January 1, 2013 - Whirling Star 2 direction's & discussion.
 

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!! :D

I have volunteered to pick the January BOM pattern for this month. It's called Whirling Star 2, from Quilter's Cache. This was such a fun block to make & I hope that everyone enjoy's making theirs. I chose to make my block, for this year, using floral fabric's with a pink & purple solid fabric. I can hardly wait to see how everyone makes their's.

Here's too................Yes, We can!! :D


http://www.quilterscache.com/W/WhirlingStar2Block.html

Here's the link to the thread SulaBug started for our photos. Her block is sooooo pretty! :thumbup:

http://www.quiltingboard.com/blocks-...s-t209786.html

I made some .pdf files for templates. They would come in handy for cutting out the pieces needed to put the block together with Y-seams. To ensure they print in the correct size, remember to set printer scaling to None in Adobe Reader.

I also made a file for paper piecing foundations. As with the templates, make sure to set printer scaling to None.

Both templates and foundation patterns are available at the Quilter's Cache site.
I just couldn't get my own printer to cooperate so I made my own.
Very happy to share. :)

I did mine using Y-seams.
they look scary but are easier than you'd think if you do one side of the Y at a time.

One very important thing to remember is to NOT sew all the way to the end of the pieces where they Y joins.
You need to leave the 1/4" seam allowance.
Otherwise getting the block to lay flat is somewhere between difficult and impossible.

Since there are 4 Ys, I marked the top piece for the first one.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]385168[/ATTACH]

Then I laid down a sticky note to mark the stopping place.
By using that as a reference, I didn't need to mark the remaining 3 pieces. :)

[ATTACH=CONFIG]385169[/ATTACH]

It's important, also, to remember to either do a lock-stitch or a few back stitches where you stop the seam.

I will be very happy to answer questions and provide tips. :)

Thank you SulaBug for picking this lovely pattern! Now to find the right fabric :eek:
Thanks Patrice for making the PDF files. I love foundation piecing :D

Love this one Sulabug made with with 1930's fabric for a block swap a few months back. Will hopefully be joining you this year just need to decided what fabrics to use :thumbup:

Thanks SulaBug and Patrice. Going to do mine with your foundations.

I love this block! Thanks to Sulabug and Patrice!

I am going to try this after I get with some renovations in my other sewing room.

This looks like a lot of fun to make.

Hi Patricej, I'm trying your foundation piecing and I have the A/B/C/D pieces stitched but when I lay them out to decide their layout I am confused. I am using black for B2 C1 D1 and white for A1 B1 C2 and green for A2 D2 but I am ending up with a white corner.... I'll post a picture & see if you can tell me what I've done wrong, thanks! I think the C2 piece should really be green rather than the white colouring?[ATTACH=CONFIG]385229[/ATTACH]

you need to use four different fabrics for this block.
i've put yellow in this example where you need the 4th fabric to go.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]385241[/ATTACH]

I just did mine and the color was challenging...I was praying I had it right as I was putting it together! I should of had more contrast on one part...don't think I am going to do a 'do over' ...tomorrow, I will decide....it is a pretty pattern...

Thank you Sulabug its a cool pattern! I am nervous to get started but worst case it keeps me up at night. I will have the day tomorrow to play sewing so I will post my efforts good or bad just to share what it took and ask questions which will surely come up. I used to mark with an erasing pencil those 1/4 inch dots is that not a good idea? the kind meant for quilting in white..unless I am using white which would be a tad hard even for my non eagle eyes :) I am thinking of trying all these in "bali"wood colors just to make things pop a bit and well surely show where I went wrong if I do go wrong.

Hmmm..... oh well..... three is what is happening at my end :eek: so it's going to look totally different than this when done, thanks for figuring out what the difference was. I thought it had something to do with the colouring on the foundations....oh well.....

Great visual Patrice... thank you that is a huge help :)

Judy in Phx, AZ

I don't know why but I am having a hard time starting out on this one. I am paper piecing and I print four of the templates out from the Quilter's Cache pattern, right? For some reason, my brain isn't getting this one yet.:o

I like the block. I am going to pp it next week after my DGD goes home.

The block from Quilter's Cache is done all scrappy. When you look at post # 9 you can see it's easier to use 4 fabrics. I sat in front of the computer with my printed copies of the pattern and marked the colors on the paper.

Thanks, Anael. I printed out my copies and figured I'd do what you said today. I've done paper piecing but I guess I'm having a hard time seeing the pattern in this one.

I've been trying to figure out the difference between what you have drawn to show me the 4 colours patricej, and yes it needs the 4 to work like that because.... I think....maybe.... the widths of the spokes that you have created in your PDF are different than the ones on quilterscache. When I printed & used your ones I'm measuring them now & the L1 E2 M1 C2 printed out at 2" line to line; whereas the N1 D2 I2 H1 pieces printed out at 1 3/8 " line to line. The final block stitched together measures exactly 12 1/2" but because I used only 3 colours it makes it look lopsided. Not sure what would be easier...pick out these miniscule stitches & sub in a 4th colour or start all over..... ugh!

And of course I could be way off BUT this is what it seems like to me at the moment....

huh? no offense, but that made me dizzy. LOL

my templates and foundations probably are different to those at QC.
it's a public domain block, so i just called it up in my EQ software.

i would not recommend trying to mix any of the printouts.
best to choose either mine from EQ or the ones from QC.

since i'm approaching these blocks as "learn by doing" i am requiring myself to unsew vs. chuck-it-and-start-over.
that's a personal choice, of course.
i consider the ability to pick out stitches and "unsewing"seams to be valuable skills.
when done properly, we preserve the pieces and they can be used again.
when done poorly, we ruin the pieces.

ever run out of fabric needing just one more piece?
i have. :mad:

Whew, good thing I redid 4 of the spokes by picking them out then! :thumbup: I am much happier with it now, thanks so posted a new picture! And..... I promise not to be such a "pain" every month....

Thanks for explaining that, looking at the quiltcache pattern I thought I needed 4 or 8 prints and two solids.

i don't know why you thought you were being a pain.
we are doing this to help ourselves and each other explore and grow as quilters.
mistakes and questions are a big part of that.
:)

How fun! Now to decide what fabrics I want to use on this. Stuff from my stash or possibly build up a stash of 30's reproductions and use those. Hmmm......

Hello and Happy New Year to you all!
I am new to this site and I am so exctied that I find myself on it all the time. :) I love this block !! However do you think it would look good made out of scraps. I am also looking for a fast and easy pattern that I can make out of many 5 inch squares. Anyone have any ideas ??? if so send them my way.
thanks :)

I decided to do 30's too. I have a little stash but I'm having trouble matching solids to the prints.

yes. this block would look great in scraps.
just make sure you pick scraps from four color families. :)

I made 2 blocks/ 1 using traditional piecing & 1 pp. Quilters cache instructs to make 8 trap segments that are the same. Well I did & it about drove me crazy trying to figure out how to get my trap segments positioned correctly!
Went back to computer & looked at pix in grayscale then I saw the problem/ 4 needed to be reversed. That block will stay as a simple star & pp block will be correct :o

There is a really good little maybe 3 minute tutorial on the jinny beyer site on Y seams. she shows how to do them by machine and how to do them by hand. I think it makes perfect sense when you watch it live :) if you can get away from checking out all her gorgeous fabric. If I won the lotto it would ALL be mine! I had never seen her stuff before but wow. still havent sat down to do this yet. lucky for me the month is still young.

It wasn't the Y seams that drove me crazy, that's not a problem but the finished segments were all the same & actually you needed 4 segments and another 4 that were their mirror image.
The block is still interesting and has a star, just not a whirling star.
Thanks to Patrice showing the different ways to position them to get different blocks, I didn't feel bad leaving it the way it came out:)

I really like this block. I have been very intimidated by paper piecing but of course I want to try it. Can I use regular printer paper or do I need special paper? And here I was think I was going to play with my "Rose" tomorrow out in the studio..

regular printer paper will work, but it will be a bit more difficult to remove.
i go to the dollar store and get the kiddy tablets.
they use newsprint paper, which is thinner, and are inexpensive.

Make sure you decrease your stitch length too to make it easier to remove the paper. I also like to use paper from an inexpensive drawing pad for kids that I got at the dollar store, its just thin newsprint

Next time I am in the dollar store I am going to have to look, Thanks for the tip =)

This may be a silly question, but here goes. Do I need both sets of templates? When I look at the pattern it seems like I just need the set that has ABC. Thanks for your help.

whether you are going to attempt either the paper piecing or the traditional version, select either from the printouts from QuiltersCache or from those i attached. do not try to mix & match. it won't work.

PP tip -- if using regular printer paper, spritz a little water and it will remove very easily. Use this method all the time.

Tweezers also help a lot.

I am attempting this. So far I have had to unsew a lot. I went back over the comments and will try again. If I have problems, I know I can ask. Wish me luck.

Sus, if you're PP there shouldn't be a problem. If you're doing the traditional just remember to make 4 segments like instructed & then 4 segments reversed (if you're using a specific fab for your star points)
you can do it!

I am just joining in, thanks for such an interesting block.