bom #1 November- XStar

today is the official start of my online blog BOM! *clap* i'm calling this block Xstar. it might be a little tricky, there are some bias edges. i wouldn't call this BOM a beginner project,but you can do it i promise...i would suggest that you give all you fabrics a coat of sizing. i prefer sizing instead of starch because starch makes fabric stiff (think cardboard) whereas sizing gives the fabric a stabilizing body. carefully handle the pieces that are cut on the bias, paying attention to pressing as well. try not to 'iron' the bias- press it (moving the iron up and down, not sliding it side to side) the spray sizing will help stabilize the bias edges.

here's the cutting chart. sizes are the cut dimensions. we will be using a 1/4" seam allowance (SA) throughout the entire construction. (actually- a scant 1/4" SA is recommended. what is a scant 1/4" SA? my scant is a needle width smaller than a full 1/4" SA.)

click on the chart for a more readable size :)

cut all your pieces. i want you to use your fabrics/colors, so i have listed what color i used where, that way you can look at the picture of the block and see where what goes where....

here is a picture of the back of the block to show which way i pressed my seams. refer back to this picture when piecing the block. if you click on it, it will open super sized for better detail. notice that where i have really bulky SAs, i clipped to my stitching line and pressed the seam open. i noticed that in a quilting magazine they have started to suggest this...as a LAer, i wished everyone would start doing this. bulky seams = a broken needle, that's bad :) moving on....

here's a tip for the sq-n-sq triangles. i always have had trouble trying to eyeball-line those puppies up to get an even SA, so here's what i do...(i know there are all those corner trimming templates out there- i don't care for them)....what i do is fold both pieces in half and pinch it in the center to finger press the fold (just the edge you'll be sewing, not the entire piece), then i just match the folds. if you finger press the square part with right sides together and press the triangle with wrong sides together, the finger pressed fold will be opposites and the two pieces will snug perfectly together...place a pin there and sew the seam. i sew the triangles to opposite sides of the orange print sq, then sew the two remaining sides. your sq-n-sq unit will measure 4 3/4" sq.

use the same tip/trick from the sq-n-sq unit (i'll call it the pinch trick) when you sew the star points to the 3 1/2" background sq- it will look like this. the first point goes on one edge, then the other goes on the edge next to it. the sewn edges are bias, so handle carefully. make four of these units. they are the corners of the block.

using the 5 1/2" orange sq and the (4) 3" green dot squares, make your flying geese units. i have done the math so that you can make these with the 'no waste' method. this will be the way we make all the flying geese units thorough the entire BOM. (yes there will be more) your flying geese will measure 2 5/8" x 4 3/4".

layout all your units following this pic. this is where you will find out if you need to unsew something. (better now than later)

this block is sewn together on point. following the numbered order, sew all the pieces together creating three units: the two corners, and the center.

sew one corner unit to the side of the center unit as shown- match the seams to the sq-n-sq unit to the seams of the large background trianlges. sew the remaining corner unit to the center unit. you now have a beautiful block.

i know i started this BOM with a non-traditional pieced block (the rest will be all down hill from here :) )...but this is a great block to get your 'advanced beginner/intermediate' feet wet. i think all the prep work (sizing your fabrics) and bias edges really do make for a pretty block. totally worth it....but i still think the number one rule of quilting is to

HAVE FUN!!!

i want to see pictures of your blocks! shoot me an email: half_square @ hotmail.com (remove the spaces) if you have a blog, email me the link and i'll link back to it...