Whimsy Lone Star Blocks

While sorting through old Christmas projects recently, I came across some extra Whimsy Lone Star blocks.  While pretty, these blocks didn’t make the cut for my Whimsy Lone Star quilt, so they’ve been waiting patiently for a very long time.  I’m in a “finish it up” mood, so I decided to do something with them.

I squared up the blocks and sewed them together in a 2×2 grid, which now measures about 44″ square.  As I worked, I remembered why I didn’t include them in the original quilt.  Each of these blocks has some bias stretch going on, a by-product of my trial and error efforts to master the lone star block.  In fact, some of these lessons led to my popular Lone Star Block Tutorial, which includes a free PDF for making your own blocks in several sizes.  Seeing these blocks makes me grateful I persisted and mastered the lone star block.

These Whimsy lone star blocks are made using 2″ strips.  I’m hoping to find a few scraps from the original project to use with this one.  What should I make with this?  It could become a small quilt, a table topper, or even a wall quilt of some kind.

I might add borders, and some whimsical Christmas applique in the center where the blocks join would also be fun to play with.  But for today, while I hunt for scraps, I am admiring the lovely morning light on my blocks.  That lovely light has been scarce lately.

I confess these blocks represent my favorite Christmas color scheme.  Multiple greens and reds, crisp white, with some pink and a dash of blue or yellow thrown in just for fun.  It’s interesting to work with this collection again and discover that it still makes me smile.

Hopefully I can free up an afternoon for some experimenting.  The Christmas season always makes me want to sew more.  I’m usually pulled away by the many other commitments of the season.  Fingers crossed I can change that this year!