Sulky's National Quilting Month Block Party!

Sulky's Block Party

I am thrilled to participate in Sulky's Block Party to celebrate National Quilting Month.  I had no idea what I was going to make, but when Sulky asked I happened to be experimenting with lines and trying to stretch how I use one of my favorite techniques, slice forward, insert backwards.  SF/IB is a slice and insert technique that allows me to create blocks with precise lines with no matching.  Who doesn't love no matching?  I created my Starline block to test the blocks for a linear star quilt that I want to make for my family room.  I made the test block 30" x 30" so that it would make a nice class sample and so the final quilt will finish at 60" x 60".

My Starline block is made up of four identical blocks and since they are symmetrical they can be rotated around the center to form the star. The diagram below shows the order for cutting and piecing.  I stacked four 15" squares and cut them all at the same time. I sliced the lines in order from one to seven and then inserted 1" strips from the last line cut (seven) in order back to one.  I pieced my block using Sulky 50 weight thread, perfect for piecing. This technique require precision and accuracy in piecing, but I love the challenge!

I am pretty happy with how the block turned out. The second photo shows the colors a little better.  I used two shades of aqua for the sample block.

           

I decided to quilt the block since I plan to use a quilt as you go method for the Starline quilt that will be composed of four Starline blocks.  I used a heavyweight thread, a beautiful Sulky 12 weight with a Sulky 40 weight in the bobbin.  With that combination I get great stitch quality and perfect tension.  The heavy 12wt thread gives the quilting stitches loads of presence on the quilt and look at that gorgeous chartreuse color!

I'm still in progress on the large four-block version in orange.  I can't wait to show you the quilt.  I love how all the lines come together and I think it has loads of potential for some color play too.  Thanks Sulky for the nudge to play and create something new! Have a great National Quilting Month!