Luminous Layer Quilt Along Make the Small Stars

We've had two weeks of making star points; this week we will make entire stars. There are five small stars. Four sit in the centre of the medium stars, and one is in the very centre of the quilt. These babies are 4" (6") finished so the HSTs for them will seem really tiny after making the giant and large ones.

I posted my large star points on Instagram @mmmquilts but for those who don't have it, know that first of all, you can easily go on it and look at any public account. Mine is public. For those who don't have Instagram and don't care to even go there (I hear you - that's me for the most part wrt FaceBook) I've added that photo to the previous post where we made the large star points.

MacGyver picked up another pack of tulip bulbs last fall and, as often happens with planting things, unless you remember to write it all down with diagrams, he forgot where and what he'd bought. We got quite the show while I was away and a few are still holding on to their petals, just glorious. These three make me think of my quilt!

Make Small Stars

We will make the four small stars that go inside the medium stars first. These are pale yellow in the original quilt.

1. To make these small stars, follow the same method we used for making HSTs two at a time. Pair sixteen 2" (2.5") Fabric D squares with sixteen 2" (2.5") Fabric E squares to yield 32 Fabric D/E HSTs. In the original quilt, these were the four pale yellow stars on the various navy/yellow and purple/yellow chops (prints in batik terms). In my new quilt, they are deep pink stars on turquoise background. Press sixteen of the HST seams to Fabric D and sixteen to Fabric E. Trim to 1.5" (2").

2. When I trim HSTs, I almost always do two at a time. It cuts the trimming time in half. I've shown this method a few times, but here it is again. I think I first saw it a couple of decades ago on Simply Quilts where one of Alex Anderson's guests demonstrated it.

Place two HSTs right sides together aligning the diagonal seams by butting them up against each other. This is the same concept as the Bloc Lock ruler.

Lay your ruler on as usual, and trim two sides. You'll notice I have the HSTs I'm about to trim sitting on my mini Olfa mat which is on top of my large one.

Turn the mini mat around without disturbing the stacked HSTs. Trim the other two sides.

Presto! Two trimmed HSTs in the time it takes to trim one.🥳

I even will stack two sets of HSTs and cut through four layers to separate them!

Carefully align the stitching lines. 

Set your ruler on the solid line and cut apart!

 

3. Lay out eight Fabric D/E 1.5" (2") HSTs, being sure the pairs have opposing seams, one 2.5" (3.5") Fabric E square and four 1.5 (2") Fabric D squares as shown.

4. Sew into rows.

5. Sew the rows together and press. The resulting small star block should measure 4.5" (6.5"). Make four.

Indoor light has distorted the colours a bit

6. To make the centre small star which is gold on forest green in the original quilt, you must make it in four sections and keep them separate until you assemble the medium stars.

Make eight HSTs as you did for the small stars, using the 2" (2.5") Fabric A squares with the 2" (2.5") Fabric B squares. 

7. Make the four units using two of the HSTs you made in step 6, one 1.5" (2") Fabric A square and one 1.5" (2") Fabric B square.

 

That wasn’t so bad was it? You could always make one more small star and use it as I did for the label on the back of your quilt!

This was actually a happy mistake: when I was first making the quilt, I didn’t have that centre star. Then I had the brainwave to create it so I made it, but then I realized it had to be made in four sections because of the of the way I was constructing the four medium stars. Rather than add it to my orphan block pile, I used it as a label because it was the perfect size. 

I made a verrry interesting back for this original quilt! I made two more giant star points and put them on the back as if the quilt was folded😉 Just a fun little touch. 

All we have left is making the medium stars which will happen next week and then you’ll have one week to get the top together. Easy peasy!

Be sure to tag me @mmmquilts on Instagram if you post there, 

Instagram.

When I went to get the link to my Instagram, this was the first in my feed, and it needs to be put here. I have followed James @ Unicef since pretty much the beginning of this grotesque, inhumane war on Palestine. He has spoken up continually, eloquently and passionately for the children and mothers of Palestine. What is imminent in Rafah is just unfathomable.

I sat in the Stollery Children's Hospital for nearly two weeks in April and looked around and marvelled at the beautiful, aesthetically pleasing building, the technology and expertise therein, the thought and care that went into building the University of Alberta of which the Stollery is a part. And I kept thinking of the destruction I've seen of the similar stellar hospitals in Gaza, reduced to rubble, the murder of intelligent, qualified caring doctors and nurses, the murder of babies, and no evidence of Hamas operatives to be found. I kept super-imposing the blown to smithereens hospitals in Gaza over this beautiful hospital and thinking what an utter waste and travesty it would be to obliterate this hospital... James has posted footage of him walking through one of the destroyed hospitals and it is chilling.

Did you collect at Halloween as I did as a kid for Unicef? Please do an adult thing for Unicef and amplify James' message, and also the one below, from @misanharriman another so very profound plea that James and Annie Lennox put in their stories. Clicking the image will take you to his message from May 6.

Back to instagram posting: if you post progress photos of your quilt, be sure to use the hashtag #luminouslayersquilt and #luminouslayers (though that hashtag has makeup and some fashion in it). If you don’t blog or use Instagram, email me a photo and I’ll post it for you. If you’re on Facebook post there and send me the link.

Thank you as always for sewing along.