FIREWORK STARS - Free Tutorial - Made with all 2.5" Strips!

 31" x 39" 

Hi everyone!  To celebrate Mother's Day, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and the beginning of Summer, I would like to offer my blog readers this free quilt pattern to try.  This quilt top is made up of nothing but 2.5" strips!  This quilt can be made completely scrappy from your stash, or with a brand new shiny jelly roll!

I am part of a group of fabric swappers called "QuiltvilleSwap" and so the fabrics in this top are all fabrics that I swapped with other quilters from around the world.  Feel free to join us HERE

 This quilt sews up quickly and would be a great weekend project! Feel free to finish this quilt however you choose, but in a separate blog post, I will explain in detail the way I chose to do the quilting for these quilts. 

Instructions are for 3 small wall-hanging quilts.  Divide materials by 3 if you would like to just make ONE quilt.  I give instructions for 3 because it uses 1 whole jelly roll of fabrics without any leftovers.  If you make just one, you will have some leftover strips and pieces.  

You can substitute 1 Jelly Roll and divide the fabrics into LIGHTS/MEDIUMS/DARKS.  

Darks = blue, Mediums = Red, and Lights = Neutrals

Amounts required are approximate, may need more or less depending on fabric

WOF = width of fabric 

FABRIC REQUIRED:  (includes binding)

12 WOF Blue 2.5" Strips

12 WOF Red 2.5" Strips

16 WOF Neutral 2.5" Strips

3 yards fabric for backing  (1 yard for each quilt)

3 pieces of batting 35" x 43" 

MATERIALS:

Sewing Machine in good working order

Quilting Pins

Spray Starch

Steam Iron 

Scissors

Red, Cream, and Blue Threads (thread to match fabrics)

Thread for piecing

Rotary Cutter 

Self-Healing Mat

6" x 24" acrylic Ruler Fiskars 6x24 Inch Acrylic Ruler (187620-1001)

EZ Angle Ruler or Fons and Porter Flying Geese Ruler 

or

Optional:  Darning Foot, Walking Foot

INSTRUCTIONS:

Cut all of your Full WOF strips in half. 

 We are going to be working with HALF WOF strips throughout this quilt.  

Lay out all of your strips and press with starch.  Make sure you PRESS and not IRON, so that the strips do not bow in the center. 

 1. Pair together a NEUTRAL strip with a Red or Blue strip and lay them RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER on your cutting mat.  Make a stack that is 4 layers-thick.  Red and Neutral strips, right sides together, and then Blue and Neutral strips, right sides together.
Cut Half-Square Triangle Pairs with your Triangle Ruler.  You will need 288 triangle PAIRS for the 3 quilts, or 96 each.   If you have 12 different red fabrics, and 12 different blue fabrics, you will need to make 4 cuts from each stack.  
(Click HERE for a tutorial on how to use the EZ Angle Ruler)

Each triangle stack should give you 1 RED/NEUTRAL pair and 1 BLUE/NEUTRAL pair.  Since they were sewn right-sides together, they are already ready to go through your sewing machine.   

 Sew all of your Triangle Pairs and Press them toward the dark side.
(do as I say not as I do please lol)

 Trim dog ears.  

After cutting triangles.  You will then need to cut 48 2.5" SQUARES from each color. 

 Arrange your sawtooth blocks according to the graph below.  

The combination of Red/Blue/Neutral triangle pairs will not give you an even amount for 1 quilt, so please arrange your star blocks according to the following photo:  

 Start by sewing together the columns of the blocks.

Follow the chart for seam pressing direction

 Once the columns are sewn, sew together the rows.   Press Red block seams to the left, and blue block seams to the right.

 Arrange your blocks the way you want them to appear in your quilt.  If desired, label each row 1, 2, and 3 to stay organized.

 Butt seams together and Pin.  Sew Rows , then columns to complete inner quilt top.

BORDERS:

For the borders we are going to take HALF of the blue strips and HALF of the red strips, whatever you have left, and use those for the borders.  The REMAINING half will be used for binding!

 Take HALF of your remaining BLUE strips, cut in half LENGTHwise.  to make 1.25" strips.

 Arrange your strips in an order that will be pleasing to you in the final quilt.

 Pin together the 1.25" strips at the short ends and sew together.   **LOWER your stitch length and/or lock your stitches for this part!     REPEAT THIS STEP FOR HALF THE RED STRIPS

Next, we will go ahead and make the binding.  Take the remaining blue strips and sew together on the diagonal as you would if you were making binding.   REPEAT FOR REMAINING RED STRIPS

Sew together your remaining neutral strips like you would binding.  The neutral strips will be your large scrappy inner border.

Now start assembling your quilt top as shown. 

Border 1

Measure your quilt top horizontally and cut top/bottom border (1.25") and sew.  

Measure your quilt top vertically and cut left/right 1.25" border and sew.  

Border 2

Measure your quilt top horizontally and cut top/bottom Neutral 2.25" border and sew. 

Measure your quilt top vertically and cut left/right 2.25" neutral border and sew.  

Border 3

Measure your quilt top horizontally and cut top/bottom 1.25" border and sew.

Measure your quilt top vertically and cut left/right 1.25" border and sew.  

This is what your 3 quilt tops should look like when finished.  

Layer, Baste, and Quilt your quilt as desired!  Remember we have already sewn our Binding strips so they are ready to be attached to your quilt.  

Please go HERE for quilting tutorial and finished details.   

Thank you so much and I hope you enjoyed this tutorial for "Firework Stars"

If you make this quilt I would LOVEEEE it if you would share it with me so I can share it with my facebook followers!

If you have any questions please feel free to leave me a comment or email me at KatiesQuiltsandCrafts@gmail.com

This tutorial is for your own personal use please no mass production. 

Hi!  I work very hard and I have a family to support now, so if you buy from amazon or craftsy then please consider clicking through one of MY links so I get a portion of the profits! Thanks so much!

My favorite POTLUCK "recipe"

I wanted to share with you guys my FAVORITE Potluck "recipe."  
Here are some of the reasons why it is so perfect for me:

• It is Healthy
• It is Gluten-Free
• It is High-Fiber
• It is Dairy-Free
• It can be left in room temperature for awhile. 
• It is SUPER Easy
• It is SUPER Fast
• It is SUPER Cheap
• It is AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS!

Ingredients:

• 1 Can Light Kidney beans
• 1 Can Dark Kidney beans
• 1 Can Garbonzo Beans
• 1 Can Black Beans 
• 1 Can White Kidney Beans or Great Northern 
• 1 can Corn 
• 1 Green Pepper Chopped
• 1 Small Onion Chopped
• 1.5 Cups Apple Cider Vinegar 
• 3/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil 
• Salt and Pepper 
• Tostitos Scoops (optional)

Drain all of the beans and rinse well.  Add everything to a large bowl and stir, taste and see if it needs more oil or vinegar.  This ratio is pretty good but you can use more or less depending on your taste, it is a very forgiving recipe. 

 I have used different kinds of vinegar but apple cider tastes best to me.    

This bean salad is good AS-IS, but is amazing with Tostido's Scoops Tortilla Chips!  (not sure if they are gluten free though, so make sure you check on that first)

Some names of this recipe are as follows:  Bean Salad, WV Caviar, and Stinky bean Dip.  ;c)

The Easiest and Best Homemade Pizza EVER!

Not only was this the best TASTING pizza I've ever made, but it was also the EASIEST.   I used *THIS RECIPE* from King Arthur Flour, but altered it a bit.   

This recipe is perfect for TWO people, and only takes about an hour from start to finish.  

For the Dough: 

*1 package Rapid Rise Instant Yeast

*3/4cup Warm Water

*1cup Bread Flour

*1cup All-Purpose Flour

*1t Salt

*Garlic powder (or fresh garlic)

*Pizza Seasoning or dried italian seasoning (for the dough) 

*1T Olive Oil 

Pizza Toppings:

*Pizza Sauce (or marinara) 

*Shredded Mozzarella & Provolone Cheese

*Pepperoni

*Chopped Onions

*Chopped Red Pepper

*Sliced Banana Peppers

*Or any pizza toppings you like!

I don't like cheese, so half of the pizza is NO cheese. 

1.  Empty the yeast packet into a small bowl, and pour 3/4 Cup Warm Tap water over top of it.  Give it just a small stir - not too much.  Cover with plastic wrap and stick it in a warm area.   I just put it outside in the shade, it was 90 degrees yesterday.  Leave for 15 minutes. 

2.  In a LARGE bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, 1t garlic powder and 1t Pizza seasoning.  

3.  Make a pocket in the center of the flour mixture, and pour in your yeast/water mixture and 1T olive oil.   Stir with a fork as much as you can.  Then, flour your hands and start kneading the dough.   You may need to add a bit more flour.  For me, this dough was incredible easy to work with.  After kneading for about 5 minutes, roll the dough in olive oil, place in bowl, and cover with plastic wrap.   Stick the dough in a warm place (I put it outside in the shade in 90 degree weather.)  Let it rise for 1/2 hour.  

4.  After you dough has risen (it will double in size) Punch it down, and with floured hands, knead for another minute or two.   Let your dough ball rest for about a minute. 

5.  Roll your dough out on a floured surface.   Roll it so that it's about the same shape as the pan you're going to cook it in.   I used a rectangular pan, so the dough looked like an oval before I transferred it to the pan.   

6.  Cover your pan in parchment paper ~or~ lightly cover with olive oil.  Transfer your dough to your pan, and with your fingers, smooth the dough out to meet the edges of the pan.   Make your crust as plump/full as you wish.  I LOVE the crust so I Made mine kind of big.   Keep in mind your dough will rise significantly when cooking.  

7.  Once your dough is in the pan to your liking, cover and put it in a warm place for 15 minutes.  

8.  While your dough is doing its final rise, you need to preheat your oven to 450 and start preparing your toppings.   

9.  After the dough has sit for 15 minutes, uncover and lightly brush the crust with olive oil.   Sprinkle the crust with garlic powder, sesame seeds, italian seasoning, oregano, or any other seasonings you desire.  

10.  Before adding your toppings, you should prebake the crust for 5 minutes.   

11.  After 5 minutes, pull your crust out of the oven, and add your toppings as you desire.   First sauce, then meat, then veggies, then cheese.  ;c) 

12.  Cook pizza for 15 - 20 minutes.  In my small oven it took the whole 20 minutes for the cheese to get good and browned.   

The crust was soft, chewy, but crispy on the outside, the toppings and cheese were marvelously cooked and browned.  I'm telling you people   IT. . . WAS. . . AWESOME!!!

Half-Square Triangle Shortcut

Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville.com just released her 5th step in her recent mystery "Roll Roll Cotton Boll" and we are now faced with 600 HSTs!!!!!!! Oh and by the way they are 1.5" finished.
Here's an easy way to do 8 at once:

Unfinished Size HST Needed:

If you need a different size, feel free to email me.

For RRCB you will use 4.5" squares.
Draw two lines diagonally, and one horizontally, and one vertically.


Your half line will be at the 2.25" mark.

With your two squares Right Sides Together, stitch a SCANT 1/4" from each diagonal line.


Cut on your diagonal lines.


Then cut on your other drawn lines, Vertically, and horizontally  (cut the previous cuts in half)


Trim dog ears, Press and Voila!

This quilt is now available in Bonnie Hunter's Quilting book called "String Fling"