Monday, September 10, 2012

String Star Block (Or Wee Wall Hanging?)

String Star by doodledodesigns
String Star, a photo by doodledodesigns on Flickr.
A while back, I pinned a great tutorial by Little Miss Shabby on how to make an 8 pointed star using strings. At the time, I had never string pieced before, nor had I worked with diamonds. Heck, I'd never foundation pieced before either! So I was a little bit intimidated and decided to wait.





Then I came across a really wonderful string star on Flickr and promptly added it to my favorites. Angela from Cut to Pieces made it and I couldn't stop looking at it. I decided it was time to dig in and try out all these new (to me) techniques.

String Star Block for Corey
String Star Block for Corey, a photo by Cut to Pieces on Flickr (used with permission)

^^^  isn't that just beautiful? - kristan  ^^^

The string/foundation piecing part was way easier than I thought it would be. I made short order of each "petal" by chain piecing. But when I came to joining the petals to each other and matching up all those little seams and the corners where the petals meet...boy did that get frustrating. But in the end, it didn't come out TOO terribly crooked and I just love it.

I don't really know what I want to do with it, but I am really really leaning towards turning it into a wee little (12" square) wall hanging with some chunky hand quilting. I'm kind of obsessed with wall hangings lately (and chunky stitching!), and since I used a ton of the same scraps from my Texas Mini wall hanging, I think they'll look great hanging near each other. What do you think? Wall hanging, or other idea?

12 comments:

  1. It's a beautiful block you made! I love your fabrics and good job on the foundation piecing! I found you through Threadbias :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow, just lovely! I think it would make a perfect little wall hanging all on its own. Some hand stitching would really finish it off too. Thanks also for the sweet comment on my blog about the passport holder. One little word of advice if you make the pattern. Both versions - the 4 pocket one and especially the 6 pocket one - end up quite bulky by the last few steps of the project so make sure you sew really slow and I'd recommend a walking foot for the final top stitching. Also, when leaving a opening for turning the project right side out, leave the opening along the top edge. You don't want to leave the opening anywhere that there's a pocket, which is pretty much anywhere along the sides or bottom, because it makes closing the hole at the end next to impossible. Trust me, I learned this the hard way!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Kristan, your block looks great! I love string piecing, it always adds apparent complication without being too complicated. Your points look really nice, it looks like you have plenty of space around the outer edge for the seam allowance. That's always my problem when I piece things, I never get the seam allowances right and the points get chopped off!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Shannon! It was definitely the help of the tutorial that made sure I had seam allowances. I am not so good at math. :)

      Delete
  4. I saw that block too and thought it very pretty, but such a lot of work. I like the color scheme of your block. It looks like you did a really great job of lining up all of your seams. If not a wall hanging, perhaps a pillow. You could add a border all around if it's not large enough.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! The seams were frustrating, but I got most of them to match, so I consider it a victory. I like the pillow idea!

      Delete
  5. I love your star block, gorgeous fabrics, and you've done such a great job!! I have never made a string block or sewn with diamonds, and I've only done a couple of things with foundation piecing. Go you for leaping in and learning a whole heap of new techniques!!

    I'd go the wall-hanging, so you can see it all the time, and it will complement the Texas one you made already. Cat.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Cat! Sewing with diamonds was something that had always intimidated me, but it was actually quite easy (in this project at least!).

      Delete
  6. that is ridonculously cute! I agree with Heather (on all things basically) that some hand quilting would turn it in to a gorgeous wall hanging. and even though it doesn't scream holly jolly, I think it would be really fun for christmas.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Chelsea! I can't wait to hand quilt it, but I've got another project on my big hoop at the moment. I never would have thought to use it as a Christmas decoration.

      Delete

I'm so excited that you've decided to join the discussion! I think what you have to say is so interesting and it's valuable to share our thoughts with everyone. I'll reply here on the blog so please check back and keep the conversation going.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...