Vintage Block Along Block One - Grandma's Star Quilt Block Tutorial...with Farm Girl Vintage Fabric!!

Today I'm going to show you 

how to make this vintage quilt block 

that I am calling 

"Grandma's Star"

But first...

stick with me while I tell you

 a little about this block 

and why it's so near and dear

 to my quilty heart!!

The pattern for this block

 was in the November 1950 

edition of 

The Workbasket Magazine 

and several years ago my 

grandma gave me her copy.

You know that I grew up in a 

quilting family and spent many hours

 first "under the quilt frames" 

and then joining my mom...

my grandma and her sisters...

(my great aunts)

 "around the quilt frames"

 putting in a good share of stitches!

The quilting was always accompanied

 by good company...

good stories...

good food...

 and lots of laughter.

It was our way of life 

and it was a good one:)

I love reading vintage patterns...

they are sew fun! 

Grandma and her sisters made this quilt

 and many others in a variety of colors

 using fabric leftover from dress yardage

 (grandma always bought 4 yards for one dress)

and used scraps of feed sack prints.

 The block was originally called 

Star of Bethlehem and if you are

 a vintage quilt lover...

you know how popular 

this block was back then.

There have been many variations 

since over the years...

all with an additional 

variety of names given.

I am choosing to call mine

 "Grandma's Star" 

in honor of my Grandma Mildred Crane... 

affectionally known to all as Milly:)

She looks so serious in this photo 

which doesn't surprise me at all

 because she did not like having

 her photo taken..

but she had a beautiful wide smile

 and a contagious laugh!

She is my Mom's mother and 

lived just down the road from me

 and in the small town of 

Herriman, Utah where I grew up

 and was a big part of our everyday lives.

She has been gone for 7 years now 

and I still miss her every day.

CLICK HERE

to read my post about her and our relationship.

Grandma's are sew important!

Okay...

so now onto more about the 

Grandma's Star quilt block.

Of course a quilt pattern 

in the year 1950 meant templates 

and not rotary cutting like today ...

so of course I drafted it up

 for you modern style!

I've saved this block tutorial

(and many others) 

for a very long time...

waiting for the perfect fabric collection

 that would go perfectly side by side 

with my Grandma's Star Block

And here it is!!!

Farm Girl Vintage

 that has just been released this month.

YAY!!

I designed this collection with 

visions of all scrappy happy blocks

 and of my blocks from my 

 Farm Girl Vintage Book

 and also with visions of many many more

 Farm Girl blocks to come!

To say the least...

I am beyond thrilled with 

each and every print

(it's my largest collection so far)

and I have SEW many plans...

BIG PLANS

 that will be happening with this collection:)

Todays tutorial is just the start.

If you choose to follow along...

all of the vintage block tutorials will eventually be a quilt!

As you know I like to make my 

Farm Girl blocks in both 6" and 12" size.

I made the 6" Grandma's Star first.

Here is the 6" cutting:

Background

Cut 8 - 1 1/4" x 2"

Cut 24 - 1 1/4" x 1 1/4"

Fabric One (mine is aqua)

Cut 8 - 2" x 2"

Cut 8 - 1 1/4" x 1 1/4"

Fabric Two (mine is red)

Cut 24 - 1 1/4" x 1 1/4"

If you want to add 4 corners 

like piece "E"

 in the magazine photo...

cut 4 - 2"squares.

6" Grandma's Star Block

made with 3 of the prints from 

Farm Girl Vintage

P.S. This block has a lot of pieces 

(which makes it sew fabulous!) 

and I always press my seams open 

when that's the case.

6" Farm Girl Blocks 

are so tiny and cute...

but if you are the 

12" Farm Girl Block type...

Here you go!!

Isn't it amazing how different 

 blocks look in these 2 sizes...

and of course different prints too:)

I will be using the 12" size

 for the quilt that I'll be making 

and use the 6" size for something else:)

I've chosen the 12" size for the 

step by step tutorial...

 but keep in mind that I sew 

the 6" size exactly 

the same way as the 12"

I chose 3 more prints from 

Farm Girl Vintage to make the 12" block.

I also cut squares for the

 "E" corners just in case I wanted them...

from the fourth print 

that you see (the text) 

it's one of my new widleback prints ...

it's 108" wide and is called 

"Farm Life" and is perfect for all your 

Farm Girl quilt backing 

and of course I use it for 

piecing blocks as well!

It comes in 3 colors:)

I used just a little bit 

larger scaled prints 

for the 12" as opposed to the 6"

 and the fun "tiny floral" print 

from the collection for the background.

Cutting for 12" Grandma's Star:

Background

Cut 8 - 2" x 3 1/2"

Cut 24 - 2" x 2"

Fabric One (mine is coral)

Cut 8 - 3 1/2" x 3 1/2"

Cut 8 - 2" x 2"

Fabric Two (mine is green)

Cut 24 - 2" x 2"

If you are making the "E" corners 

cut 4 - 3 1/2" squares.

First we are going to make a pinwheel

 for the center out of 4 

half square triangles.

Take 4 each of the 2" squares

 and pair them up with right sides together.

Sew a straight line from corner to corner.

You can mark a line on the squares

 but I like to spend my time sewing

 and not marking so I use my 

Seams Sew Easy Guide

And simply follow the center line 

as it's being fed through the

 machine like this.

 CLICK HERE 

to see how and why to use it 

with your machine:)

I also like to save time and thread 

by chain stitching as much as I can:)

Trim an approximate 1/4" seam allowance

 off of one side like this...

And press open!

Sew the 4 half square triangles together 

and sew a cute pinwheel...

making sure to place each triangle 

going the right direction 

as needed for the block.

Open seams and set aside until later.

Now we are going to make the 

remaining 8 half square triangles

 in the block using 8 each of 

these two 2" x 2" squares.

Sew them the same way as the others...

Trim and press open as well.

Set them aside for later.

Now grab these prints...

4 of the rectangles and 

4 each of the squares.

We are going to make 4 flying geese 

using the easy corner triangle method. 

Sew the coral squares onto 

one side like this...

marking a line or using the 

Seams Sew Easy

 to sew from corner to corner.

Take note that you will need to 

trim and press

 the coral triangles BEFORE 

you can add the green triangles

 to the other side. 

Set these 4 aside for later.

Now grab 4 of the 3 1/2" squares

 and 8 of the 2" background squares.

Sew an easy corner triangle 

on each top corner of 

the squares like this...

remembering that you have to complete

 one side before adding the other.

Set these 4 segments aside.

Grab the 4 remaining 3 1/2" squares...

 use 8 green squares and 

4 background squares 

for the next segments.

Sew a green easy corner triangle 

onto each side of the 

coral squares like this.

Now add a background easy corner triangle 

 onto the top of each one.

Set aside.

You are doing great!

We are getting closer to 

having each block segment completed:)

Grab the 8 half square triangles 

that you already made and 

lay them like this

 with the remaining 4 background

 rectangles and 4 background squares.

Sew them together...

to look like this!

You should have 4 segments each.

Okay!

Great job.

Sewing this block takes time...

but is easy when you break it down

 into smaller sections...

and now we can start sewing

 those smaller sections together!

Sew these 2 sections together

 like this for a total of 4...

Like this.

And these 2 sections  

for a total of 4...

Like this.

Now add this section to the top...

like this.

You will have 4.

YaY!

Now you can lay the block out 

into what is basically a nine patch:)

Sew into 3 rows like this.

And then sew the rows together

 to complete your block.

Whew and Yeehaw!

Sewing this block is like 

making one cute little quilt 

all within it's self and I love it:)

 Grandma's Star

12" x 12" finished.

Of course your block will measure 

12 1/2" square at this point 

which is unfinished size.

I haven't added the 4 - "E" corners yet 

because I haven't quite decided yet 

if I am going to.

(sew many possibilities!)

It may become a pillow...

or if it goes into a quilt 

I will definitely add the corners 

because when all of the rows are sewn together 

it will make each star 

look very circular and I love that:)

All you need to do when adding them is sew them diagonally across each corner of the block and trim.

They are just another Easy Corner Triangle that is optional!

Your 6" Grandma's Star 

will measure 6 1/2" unfinished.

P.S. I made my pincushion 

several years ago using a 

cute little vintage toy tractor:)

Those are my vintagey sewing style 

Bee in my Bonnet 

PRETTY PINS 

I super love this block. 

I hope you have fun with this 

very long but very fun tutorial...

and maybe you will try your hand 

at making both sizes.

The 6" size is fiddly but fun

 and is totally do-able.

And as you can see...

it's totally worth it!!

Thanks sew much for joining me

 for my very first 

"Vintage Block Along" 

tutorial with my 

favorite Farm Girl Vintage 

fabric collection!!

There are plenty more 

vintage block tutorials to come:)

Until next time...

Have a Quilty Kind of Day!!

xx

Lori

***UPDATE***

We are now finished making all of the blocks...

If you are just joining us...

click on each block 

 to go to the tutorial:

1. Grandma's Star

2. Pattern Basket

3. Around the Corner

4. Little Farmhouse

5. Rhinestone 

6. Vintage Lily

7. Star Shine

8. Humble

9. Egg Money

10. Quilting Bee

11. Sunday Star

12. Sweet as Honey

13. Bear Hug Block

14. Front Yard Flower

15. Memory

16. Farmers Daughter

17. Potluck

18. Spool and Bobbins

19. Picnic

20. Sparklers

21. 4th of July Flag

22. Playing Card

23. Penny Candy

24. Mercantile

25. Family Reunion

26. Parade

27. Shade Tree

28. Wildflowers

29. Crossroads

30. Leftovers

31. Peony

32. September Star

33. Road to Grandma's

34. Six Sisters

35. Twirl

36. Wash Day

37. Fall Flower

38. Fall Social

39. Holiday Lights

40. Winter Flower

41. Checkers