Basically, this is a sawtooth star within a sawtooth star, so there aren’t really any new construction techniques here.  Just many more pieces!  The top row in the diagram represents the outer (larger) star points, while the lower row represents the inner star:

Since we’ve done all this before, I’ll just direct you to the Basic Sawtooth Star tutorial for the order of operations.  I found it was most effiecient to work on both sets of points at the same time.  In the larger set the “geese” in the flying geese units are the background fabric, while in the smaller set the “geese” are the foreground fabric.

When you’ve finished up the flying geese units, and squared them up to 3-1/2″ x 6-1/2″ (larger) and 2″ x 3-1/2″ (smaller), put together the inner star first.

Square up the inner star to 6-1/2″, and then put together the outer star.

ZONK!  KAPOW!

And since this is the eighth star, we’re over halfway!  Woohoo!  Regardless of whether you’re making the variations, or just sticking to the basic stars, you should have 8 of the 12″ stars, 16 of the 8″ stars and 40 of the 4″ stars.  Or at least something in the neighbourhood of those amounts!  Things are looking really great over in the Flickr group, so be sure to pop by if you haven’t done so in a while.

So, on with the tutorial!  You’ll need eighteen (18) pieces for this star, according to the following dimensions:

This star doesn’t have many pieces, but because the vertical star points are made of a different fabric than the horizontal star points, the method that we’ve been using thus far for making the flying geese won’t work.  If waste is a concern for you, then you can use the HST squares that both Tong and Jeni used in their tutorials.  However, I prefer to avoid unnecessary seams (just a matter of personal preference), and the method that I’m going to use in this tutorial does so, but at the expense of a few leftover HST squares.  The choice is yours.

Begin by marking the centre line on the 3-1/2″ squares cut from your two foreground fabrics, as well as 1/2″ to one side of centre.  Start with two (2) squares from each of the two foreground fabrics and pin them, right sides together, to the 3-1/2″ x 6-1/2″ rectangles of background fabric, making sure that the extra line is in the corner of the rectangle, comme ça:

Sew just inside both marked lines (to create scant 1/4″ seams), and then cut in between them, and press both pieces, so that you have an HST square and one half of a geese unit.

Pin the remaining 3-1/2″ squares to the other sides of the rectangles and repeat the process.

When you’re finished you should have four (4) flying geese units, two each with your two foreground fabrics, as well as eight (8) leftover HST squares which you can save to use elsewhere in this quilt.  Trim up the flying geese to 3-1/2″ x 6-1/2″ and set them aside.

Next we’ll move on to the centre portion of the block.  Take the two 5-1/4″ squares of foreground fabric and cut them in half diagonally, and use them as QSTs to form a larger square, as below:

Begin by sewing them together as pairs, making sure that both pairs have the same fabric on the right when oriented in the same direction, so that they’ll be opposite one another when the pairs are oriented in opposite directions.  (Ok, I’ve tried to rewrite that sentence a few times with little success at clarity…I hope this makes sense!)

Then sew the two pairs together, paying attention to the alignment of the centre seams.  Press, and trim the square to 6-1/2″ before continuing.  (A little tip:  when squaring up at this point, align the 45° guide on your ruler with the diagonal, making sure that the dot at 3-1/8″ is in the centre where the 4 points meet.)

Put the star together in three rows.  Make sure that you match the flying geese units to the correct fabric in the QST unit.

Press and finish!

See you back here later today. ;)

In light of that, I’m going to begin with a bit of advice.  First, be sure that you are cutting as accurately as possible, and squaring up your components before you move on to the next step.  Second, and I know that I’ve said this before, be sure that you are sewing with scant 1/4″ seam.  Because this block is constructed on the bias, any little inaccuracies seem to multiply pretty quickly.  And speaking of bias, because this is the first time during this quilt-along we’ve come across using pieces cut on the bias, it feels like a good time to mention spray starch.  I discovered the joy of spray starch last fall and I’m a complete convert.  It helps so much with accuracy and, especially with bias-cut pieces, holds shapes stable as you sew.  You can buy starch or make your own (Google will provide lots of information), but either way I would really recommend it, both in general and especually for this block.  Finally, be really careful not to stretch the triangles along the bias edge.

Alright, so let’s get on with it, eh?!  The dimensions for the triangular pieces given below represent the size of the square from which the half-square triangle (HST) is cut.  If you don’t want any waste then use two fabrics, otherwise save the leftover HSTs because they will come into play in some of the blocks which are coming up in the next few weeks.  Also, the large square of background fabric will be used to make four (4) quarter-square triangles (QSTs) by cutting it in half diagonally, and then in half again.

We’re going to begin in the centre and work outward.  I really recommend laying all your pieces out somewhere so that you don’t get confused, or do a little drawing which you colour in so that you know where all the pieces go.  First take the four (4) 2″ squares and join them into a 4-patch.

Square up the centre to 3-1/2″ (or 2-1/2″ | 1-1/2″ for the other block sizes), and then add the 3″ HSTs.  Because I wanted my fabrics to look woven together, I placed this layer of triangles opposite their corresponding squares.  However, if you rotated the centre 4-patch so that the squares and triangles of the same fabric touch, then your final block will look more “swirled” than “woven.”  The choice is yours!

When adding the HSTs, line up the edges and make sure that the point on the triangle goes through the centre of the 4-patch. Once you’ve added two opposite HSTs, trim off the little wings before proceeding to keep the bulk in the seam allowances to a minimum.

Once again, square up the centre to 4-3/4″ (3-3/8″ | 1-7/8″) before continuing.  At this stage return to your complete layout to make sure that you still know where things are going!

Now we’ll start to put together the points.  Take the 3-1/2″ corner blocks and sew them to the adjacent 4″ HSTs, lining up the right angles as shown below:

Now add the 5-1/8″ HSTs, lining up the long side to the unit you just completed.  I found that I had the best accuracy when I made sure that the tip of the triangle went through the seam between the corner square and the smaller HST.

Once these components are finished and pressed, they should look like little envelopes.  Before moving forward, trim off the wings and make sure that the “envelope” is 4-3/4″ wide, (3-3/8″ | 1-7/8″), the same as the centre unit.

Now we’re going to add the large QSTs of background fabric. Pick two of the “envelopes” from opposite sides of the block and sew the QSTs to each side.  (At this point you can add the remaining two “envelopes” to the centre unit…I forgot to take a picture of that.)

Finally, sew the three large components together and breath a sigh of relief.  You did it!

If you have any trouble (I hope you don’t…but I have a feeling that some of you might) please post any questions under the thread I’ve started on the Flickr group.

Good luck, and happy sewing!

Ok, so it’s late, and I’m getting punchy.  What can I say, it happens sometimes.  And I’ve been feeling a bit off all day.  The kind of “off” that’s subtle and hard to put your finger on.  Headache?  Not really…  Stomach ache?  Kinda…  Congested?  No…  Hopefully a good night’s sleep will cure me.

I was hoping to have the next tutorial for the QAL posted today, but it took me a while to figure out the most efficient way to cut and sew the block so that it would work for everyone.  Lots of head-scratching and self-doubt.  And so I ended up spending the day working on my ugly quilt.

Let me explain.  I’m a bit paranoid about cutting into fabrics I love until I’m sure that I know what I’m doing.  So I have a pile of fabric that I don’t care about that I use for test-runs.  They are mostly polyester or polyester-blends, or things that have stains and marks like an old pair of curtains that lived with my brother for a while in university and returned a slightly different colour…  Actually, none of them are all that bad on their own, but nor did I intentionally pull them from my stash to make a lovely quilt.  The prints land where they land as I’m trying things out, and then I throw all the sewn parts into a box.  I rarely complete a block (although I did today), since I’m usually just working out the dimensions for a particular component.

One day I’ll sew them all together for a really scrappy, kinda ugly but probably kinda cool, throw quilt or something.  And I’ll probably test out some free motion quilting patterns on it. ;)

So…would you like a sneak peak at the next block?  Here it is, in all it’s Ugly Quilt glory:

I’ll be back tomorrow to show you how to put it together.  In different fabrics!

In the past few years, Jeni has become a serious force in the online sewing community, so I was thrilled when she agreed to take some time out from her other obligations, such as her blog, her lovely shop, her current quilt-along with Megan and the handsome George, to join us for a guest post.  Thanks so much, Jeni!

Here we go!

To begin, we’re going to cut all the required pieces.  For this block you’ll need twenty one (21) pieces, according to the following dimensions:

First we’re going to piece the inner patchwork square. Layout your nine 2.5″ squares in a 3 x 3 arrangement.

Sew each row. Press the seams in alternating directions.

Sew rows together. Press seams open.  At this point it would be a good idea to square up the 9-patch to 6.5″ before continuing with the rest of the block’s construction.

Now we’re going to sew the half-square triangles for our star points. Put a 4″ background square and a 4″ print square right sides together. Using a pencil and ruler, draw a diagonal line from one corner to the other.  (Just as a reminder, if you’re looking for the other method for constructing the points, you can find it here.)

Stitch 1/4″ on both sides of the line you just drew. Cut along the line with scissors or a rotary cutter. Press the seam open. Trim to 3.5″.

Repeat with the remaining 4″ squares for a total of eight half-square triangles.

Arrange your pieces as shown below.

Sew both pairs of side half-square triangles together. Press the seams open.

Sew the side half-square triangle units to the center patchwork square and press the seams towards centre.  Sew together the pieces for top row. Sew together the pieces for the bottom row. For each of the top and bottom units, press the centre seam open, and the side seams towards the outside.

Sew all three rows together. Press the seams open.

Voila! You’re done! :)

Thanks again, Jeni!  There’s nothing quite like simple patchwork squares, is there?!

Now, just incase you find some of the dimensions for the 8″ and 4″ block difficult, or you just want to change things up a bit, I thought I’d throw in a little cheat sheet for using a 16-patch or a 4-patch as well as the 9-patch.

I’m sure there will be many lovely stars as a result of this tutorial!

With this star we’re back to manipulating the centre, and leaving the tips alone.  This is also the first time that my method creates any waste, but it does avoid working with bias-cut pieces, and since there are a number of people in the group who are relatively new quilters I think this method should be a little more painless.  In all, you will need to start with fourteen (14) pieces, cut according to the following dimensions:

As usual, the points are made using the method outlined in the Basic Sawtooth Star tutorial, so I won’t repeat them here.  We’re going to jump ahead to putting together the diamond in the centre.  To start, mark the centreline of the 3-1/2″ squares, and then mark a second line at 1/2″ to one side.  Then pin to of these squares to the 6-1/2″ square, right sides together, making sure that the second, off-set, line is to the outside.

Sew along the marked lines using scant 1/4″ seams.  Then cut down the centre between your seam lines to produce three (3) separate pieces.

Once you’ve pressed the pieces open you’ll see that you have two (2) HST units, and a larger square with triangles on two of the corners.

Take the remaining 3-1/2″ squares and pin them to the larger square in the same manner as before, but on the other two corners, again insuring that the second marked line is to the outside.

And again sew along the marked lines using scant 1/4″ seams and cut  between your  seam lines to produce three (3) separate pieces.

You should now have four (4) HST units, and a 6-1/2″ square with a diamond in the centre.

The four HST units aren’t required for this block, but for very little extra work you’ve turned awkward triangular scraps into finished blocks that can be used elsewhere in this quilt (for a pinwheel centre in an 8″ star, for instance), or in another project.  I always do this when the opportunity arises, since I am much more likely to find a use for the HSTs than I am the triangle scraps. :)

Finally, before moving forward, square up what you have so far to avoid any frustration with the final assembly.

Following the instructions in the Basic Sawtooth Star tutorial, assemble all your parts.  Press and voila!  Block #5 is done!

Let me know if you have any questions!

This next star is a variation of a different sort.  Rather than changing up the inside square, we’re going to change up the points!  The construction technique is the same as the basic sawtooth star, but first we have to prepare the squares used to make the points by sewing up four (4) HST square units.  For each star, you will need ten (10) pieces, and the dimensions for each star size are shown below:

The points are made up of at least two different fabrics, although you could always use four for a really scrappy look.  In my example I used two, so I cut two (2) squares of each fabric.  Start by marking the back of the squares from one of the fabrics, either with a single line down the centre, or a 1/4″ line on each side of centre.  Then pin them to the other two (2) squares, right sides together.

Sew along the marked lines using scant 1/4″ seams.  Each square will have two (2) stitched lines on it.  Then cut down the centre between your two seam lines to produce two (2) separate pieces, for a total of four (4) HST square units.

Once you have pressed the units, you will be left squares that are a bit too big, so they will need to be trimmed down to 3-7/8″ | 2-7/8″ | 1-7/8″ (depending on which size star you’re working on) before moving on.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, this gives you an opportunity to move forward with renewed accuracy.  (You can see the amount of extra in the comparison below.)

At this point, making the four (4) flying geese units is exactly the same as for the basic star, but extra attention is required for the placement of the HST units to insure the the same fabric ends up on all the tips.  The fabric which you wish to have appear on the tips needs to be the one which meets the corners of the background fabric, at opposite ends in the photo below.

When you’ve sewn the two stitch lines using scant 1/4″ seams, cut the two resulting units apart and pressed both parts, be sure to remember to trim the little bit of excess where all the seam allowances meet in the centre.  I forgot when I was making up my dummy block and it was really bulky!

When you place your HST units for the next stage, make sure that the three fabrics which are overlapping in the centre are all the same, and that the three fabrics at the tips are all the same.

Again, once you’ve sewn, cut, pressed and trimmed, you should have four (4) identical flying geese units.

Sew all your remaining parts together (as per the basic sawtooth star) and press your finished block!

One thing I have to say is that while the three fabrics I picked appeared different enough in large pieces, once put together I think they match a bit too well!  So my advice would be to try for a tad more contrast than I achieved here.  I’m going to play a bit this week as I finish up the other sizes, so I’ll be sure to show you some other ways to arrange fabrics in the block as soon as they’re done.

I hope you have fun with this one!

But, now that the overeating is firmly positioned on our waistlines, it’s time to get down to business.  (Ok, and maybe to the gym.)  So far we’ve had 3 tutorials out of 15, so we’ve got 12 left.  And since I don’t think any of us want this to drag on into 2013, I’m going to step up the pace to two tutorials a week.  Please don’t get discouraged if you can’t keep up with that pace.  I want to provide the information up front so that everyone can work at their own pace, rather than holding back the people who are ready for the next step.  Hopefully the people who are a bit ahead will stick around to support the people who move a bit more slowly.  That’s the point of a quilt-along. right?!

So here’s the plan going forward:

January 10 – Star Variation Four
January 12 - Star Variation Five
January 17 - Star Variation Six
January 19 - Star Variation Seven
January 24 - Star Variation Eight
January 26 - Star Variation Nine
January 31 - Star Variation Ten
February 02 - Star Variation Eleven
February 07 - Star Variation Twelve
February 09 - Star Variation Thirteen
February 14 - Star Variation Fourteen
February 16 - Star Variation Fifteen
February 20 (Week Of) – Quilt Top Assembly

At that point I’ll evaluate everyone’s progress to determine when to wrap things up.  My impulse is to say that the link-up post will open on the week of March 5, but we’ll see how it goes.  I want to give people chance to get things quilted and bound, and since that’s always a major “UFO abyss” point for me, I know that people might need a bit of time.

Also, I am loving all the work I’m seeing so far in the Flickr group.  You people rock!  It’s so interesting to see how the same designs play out in different colour combinations, isn’t it?  And, as always, click on the badge to find links to all the posts thus far.  See you next week!

I met Tong when I joined the Toronto Modern Quilt Guild in the fall of 2010, and it has been so much fun getting to know her better.  We share a serious love of fabric (ok, ok, it might border on obsession), so it’s hardly a surprise that we get along!  Tong is the author of ting tong and things, so please stop by over there to say hello and check out some of the wonderful things she’s made.  My personal favourites are all the lovely things she made for her wedding this past September, like the Dream On quilt for the photo booth and the Parisville ties for all the groomsmen.  Fabulous, right?!

Hello! My name is Tong, and Sheila invited me over for a guest post in her Oh My Stars! QAL series. Today I’m going to show you my variation of the much loved sawtooth star block, with a little wonky star in the center. I’m calling it the Sparkling Sawtooth.

So let’s get started!  You’ll need 5 different fabrics for my version: background for the sawtooth star, tips of the sawtooth star, background for the center wonky star, and 2 contrasting prints for the wonky star. You can always change the number of prints you want to use for your block, but this tutorial is based on the layout I have above. Here are the fabric requirements:

(OK, Sheila here with a few thoughts at this point.  The first is that while I have provided measurements for the parts required to make this block in smaller sizes, they are seriously tiny and not for the faint of heart.  So if you want to keep things simple, then just make the 12″ star, and substitute basic stars or stars from some of the other tutorials for the 8″ and the 4″ blocks.  The second is that Tong’s construction method is a bit different than mine with regards to the star points.  Do whichever is most comfortable for you.  You can find my method here.  Ok, as you were!)

To make the sawtooth tips you will make 8 HSTs. Take two 4.5” squares, one from the sawtooth background pile, and one from the sawtooth tips pile. Place them right sides together and draw a diagonal line from one corner to the opposite corner on the wrong side of your 4.5” square sawtooth background. Stitch your squares together by sewing a scant ¼” seam from both sides of the diagonal line.

Now cut your squares in half along that diagonal line.

Press your seams however way you want (I like to press mine open).

And trim your HSTs to 3.5” squares. Repeat using all the 4.5” squares of sawtooth background and sawtooth tips, and you should have eight 3.5” square HSTs.

Now we’ll make the little wonky star for the center. From the center tips piles, save two 2” squares from each print and set them aside. Cut the rest of the center tips squares in half along the diagonal so you’ll have 8 triangles in each of the center tips print.

Take 4 of the center background squares and 4 of the center tips triangles of the first print, stitch one triangle to the right side of each center background square. You should alter the angles at which the triangles are stitched so your star will come out wonky.

Trim the excess center background fabric.

Press the center tip triangle to the right with a hot iron.

Sew the remaining 4 center tip triangles from the same print to the left side of the center background blocks. Again varying the angles at which the triangles are placed to achieve more wonkiness.

Cut off the excess fabric on the bottom left corner.

And press the tip to the left with a hot iron.

Repeat with another 4 center background squares and the 2nd center tip print. Trim your center star tip pieces to 2” squares. Now you should have all the pieces you need to assemble your block. Lay out your pieces like below.

You can join the pieces together however way you like, or you can follow my example below. Join the pieces indicated by the arrows pointing towards one another and press seams.

Join the remaining pieces as shown below and press your seams.

Now join the middle pieces first, press the seams, and finally join the middle to the top and bottom pieces and press.

And ta-dah!

Now you have your Sparkling Sawtooth for your Oh-My-Star quilt! I hope you enjoy making your block!

Thanks again for having me!

Thank you so much, Tong, for such a gorgeous block!  I can’t wait to see it interpreted by everyone in the group!

Christmas totally snuck up on me this year, and a bunch of things that I had totally meant to get done before the madness began just plain didn’t.  And then there were all the dinners and the cookies and the visiting, complete with a healthy dose of drama.  I think it was Garrison Keillor who once said that it isn’t the holidays unless someone has locked themselves in the bathroom to cry, and while we managed to stop short of that particular marker let’s just say that we had a “real” christmas family get-together or two… ;)

I adore Christmas, but like most things I think it is best in small doses, and I am really looking forward to the new year ahead.  I’ve had some unexpected stress in the last week, but the outcome has been a renewed sense of self, and a refreshed commitment to some of the things which I’ve started in the last little while.  For example, my little shop has only been open for a few weeks but it’s doing well, and I have really been enjoying the process.

I’ve never been one for a list of “resolutions,” per se, but I have been thinking about the things I want to devote more time to in the coming months, and I’m hoping to share some of those things here.  Thanks to an incredible gift from my parents I’m hoping to push my photography skills a bit farther, and I’m also hoping to share some new design ideas that have been percolating for a while and need to find their way into the light.

Do you make resolutions?  Have you recommitted yourself to anything in particular for this year, or have you decided to try something new?  I’d love to know how the rest of you observe the flipping of the calendar, so to speak.

Finally, for those of you anxiously awaiting the next instalment of the Oh My Stars! tutorials, it will be hot on the heals of this post.  Tomorrow I will post a guideline for the rest of the series, now that we have the silly season behind us.  Sound good?

Here’s to 2012!