100 Blocks Volume 5: Star Glow
I’m always drawn to star blocks, so it seemed natural to design a star for Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks Volume 5. While doodling on graph paper, I played with the idea of different sized stars in the same block and decided on a design where the stars got progressively smaller (or larger depending on how you look at it!).
Heres Star Glow:
Blue and yellow are favorite colors of mine, and these fabrics from the Midnight Blue collection by Karen Combs for Troy Riverwoods Collection were perfect. They made each star stand out on its own.
I drew my block in EQ7 by The Electric Quilt Company and played with different quilt layouts. One of the things I love about EQ is the ability to easily use blocks to create different quilt designs. Here are a few of the layouts I came up with.
quilt design 1: This layout shows all the blocks in the same orientation.
quilt design 2: I rotated the blocks so the small stars all meet at the block intersections.
quilt design 3: In this layout, two of the small stars meet at the block intersections.
quilt design 4: I rotated the blocks in every other row.
I wanted to design a border for this quilt. I decided to break the block down into the 3 different stars.
large star (12″)
medium star (8″)
small star (4″)
Using 2 of the different individual stars, I designed these simple borders:
quilt design 5
There’s one border using 4 stars and one using 8 stars (with a different colored background). I think it would be fun to use these individual stars in different combinations for borders as well.
For these designs I used the same colors as my original block, but I can see lots of different coloring possibilities for these quilts.
I enjoy analyzing blocks and designing borders and settings to showcase the blocks. That’s also one of the classes I’ll be teaching at Quiltmaker’s Block Party in Williamsburg, VA August 24.
I’d love to have you join me and the other great teachers we have lined up (Debbie Caffrey, Nancy Mahoney, Monique Dillard, Lynda Howell, Carolyn McCormick, Bonnie Hunter and QM Interactive Editor Diane Harris) for a wonderful time in historic Williamsburg. Along with classes from these great teachers, 2 dinners are included with keynote speakers Bonnie Hunter and NY Times best-selling author, Jennifer Chiaverini, author of the popular Elm Creek Quilts novels.
Giveaway: Leave a comment by 12 noon MST on Tuesday, 5/1 telling me what color combinations you would use for a chance to win a copy of 100 Blocks Volume 5 and prizes from FreeSpirit and Timeless Treasures.
Congratulations Madeline, comment #169! Your comment was randomly picked to win a copy of 100 Blocks Volume 5 and prizes from our sponsors FreeSpirit and Timeless Treasures.
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