My First Celtic Knots Block Is Finished!

After lunch on Saturday, I switched from my Hunter’s Star quilt to Celtic Knots.

I started by cutting 2½-inch and 4½-inch squares from the background fabric.

As I started to select the scraps to use, I realized it would be easier to use the fabrics in groups of four for each block. I chose four strips that looked good together…

…stacked them, and cut a 6½-inch rectangle and two 2½-inch squares from each strip.

I dealt with the leftovers as I went, cutting whatever I could into 2½-inch or 2-inch squares. The smaller pieces went into my crumb drawers.

The first sewing step was to join a 2½-inch fabric square to a background square.

Next, I sewed a background square diagonally onto the end of each 6½-inch rectangle. Instead of marking every sewing line, I used the guide I had marked on my sewing machine…

I started at the top corner…

… checked that the bottom corner stayed on my marked line, and sewed across.

This step also gave me some bonus squares, but I’ll tell you more about those on Tuesday!

Next, I sewed the two small square units to a larger background square…

Then it was time to lay out the pieces…

At last, I could see the Celtic Knot design taking shape!

The final step was to add another “snowball” corner to each of the outer corners of the block.

One block finished!

I’ll leave it there for now. Come back on Thursday for more about the process—and on Tuesday, I’ll show you what happened to those bonus squares.

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A Saturday Morning with the Hunter’s Star

It was Saturday morning, before 8:00, and I was already in my studio with an entire day free.

As my mug says, “Life IS GOOD.”

I planned to spend the morning working on my Hunter’s Star quilt. I started by using Bonnie Hunter’s Essential Triangle Tool to cut strips into the triangles that would become half-square triangles (HSTs).

Once I started sewing, I realized I had to pay close attention. If I wasn’t careful, one corner wouldn’t match quite right…

For the few that needed help, I pulled out my Bloc-Loc ruler…

and trimmed off the necessary slivers…

After making several sets of four matching HSTs, I began sewing two from each set together to form diamonds. I started laying them out and realized I needed another look at the pattern…

I printed the design from EQ and colored in the diamonds so I could see how everything fit together…

That helped me spot something I had missed: the diamonds needed to be sewn in different orientations. I started making them in groups of ten so I could keep track of which was which…

I also remembered that I still needed larger squares for the corners.

Eventually, I could lay out the block, minus those corner squares..

And then came my biggest realization of the morning: I wasn’t piecing a whole star at once. The corner portions of the blocks were going to form the star…. DUH!! No wonder I couldn’t visualize how it was going to work.

When I stopped for lunch, I had about 40 diamond sets put together (out of 160), and HSTs from each color combination set aside for the filler portions of the blocks…

I think this quilt will be fun to piece, but I’ll definitely need to keep my wits about me.

It’s the kind of project that rewards slowing down, checking the layout, and enjoying the moment when the pattern finally makes sense.

Have you made patterns like this???

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How Scrappy is TOO Scrappy?

I have chosen the pattern. I have boxes full of 2½-inch scraps. You would think that means I’m ready to start sewing.

Not quite.

Before I go hunting for scrappy stars, I need to decide just how scrappy those stars are going to be. Will every triangle be different? Will all the points in one star match? Or will each group of four half-square triangles be made from the same fabric?

And then there is the background. White? Gray? Cream? Something darker?

Apparently, choosing the quilt pattern was only the beginning. Now I must decide whether I want complete scrappy abandon—or carefully controlled chaos.

As you might imagine, each choice has pros and cons…

Full-On Scrappy

Pros: It would use the widest assortment of scraps and require very little advance planning. I could simply pull pieces from the box and sew.

Cons: With so many different fabrics, the stars might disappear. I’m afraid it could look less like a Hunter’s Star and more like my scrap box exploded.

Matching Star Points

Pros: Repeating a fabric within each star would help the stars stand out while still allowing plenty of variety throughout the quilt.

Cons: It would require more sorting and enough matching pieces to complete each star. That begins to feel suspiciously like planning.

Matching Each Group of Four HSTs

Pros: This might provide the best balance between scrappy and organized. Each little grouping would have continuity, but the overall quilt would still contain lots of fabrics.

Cons: It would limit which scraps I can use because I would need enough fabric to cut all four units. It might also make the quilt look more block-based and less randomly scrappy.

White, Gray—or Something Else?

White would look crisp and traditional, but I may have issues with fabrics shadowing on white.
Gray would be softer and perhaps more forgiving, but I would have to watch the value of the fabrics carefully.
Cream could give it a warmer, slightly vintage feeling.
A dark background would be dramatic, but then I would lose many of my darker scraps

I originally thought I would use the gray fabric on the left, but then I remembered these quilts…..

… and the fact that I wasn’t as excited by the one with gray. I REALLY loved the dark fabric one!!

Right now, I’m leaning toward matching each “point” of the star and using the grey/black background. I have SO many BRIGHT scraps, and I think the dark color would let them shine!!

Those are my thoughts….. Which combination would you choose?

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The Hunt Is Over: I Chose My Scrap Quilt Pattern

On Wednesday, I asked you for pattern suggestions for 2.5-inch strips and squares, and BOY did you come through!!

I will share more about those later.

But while I was waiting for your suggestions, I decided to ask Chester (my ChatGPT bot).

His first suggestions were pretty basic….. Rail Fence, 9-Patch, Log Cabin, Jelly Roll Race, etc.

None of these basic quilt ideas thrilled me, so I asked him to get fancier. His more sophisticated choices were…..

Burgoine Surrounded…..

Interesting!!

Carpenter’s Star……

Possibly…..

Delectible Mountains……

Distinct interest here!!

Hunter’s Star……

DING….DING…..DING….DING….. WE HAVE A WINNER!!!!

I have always found this design intriguing, so I think THIS will be my first scrap pattern to explore!!

Have you ever made a Hunter’s Star quilt? I would love to hear which construction method you used—and whether you have any advice before I get too far down this scrappy trail!

Why don’t you come with me and see how many scrap strips I can get rid of!!

And don’t worry, I plan to use some of your suggestions too. After all, there are plenty of scraps for all of them!!

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