Let’s Kick This Off!

After carefully selecting fabrics from Alison Glass’s 2021 Sunprint Collection, it was time to start reading through the pattern and strategizing my cutting.

This initial week provided us with the work of a quilter referred to as the “mother of African American quilting”.  Harriet Powers had her first quilt exhibited in 1886 at the Athens Cotton Fair.  Although only a couple of examples of her work can be found today, it is considered some of the finest examples of nineteenth-century Southern quilting.

Make sure to check out the Fat Quarter Shop’s feature on this quilting and cross stitch project and remember that through February 28, 2021, 100% of the proceeds from the sales of Stronger Together Quilt Patterns and Stronger Together Cross Stitch Patterns will go to United Negro College Fund (UNCF).

I did a bit of marking of my 1/4″ seams, to help ensure correct placement of my presser foot.  I then made sure to keep my eye on the raw edge as well as the path ahead of my needle, slowing down as I approached intersections.

Flying Geese Trimming

In order to make the flying geese segments, I used an air erasable marker to mark my squares and trimmed away the 1/4″ from the back of each square after sewing them to the rectangle unit.

The trick to the success of the stars is ensuring they have points.  In order to ensure they come together with points intact, close attention must be paid in how you sew over the intersections of the triangles.  Other seams must be nested closely together so that their “ditches” align.

Ironing and Finishing

I used a wool pressing mat to help keep the seams as flat as possible and finished and attached the star blocks to each other.

In the end, I did do a tiny bit of second guessing on the color for the small stars, but I love the fabrics so much, I am confident I will love the end result.