Starfall - April Show & Tell
- Cass Merrigan
- May 5
- 5 min read
I think I can say that April was universally busy for nearly everyone in the sew along. Our talented Michelle @strawberriesandbobbins was exceedingly busy last month - just not on her Starfall quilt. Now I am not at liberty to post up the photos of what kept her so busy, but let me assure you, it was time well spent! I was priviledge enough to get some sneaky peak photos, and can I just say, that having her in our sew along is something special indeed. This is where her "go with the flow" star count is brilliant, there is nothing to "make up" to keep on track, though, I do hope she pops in a star or two as a keep sake of her awesome makes. Somehow it's now May, aaannndddd we are just over a quarter of the way through the year (and quilt). As a result these quilts are really starting to take their own unique shapes. Lee who was one of my "Orbit Ladies" (block a day) last year, sensibly decided on the block a week option for this year. Now Lee being a super maker, has smashed through her 52 feature stars (and then some). I think she may be the one to finish her quilt first this year!
Lee @quarteracreblock
Isn't this scrappy Starfall looking absolutely spectacular!! Now this photo was taken early on in April, so I will have to chase Lee up and get us another shot for next update. I did spy some very attractive hand knits on her insta last week, so I know she is alive and most likely has opted for a change of pace. Winter is definitely coming to the Southern Hemisphere, definitely time to get the woollies out.
Nicole Up next is Nicole and her gorgeous set of Stars, I don't know which one is your favourite but when I saw the second photo I startled my cat by yelling "froggyyyy!" really loudly.
I am so excited to see a lot of bonus stars in here photos. Especially bonus star 3 (again, second photo). I love that star as well, it has some big pieces which is great for a quick make, but then you get two tiny diamonds in there as well which really gives you a hit of contrast which can be so much fun.
I think Nicole is the only brave one who always has one of the curved stars in her makes. I have made a few... but they stress me out no end, so I have been avoiding them the past few weeks. Love love love!!! They are all incredible!
* Google translation *
Ich freue mich riesig über die vielen Bonussterne auf den Fotos. Besonders Bonusstern 3 (siehe zweites Foto). Ich liebe diesen Stern auch! Er besteht aus großen Elementen, was super ist, wenn man ihn schnell basteln möchte, und die zwei winzigen Diamanten sorgen für einen tollen Kontrast, der richtig Spaß macht.
Ich glaube, Nicole ist die Einzige, die sich traut, immer einen der gebogenen Sterne in ihre Kreationen einzubauen. Ich habe auch schon ein paar gemacht … aber sie stressen mich total, deshalb habe ich sie die letzten Wochen vermieden. Ich bin total begeistert!!! Sie sind alle unglaublich!
Nikki @cottoncraftdesigns
Nikki was unimpressed when I "sprung" on her my photo demands this morning... really as my bestie you would think she knew this was a monthly thing. Like the champ she is, there was a quick text over of some photos! I am super excited to see how this quilt coat comes out, especially as we have more than a few matching stars (we both recieved yardage of Jeniffer Paganelli's new ranges - squeeeeee).
So excited about this one!
Cass @cake.and.ale
Now for me! I am finally up to date with attaching joiners to everything, except there were a few times I was over enthusiastic and forgot to take a photo before doing so. Not that its a biggie, I just wanted a photo of every star individually for a 2026 highlights reel.
This month we celebrated two birthdays, my Aunt and my first born Alex. Alex is a tricky one to get any input from, he is a male teen, but also limited verbal. So, over the course of the day I had him choose a star style by pointing at the wall hanging quilt, then I asked him what colour today felt like, "yellow!", I had my money on red, but he loves yellow too. So after pulling every yellow fabric in my stash out he excitedly chose "candies" which for Alex was incredibly on brand. There is always a lot of grief around Alex's birthdays, so I was doubly happy he chose such a fun and vibrant fabric. The block a week stars continue on as well! I can assure you that the 4m length of Paradise used for this version is looking decidedly moth eaten these days. Crossing my fingers I have enough for the feature stars left!!
This is the first time I have laid the whole quilt out on the floor, I have no idea how I will manage photographing it when it grows again. I think a ladder may be involved.... I have sucessfully attached TWO rows together and have started on the third one. I have worked out that attaching two star rows together is about 4 hours sewing time, so I am slowly chipping away at it a few nights a week. I am incredibly proud though, this time last month I have three individual rows, now I am on my 10th and am working to attach them. The plan is to work in sets of three rows (chains?), at least until I sort out the border stars. Once they are fully complete I will begin to create larger sections. How is it that navy fabrics really aren't in fashion right now, they seemed to be everywhere last month - now, nothing.
For those of you not in the sew along, you will not have seen all of our bonus stars. I have created a few, one I "stole" from Lee. This one though, it a child creation. In my sewing box I have a collection of basted scrap pieces to use in this quilt, so my girls decided to create a star for me! The needed a little help to make sure it was going to fit into the quilt, but I think they did an amazing job. So this star became the April bonus star. I am exceeding grateful that my kids are not only willing to "play along" with these stars, but are genuinely interested and wanting to be involved. I know that's not always common with tweens and teens! And with that, I think we are done for this months catch up. I do owe you a blog post or two about the new fabric lines coming out, one of which is currently at h+h americas! SQUEEEEEEEE. Catch you next time Possums!
xx
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