honestly feel you will get more for your money buying one of Elizabeth Hartman's books or the Quilting Modern book.  Now, if you see this one on sale for about $1 a pattern, then I would recommend it, especially if you are at all interested in learning machine applique and want some fun projects to try out that skill.

Jenifer Dick blogs at 42Quilts.com. She has an ongoing feature on her blog of doing a different traditional block and a modern block every week, called Traditional Tuesday and Modern Monday.  These features seem to be the focus of her blog right now, BUT if you click on her page called "Quilt Retro Launch Party" you can actually see most of the projects in this book.


I hope you enjoyed this book review.  And speaking of Angela Walters, after receiving so many comments about free motion quilting and her book, I finally ordered it for myself!  I've only just started reading it, but I hope to write a review of her book soon!

Thanks for reading today,

Jen

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Fingers crossed - WIP Wednesday


I put together Olivia's quilt top yesterday.  In doing so, I realized that I gave all the properly sized blocks to my niece in her quilt, and left the imperfect ones for us.  I made these blocks over a year ago, and it is funny to see how far (I perceive) my piecing has come from then.  Luckily, I know my little girl won't mind a few wonky seams.   Now I just need to figure out how I want to quilt it.

With my niece's quilt, I made the mistake of quilting it too heavily, and it wasn't as soft as I wanted.  Now that (hopefully) I've learned a thing or two about scale, I won't make that mistake again.  Fingers crossed!


This Wednesday......

Completed Projects:
  • Preschool Pillowcases - 9 in all completed
  • Star of Africa Bee - October's block is done (come back Tuesday to see it)

On-going Projects:

AKA - "stuff I plan to touch this week or next".
  • Vintage Holiday Quilt Along - awaiting quilting.
  • Totally Groovy Quilt Along - patching in progress
  • How Far Will You Go? QAL - Catch up in progress. 
  • Miscellaneous sewn gifties - time to get started on gifts!
  • Olivia's Appliqued Quilt - this one is part of my 100 Day Hustle List.  I moved this one up in the hopes that working on it might satisfy my desire to be working on a new quilt.  It's been a while since I've seen this one, so maybe I can trick myself into thinking it is "new".  And so far it worked!  I put the top together yesterday and even managed to get it backed and basted.  Now to quilt.
  • November Free Motion Quilting Challenge - I know the end of the month will be here soon.

Back Burner:

These will likely be touched in a couple of weeks.
  • Handstitched Medallion Quilt - The last borders still need to be redone and sewn back on.
  • Star of Africa Bee - November's Block is due December 15th - details haven't been released yet.
  • Charity quilt for the guild - not started.   They gave me one that is flannel, with fleece backing.  Oh, how I now despise fleece!  Moved this one up to Back Burner so I might be able to deliver it at the next meeting I attend and get this fleece atrocity out of my sewing room.
The Back, Back Burner:

Lightning would have to strike twice.

This week's stats:
Completed projects - 2
New projects - 1
Currently in Progress - 6

Don't forget to link up any blocks you have been working on to yesterday's post!  The linky stays open for a whole week, so feel free to add them as you complete or wait for next Tuesday (or both)!

Quilter in the Closet

Linking up with Freshly Pieced WIP Wednesday's and .
WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Far Behind - Building Blocks Tuesday

Block 13, "Crazy Ann"

Block 10, "Clay's Choice"

Just a few catch up blocks for the How Far Will You Go? QAL.  I can't believe there are only 2 blocks left to be revealed!  I am far behind!  I've been pretty busy with the girls over the long holiday and haven't had too much time to sew.  Hopefully that will chance today.  After I clean up from the long weekend, I plan on spending some quality time down in my dungeon, I mean "studio".

Now then, what have you been working on?

Link up your fabulous blocks.  You put a lot of hard work into them - show them off!  And, don't forget, you have all week to add them if you like.

Quilter in the Closet

Rules:

1) Please link up only to the page in your blog showing your wonderful blocks, not just the blog homepage
2) Make sure to put your blog name as the description so people know where they are going or the name of your block!
3) Please consider grabbing my button and posting it in your blog post
4) Visit other linky participants!


Thanks for reading today!

Jen

Monday, November 12, 2012

Peacock Pride - art with the kids

For those of you who are new readers to the blog, I volunteer at my daughter's school as an art teacher.  Art was taken out of the curriculum due to budgetary issues and it is only through PTA funding and parent volunteers that our kids have art now.  We only have 6 projects each year, and I shared them with you last year and want to share this year's projects too.  I find these projects very inspirational, even though not all of them can be applied to the quilting arts.  Just search the label "art with kids" on the bottom right for last year's projects.  OR you can go to the official South Bay Hands on Art Blog!  Something I just discovered today.

My first attempt
Our first project this year was called "Proud as a Peacock" and is a project inspired by James Whistler's Peacock Room.  After introducing Whistler and his work, the students were asked to draw a peacock onto sandpaper using pastel crayons.  We went step by step, starting with ovals, then working out to the feathers.  The students LOVE the art lessons.

Here is my daughter with her peacock.


Even though you can't see her huge smile, she is proud as a peacock of her art.

So who wants to make a peacock mug rug?

I teach our next class on December 13th, a project inspired by Hannah Frank.

Jen


Friday, November 9, 2012

Halftime! - 100 Day Hustle

I can hardly believe we are HALF way through the 100 Day Hustle!  My head is spinning. Thanks to a good start, I am still on track with my list (though I have made very little progress since the 1/3 mark).

Mosaic from the 1/3 mark of the Hustle
Since then, I have also finished:

These HUGE 33 inch square pillowcases for the preschool.  I had to stuff 4 of my couch pillows inside to give you an idea of the size. Tookie helped, of course.  

These are a few of the flannel ones.
rainbow kitties anyone??
Hmm, I guess I've only finished pillowcases since then.  It is completely silly that these took up so much time!  Ah well!  That's the way it goes sometimes.

Here's My list:
  • 12 Bee blocks for the 3 x 6 Bee - DONE
  • 3 blocks for the Star of Africa bee - One down, two to go!
  • Blocks for the Leafs Me Happy Blog Hop -DONE, you can see them here.
  • Pillowcases for my daughter's preschool - DONE.  9 pillowcases total!  I went through all the fabric that the school gave me, but it didn't make as many pillowcases as they hoped.  Luckily, I recently won a grab bag full of, mostly horrid, fabric in a raffle at a guild meeting.  Since the kids will probably actually like rainbow kitty cats, cows and chickens, rainbow teddy bears (Hoffman fabric circa 1991), and little sea creatures (timeless treasures circa 1996!), I made some additional pillowcases with that fabric.  I think my work is done for a little while.
  • Finish Totally Groovy - partially done.  I still need to patch up the holes and label it properly.
  • Quilt the Batik Stripe quilt - DONE
  • small gifties for a few of my bee mates - I have a few started, one done.  
  • Another small gift for my daughters' teachers (2) - not started :(, but these should go quickly once I get them going.
  • The Sashiko coasters from my Handstitched class - DONE and already gifted to someone.
  • finish the Vintage Holiday QAL quilt - this one is awaiting quilting.
  • Finish Olivia's applique quilt - the blocks are done but need to be pieced together into a top, then backed, quilted, etc.
I also ended up adding a few items:
  • Hurricane Sandy blocks - 9 made so far.
  • Christmas decorations - I want to make some wall art, and perhaps a few ornaments.


How are you doing on your list?

Jen

Kelsey Sews

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

I've got an itch - WIP Wednesday

Oh, have I got an itch!  An itch to start a new project.  So far I have avoided scratching said itch, but I am not a person known for self control!

For example, I have tried to put myself on a fabric diet for months, but that hasn't exactly worked out (in fact I have a package due to arrive on my doorstep this week).  Do I need more fabric?  No!  Have I been able to use some of the wonderful fabric I have purchased lately?  Well, have you seen any fabric using my huge stash of Flea Market Fancy?  Happy Drawing?  Polka Dot Stitches?  How 'bout Tula Pink Birds and the Bees?  (just to name a few)  So no, not really.

What have I been working on?  Blocks, and pillowcases.

More Hurricane Sandy Blocks
This Wednesday......

Completed Projects:

On-going Projects:

AKA - "stuff I plan to touch this week".
  • Vintage Holiday Quilt Along - awaiting quilting.
  • Totally Groovy Quilt Along - Ok, this one was done, but now it needs to be patched up, so back in the WIP pile.
  • Star of Africa Bee - October's block is due by the 15th of November.  The theme is favorite children's book characters/fairy tales, etc.  MY problem is that most of my favorites are British!  I have finally found a few American stories in our library that are favorites.  I hesitate to tell you which ones, because the blocks won't be easy.  Stay tuned...
  • Preschool Pillowcases - WHY did I start with the hideous fleece fabric they gave me???  I have discovered that I don't like working with fleece.  It's far to easy to stretch, and I can't help but think it is the absolute WORST fabric for pillowcases.  What were they thinking?  I don't know, so I will just persevere.  Up next, flannel.  I am pretty sure, the school was hoping to get more cases out of the fabric they gave me (I am already using every scrap), so I think I will supplement with regular cottons from my stash - I mean they must need some regular cotton cases too, right?  This is Southern California.  We have HOT days even in the middle of winter.  Don't want those little babes curling up with a fleece pillow when it is 90 degrees out (like yesterday for instance)!
  • How Far Will You Go? QAL - Catch up in progress. 
  • Miscellaneous sewn gifties - time to get started on gifts.

Back Burner:

These will likely be touched in a couple of weeks.
  • Handstitched Medallion Quilt - The last borders still need to be redone and sewn back on.
  • Olivia's Appliqued Quilt - this one is part of my 100 Day Hustle List.  The blocks are done, but need to be put together, backed, etc.
The Back, Back Burner:

Lightning would have to strike twice.

This week's stats:
Completed projects - 1+
New projects - 1
Currently in Progress - 6

Don't forget to link up any blocks you have been working on to yesterday's post!  The linky stays open for a whole week, so feel free to add them as you complete or wait for next Tuesday (or both)!

Quilter in the Closet

Linking up with Freshly Pieced WIP Wednesday's and .
WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Hurricane Sandy Blocks - Building Blocks Tuesday

This week's post is a little early, because I want to tell you about an opportunity to do some good, and now!  One of our fellow bloggers, Jennifer from Knotted-Thread, is collecting blocks to make quilts to send to her home town in New Jersey which was heavily affected by Hurricane Sandy.  Jennifer is a total sweetheart!  She set up a Flickr group for anyone wanting to pledge to make some of these simple blocks.


Here are the four I made, and really, they were so ridiculously easy, I think I am going to make a few more.  I joined up under the "Scrappy Block" group, so I just had to pair any fabric in my stash with a white background.  The way these blocks are cut and pieced leaves NO waste, and I doubt it took me 20 minutes to cut, press and piece all four of these together.

I'm going to go make some more.   Click on the link for the Flickr group above if you want to join the cause by making blocks.  OR, I am certain that Jennifer will accept other forms of donations (batting, completed quilts, offers to put quilts together, etc.).  I've already stuffed as much batting as I can into a flat rate box!

As always, you can link up whatever blocks you've been working on this week!

Link up your fabulous blocks.  You put a lot of hard work into them - show them off!  And, don't forget, you have all week to add them if you like.

Quilter in the Closet

Rules:

1) Please link up only to the page in your blog showing your wonderful blocks, not just the blog homepage
2) Make sure to put your blog name as the description so people know where they are going or the name of your block!
3) Please consider grabbing my button and posting it in your blog post
4) Visit other linky participants!


Thanks for reading today!

Jen


Paper Pieced Star Block Review

This Sunday, something a bit different, a block review!  Specifically a review of the Paper Pieced Star Block  from the book, Fat Quarterly Shape Workshop for Quilters.

OK.  A while back, I promised a review of this block.  I made several for a paper pieced hive in the 3 x 6 Bee group on Flickr.  This was the block I chose to make, and I had some difficulties with it.  

First, before making 6 blocks for other people, I like to make a tester block so I know what I am getting into.  My tester block came out alright.


It isn't perfect. As you can see, the block is a little tilted.  I probably had to cut it that way because the background fabric (the cream) didn't allow for trimming properly.  But, the center points actually look OK.  So I figured, I could easily make sure I trimmed a little more straightly and all would be well.

It wasn't that easy.  The next block I made, also couldn't be trimmed properly because the background fabric didn't reach all the way to one corner.  My points in the center also did not align properly, so I took the block completely apart and tried again.  Twice.

The block's construction seems straightforward.  You make the paper pieces, put them together, trim the block to size, then add the borders.  I am not sure what the deal was, but one of the pieces in the pattern gave me more trouble than others, piece #3, and because of it my trimming was limited.  At first I thought that maybe that pattern piece was increased differently when I printed the pattern out, but the other pieces on the same paper were the right size, so???   And, my points just weren't playing nicely.   Something about having five pieces coming together in a half, instead of the usual four, really threw things off.  So, I looked for tips from some of my favorite paper-piecers.

Thanks to some fabulous tips I read on Lily's Quilts, some I learned in a paper pieced class, and some of my own, I was able to finish the blocks and have them come out alright.  I want to share these tips with you.
The first tip is Lynne's from Lily's Quilts.  She suggests adding an additional amount of background fabric around your block by redrawing these lines on your foundation pieces:


As you can see, I added about 1/2 inch all the way around.  This STILL wasn't enough.  For this particular block, I think I would add at least 3/4 inch.

Once you get all the pieces of the star paper pieced and it is time to put them together, I found it very helpful to lay them face down, in numerical order before sewing the pieces together.  For some reason, even if I ordered them correctly, but had them face up, I would inevitably put two of the pieces together on the wrong sides.

Next a tip I picked up from Carol Doak, with an additional tip from Lynne.  When putting your seams from two pieces together, stick a pin vertically into the seam line on your foundation.


 If the pin, pierces the line on the underside piece, you know your seams will be in the right place.


Then place pins to hold your pieces together as you normally would.  If the pins you pierced the lines with, are still straight up and down, you know your pieces didn't shift, and your seams will be where they are supposed to be.

the one on the right is being pushed by the mat underneath, but look at how straight the center pin is!
Now the important part from Lynne - ***make sure you sew this seam from the center point OUT towards the sides of your block.***  No matter how well you pin, some shifting may still occur under the foot of your machine.  You want to make sure the center seams are sewn first to minimize the shifting in this area.  It is less important toward the edges of the block.

Another great tip from Lynne involves the last step - sewing the two halves of the block together - if you apply the same pinning method above, but make sure there is a vertical pin right in the center where your points are aligning.  Take your pinned pieces over to your machine and try to replace this vertical pin with the needle of your machine (putting the machine needle in the same hole you just removed your pin from) - sewing from the center of the block towards one side, then starting in the center again, sew to the opposite side.  I found it a little tricky to actually replace the pin, BUT I did think the results were much better trying this tip than if I just sewed the entire seam from one side of the block to the other.


There you have it.  A block much closer to the way it is supposed to look.

Do I recommend this block?

Well.......I did find it much more difficult than some of the other paper pieced stars I have tried in the past that had eight segments instead of the ten this one has.  This might not seem that important, but I think it added a degree of difficulty since the block wasn't in perfect proportions from the start.  Plus, look at all the adjustments I had to make to the pattern to get it to work nicely!  If it wasn't for Lynne's tips, these blocks would have been a disaster!

Thus, I don't think I would recommend it for any beginners.  I even think it will be quite a while before I try it again.

As for the book, Fat Quarterly Shape Workshop for Quilters, I'm not ready yet to write a full review of the book.  I've only tried two blocks and I doubt it would be a fair review if I stopped there.  So look for that book review later after I've had time to play some more.

I hope this was helpful!

Thanks for reading,

Jen