Erica's Stitches

Here's the next block.  The quilt has been filled with 9 and 10 inch blocks so far.  This is the first and only 11 inch block.  It will not have sashing and therefore has to be accurate.  That's why I did the other Le Moyne stars first. I've searched and haven't found this block documented.  I probably haven't looked at the right sources.  I found a Blazing Star which is a Le Moyne with the star points made up of 4 patch diamonds. And the Liberty Star is a Le Moyne Star with the star points made up of 3 strips like a Rail Fence. The center of this block is a Le Moyne but the star is extended.  I pieced it just like I did the other stars, but I had to piece the diamonds first.  The proportions are different but otherwise it is the same. My first one went to plan.  The second one did not.  With this block it's hard to tell until the very end and I got the results I was expecting when I did the first one.  The center...

These are the first of the blocks I wasn't really looking forward to: Le Moyne Stars. I know I've made some of these a while ago.  I've made at least one by hand and I've also tried machine piecing and I'm not in love with either method.  So, my strategy has been avoidance but the quilt I'm reproducing has Le Moyne Stars so I'm making them. To remember how to make them I've looked at books and searched through online tutorials and settled on this one from Artquiltmaker .  It's different from the usual method of piecing the star and then setting in the corners squares and edge triangles. One of the stars had a circle pieced over the star.  I don't know if that was intentional or to hide a less than perfect center.  I started with that one in case I needed to hide a less than perfect center. So, following the tutorial I took a deep breath, tried to respect the bias and not sew into the seam allowance and came up with my first s...

Last week I showed 3 blocks so there's only going to be one this week.  It's called Wild Goose Chase.  Isn't that a great name for a quilt block? When you look for images there are many variations.  Some look just like this one but others either have more flying geese units or triangles instead of squares in the corners.  Still others are completely different.   Here is my favorite Wild Goose Chase reference . My Wild Goose Chase is a 10 inch block and at 41 pieces is complicated.  Imagine adding in 4 or more flying geese. However, the pattern that is created when the blocks touch each other are beautiful and would be worth the effort. This is the last block in the quilt that is in my comfort zone.  The remaining blocks are going to stretch my limits and make me learn new techniques.  Luckily there's not that many left. I'm also running out of completed blocks to show.  I have 2 for next weekend and I just start...