Paper piecing Star Bee update – October
I know you all love my stars, so I’ve got a stack more to share with you! All of these patterns are free and I will provide details and links under each set of photographs, as well as some hints and explanations.
First up we have a lovely rainbow block using the design Summer Starburst, which is designed by another Cassandra at The not so Dramatic Life and you can download it free from Craftsy – HERE. I really like this block because the angled piecing gives you lots of options to play around and make the block your own, however there are really no seams to line up and the final centre join is a very simple 4 way, which is easy to spin to give a beautifully smooth finish.
Our next star is a blue and orange beauty. This block gives you a real chance to play around with dimension, by using contrasting fabrics of the same colour. You could even make the centre look like a point by using four different shades in it to enhance the effect. This block didn’t catch my eye at first, but it makes an excellent repeating pattern do, as demonstrated by the layout ideas on Craftsy. The block is called Nova by the designer ipatch, and you can download it for free HERE. Once again this is a 4 way centre seam which makes the final join in this block a lot easier, however there are seams to match up along each side, so make sure you pay attention to those as well.
My apologies for these pictures, but the charcoal background was most difficult to photograph. This block was a lot of fun to design, I love the eye effect that it created moving through the different shades in the centre. The spiderweb layout allows for an almost circular centre, but there are lots of seams to line up as you join the eight pieces together. Spinning the centre seam is a must unless you want a huge lump under your quilt. This block is the Atomic Star by Wombat Quilts – available free to download from her site HERE.
This block would have to be the jewel of the crown, I am in raptures over the bright colours against the black background. October’s queen bee asked for a gorgeous set of colours, all warm and rich but with enough cool to pull it into line. I can’t wait to see all the others that she receives. This very striking block is not for a complete beginner, but is absolutely worth the extra time you will spend on it. The design is called Bird of Paradise by Clutter Bug Designs and you can download it free from Craftsy – HERE.
Now I know you are all asking how you can make such beautiful blocks too, and I’ve got some help ready for you in the form of some tutorials!
Simple Spinning Seams Tutorial
And if you are looking for some more blocks to sew, then click HERE to see all of the posts in this category. I try to provide details of the designer and where you can get each one so you can sew them too!
