Happy New Year!

We are already on month 4 of our Mystery Skill Builder quilt!  Great job everybody.  We love seeing all of your blocks and the exciment of getting them done.  Big THANK YOU to everybody who braved the cold and came in yesterday for the demos! We have quite a few blocks this month, so lets get started.

First up, we have the Liberty Lemonye Star block.  This is similar to the North Star blocks we did last month, but just stepped up a notch.  We are making it a 12" block and adding some strip piecing.  You have 2 options here.

1. Using the Rapid Fire Lemoyne Star ruler from studio 180,  my favorite method, and the technique sheet from Studio 180 that has the instructions for this block. Here are some videos to help you out.

Fran and Dawna doing a demo: CLICK HERE   (Unfortunately we had some issues with the audio in a few places.  I think overall you will be able to get what is happening.  We apologize in advance.)

Deb Tucker from Studio 180 doing a demo: CLICK HERE

2. If you prefer to Foundation Paper Piece your block, CLICK HERE  for a refresher video on paper piecing.

Before you begin cutting, starch and press the fabric in the kit. Follow the directions on the pattern for cutting out the pieces. Remeber that you need 2 navy and 2 white #1 pieces that are 1 and 5/16th's wide and 24" long.  5/16th's is the space between the 1 1/4" and 1 3/8". See my pictures below:

Cut the red strip into 2 pieces that are 1 5/8" wide and 24" long.

White #2 background fabric. Cut a 24" piece off the 44" strip in your kit. Cut the remaing piece into 4-  5" (ish) squares. Cut in half diagonally 1/4" away from the center. This will give you 4 larger triangles and 4 smaller triangles.

The instructions that come with the ruler and Tech sheet are amazing and I cannot completely copy them here because of copyright. Use the chart on the Tech sheet for the 12" block. Remember to read the instructions and do them step by step.  Trust the process!

• White #1- Middle
• Navy- Outer
• Red- Inner
• White #2- Background

After making 2 strip sets of the red/white/navy, sew 1 strip set to the Left side of the border strip offsetting it 3 1/4".

Cut 4 diamond shapes at 45 degree angle 3 1/4" apart. Make the 2nd cut vertical slightly to the left of the diamond. (see picture)

Sew the long side of this triangle to the other side of the diamond. These are the 4 "B" units.

With the second strip set, fussy cut 4 diamond shapes. Following the instructions on the Tech sheet, sew the background triangles onto the these diamond shapes. These are the "A" units.

Fussy cut using the wide side of the ruler.

Trim all of the "A" and "B" units using the 12 marking on the ruler.

Sew an "A" and a "B" unit together on the long side of the triangles. Make 4 of these and then sew 2 together to make 2 halves, and then sew the halves together matching up all your center points. (remember our fork pin trick)

Final trim on this block is 12 1/2" X 12 1/2" UNFINISHED size. Be sure you leave 1/4" all the way around your outer points.

 

Yankee Doodle

Your 4 completed blocks should measure 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" (Unfinished size).

• Use any combination of 3 fabrics for each block. You don't have to do the color combinations that we did.  This is your quilt, do what you like!
• Remember to draw the diagonal lines for HST's in opposite directions. 
• Trim your HST units to 1 1/2".
• Press squares in the rows towards the "C" blocks and press the seams between the rows open.

Town Square

• Follow the cutting diagram. Be sure your fabric is in the right orientation before cutting the frames. 
• Pair up a center and frame fabric for each block.  You don't have to do the color combinations that we did.  This is your quilt, do what you like!
• Sew sides on first, then the top and bottom.

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We know that you are going to love these blocks.  Have fun.  Remember to enjoy the process.  Check out the YouTube videos and the Facebook group for tips and hints if you need any extra help.  And remember that you can always come in the store for help as well.  We want you to love this process as much as we do.

Thank you,

Dawna and The Quilt Store Team