Tuesday, April 4, 2017

Constellations--Multicolor

Hi everyone, and welcome back to the Constellations quilt! It's a very exciting month, because this month's color is somewhat different--it's multicolored. All those oddball scraps that don't fit anywhere else will fit here.  Don't know about you, but I've got a bunch of scraps that I never know what to do with because they're odd colors or too many colors with nothing really dominant.  This month's block will use those up, and would also be nice to use up some novelties, especially if you have something you'd like to fussy cut for the center, or the dots and stripes that you never know how to use.

Here's what we're making this month:


This is a Double Star variation, attributed to Nancy Cabot from the 1930s.  These blocks are easy to make and go pretty fast.  They use scrap pieces that are no bigger than 3 inches square, and for the purposes of our quilt, a wide variety of scraps will work best, rather than all matching stars.  These are 6-inch finished stars, and we need 8 of them for this quilt (see "This quilt section" for an explanation of how these will be used.)


Let's make some blocks!

Cutting:

For each star, you will need a background and scraps of two contrasting fabrics.  The contrast can be in pattern or color, but there should be a separation between the fabrics.  Designate one of the fabrics the "main" and the other the "accent."


From the background, cut:

1 3-1/4 inch square*
4 2-1/2 inch squares

From the main fabric, cut:

1 2-1/2 inch square
2 2-7/8 inch squares*

From the accent, cut:

1 3-1/4 inch square*

*These pieces can be oversized a bit if you're more comfortable trimming things down.

That's really it for the cutting--on to construction!

Construction:

Take the 3-1/4 inch squares of the background and the accent fabric and cut them twice corner to corner to make 4 pieces.  Cut the 2-7/8 inch squares in half once to make two triangles each:


Stack the triangles from the 3-1/4 inch squares as shown and stitch them together along the center. Press toward the background fabric.


Add the triangles cut from the 2-7/8 inch squares of the main fabric as shown.  Press toward the main fabric.


These units should measure 2-1/2 inches square, so square them up if necessary.


Assembly:

Believe it or not, that's the only unit to make for these blocks.  All that's left is to put the star together!  Lay out the units as shown, paying attention to the direction of the main fabric triangles.


Join the units into rows and the rows together into a block.

That's it! This block should measure 6-1/2 by 6-1/2 to finish at 6 inches in the quilt.   Make 8 stars for the Constellations quilt.


This quilt section:

The 8 Double Stars will be used in two sections of the quilt, section 4 and section 6.  Both of these sections also include a 12-inch star.  The 12-inch star to complete section 4 will be made in May and the star for section 6 in July.  This will give the quilt a lot of variation and spread the work over several months.  Plus, it will make those sections easy to construct, since most of the pieces will be finished!

That's it for this month!  Eight blocks seems like a lot, but really only 4 are needed for next month, so there's time to gather more scraps with a good variety. 

Have fun using up those oddball scraps, and be sure to come back May 2 for the next installment, including the exciting construction of section 4, sure to be a winner!


Sharing at Linky Tuesday, Let's Bee Social, and soscrappy for RSC17.

25 comments:

Jacqueline said...

like your fabric choices.

Home Sewn By Us said...

I do too - love your fabric choices! That dark navy background really sets off the stars so well - just like a night sky. ~smile~
Roseanne

Miaismine said...

So pretty! I love how you play with color! Especially in the polka dots block! Thank you so much for sharing!

Alice said...

I do love that block and your colors are great! What a great way to pull all the random multi colors together. Thanks!

Preeti said...

Love the sharp contrast of navy blue against the star fabrics. I am a firm believer in contrast - if I cannot see it, I cannot appreciate it.
You made eight blocks, wrote a tutorial and wrote this blogpost, since we returned from Lancaster. Must be spring break - LOL.
Hugs,
Preeti.

Lisa J. said...

These are beautiful and fun blocks.

Jo said...

Some fun colourful blocks there

Sandra Walker said...

These are so pretty Mari! Love your fabric choices.

Kate said...

Very bright and fun star blocks. You definitely made good use of those fun scraps.

Kate @ Smiles From Kate said...

I love the bright colours on the navy background, you have used some wonderful fabrics. Looks great.

Danice G said...

Getting started on mine. Deciding on fabrics for the multicolors :)

Ivani said...

Pretty Multicolored stars.

scraphappy said...

What a beautiful assortment of fabrics you are putting to good use. Lovely blocks.

Alison V. said...

These are lovely!

Kathy S. said...

Fun scrappy stars. Love the multi-colored fabrics.

LIttle Penguin Quilts said...

That's a great star block! I love the pretty, bright fabrics against the dark blue background.

Katie Z. said...

Great use of multicolored fabric!

PaulaB quilts said...

The dark blue lets these stars shine no matter what the prints are. You were smart to make them light enough for the contrast and they are all lovely. Thanks for the good tutorial.

Cathy said...

What a delightful idea. And I agree that the dark blue is the perfect background. Your stars are “heavenly”!!

Cathy said...

I love the stars against that background. And don't you love all those Nancy Cabot blocks?

gayle said...

These stars are gorgeous - those bright colors against the dark blue are just perfect. If I wasn't already so hopelessly over-committed, I'd be all over your tempting quilt. (I've taken to incessantly chanting "Not starting another quilt. Not starting another quilt...")

Karen said...

Very pretty star blocks. I have never made a double star block. I might have to give it a try.

Deb A said...

Love this! Great tutorial and such cute stars.

Danice G said...

These really are easily and quickly sewn. This QAL is so much fun. Would you consider doing a link party for Constellations, or maybe a Flickr group for us to share our blocks?

Anonymous said...

Finished on Saturday, just in time for May's block. Hope it's an easy one!