NEW Year/NEW Quilt Challenge!

Our New Year brings NEW Beginnings, NEW Horizons and this year, a Brand-NEW Quilt Challenge!

Rather than a Mystery, this will be more like an online sew-along w/twist.

The 'Challenge' is to use patriotic fabric remnants/leftovers from previous years, turn them into Patriotic Beauties to be Awarded to our Beloved Veterans and Service Members to Honor their Service and Sacrifice for our Country.

This is my 'tub' or fabric remnants that I will be using throughout 2023 to create our Patriotic Beauties:

Tub of Patriotic Remnants

...and this month, I've chosen the AccuQuilt GO! Feathered Star Die #55535 to create my January 2023 Patriotic quilt, inspired by the 'Icey Hot Stars' quilt pattern Designed for AccuQuilt by Terri Vanden Bosch of Lizard Creek Quilting, available as a F R E E pattern download from AccuQuilt to members, and membership is also F R E E ;-)  

AccuQuilt GO! Die #55535

Check out this wonderful AccuQuilt video on the Featured Star featuring the Icey Hot Stars block - LOTS of great fabric placement/cutting tips:


I tweaked my design and switched the Black to Blues, and to accommodate the finished size needed for my patriotic quilt = my quilt will include three (3) quilt blocks wide and three (3) quilt blocks long.  Enlarge/reduce your quilt top as needed by adding Feathered Star blocks, sashing, borders...Easy/Peasy!

These are the fabrics I chose for my first of the New Year/January quilt:

January fabrics for Feathered Star Quilt, 'Icey Hot Stars'


To keep things simple, and because the GO! dies can handle up to four (4) layers of fabrics at a time, I will be layering ONLY the fabrics required for 'each' block, leaving the fabrics on the die for easier assembly.  

Here's my first pass:


Fabrics ALL loaded onto die - ready to be run through cutter



Left side of die fabrics ALL cut...


Right side of die fabrics ALL cut!


And the die w/fabrics ready for assembly:


Loaded die board w/cut fabrics - ready for assembly into a Feathered Star Block


Cutting Tips:
  • The 'Icey Hot Stars' pattern being used is for four (4) similar quilt blocks.  IF you choose to go 'scrappy' as I have and make each block out of 'different' fabrics, then you would need to divide the number of units given for each pattern piece by four (4), which will allow you to load some pieces with enough fabric layers for up to four (4) different blocks.  Others require multiple cuts for each die piece.  
  • Make your fabric determinations 'prior to' loading your die & cutting, and write them down
  • Patience is a virtue when preparing/planning for cutting/sewing of this block.  It took me 45 minutes to load my first die board for my first block.  As I became more familiar with the procedure, was eventually able to load an entire board in less than 15 minutes - I could NEVER cut out ALL these pieces by hand w/rotary & ruler in an hour!  And the accuracy of these cuts is the icing on the quilt cake ;-)
Tune in next week for block assembly and some sewing tips yours truly learned along the way...Have FUN cutting up those scraps & remnants!

Happy New Year!

Deborah Lindley
Sweet Freedom Mystery

Sweet Freedom Mystery Facebook Group:

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