"Triple Barnstar" Quilt top, a Work-in-Progress

Here’s the quilt top I’m working on. It is a pattern by Amy Gibson of Stitchery Dickory Dock and called “Triple Barnstar”. (Look carefully and you’ll see that there is a star, in a star in a star). I think this is going to become the quilt I use during the Fall.

The pattern is for a throw or a queen size quilt. I started to make the throw but discovered it really covered the top of my bed, so I’m going to add on a scrappy border of the feature fabrics I have left over and call it a queen.

Despite the fact that I’ve been working on this quilt on and off all summer, it really does come together quickly. I like this quilt but it really doesn’t show off the star design very well.

If I make it again, I think it would be fun to use bold solid colored fabrics. One color for each star, and another for the designs between the star points of the largest star and the center square. While white or off-white would be the obvious choice for the background of that quilt, I think using that a low volume print as I did uin this quilt, would be fun.

Here is a photo of the two inner stars and center square so you can see more of the detail in the fabrics.

I’m off to go sew on the outer borders! This is a big quilt, so it will be a while before it’s done!

Book Review: "The Quilt Block Cookbook"

Here is another beautiful book from Lucky Spool Media, LLC.   The Quilt Block Cookbook by Amy Gibson, was published at the beginning of July this year. (It apparently has sold out at the publisher, but can still be found on Amazon)!

This is a book of 12 inch quilt block designs.  There are 40 complex blocks and an additional 10 simpler "staple blocks" which can be used for alternate blocks between the more detailed blocks.  An assortment of the 40 blocks can be used to make a traditional Sampler Quilt, but Amy has also made several Modern quilts which just use a a few of the blocks.  There was an "Ah-Ha!" moment when I turned the page and saw her "Bouce" quilt. It has just 6 of the quilt blocks and it is really striking!

While she uses the computer quilt program Electric Quilt 7 to design her quilts, Amy suggests some great ways to test out a quilt's lay out if you don't own a quilt design program but do have a camera or a scanner. Brilliant, and fun too!

Each of the blocks in the book has its own photo.  All the block photos are the same size which is great if you want to use Amy's options to lay out a quilt.  Under the photo of each block are fabric requirements and basic construction information.  In the back of a book there is "Unit Piecing Guide" with diagrams and detailed information about how to make the separate units in the blocks.

This is one of those books I know I will keep coming back to for ideas!

The Instagram hashtag for sharing blocks or projects is #TheQuiltBlockCookbook if you want to post your blocks or see what other folks have been making.