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

Hello there!

I'm back for another episode of the 

Vintage Block Along

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 

Seams Sew Easy Guide

 For the directions on how to

 put it on your machine...

CLICK HERE

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:

1. Grandma's Star

2. Pattern Basket

3. Around the Corner

4. Little Farmhouse

5. Rhinestone

6. Vintage Lily

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.

CLICK HERE

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 

INSTAGRAM 

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.

CLICK HERE 

to watch part two:

The third tutorial shows you how I

 use the two granny squares 

and make the pincushion.

CLICK HERE 

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