When you first look at the Stars Aligned quilt, you probably see a star block made with a lot of quick corner piecing. Take a closer look at the pattern, however, and you won't believe how quickly and easily this block goes together! Colleen Tauke transformed the traditional Broken Dishes block into this sparkling Stars Aligned quilt using Walkabout 2 and Leather prints. The pattern is featured in Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting Summer 2018 issue.
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"Stars Aligned" by Colleen Tauke and machine quilted by Laura Brenner;
featured in Easy Quilts Summer 2018 |
Q. Walkabout 2 has so
many fun, bold prints. How did you select which one to use?
CT: This was the
print that I really loved. The green and the blue popped out. I saw this one
and said, “ooh, that’s my dark print!”
Q. And how did you choose
the green to go with it?
CT: I looked
through the Leather tonal collection to find a color that popped against the
navy. I tried green and blue, and green won.
Q. Tell us about the
block design.
CT: I wanted to
take the Broken Dishes block, cut it up and make it into something completely
different. The block is cut into a nine-patch, and it can be arranged so many different
ways. I really wanted to make a two-color quilt because I knew it would create
a secondary design as well.
Q. What’s so appealing
about this design?
CT: It’s a
perfect project if you don’t want to think too hard about what you’re making—for
example, if you’re at a retreat, or an open sew with friends. You can enjoy the
gathering but still be really productive. It becomes addicting. You take a super
simple block and cut it up to make something more intricate.
Q. How did you choose the
layout for the blocks?
CT: I laid out
the blocks in a few different options and took photos. Arranging them in
circular fashion creates an explosion from the center out.
Q. Tell us about the
machine quilting.
CT: It was done
by a friend of mine—Laura Brenner. We chose an overall pantograph because of the arrangement of blocks. It creates
curves and shadows but doesn’t detract from blocks. We chose a medium blue
quilting thread, which adds to the depth.
See the entire Walkabout 2 collection here and the Leather collection here.
Find the Summer 2018 issue of Fons & Porter's Easy Quilts here.
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Love the Walkabout 2 prints?
Find a tote bag tutorial here.
Download our free quilt pattern here.
