free piecing study - march - girl + star

some of you have been asking for the next block, and i hesitated to tell you. i know some of you will just take off running (or sewing, in this case) with out waiting for a tutorial. which is fine. but...this study is not about finishing first, it's about taking the time to think through the process. to learn how to look at a block and figure out how to piece it. with these tutorials, i'm not only laying out the steps for you (which i'm sure you could figure out how to do!), but i'm wanting you to think about how to add some character along the way. when everything is straight and orderly and perfectly measured, it gets a little snoozy. when you take the time to add a little wonk, you also add visual interest. i don't want to ever make a quilt that you can look at for just a few minutes and have seen all that there is to see. that is probably why i like to use LOTS of different fabrics and even use i spy fabric. and one more way to add some visual appeal is to wonk it up a bit in the piecing.

the first block of the month, is a girl block. i know you have seen lots of these blocks out there, and they are fun!



let's start with the bottom part of the dress. notice that when i cut pieces, i tend to not make them exactly the same "measurement". i know that i will always whack the extra off, so it's just quicker.








make the hands and sleeves. just eyeball the proportions.





make a head. "wow that's a large noggin!"





look, her head is smaller. i like to make the parts a little large, and then adjust when i put it all together depending on how big i want the block to be.




ta da! all done. there are many ways to give your girl personality. a shirt and skirt, or pants instead of a dress. add some wonky angles to the dress. change up the leg angles. give her shoes, hat, or hair. i'm sure you will come up with some fun blocks!

and for block 2, a star block. there are lots of tutorials out there for wonky stars:

silly boodilly's wonky star tutorial
quiltville's maverick stars
sew take a hike's twinkle twinkle wonky star tutorial

i've seen stars with blocks in the center also.

i don't have a tutorial for stars, but here are a few pictures of a star in progress that i made a few years ago.









- remember, i like to make things larger and whack off the extra
- also remember, that with angles, you need to consider that a lot of the "point" gets used up in the seam allowance.

have fun! can't wait to see your blocks!