Liberty Stars Quilt -Stars 001-008

Liberty Stars Quilt – In the beginning

Last year I signed up to Liberty Club #2 with Polka Dot Tea Fabrics, and I could not be happier with the variety of beautiful Liberty prints picked each month by Danielle and Jeannette. I’m getting fat sixteenths which measure approximately 10″ by 13.5″ (or 25cm by 34cm), the Liberty fabrics are 54″ wide so the cuts are more generous than your standard cottons. There are currently Liberty Club places available, you can sign up on their website.

Liberty Stars Quilt - Stars 001-008
Liberty Stars Quilt – Stars 001-008

I’ve been a bit scared to cut into my Liberty stash but I thought maybe just a little bit off each piece would be a good start and a great way to showcase my collection over time. I’ve been wanting to start a slow-go project to, particularly eyeing off 60 degree / 6 point English Paper Pieced stars. It’s a perfect match and so my Liberty Stars Quilt project was born. I’ll be posting progress shots on Instagram using #libertystarsquilt or you can follow me @pescapresents to.

Liberty Stars Quilt - Star 009
Liberty Stars Quilt – Star 009

I’ve chosen 1½” 60 degree diamonds, each side of the diamond is 1½” long, the angle of the acute (pointy) end is 60 degrees, and it takes 6 of the diamonds to create a full star: 6 x 60 degrees = 360 degrees, a full circle – woohoo maths! As shown in the picture below, the stars measure 4½” across and about 5¼” top to bottom (tip to tip through the middle).

Liberty Stars Quilt - 60 degree / 6 point stars
Liberty Stars Quilt – 60 degree / 6 point stars

I cut 2, 2″ strips (less than 1/4 of each piece) from which I could get 8 diamonds, you only need 6 for the star and I’ve saved all the spare pairs for more mixed stars.

Libery Stars Quilt - Stars 010-012
Libery Stars Quilt – Stars 010-012

I cut the fabrics for my first 20-30 stars and pieced the first 8 stars while away for a long weekend in December 2014, it’s a nice easy take-anywhere project and it’s intended to be a slow project, just a few here and there and while I’m away. I haven’t decided on a layout or background fabric yet but I’m sure that will come with time, I don’t even know what size I’m aiming for, something decent between large lap and bed-ish size I guess but I haven’t done the math to calculate any rough requirements yet. I’m just enjoying making stars and having a close look at each and every one of these beautiful Liberty fabrics.

Liberty Stars Quilt - Stars 013-016
Liberty Stars Quilt – Stars 013-016

I wish I knew what each and every fabric was, I don’t have it to hand but if there’s one in particular you like I should be able to find out.