Shooting Stars in Pink and Brown

A recent email conversation with my sister about a quilt we both liked very much led me to do some digging through past blog posts. I knew that I had made a quilt using the same star pattern, but it turns out that I never blogged about the completed quilt top. Since my quilt features pink, our color for January at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, I'm sharing a very belated post for my Shooting Stars quilt top.

Shooting Stars quilt top, 66" x 86"

This quilt was started in a class I took in 2010. Our teacher called the block "Shooting Stars," and that is the name I continue to use for it. However, I have also seen it as "Wink and a Smile." You can find a tutorial for making this block at Anyone Can Quilt.

I made two blocks in the original class, and the rest of the blocks were made in 2015 and 2016. The twist-and-turn framing was added during our pink month for the RSC in July, 2016, and the quilt top was finished that August.

This is one of my favorite blocks. The close-up photo gives a good look at all the fabrics, including the background which was perfect for this quilt.

My favorite thing about the next block is the framing fabric--flamingos!

The block size is 14" before the framing is added, 18.25" with the framing. The large size of the blocks made it possible to end up with a nice lap quilt from only twelve blocks. 

I've been thinking about making this block pattern again, maybe in red, white and blue. It would make a great Quilt of Valor, wouldn't it?

Be sure to check out all of the wonderful scrappy projects at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge every Saturday and at Oh Scrap! over at Quilting is more fun than Housework on Sunday.

Julie in GA

Design Wall Monday

The Shooting Stars blocks have all been framed and are now being joined together with the sashing. The lower half of the quilt is done. Once I get the rest of it together, I will need to decide on a border. I'm not sure if I want to use a single fabric or go scrappy. I couldn't get a decent photo of all the blocks, so just imagine these two photos joined together.

There were a few comments last week from readers who were not familiar with this star pattern. You can find a tutorial for this block at Anyone Can Quilt. I call this design "Shooting Stars" because that was the name of the class when I learned this pattern, but I have also heard it called "Wink and a Smile."

I am sharing with Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times, Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt, and Moving It Forward at Em's Scrapbag.

Julie in GA

Pink UFO Sighting

It's pink month over at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, the weekly color-themed, scrap-busting link up. Besides making the blocks for my ongoing RSC projects, I have been spending some time on a pink UFO. Last weekend I made four more of the pink and brown Shooting Stars blocks, bringing my total number of blocks up to 12, enough for a throw quilt. Here are two of the newest blocks. You can find a tutorial for this pattern at Anyone Can Quilt.

The next step is framing the blocks. I am alternating pink and brown tilted frames on each block. Half of them have been finished so far, and I hope to get the rest done this weekend.

Be sure to check out all of the wonderful scrappy projects at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge every Saturday and at Oh Scrap! over at Quilting is more fun than Housework on Sunday.

Julie in GA

Design Wall Monday 7/11/16

I spent a large portion of the weekend working on an old UFO project, the Shooting Stars blocks that I started in a class in 2010. I have also heard this pattern called "A Wink and a Smile," but Shooting Stars is the name I first learned, and that is what I continue to call it.

I made four of these blocks over the weekend, which gives me enough for a decent-sized throw quilt. The blocks finish at 14". I have been auditioning pink and brown fabrics for the frames that make the blocks twist and turn back and forth.

 

I got a few of the framing fabrics cut, but I still need to cut most of the pieces and stitch them to the blocks. There was one I couldn't resist stitching up right away though--the flamingo fabric. I love the flamingos surrounding the star!

I am sharing with Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times, Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt, Moving It Forward at Em's Scrapbag and Scraptastic Tuesday at Mrs. Sew and Sow.

Julie in GA

OMG July 2016 Goal

It's time once again to link up my goal for OMG (One Monthly Goal) at Red Letter Quilts . Our color for July at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge is hot pink, and I plan to work on a UFO that features pink this month.

This is one of the Shooting Stars blocks that was started in a class I took in 2010. I made two blocks in the class, then two more last year and four more earlier this year. I think 12 blocks will be a good number for a throw quilt. Here are all the blocks that are done so far.

I haven't decided if I will go ahead with the tilted framing on the blocks like the two have at the top. My goal for July is to make some more blocks and get them all joined together into a finished quilt top by the end of the month.

In case you are curious about how to make this block, HERE is a tutorial for this pattern.

I'm heading over to the link-up for OMG at Red Letter Quilts to see what everyone else hopes to get done this month!

Julie in GA

Moving On to March

I was very slow to make a start on my brown with pink blocks for February at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, but once I got going, I didn't want to stop! It took me until March 1st, but I managed to add four more Shooting Stars blocks to the four I showed last week. The blocks definitely need some sashing or more of the tilted frames to break up all that white background.

How many of you noticed in last Saturday's RSC post that Libby in TN showed photos of two quilts she is making with the same block? Talk about a small world! Libby knows the pattern as "Wink and a Smile." She told me that it is an out-of-print pattern by Lisa Christiansen. The name I use for my blocks is "Shooting Stars" because that was the name from the class where I learned the pattern back in 2010. I believe our teacher had taken a photo of this design at a quilt shop and figured out how to piece it herself. 

I found a good tutorial with detailed instructions for how to make this block at Anyone Can Quilt. The tutorial dates from 2008. I recommend that anyone interested in this pattern check it out. Thanks to everyone for the many kind comments and questions last week about this pattern and my blocks.

I've also made a start on my purple scraps, our RSC color of the month for March. I have been pulling out strips to cut into 1.5" squares. These will be made into more 9-patch blocks for my Ring Cycles quilt. The current plan is to limit the color scheme to teal/turquoise, blue, and purple. Here's my pile of purple strips, along with a few blocks that include hints of purple.

Be sure to check out all of the wonderful scrappy projects at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge every Saturday and at Oh Scrap! over at Quilting is more fun than Housework on Sunday. I am also linking up for Scraptastic Tuesday with Mrs. Sew & Sow.

Julie in GA

Design Wall Monday 2/29/16

After sharing my pink and brown Shooting Stars blocks with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge on Saturday, I got so many lovely comments about the blocks that I felt the need to make some more blocks to go with them. Here is the newest addition to the collection. You can see the other blocks HERE.

"Shooting Stars" is the name we were given for this pattern in the class I took back in 2010. Another RSC participant, Libby in TN, showed photos of two quilts she is making that use the same block, but her version is called "Wink and a Smile." She said it is an out-of-print pattern by Lisa Christensen.

I discovered that I had saved a photo of another version of this block on my Pinterest account. It is linked to a tutorial at Anyone Can Quilt with detailed instructions for how to make the block.

I have a whole stack of pink and brown fabrics, enough to make a huge quilt of these stars, but I'm not sure I want another pink and brown quilt. What I really want to do with this pattern is make it in red, white & blue as a Quilt of Valor, but that idea will have to wait until another day.

I am sharing with Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times and Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt.

Julie in GA

RSC Brown and Pink

There hasn't been much opportunity for quilting lately, plus I just couldn't get excited about working with my brown scraps this month. However, I didn't want to completely miss out on linking up to the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, so I made two more pink and brown Shooting Stars blocks to go with the two that were already finished.

These blocks are quite large, finishing at 14" before they get the tilted frames. I already have one pink and brown bed quilt and don't really want another one. Maybe I will make more of these blocks and turn them into a donation quilt.

Be sure to check out all of the wonderful scrappy projects at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge every Saturday and at Oh Scrap! over at Quilting is more fun than Housework on Sunday. 

Julie in GA

Getting Into Green

October certainly flew by this year, and the remaining months are sure to be even busier. It felt good to get my Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks in brown done a little early, but it left me floundering for something to work on at the end of the month. 

I never did work on a brown UFO this month, so last week I pulled out a project from a class I took 5 years ago. These Shooting Stars blocks finish at 14" before the triangles around the outside are added. I have the pieces cut and partially stitched for two more blocks, but haven't decided what I want to use them for. I love the block pattern, but don't want to keep making more until I decide where they are headed. When I finish those two additional blocks, they will probably all end up right back in the same box as before

Because I was fairly certain that our RSC color for November was going to be light/bright green, I went ahead and started stitching my lighter green circle appliques. These will be the last blocks to be made for this quilt, and I am going to miss having my circles to sew on the train--time to find another little handwork project for next year. 

I have also started cutting away the background behind the circles. Thanks to everyone last week for your input on whether or not to trim. I decided to go ahead and trim all the blocks so they are consistent. Because I plan this quilt to be a wallhanging, I am not so worried about the stability with the background cut away. Boy, do I wish I had been trimming them as I made the blocks! That job gets tedious very quickly, and I have 120 or more blocks still to go. Then they all need to be squared off to 4-1/2" before I can start joining them together. Can't wait to get this quilt assembled!

I needed to take all the circle blocks off my design wall to put up another project, and I wanted to make it as easy as possible to get them all back in the same arrangement. I don't remember where I saw this idea, probably on someone's blog. I took each row down and stacked the blocks in order on a paper plate. The plates are labelled with the row number and also indicate which blocks are missing (those are the blocks still needing to be stitched.) I hope this helps when I am ready to put all the blocks back up on the wall.

Be sure to check out all of the wonderful scrappy projects at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge every Saturday and at Oh Scrap! over at Quilting is more fun than Housework on Sunday. 

Julie in GA

Shooting Stars

As part of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, I have been working on two different projects all year long. I have also tried to make progress on a UFO each month based on the color assignment for the RSC, which is brown for this month. I realize that October is nearing the end (where did the month go?!), but today I finally pulled out one of my few projects that include brown, my Shooting Stars blocks.

These blocks were made in a class that I took 5 years ago. I am amazed that it has been that long! As happens with so many of my UFOs, they were set aside because I didn't have a clear idea of where I was going with them. The blocks are rather large, measuring 14" before the outside triangles are added on. I like the block pattern a lot, but I already have a pink and brown quilt and don't really want another bed quilt in those colors. 

I have a whole stack of pink and brown fabrics that I collected over the years. One of the options I am considering is to make more of the blocks, but in a scaled down version that could become a wallhanging. I want to keep this block pattern in mind for a possible future Quilt of Valor.

 I will be sharing with the following linky parties.:

Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times

Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt
WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

Julie in GA