Two stars for Scraptastic Tuesday!

Apologies for missing Tuesday - but we are still on holiday here and things work out differently like I sometimes even forget what day it is!  Oops! 

All block names for this project come from the EQ6 block library so if you have the software you should be able to find the patterns in your block library - you can then print them and skip the drafting but it is a great skill to have and with these easy blocks it may even be quicker to draw your own!
9" Mill and Stars

I used scraps for the star and the background  - it is a busy, busy block on it's own but it doesn't stand out in the crowd !  

9" Star of the East

This block has a quieter look as the background is the same throughout and a solid rather than a patterned print.

I love both these blocks and this sampler is a great way to test out whether I'd like to make a quiltful of blocks and to test out how to make them - as usual there are several ways to do it.


To start I drafted these blocks on paper - both are very easy!

9" Mill & Stars - drafting

With a 9" square drawn on your paper (plain or squared) draw in the diagonals.  Mark the mid point of each side of the square - this will be the tip of your kite shape.  Then make a mark 2" from the centre of your diagonal line and join up the dots !  Told you it was easy!  Please note this pattern has no seam allowance marked.  

You may be familiar with this block as a strip pieced spiderweb block and of course it works that way to to use up lots of strips but also looks good using larger scraps.

Piecing
I cut the pattern in quarters on the diagonal and used my pattern to paper piece the Mill and Star block which is a great way to get those seams to match.   Just remember that the pieces need to extend by a quarter inch on the outside edge.  
Alternatively you can redraw and add a quarter inch seam all around the pieces and use them as templates to piece together by hand or machine.

9" Star of the East - drafting

This block has a 2.5" square in each corner, which makes the rest of the block very simple to draw as in the photo.  I have to say I decided it works well with a 2.5" square in the corner but you could of course change that and have a different look.   Again no seam allowances (SA) are included.   I redrew the shapes as templates adding a seam allowance - except for the square which with SA is 3". 

Piecing

 I machine stitched the pieces together (except for the squares) to form an odd half block - so background, star, background, star - then matched the centres and stitched by machine.   

The squares I added by hand,  sort of appliqueing them on, tucking the seam allowance under.  Not a classic way of proceeding but it works!

If I were to make a quiltful of these blocks I'd probably make them bigger and add extra seams in both the diagonals so the whole block could be machine pieced.  

I know that Leanne has a great TaDa moment to show you - love that quilt Leanne and those kittens have grown up so much!   

Hope to see you next week, and as it will be back to school, I might even be on time!