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Having a Starry Time Blog Hop – Cosmological – and giveaway

Cosmological
Alyce from Blossom Heart blog has teamed up with the Fat Quarter Shop to present the ‘Having a Starry Time’ Blog Hop. This hop focuses on making HST star blocks using the Half Square Triangle papers. The papers are available in many sizes, starting at 1″ finished HST’s up to 6″ finished HST’s with selected 1/4″ or 1/2″ increments in between.
For the purpose of the blog hop we were supposed to make one block but as a true scientist I had to evaluate the product thoroughly by making 144 HST’s. 
I chose to make 16 HST’s without the paper and the remainder using the paper to compare the effort, accuracy and time factors in making both.
Cosmological
(Instructions for one 24″ finished block)
Watch the Youtube video on how to make HST’s using the triangle paper here before starting.
Each block has four different fabrics plus a background fabric.
Each block contains:
4 x 4 1/2″ HST – Colour 1
8 x 4 1/2″ HST – Colour 2
8 x 4 1/2″ HST – Colour 3

Make 4  blocks 
From background solid fabric cut:
  • 4 – 4 1/2″ x 6 1/2″ rectangles – Piece A
  • 8 – 2 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ rectangles – Piece C
  • 4 – 4 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ squares – Piece D
  • 4 – 2 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ rectangles – Piece E
  • 1 – 5 1/2″ x 10 1/2″ rectangle – Piece B
  • 2 -10 1/2″squares – Piece B
From colour 1 cut:
1 – 6″ square
From Colour 2 and 3 cut 
1 – 11″ square
From colour 4 cut
4 – 2 1/2″ squares – Piece F

Assembly
  • Place a solid and colour 1 –  5 1/2″ x 10 1/2 ” rectangle right sides together. Pin one row of triangle paper to the square. Sew on broken lines, trim on solid and press open. Make 4
  • Repeat for Colours 2 and 3 using 2 rows triangle paper. Make 8 of each.
  • To make Piece E/F, place a 2 1/2″ square (Piece F) on corner of Piece E. Draw a diagonal line from edge to edge and sew on line. Trim back excess. Make 4.
  • The large block is made up of 4 smaller blocks (12 1/2″ unfinished blocks).
  • Layout one block at a time on a design board and sew together. Repeat for remaining 4 blocks.
  • Rotate the blocks to create the finished block and sew together.
To complete the quilt, I made 9 blocks using Joel Dewberry Heirloom Citrine Palette, Essex linen, Moda Basic Grey grunge and Windham Fabrics Divine in Orange. Backing Kate Spain Terrain.

The quilt was finished with a digital star design in Aurifil Golden Yellow 5015 Cotton Mako 40wt thread.
Finished Block size 24″
Finished Quilt size 72″ x 72″ 
The HST triangle paper provides the benefits of accuracy and making multiple HST’s at a time. The accuracy relies on the user staying on the sewing line, cutting on the unbroken line and making sure the paper is flatly positioned on the fabric.
The paper is a little tricky to place on the fabric and must be pinned well if using multiple rows at a time. I used 4 rows at a time (20 1/2″ x 10 1/2″ fabric pieces ) to make the quilt. I would not recommend any more then that as it is harder to pin and keep under the sewing machine throat.
The paper is a lightweight paper, conveniently stored in a roll. It is very easy to tear off if you use a smaller stitch when sewing.
There are still little rabbit ears to trim regardless of the method.
I would recommend this method if I had to make a quilt with 100’s of HST’s.
Make sure you visit the other bloggers and enjoy their starry blocks.

Monday March 18th – Rita at Red Pepper Quilts <http://www.redpepperquilts.com>
Tuesday March 19th – Lindsey at Happier Than A Bird Quilts <http://www.happierthanabirdquilts.com/>
Wednesday March 20th – Jane at Want It, Need It, Quilt <http://quiltjane.blogspot.com.au/>
Thursday March 21st – Jenelle at Echinops & Aster <http://echinopsaster.blogspot.com.au/>
Friday March 22nd – Hadley at Flying Blind on A Rocket Cycle <http://flyingblindonarocketcycle.blogspot.com.au/>
Saturday March 23rd – Alyce at Blossom Heart Quilts <http://blossomheartquilts.blogspot.com

The Fat Quarter Shop are also offering a 4 1/2″ roll of HST triangle paper to one lucky blogger.
To enter tell me the largest number of HST’s you have made and used in a single quilt.
Entries close 31st March 2013 AEST.

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