Fat Quarter Shop Star Crossed Sew-along

When the team at Fat Quarter Shop asked me if I’d like to be involved in the Star Crossed Sew-along I jumped at the chance. I’m such a sucker for a good patchwork star and I loved that this one doesn’t use two half square triangle blocks to make the “sparkly bits” (technical term) off the centre star.

We were able to use the pattern in whatever way we wanted and so I decided to do something I’d never done before; free motion quilting. Sure, I’ve done a class on how to do it, but I’ve never actually done it on a non-practice quilt sandwich before. So I decided to do a mini using just one block of the quilt pattern (lucky for me the pattern has the instructions for cutting just one block which is so so handy if you’re wanting to do a scrappy version!).

I decided to have a little bit of fun with the fabric selection and go for something that makes use of the patchwork and the fabric pattern. I just love the idea of using a print with a lot of background in a patchwork block where the background block fabric matches the background of the print.  This bird print from Violet Craft’s Waterfront Park range just seemed to be the perfect fit for what I wanted to do. I love that it looks like the birds are spiralling out of the centre of the block.

I used Robert Kaufman’s Kona White for the background and there’s just enough of a difference between the Violet Craft fabric and the Kona to give a really lovely subtle nod to the patchwork pattern.

This is the first time I’ve ever done any quilting like this and I’m pleasantly surprised with myself. This pattern is perfect for stitch-in-the-ditch because you can stitch the pattern out without having to stop and start (you just cross over where the star points meet the “sparkly bits” point). I’ve never stitched-in-the-ditch before so it was handy that I was able to use a thread (Aurifil #2021) that just disappeared into both fabrics.

I used a meandering stipple to push the background down and really make the star pop. Again the pattern really works for this because you can pass the meandering stipple through the same point where you crossed over when you stitched-in-the-ditch. Don’t look too hard or you’ll notice where my stitch length was really off as I stopped and started and tried to find my rhythm.

While I was taking photos the Little Man wanted to get involved and very generously shared his favourite toys of the moment with me. Think the kid might grow up to be a photo stylist…

I had intended to use the block as a mini, but I’ve been inspired by Gemma (of Pretty Bobbins) and her love of a good quilted cushion and so I made it into a cushion instead. I backed it with a cotton canvas from Spotlight and in a shocking turn of events I actually installed a zipper! I made my own piping using the Domino Print from Violet Craft’s Waterfront Park.

I had so much fun making this cushion. The block comes together really quickly, that pattern is really clear and I adore that there’s no break in the pattern with those “sparkly bit” pieces which means that you can have some fun with prints. The block is versatile which means you can use it in a number of applications; I’m thinking a table runner would be fun.

You can purchase the pattern from the Fat Quarter Shop by clicking here. Be sure to check out the Fat Quarter Shop Blog today to see the other amazing items being made with the Star Crossed pattern, or check out the other bloggers involved in the Star Crossed Sew-along here:

Disclosure: The Fat Quarter Shop are sponsors of GnomeAngel.com. All opinions expressed are my own and have not been influenced by the businesses involved. For further information about my disclosure policy please click here.