Welcome to Month Five of the St. Louis Modern Quilt Guild 2022 Block of the Month Sampler!
Remember to post your block to Instagram with the hashtag #stlmqgbom before the June meeting to be entered to win this month's prize. If you don't use Instagram, you may email a photo to the guild email.
This month, we will be making THREE different 12-inch star blocks: Missouri star, Ohio star, and Virginia star. These blocks will use some of the skills we have practiced in previous months of this Block of the Month Sampler, including square-in-a-square, quarter square triangles, and flying geese.
I will write these as three separate tutorials below. Because these blocks are a little less straight forward than what we've done so far, I timed myself to give you a reference point for your own planning and making.
Missouri Star took me 1 hour and 6 minutes to cut and sew. This does not include fabric selection time. I'm comfortable with the components of this block (square-in-a-square, HSTs, flying geese), so if you need to review those techniques, you'll need to add more time. Might want to throw in a "seam ripper time allowance" just for funzies, too!
Ohio Star took me 42 minutes to cut and sew. Again, this does not include fabric selection time. If you're not confident with how to construct a quarter square triangle, you'll need to allow extra minutes for review.
Virginia Star took me 43 minutes to cut and sew. This time could actually be less, but I had to break up a kid kerfuffle and didn't stop my watch and I added those diagonal bits to the center that you'll see in my finished photo. I don't include instructions for that part, I just wanted to add a little something to my center since I'm using all solid for this project.
Total time for me to cut and sew these blocks: 2.5 hours. Add more time for fabric selection, to review techniques of block components or to use your seam ripper.
MISSOURI STAR BLOCK
Cutting Directions
Center (square-in-a-square)
Color 1: (1) 4-3/4" square
Color 2: (2) 4" squares, each cut on the diagonal to make a total of 4 triangles
Star Points
Background: (1) 7-1/4" square
Color 3 (Inner star point): (2) 4-1/4" squares
Color 4 (Outer star point): (2) 4-1/4" squares
Corners
Background: (4) 3-1/2" squares
Sewing Directions
A. Begin by making a 6-1/2" square-in-a-square block using the 4-3/4" center square of Color 1 and the (4) triangles made from 4" squares of Color 2. (Hey, we just did this last month!)
To review, center the long edge of a triangle along one edge of the square. Sew using a 1/4" seam allowance. Iron open. Repeat to complete all four sides.
Trim to 6-1/2".
If you need a more detailed review, click back to our April block.
B. Now we will make half square triangles using the (2) 4-1/4" squares of Color 3 and (2) 4-1/4" squares of Color 4. I didn't take a photo of this step.
To review, place one of each fabric right sides together. Draw a diagonal line from corner to corner. Sew a scant 1/4" inch to each side of the line. Cut apart on the line. Iron open. If you need a more detailed review, click back to our January block.
You now have (4) half square triangles made from Color 3 and Color 4.
C. Use those completed HSTs and the 7-1/4" square of background fabric to sew the flying geese that will make the star points. Line up (2) HSTs on opposite corners of the large background square. The color that you want to the inside/bottom of the star point will go to the inside of the large square.
Draw a diagonal line from corner to corner, perpendicular to the center line of the HSTs. Sew a scant 1/4" to each side of the line. Cut apart on the line. Press the HSTs away from the background.
OHIO STAR BLOCK
Cutting Directions
Color 1: (1) 4-1/2" square
Star Points (Quarter Square Triangles)
Background: (1) 5-1/4" square
Color 2 (star points): (2) 5-1/4" squares
Color 3: (1) 5-1/4" squares
Corners
Background: (4) 4-1/2" squares
Sewing Directions
A. The only specific component of this block are the 4-1/2" quarter square triangles made using the 5-1/4" squares.
Match one square of color 2 with a background square and the other square of color 2 with a square of color 3, right sides together. Make half square triangles.
Use those HSTs to make QSTs. Match one background/color 2 HST with one color 2/color 3 HST. Be sure that the color 2 triangles are on opposite sides and not on top of one another. Draw a diagonal line corner to corner crossing perpendicular to the seam line of the HST. Sew a scant 1/4" to each side of the line. Cut apart on the line and iron open. Trim to 4-1/2" if necessary.
If you need a more detailed review of how to construct a quarter square triangle block, click back to our March blocks.
Lay out the components of your Ohio Star. Sew together.
VIRGINIA STAR BLOCK
Cutting Directions
(1) 6-1/2" square
Star Points (Flying Geese)
Background: (1) 7-1/4" square
Color 1 (star points): (4) 4" squares
Corners
Background: (4) 3-1/2" squares
Sewing Directions
A. The only specific component of this block are the 3-1/2" x 6-1/2" flying made using the 7-1/4" background square and (4) 4 inch squares of Color 1.
To make flying geese: line up 2 squares of color 1 in opposite corner of the large background square, right sides together. Draw a diagonal line, corner to corner, going through the diagonal middle of the (2) color 1 square. Sew a scant 1/4" to each side of that line. Cut apart on the line.
Press the triangles of color 1 away from the background. You will now have what looks like two pointy hearts. Place the last 2 squares of color 1 in the remaining corners of the large background square (now cut apart). Draw a diagonal line through middle of the color 1 square, bisecting that heart shape. Sew a scant 1/4" to each side of the line. Cut apart on the line.
Trim to 3-1/2" x 6-1/2".
If you need a more detailed review of how to construct 4-at-a-time flying geese, click back to our February block.
Lay out the components of your Virginia Star. Sew together. (Note: my star center has some diagonal bits that I added for interest but didn't include in this tutorial. You do whatever you want to your center. It's your quilt!)
