Seeing Stars

My mom has made several quilts in the past year, most of them featuring stars. If you ask her what the infatuation is, she'll tell you that she has no idea. It's true. One particular star pattern that we've both been dying to learn is the folded star. It is featured mostly in small crafts like potholders, pillows, and ornaments. It is very time consuming and the finished product is very thick, so it doesn't lend itself to quilts.

Last week I came across this neat little book, Quilting Step by Step by Maggi Gordon, at Barnes & Noble and my wonderful hubby bought it for me. It is a great reference for basic techniques which, as you know, I've been brushing up on. It also includes instructions for many quilt blocks.

As you can image, I was tickled to find instructions for the folded star amongst them! So I set out with some scraps and now have a beautiful Christmas potholder. The instructions were easy to follow, it just required some patience. I can see now why most folded star projects are very small! Here are my results:

It just takes time, lots of starch, and a seam gauge. The ironing is what takes the most time, but the results are well worth the effort. It is a great project for those who aren't as fond of sewing, but want to make a beautiful gift for someone. I'm hoping to make a folded star pillow in the coming weeks and might even make it my first tutorial. Stay tuned!

LB