Block 7 - Blocks and Stars
We are in Week 7 of The Spicerack Sampler! And this week our block is called Blocks and Stars!
Click the picture to download the pattern.
This block stuck out to me because it's a star, and you just have to have a star in a sampler! But it's not the typical star I usually see floating around in quilting circles. It had a bit more interest that could work in just two colors. And it's got a couple of excellent units that build skills! We will learn the square in a square (or economy block) and the quarter-square triangle!
Click the image below to see me assemble this block on YouTube.
And here are some mock-ups I made in EQ8 to show you what you can do with this block.
For this first one, I just repeated the block with the colorway shown above in my example, a dark color for the background and a light color for the "blocks" and "stars" in the piece. It makes some interesting secondary patterns!
In this second one, I decided to alternate blocks with the above coloring with blocks that are colored in reverse. I really like what's going on here! And some more interesting secondary patterns that emerge!
And then for this final one, I went back to my original colorway and added some sashing. What are your thoughts? Sashing? No sashing? I know some always like to add sashing. It does certainly have a more calming effect. They say that negative space gives your eye a place to rest. The designs above are busier. But sometimes I like calm, and sometimes I like busy!
What do you think? Which one do you like best? Let me know in the comments below!
As I mentioned above and throughout this series, I whipped up these mock-ups in EQ8. Do you use EQ8?
And like many of the blocks in this series, there are SO many possibilities you can achieve with this block when you start playing around with several colors!
If you're just now joining me in this series, here is a picture of the complete set. These 12 blocks I'm calling The Spicerack Sampler! They're all classic quilt blocks, but I'm attempting to put a modern spin on each one. I hope you join me in making these! They range from easy to more challenging, but they're meant to be a skill builder. I'll walk you through each step and help you add a number of skills to your repertoire! And these are all traditionally pieced. No Y-seams, paper templates or foundation paper piecing.
A new block releases every Monday!
Make sure you don't miss out on a single block by signing up for my newsletter here!
