Welcome to the sixth block reveal
for the QAL by the Sea!

This QAL is brought to you by Partners in Design: Where Friends and Fabric Meet.

Presenting: Stars at Sea

This 12.5″ (unfinished) block pattern was created by Bobbi Bridgeman of Snowy Days Quilting. You can download it free

HERE ON HER BLOG from now until December 1, 2020 at 7:59 am Eastern time. After then, the patterns in this QAL may not be available anymore or may be available for a small fee through the designer. Don’t delay, download them today.

Tips and Tricks to Constructing this Block

1. Read before you start. Reading through the entire pattern before you begin, gives you an understanding of how it is put together thereby minimizing the chance you’ll make mistakes. If you don’t understand something, make a note of it in the margin. Once  you start and get to that point, it often becomes clear. This tip pertains to not only sewing this block but also making any quilt blocks or even a recipe.
2. Label it! Make small labels for your pieces. Why clutter up your brain trying to remember which piece goes where? It takes way more time to stop and remeasure a piece than it does to cut a few squares of paper and print a letter on it. I either lay the label on top of the pieces or clip them on with a wonder clip.
3. Play Follow the Leader. Chain piece whenever you can. It saves time and thread.
4. Leaders and enders. I always start and end sewing pieces together by sewing on a scrap of fabric as pictured above. This eliminates the nest that often forms on the underside, saves thread, saves time, and ensures a straighter seam at the beginning and the ending of each piece.
5. Check the points. Before trimming, make sure the star point fabric covers the entire background square when you fold it back. If it doesn’t, your star piece will not be big enough.
   

   This star point piece is too small because I can see the dark fabric. I removed the top blue print and made a new star point. I was able to do this because I had not trimmed the seams yet. 

6. Stay fit and trim. In order to keep construction easier, the pattern doesn’t include a direction to trim the background fabric after sewing each of the star points. However, I like a block that is flat and doesn’t have extra fabric so I trimmed each background seam after adding the star point. Then to make the stars lie flat and to make trimming easier, I turned each of the star point pieces with their wrong side up and trimmed the piece to the given measurement making sure that I had at least 1/4″ at the top of the point. (Well, I did in all but one case. I let one star go with a lost point because these are wonky stars.)
   

   Make sure you have at least 1/4″ up from each side of the bottom as noted by arrows on the picture above.

7. Follow the pressing arrows. Bobbi has provided you with pressing arrows in the pattern directions. I like when a pattern does that.
   

   Be sure to set your seams. This means pressing the sewn seam a few seconds before you press the seam in the direction given. If you need more help with pressing tips, check out Tu-Na’s Tried and True Easy Guide to Pressing Matters.

8. Let the magic happen. Resist making all the small stars at once. Follow the directions given in the pattern. You’ll only be sewing two complete small stars. Sections of the small center star are made when sewing the Upper Right Quadrant, the Lower Left Quadrant, and the Lower Right Quadrant. When sewing all the Quadrants together, that center star magically appears. 

See These Hosts for More Construction Tips

Look for bi-weekly inspiration from these bloggers.

Karen @ Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats — Thanks for stopping by.

Sherry @ Powered by Quilting

Becca @ Pretty Piney Quilts

Sandy @ SandyStar Designs

Abbie @ Sparkle On!

Laura @Slice of Pi Quilts

Jennifer @ Inquiring Quilter

Join this QAL

You can join in anytime. Find the complete schedule here. This QAL is divided into three segments each containing four blocks with a two week break between segments for a chance to catch up. Blocks are released on Tuesday mornings at 8 am Eastern time until all 12 blocks have been released. You’ll find the schedule for segment one below.

After you’ve sewn your block, share a picture of it on our Partners In Design Facebook page, or on Instagram with the hashtag #qalbythesea. We, as well as others who are quilting along, want to see them and be able to comment and encourage each other.

Segment 2: September 8, 2020 — October 13, 2020

(Find the blocks on these Partners in Design blogs)

September 8 — Block 5: Sandra @ Sandra Healy Designs — Heads or Tails?
September 15 — Block 6:  Bobbi @ Snowy Days Quilting — Stars at Sea
September 22 — Block 7:  Laura Piland @Slice of Pi Quilts —
September 29 — Block 8: Kathleen McCormick @ Kathleen McMusing —
September 29 — Segment 2 Wrap-up and linky provided for prize entry
October 13 7:59 am Eastern time — Deadline to enter a picture containing all four of these blocks for the Segment 2 Prize package
October 13: Segment 2 Winner Announced
October 13: Segment 3 begins with block 9

Enter to Win Segment and Grand Prizes

Entering to win is as easy as 1, 2, 3.

1. Everyone (You must be 18 to be able to enter to win prizes) gets to participate. There will be two prizes awarded for each segment and for the Grand Prize: U. S. and International. You do NOT need to have a blog to enter.
2. Make all four of the blocks in this segment provided to you free of charge for this event. Use your own fabrics and embellish them as you like. If entering the giveaway, the blocks should definitely be recognizable as made from these free patterns. Take one picture with all of them included. Finished projects or a quilt are NOT a requirement for entry.
3. Post one picture that contains all four of your blocks by 07:59 AM EST, October 13, 2020 either on the Partners in Design Facebook page, or on Instagram with the hashtag #qalbythesea, or on the hosts blog Linky party found in the wrap-up post at the end of each segment.  You are welcome to post a picture on each of the sources but it will only count as one entry.

The Grand Prize is going to be amazing! To enter just make, take and post one picture that contains ALL 12 blocks (they don’t need to be made into a finished quilt top or projects but if you do, be sure that all 12 blocks can be seen).

Segment 2: Prizes and Sponsors

Thank you to our sponsors for the following prizes for Segment 2!

One U.S. Winner Receives:

• A Fat Quarter fabric bundle of the Island Batik line Cascadia by Claudia Pfeil.
• Quilters Dream Poly batting;  a throw size 60” x 60”.  Dream Black is a beautiful true black quilt batting that enhances the integrity, richness, and warmth of vivid and dark fabrics and ‘quilts like a dream’.

One International Winner Receives:

• A six month subscription to the e-magazine Make Modern. A magazine for quilters, by quilters, filled with beautiful patterns and articles to inspire quilters like us to make more modern quilts!
• A PDF pattern of your choice up to $10.00 from these designers:

Laura of Slice of Pi Quilts
Sandra of Sandra Healy Designs

Don’t Miss Out on My Previous QAL by the Sea Posts

Tu-Na Quilts: QAL by the Sea Block 5 — Fish

Tu-Na Quilts: QAL by the Sea Segment 1 Wrap-Up

Tu-Na Quilts: QAL by the Sea Block 4 — Sun

Tu-Na Quilts: QAL by the Sea Block 3 — Signal Flags

Tu-Na Quilts: QAL by the Sea Block 2 — Turtle

Tu-Na Quilts: QAL by the Sea Block 1 — Seashells

Tu-Na Quilts: Announcing the Next Quilt-a-Long with Partners in Design — Introduction and a look at my fabric selection.

What I Learned Today:

1. Wonky star points are hard to make. My first couple of them turned out too perfect.
2. Construction tip #8 was learned by experience! I now have a completed center star that I added to my orphan block container. I guess that means I also didn’t follow Construction tip #1.
3. There’s a lot of truth to “Do as I say, not as I do.”
4. I really like my new design wall! I can’t imagine quilting without it.
   

   It’s 8′ x 8′ and located in the room just outside my sewing room. However, I share the space with a regulation size pool table. There’s about 4′ of space between the pool table and the wall. That’s plenty of space to walk around and arrange blocks but for viewing I need to stand to the side a bit. Maybe that pool table needs to find a new home. But then I’d have no where to spread out my fabric choices and lay my upcoming projects.

5. My new design wall is almost full; time to look for another wall to transform into another one –
6. or finish up a few of those projects that’s on it.
7. I’ll have to figure out where to add a design wall in my AZ house.
8. Time flies when you’re having fun…and even when you’re not.
9. With the release of this block, our QAL by the Sea is half-way finished. It’s time to think about planning another QAL. 

Question: What ideas do you have for the next QAL? Which season or themes are you interested in? We’ve already done Christmas (click here to read about the Wish You a Merry QAL), Fall (Click here to read about the Fall into a QAL— Read about my Postage Stamp Turkey block here), and Sewing (Click here to read about the Sew Let’s QAL — Read about my iron block here).

Thanks for stopping by and do come again.

Karen, Tu-Na Quilts

If you enjoyed this post and would like to read more about me click here. If you don’t want to miss any blocks for the QAL by the Sea, please consider following me by email, Bloglovin or WordPress; just subscribe using one those options found in the sidebar (or below on a mobile device) on this blog, Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats.

At this time, I am not affiliated with any of the items, products, services, or shops that I picture or talk about here on Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats. I just happen to like and use them.

©2020 Karen Thurn Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats

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