Monday, February 16, 2009

When you wish upon a star


I made these wonky stars for the Bushfire Project and got them sent off before the latest snow storm moved in and made driving to town a chore I refuse to tackle. I love doing these. I may add a wonky star quilt to my bucket list.
After viewing everyone else's week #7 blocks, I decided to try doing it without resizing. I don't have the EQ program and my math skills are on par with your average garden snail, that is to say pretty much non- existant. In a momentary burst of inspiration,I decided to use the bright kids fabrics I used for the 9" block. I figured I'd add sashing at some point and make all the 8 and 9 inch blocks fit in a quilt....somehow. Well that was my thought anyway.

So, totally ignoring all the instructions, I cut all the itty bitty squares and proceeded to put the block together using only the finished block diagram. I layed all the parts out on my ironing board. I was merrily sewing away when I noticed a problem.



Having already spent several hours on this block, becoming well aquainted with the seam ripper along the way, I quickly fixed the error.



That was the least of my errors. I used the scantiest of 1/4 inch seams yet at every step of assembly nothing fit. The parts seemed to shrink. I pressed with a dry iron and was very careful not to distort. I'm blaming the spray starch. The finished block is barely 8 & 1/4" and quite wonky on the edges. Thank the Lord I will be adding little borders to bring it up to a 9" size. I can cheat and square it up at that point. Here's my Mickey Mouse Star.



At least my points are nice and pointy! I think the two blocks play together nicely.



I know my little grandaughter Kiera will like it when it eventually grows into a quilt for her.

5 comments:

Vicki said...

You did a great job. Sometimes I think those instructions complicate matters.

Donna said...

It looks great! I'm still struggling too. I decided to try it the size given, but have made and remade a few pieces 'cause they just don't seem to line up.... arg.... I love micky mouse and think with a border it'll work really well with your 9" one :-)

Carol E. said...

It turned out great!

em's scrapbag said...

I love your Mickey star. You did great!

hetty said...

Great Mickey Mouse block! Well done!