stillclock

hi! i need a little bit of help with a project.

as you can see i made this lone star and it turned out pretty well (after recutting everything and starting all over again, but since i typed that in brackets it's a secret.)

[ATTACH=CONFIG]333706[/ATTACH]

the first y-seam and corresponding border piece went well and the rest seemed okay, but when i laid it out i realized i was going to need to fix either my star or my y seams.

so i laid it out again and pinned the star down to the batting (for lack of a better idea - it's a working surface more than anything....) and i am pleased to see that the star is lying very flat, yet my white set triangles and borders need a lot of tightening up.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]333707[/ATTACH]

my question is....how do i mark the needed adjustments? i basted the borders knowing there was going to be some stitch ripping in my future, and i see that i was very right. but how do i tighten the seams enough but not too much, and how do i do it without distorting all the the things that have gone right so far?

my second question is about squaring off this octagon. using jinny beyer's design that turns the star on point and creates these colourful triangles, i want to extend the quilt into a queen size bed quilt.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]333708[/ATTACH]
do i have to make those set triangles that square off the quilt in two pieces or can i use the existing octagon as a template, cut a singular piece with the right angles and stitch it on whole? does that make sense? i'm not interested in tapering the set triangles in jinny's fancy way, just making the octagon square by bringing the fabric to the points....

if i've missed another post about how to do either of these things, please teach me how to properly search so i can find it myself for next time. new boards are always tricky.

i'm looking forward to getting to know some of you, to sharing stories, tips, tricks and the occasional rant unto tears.

the one thing i have missed in my quilting life is the sense that i might belong to a community. i'm hoping this might be it, if only virtually. thanks so much for your help!

aileen