Courthouse Stars -- Pattern Release!!

Ten years ago, just before I closed Erie Street Quilts in Willoughby, Ohio I wrote one final mystery quilt for my loyal customers. 

Courthouse Stars

This is the original version and it still grabs people's attention. 

 Clear, clean contrast is a trigger for me and it must be for lots of other folks. 

My students results (as seen below) were so exciting that I consolidated all the steps together into a pattern which I've been teaching and selling ever since. 

This spring I began my third version as a teaching sample for my 2015 workshops choosing fabrics for an updated look.  I wrote about that HERE.

It's still in the same state -- because I still have workshops booked it's will need to keep working as the step samples.  As a matter of fact, that is where I am today -- teaching this workshop.   The focus of the workshop is learning to use Marti Michell's Log Cabin rulers and tackling the "fast, easy flying geese" technique (which  I shared some tips about HERE)

Since I've "retired" from vending at face-to-face quilting events, I've decided to add the full pattern to my Craftsy store for easy downloading!! 

The retail price is $8 and you can find it HERE.

For those of you with significant fabric assortments at your fingertips, the blocks lend themselves to a "scrappy" fabric pull and you may only need to purchase some yardage for the outer border.

The quilt also lends itself easily to machine quilting in sections -- I did the green and brown one in four "crib" size sections making it very manageable on my basic home size machine.

 

And of course, I'm happy to answer any questions about the pattern should you decide to purchase it and give it a go. 

 

Mary Huey 

 

Quandries?

Do you suffer from quandaries?

  I do!! 

 It's the result of having "too many oars out of the boat" most of the time. 

There are so many opportunities everyday and deciding on one or two to occupy me is a real challenge on the days I don't have deadlines looming. 

Today was one of those days.  The morning rain and the middle of May found me debating whether to start the May SewMyStash charity quilt top and tidy up the blue shelf . . . . .

. . . . . or at least finish the top for the April SewMyStash charity quilt.  After all almost everything is cut and sorted and the piecing goes quickly. 

Finishing the top would enable me to put the fabric away I've been using. 

Aaaannnnnddddd, it's my game with my rules, so I could skip the May quilt and catch up with myself. 

The morning was wasting and the fact that I have too many ideas for the blue quilt pushed me to sit down and work on the April quilt (you can see the beginning of it HERE).  Plus I'm pretty anxious to see how this updated fabric version of my pattern, Courthouse Stars, looks!!

I have quite a few flying geese to make in two sizes and so I started with one of the four sets.  I use the "fast and easy" technique.  I love Joan Hawley's Flying Geese X 4 tool because I don't have to do any math.  I've used it in my patterns for over ten years -- if you know the finished size of the unit you need to make, the tool gives you the cutting sizes for the squares needed.

At this point, there are quite a few tutorials for the technique floating around so I won't bore you with that, but I want to share some tips that I've found help my students when using this technique.

When marking the diagonal lines on the small squares, work on a "sticky" surface like your rotary cutting mat or a sandpaper board to prevent the corners from stretching when you draw the lines.

Any ruler works to set up the line. 

But be sure to back it up just a smidge from the corner so that your marking pencil begins the line in the exact corner.  If I had kept the ruler in the position shown above, the line would have been off-center and that sets you up for problems from the start. 

When I work with directional prints, I draw two lines from the upper left to the lower right and the other two are vice versa. 

My finished results are better if I draw the lines on the small squares first and then position them on the large square.  I tried putting the small squares down on the large square and then drawing the line but I soon discovered that the finished flying geese units are askew when I do it that way.  It's important for the corner of the top small square to be aligned perfectly on the small square underneath and the only way to accomplish that is to draw the lines first. 

When I stitch the first set of small directional print squares to the large one , I use two with a line going the same direction.   

This enables me to manage the direction of the print so that both of the small triangles are the same. 

That's a center square that disappeared while I was mass producing the twelve sets I needed -- grrrr!!  But I'm glad I discovered it before I cut down the middle!!! 

By the time my session was over, I had the first step completed for all twelve sets and they are waiting for my return later this afternoon.  No need to think, just sit down and stitch!! 

I find that's an important strategy for me to maintain momentum -- leaving everything ready for the next stitching session whether it's at my sewing machine or on the couch in the living room enables me to sit and stitch without dealing with yet another quandary!!

How do you push through your quandaries?

Mary Huey

The Next Step -- Courthouse Steps!

All the new step samples for teaching Courthouse Stars are zipped and labeled -- ready to go!!

I'm so pleased with the way the sample blocks look, it's going to be hard not to finish this up in a hurry!!

The little stars grow up to be big stars!

I like the yellow with the pink, but not so sure about the orange?  What do you think?

The big stars look a little wonky because I have not actually stitched them together but couldn't wait to lay them out and set how they look.

Just a quick audition of the blocks.  So far, so good!

If you'd like to make your own version, you can order the pattern from my website -- HERE.  It uses Marti Michell's 1 1/4" log cabin ruler and the Lazy Girl 4XFlying Geese Tool.

 

Maybe next week I'll share pictures of a finished quilt top?!?!

 

Have a good weekend of stitching!!

 

Mary Huey

www.maryhueyquilts.com

 

 

 

Two Birds -- One Stone?

Not that I would actually throw a stone at a bird -- after all, birding is how I spend a good part of my non-quilting time! 

 

For those of you who don't take on more than you can handle, today's musings may not be helpful.  But if you are like me and take on most of the opportunities that come your way, this strategy might be useful.

 

This year, I'm making an effort to tidy up and thin down this palette of fabric one month at a time, one shelf at a time.   

For the month of April it's the black shelf's turn.  At the same time, I'm making a twin size charity quilt to thin it down and use up about 10 yards of that color. 

 (So far I'm three for three!!!)

A touch of black in a quilt adds sparkle and drama to a print or a quilt and so I've hoarded the best of the best for years.  What I've noticed though is that I use it in rather small quantities so it has really piled up.

The shelf is now tidy -- that's good!!  But what about the quilt?

 

I need to make new steps samples for my workshop later this week in Florence, Kentucky for the Stringtown Quilt Guild.  They have invited me to teach my pattern, Courthouse Stars.  It was the last mystery quilt I wrote for my shop back in 2005 and has been a steadily popular seller for me since then. 

This is my first version of the quilt which I quilted in four sections -- it's done now but when the group got together for the show and tell that summer, it was still in pieces.

 

So over the weekend, I began my new teaching sample for Courthouse Stars from the black shelf in the twin size and it will eventually become a charity quilt.!!  The floral has a black background so it was allowed to live on that shelf.  I've cut up some of it for the centers of the stars and courthouse steps blocks which will be blacks and whites.  There are stacks of strips ready to use in demos for the log cabin cutting and piecing.  And this afternoon, I'll piece a few blocks.

Still not sure what the accent color (the green in my first one) will be, but right now I'm thinking polka dots!!!  Need to audition that idea.

 

So my strategy as often as possible is to merge several goals/needs into one project.  I'll have a new set of teaching samples, the black shelf is thinned and tidy, and eventually there will be a lovely charity quilt to share with someone!

 

Two birds, one stone!!

 

How do you manage your overzealous ambitions?

 

Have you discovered #sewmystash2015 on Instagram and http://www.projectleasa.com/category/sewmystash2015/?  There are great ideas popping up over there as dozens of sewists share how they are sewing through their stashes in 2015!

 

Mary Huey

www.maryhueyquilts.com

 

 

 

 

Adapting Quilt Patterns -- Part II

What is the first thing about a quilt design that catches your eye?  Have you stopped to think about that?  For me, it's often the setting of a quilt and so I've trained myself to look beyond the color and the specific quilt block paying attention to the design of the setting.  How does the sashing or alternate blocks affect the overall design.  And when I find one I like, I save that idea to apply later with my own quilt blocks.

This is the second way to adapt a quilt pattern -- use the setting of the design. I'll use two of my patterns, Mary's Holiday Baskets and Courthouse Stars to illustrate my point.

 

Holiday Baskets is a basic basket block set together with a simple alternate setting block that is then modified around the outside edges to create an interesting overall design of framed basket blocks.  That alternate block frame can be used with any block that looks good set on-point!  The easiest adaptation of this setting will be to use the same size quilt block that is a "5-patch" block (which means it can be draw on a grid of squares that is 5 by 5).  But if you aren't afraid of the math, you could adapt it to other sizes of 5 by 5 grid blocks.

Courthouse Stars was the last mystery quilt I offered to my customers in 2005 before closing my shop in Willoughby, Ohio.  It uses Courthouse Log Cabin blocks to frame a double star block and has been a very popular pattern with my customers.  Once again, the star block which is the design block could be replaced with other blocks.  Modifying the size of the log cabin blocks would be fairly easy math -- might be as simple as adding a strip. 

I think either of these settings would be perfect for a set of blocks from a block of the month project.  I have a couple stacks of these languishing on my UFQ (unfinished quilts) shelves.  Either setting would frame up the blocks nicely and the setting would be my unique touch.

So here's a design challenge exercise.  Look through your favorite patterns for quilts that use an alternate block setting.  Sort out which are the design blocks and which are the setting blocks or sashing that make the overall design.  Now think about other blocks you could substitute for the "design" blocks.  You don't have to start a new quilt!  Just think.  By exploring this idea in your head, you'll start to look at patterns in more depth and see the possibilities beyond what is printed on the pattern cover.   

Next week, we'll look at adapting a quilt pattern by changing the scale of it!

Mary Huey
www.maryhueyquilts.com