A few weeks ago the crew at Jittery Wings were sitting around talking about the next quilts we need to make. Mitzie was focused on the Sly Spark pattern that will be dropping soon, and we needed samples of Tambo Star and Silas Pew for an upcoming quilt show. I called the Tambo Star Pattern. We have had the Tambo Star quilt from the pattern cover at the house for years and I love how the colors seem to flow through the squares and stars.
We used bundle 36 for this quilt. This is the first quilt we've made in this bundle, and the colors are striking. It uses much lighter colors than usual for Jittery Wings, but there's enough variation to give it tension and balance.
A note about the pattern and Bundle 36. The pattern calls for 15 fat quarters to make the crib size. Bundle 36 only has 12. I found that I had 12 QSTs left. But I didn't use the bonus strips or B4 and B5. You can simply change the rows and column layout to make a baby quilt that isn't as long as the dimensions on the pattern.
The Quarter Square Triangles seemed pretty daunting at first, but Mitzie has an excellent video on making this block. I watched it a few times and then got to work.
After starting the process, I found it straightforward. The cutting and pressing were simple, and making the blocks wasn't as difficult as I thought. As time went on, I got the system going: go corner to corner, mark a line, sew on both sides of the line, then cut in half. The tricky part was lining up the seams on the second cut. My seam ripper got a workout until I found a process that worked for me. I placed a binder clip on both sides of the seam. This held everything in place but let me check before sewing.
Working in the studio means some days I'm lucky enough to spend three to four hours pressing, sewing, and cutting. I made most of the QST in a day (not bragging, it's the crib size). When I was wrapping up, I realized how much time had passed. It's great to be so wrapped up in a task that time slips away.
Trimming the quarter square triangles was more of a challenge than I expected. I hadn't accounted for the seam allowance, and I spent a good while staring at the ruler until it started to make sense.
The center of the star came together fine. Sew the strips together, press, and cut. I found the strip was longer than needed, which turned out helpful. It let me make sure the blocks I cut lined up, even where my seams got a little wonky.
I let the master lay this one out. I'm pretty sure I could have put it together myself, but Mitzie is so good at this, and she had the time. After that, it was just sewing the top, making the quilt sandwich, and wrapping it up.
Thanks! And we can't wait to see your quilts.
Warmly,
Jason
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