New Orleans House Project

Saturday, March 16, 2019

Scrappy Ring of Stars

I've been wanting to make a quilt for a friend of mine.  I almost gave her my Windblown Wishes quilt when it was finished (pictures coming as soon as we have some decent weather for photography), but decided I couldn't part with that particular quilt.  I find it easier to give away a quilt if I have a certain person in mind from the get-go.

I thought about quilt blocks/patterns on my bucket list and finally focused on star blocks made with the Tri-Recs ruler.   Back in the early 1990s, my quilt guild made an opportunity quilt based on the Fifty-Four Forty or Fight quilt block.  At the time, there were no specialty rulers to help in the construction of the blocks, so we all learned to paper-piece the blocks required for the quilt.  I loved those spiky star blocks and always wanted to make a quilt of my own featuring them.  I'm so happy I can now use a specialty ruler to make the blocks rather than paper piecing!

Ring of Stars by Nancy Rink
This quilt caught my attention several years ago when I did a Google search for starry quilt patterns.  It's kind of a deconstructed Fifty-Four Forty or Fight block - with the 4-patches used in another block to make a secondary pattern.  I decided it might lend itself to a Rainbow Scrap Challenge treatment and downloaded the pattern from Connecting Threads.

I did some sketching and planning and figured I would need at least 3 sets of blocks in each rainbow color.  I also decided to make 9 inch blocks, so I could use scraps from my 3.5 inch strip bin.  I think this project may turn out to be a great scrap buster!

As always, there's more scrappy inspiration at the weekly RSC link-up!