Red & White Star Sampler is done!

I finished the Red & White Star Sampler quilt a few weeks ago, but I wanted to complete the piecing instructions for the last block (Castle Garden) before posting about the quilt. So, drumroll please:

I quilted this on my Janome, and it did take me some time to finish, mostly because I spent so much time marking the heck out of it. Here are some close-ups of the quilting details:

Blocks 7 through 10, done! (Red & White Star Sampler)

Oh my gosh, I've been on a roll since the beginning of the year. I finished piecing and writing instructions for five more blocks, four of which are posted here with downloadable instructions when you click on the picture. With lots of fanfare and such, here they are:

Block 7, Federal Square

Block 8, Golden Samovar

Block 9, Gold Rush

Block 10, Corner Star

Block 6, Eight Hands Around (Red & White Star Sampler)

Eight Hands Around is a nice block to get in some practice for flying geese. The instructions given are for the no-waste flying geese method, which I love. But this method only works if you need four flying geese for the block, otherwise you will have some extra.

As always, click on the image above for a PDF of the cutting and piecing instructions. The rest of the blocks can be found here, or under the tab above for Red & White Star Sampler.

Block 6 Sneak Peak: Eight Hands Around

Next up is Eight Hands Around. I have the first draft of the instructions done but need to piece the block.

In the meantime, I was also playing around with some settings for a baby quilt (my nephew and his wife are due May 18th!). I still have some time to plan and execute, so more to come!

Block 5, Christmas Star (Red & White Star Sampler)

It's a few days past Christmas, but let's consider this a head start for 2020! Details are on the instruction sheet, which you can download here: Christmas Star.

You can get the rest of the blocks on this series by clicking here, Red & White Star Sampler, or on the tab above. Happy Holidays!

Block 4, Minnesota Maze Variation (Red & White Star Sampler)

I completed this block quite a while ago but only just got around to writing up the instructions. I wanted to get this block posted before moving to the next, and hopefully this will inspire me to return to the cutting table and sewing machine.

As with the previous three blocks in this series, the unfinished block is 12.5 inches, and piecing instructions can be downloaded by clicking on the image below.  All the blocks can be found by clicking on the Red & White Star Sampler tab above. Enjoy!

Block 4, Minnesota Maze Variation

Block 3, Eddystone Light, variation (Red & White Star Sampler)

Piecing instructions for the third block are now available! As always, you can go to the Red & White Star Sampler tab at the top for all the blocks in this series.

Block 3, Eddystone Light (Variation)

Block 2, Wyoming Valley (Red & White Star Sampler)

This is another version of Wyoming Valley. You can probably see that I love this block, as I also used it for the center of my Medallion Quilt last summer. The piecing instructions for this one is a little bit different than the block in the Medallion Quilt. For this one, I used a center diamond-in-a-square unit surrounded by flying geese and half-square triangles. Click on the image or caption below for a PDF of the piecing instructions. You can find all blocks by clicking on the Red & White Star Sampler tab above.

Block 2, Wyoming Valley (Red & White Star Sampler)

Block 1, Kansas Star - piecing instructions posted!

This is a 12-inch block that uses a total of nine diamond-in-a-square blocks. My current plan is for a 13-block sampler. At the end, I will make 12 Irish chain blocks for a quilt of about 72 inches.

Click below for a PDF of the cutting and piecing instructions for Kansas Star. All of the blocks in this series will also be available by clicking on the Red & White Sampler tab above.

New and continuing projects: Block Heads 2 and Red & White Quilt

Even though I haven't posted here lately (I've mostly been on Instagram @elvycrafts), I have been fairly consistent with sitting down at the sewing machine.

After I finished the Medallion Quilt, I wanted to find a filler project that I could work on here and there, so I started the Moda Block Heads 2 quilt-along. This was back in October, and I was quite a ways behind. However, as of a couple of weeks ago, I'm all caught up (except this past Wednesday's block), AND I even began piecing together some of the blocks:

This past month, I also received the first of the year-long Mystery Sampler block-of-the-month by Fig Tree. The collection for this BOM is Farmhouse II. These are the blocks from January:

And, after several starts and stops, I decided to take a new tack on my Red & White Sampler Quilt. Here is the first block, just finished today:

I will post more info on this project later this weekend!