Friday, January 25, 2019

Vintage Block Along - Block Seven - Star Shine Block Tutorial!!


Hello there!
I'm back for another episode of the 



I'm sharing another vintage block with you
 from my Grandma's pattern basket:)

I named this block
 "STAR SHINE"
and the name comes from my memories
 of camping under the stars:)


One of the things that we did
 as a family when I was a girl 
was go camping...
usually 3 - 4 times every summer.

When I say family...
I mean grandparents...aunts and uncles 
and cousins included!

We would load up the station wagon
 and head up to the mountains 
of either Utah or Idaho:)


We all loved it and looked forward 
to every single trip.

I remember that one year 
when we were little...
grandma and grandpa gave each of us
 grandkids a green folding camp chair 
just like these in the photo.

Grandma wrote our names on them
 and we used those chairs 
every night around the campfire.


During the day we would fish...
play and hike...


And when the stars came out at night
 we would sit around the campfire
 and roast hot dogs and marshmallows 
and most of all...
listen to campfire stories.

Grandma was the story teller:)
She would tell us about her childhood...
tell us stories that she had read 
and some that she had written.

Grandma often wrote short stories and poems.
I loved gazing at the night sky 
and feeling closer to the stars
(being high up in the mountains) 
than I did when we were at home.


Those nights around the campfire 
are some of my fondest childhood memories 
and I still love camping to this day!



I love this vintage ad...
it's so typical of how things were 
for us back then:)

I had such a great time going through my
Farm Girl Vintage fabric 
choosing prints for the block! 

I decided to make more than one...
even though we will only be
 using one for the quilt...
so take note that you only 
need to make ONE.

I on the other hand...
want to make one more for a total of 4 
because then I'll use one for the quilt... 
and I want to use the other 3 to make a 
table runner for my kitchen counter:)

Of course you could do the 
same thing if you wanted to!!


For this block you will need 3 colors
 that contrast nicely from each other 
and one background:)


Because the block finishes at
 20" x 20"...
 I thought it was a great opportunity
 to use this cute little floral 
for my background and I love the way
 it looks in the blocks!

From your background cut:
8 - 5 1/2" squares
8 - 3" squares


For the star in the center cut:
1 - 5 1/2" square
8 - 3" squares


For the "star shine" cut:
4 - 3" x 5 1/2"
20 - 3" squares


For the points of the star shine cut:
8 - 3" x 5 1/2"



First thing up is flying geese!
Grab 4 of the star shine rectangles
 and the 8 center star print squares.



With right sides together like this...
sew from corner to corner 
on the back of the square.

Mark the sewing line onto the squares
 or use the 

 For the directions on how to
 put it on your machine...



Trim off the excess and press.
You have to do the easy corner triangles
 on one side before you can 
do the other one...



Like this!
You should have 4 flying geese
 that measure 3" x 5 1/2" at this point.


Now lay them out like this 
along with the center square and
 4 of the star shine 3" squares 
in the corners...
and sew them together!



Your center star should measure 
10 1/2" square at this point.



Okay...now grab 4 of the 
5 1/2" background squares and 
8 of the 3" star shine squares.
You are going to do 
more easy corner triangles!



Do one on each corner like this...
just like you did with the 
flying geese except that you are
 sewing them onto the bottom of a square instead of the sides of a rectangle:)

You should have 4 total
 that measure 5 1/2" square.



Now let's work on the 8 star shine points.

We will do 4 at a time 
because the easy corner triangles
 will face one direction 
on four of them and the 
opposite direction on the other four.


Make the first four to look just like this.
The background ECT should be 
at the top and the star shine
 ECT on the bottom.



Now grab the remaining 4
 star shine point rectangles...



And sew them exactly like this.

These star shine points should 
measure 3" x 5 1/2" at this point...



And each set of four should 
look just like this.



Now place these segments
 together like this...



And sew!!



Now it's time to sew the entire Star Shine Block together.
Sew it into 3 rows first...



And then sew it together
 and make it shine!!

Your Star Shine Block should 
measure 20 1/2" x 20 1/2" 
right now...
BEFORE we sew it into our quilt:)
Remember...you need ONE block only
for the quilt:)



Here's a close up of the 
second one that I made...



And the third:)


I'm going to make these three 
into the table runner so I 
will be sewing the another block
probably this week.

I may use one of these same fabric 
combo's again or make a 
completely different one...
with Farm Girl Vintage fabric of course:)

This is block seven in our
 Vintage Block Along!
Click on the links below for 
each of the first six block tutorials:



Did you notice the cute 
granny square pincushion 
that I used while making this block?


When Kimberly and Lily came to my house
 a few months ago...
I did a 3 part crochet tutorial 
on how to make a 
granny square pincushion.
to watch part one:)

A granny square was the 
very first thing that I learned
 to crochet when I was 6 years old
 and my other grandma taught me how 
after I asked her pretty please:)

They are very easy to make and
 once you learn how they are so addicting!

You only use 3 basic stitches:
 a chain stitch...double crochet 
and a slip stitch.

In my first tutorial I show how 
to make the granny square itself...
it's a project for those who have just learned the basics of crochet.

If you don't know how to do 
those 3 basic stitches 
there are many other YouTube tutorials
 on just those stitches alone but 
I think if you watch closely and 
pause it in the right places etc...
you can see how those stitches are formed.

You may have already watched it
 and made one because I have loved 
seeing a lot of them popping up on 


The second part of the tutorial 
shows how I block my granny squares 
to get them all the same size 
before joining together for the pincushion...pillows...scarves etc.

to watch part two:



The third tutorial shows you how I
 use the two granny squares 
and make the pincushion.
to watch part three:)



I use my 100% Cotton Chunky Thread and my 100% Cute Crochet Hooks 
when I crochet.
Here you see the first 14 colors...



but now I have 6 new colors to add for a total of 20 so far.
(More are coming)
This is #3 Sampler Pack 
that holds a little bitty skein
 of all 6 new ones.



I find crocheting very relaxing...
probably because of the repetitive motion
 and the adding on of new colors 
until it grows into a cute little granny:)

At night I love to relax and unwind 
with yarn and a hook...
with hubby and Netflix:) 

I love making granny squares 
and I made several pincushions because 
they all look so cute 
displayed together and...
you know...
all the possibilities of 
different happy color combinations!


Thanks for coming along with me
 on this trip down memory lane 
and learning how to make
 another Vintage Block:)

My goal is to post one every Thursday
 until I have enough for the quilt.
There are several more blocks 
I want to make so we are not 
even close to be finished yet:)

However...my Farm Sweet Farm Sew Along 
starts on Monday and I'm crossing
 my fingers that I'll be able to
 keep up with the Thursday posts.

Just know that if I miss a week...
I'll be right back and will not miss
 two weeks in a row.

Until then...enjoy sewing vintage!!
xx
Lori





6 comments:

thepecanlady said...

Love your posts and reading about your grandma and family. Sweet!
I also love your little crochet pincushions. Think I’ll have to make a couple!
Your star blocks are beautiful.
Have a good Saturday. ❤️

Lady Jane said...

love all three of those blocks. And also love the pin cushion. thanks for the tutes. hugs, lj

Brenda Beyer said...

Your post was so much fun to read this morning! The star block looks challenging! I am going to give it a try! Sew excited to try this! 🥰🧵✂️

Terry J said...

Hi Lori
I love all your memories of your Grandmother and the wonderful experiences you are sharing with us! I'm saving all this information on this quilt because I know I want to make it. I'm still finishing up your Autumn quilt, but only have 3 more blocks to go! I'm so tempted to do you granny square pin cushions too. What cute little gifts those would be.

lovetostitch said...

I'm relating & loving all the stories. We used to go what we called "the country" with our grandparents. It was a rustic house by a lake in VA. There was a pier where Granddaddy tied his boat. We had the same camp chairs for when we sat out around a campfire. So much fun remissness!!

Margie said...

I am having a blast with this! It's the first QAL I've ever done. I've made several FGV quilts and projects, Lori you make the cutest patterns. I am making this quilt as a surprise for my awesome mom, who does not quilt but is amazing at sewing clothing. Can't wait to see how all the blocks will come together!

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