July’s NEW Rose Card Patterns and VRD Crazy Stars Table Runner Tutorial

July 13, 2023July 12, 2023 rosecards4 Comments

Hello Quilty Friends!

Happy Thursday to you!

BIG NEWS today! With last Friday’s release of our brand new July 2023 Rose Card patterns, we now have over 600 patterns in our catalog!!!

Put on your party hats! Cue the confetti! Blow that party horn!

WAY TO GO, VILLA ROSA DESIGNS!!!

LET’S CELEBRATE!!!

Here are July’s Brand New AWESOME AMAZING SPECTACULAR FANTASTIC Rose Card Patterns:

You can get all 5 regular patterns, above, for the special low price of $8.95 HERE.

BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE!!!

This month, we have TWO NEW Table Runners! Wahoo!!!

You can get Flower Market HERE and you can get Crazy Stars HERE.

Hey! Did you know you can get each month’s new Rose Card patterns delivered right to your mailbox???

You can go HERE to sign up to get the 5 regular patterns each month

Or,

You can go HERE to sign up to get the 5 regular patterns plus table runners each month.

And, don’t forget shipping for Rose Card patterns is always free.

VRD Crazy Stars Table Runner Tutorial

I thought it might be helpful to everyone if I did a tutorial of my new table runner, Crazy Stars. It was hard to figure out how to illustrate the pattern so it made sense. And, because I don’t trust my humble illustrations, I am going to show you step by step how to make the stars in Crazy Stars.

Step 1 The first thing you need to do is divide your charm squares into 4 stacks — one stack for each star. If you find that the colors end up a bit uneven, you can always add a few squares from your stash or even cut them from fat quarters or yardage.

Step 2 Layer a print charm square right sides together on top of a background square.

Step 3 Now the fun begins! Next use a ruler and draw a line from the bottom edge to the right edge. Place the ends of your diagonal line anywhere you’d like on those edges. Sew on the drawn line. Then open the unit and press towards the print square.

Step 4 Layer another print charm square right sides together on top of the background square. You will need to carefully line up the left and top edges. Please note you will see the right side of your first Star point square, just ignore it for now.

Step 5 Draw a diagonal line from the left edge to the bottom edge, while ignoring the print square on sticking out on the other side. Then open the unit and press. You will have a weird looking unit somewhat like the one in my photo, but your Star points might look different than mine because we probably started and stopped in different places along the edges.

Step 6 Repeat steps 2-5 to make 4 Star point units for one Crazy Star block.

Step 7 Turn a Star point unit over so that it is right sides down and the back of the unit is facing up. Do you see your background square kind of in the middle of the 2 print squares? Use the background square as your template and cut away the excess Star point print fabrics beyond the background square. Turn the unit right sides up again and you now have a perfect Crazy Star point unit. Trim the other 3 Star point units as well.

Step 8 You can reduce the bulk in each unit if desired. Fold back a star point until you see your stitching. Cut away the excess background and Star point fabrics 1/4″ away from the seam. I used my cutter and a ruler over the seam to protect it while I cut that 1/4″ seam allowance. Open the unit again and do the same thing for the second Star point. Repeat for the other Star point units.

Step 9 Now you have a fun and funky set of Star points to make into one Crazy Star block.

Step 10 Now it’s time to sew your Crazy Star block together like a Nine Patch. You will need 4 Star point units, 4 background squares for the corners, and a center print square.

Step 11 Repeat steps 2-10 to make a total of 4 Crazy Star blocks for the table runner.

Step 12 Then sew your Crazy Star blocks together into a row. You can twist and turn your blocks to see which star arrangement you like the best. Then layer your quilt, quilt it, and bind the edges. Don’t forget your label!

Well, that’s it for me. I hope this tutorial will make it a lot easier for you to put together your own Crazy Star Table Runners. Crazy Star blocks can be a lot of fun to make, so I hope you will give them a try.

Until next week —

Sew. Laugh. Repeat.

Always,

Tricia

Rose Cards · Tips and Tricks · Tutorials · villa rosa designs

A Thanksgiving Turkey (Quilt Block) For You!

November 24, 2022November 23, 2022 rosecards2 Comments

Hello Quilty Friends!

Happy Thursday to you!

Huh! It just occurred to me that our weekly Thursday blog post will happen on Thanksgiving Day!

I was planning to return to my Panel Quilt series, but then I thought it would be fun to design a little project just for Y-O-U as a Thanksgiving gift, because we here at Villa Rosa Designs couldn’t exist without the loyal support of you, our enthusiastic VRD fans and supporters. We are sew thankful for you.

Image by Freepik

What are your traditions for Thanksgiving? Do you cook a big family meal? Go out for Thanksgiving dinner? Watch football? Attend or watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade? Do you celebrate alone or with a big boisterous family? Do you celebrate at someone else’s home or does everyone come to yours? Do you get a head start on your holiday shopping?

Thanksgiving is generally a small quiet affair with my family. Sometimes we cook and eat in, but in the past we’ve gone out, too. Usually there are just three of us but occasionally my sister and her family will stop by later for pumpkin pie. Depending on which teams are playing football on Thanksgiving, I usually find a little time to get some quilting in while my family is cheering on their team.

My favorite Thanksgiving holidays have been spent at my Aunt Helen’s house with my many cousins and their families. My Aunt’s house is usually bursting at the seams with people and dogs. Squabbling, laughter, enough amazing food to feed an army, and lots of good conversation and memories. Football on the television in the living room. Sometimes cards or board games after dinner at the kitchen table. Good times and new memories in the making.

All of these warm fuzzy feelings and memories made me want to design a special Turkey Quilt Block as a way to say “Thank You” to all of you! I was inspired by Lori Holt’s Tom Turkey Quilt Block tutorial, but I created my own turkey block, based on a humble Nine Patch because I wanted my Talking Turkey block to be happy and plump.

My Talking Turkey block finishes at 16″ high by 22″ wide.

Below is my sample Talking Turkey block. Isn’t he a handsome fellow????

Now that you’ve seen how yummy this block turned out, let’s get started on the tutorial!

Talking Turkey Quilt Block Tutorial

Supplies

12 assorted charm squares (5″) for the feathers/body

1 fat quarter for the background

1 fat eighth brown for the head/neck

Scrap of red for the wattle, approximately 2″ x 5″

Cutting

Background: 3 5″ squares, 1 4 1/2″ square, 3 2 1/2″ squares, 1 2 1/2″ x 12 1/2″ rectangle, 1 2 1/2″ x 8 1/2″ rectangle, 1 2 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ rectangle, 1 1 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ rectangle , and 1 1/2″ square

Red Scrap: Trim to 1 1/2″ x 4 1/2″

Brown: 1 2 1/2″ x 16 1/2″ rectangle, 1 2 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ rectangle, and 1 2 1/2″ square

Making the Block

Step1. Trim 9 assorted charm squares down to 4 1/2″ and sew them together into a Nine Patch block.

Step 2. Layer a print 5″ square right sides together (RST) with a background 5″ square. Draw a diagonal line from one corner to the opposite corner. Sew 1/4″ away from both side of the drawn line. Cut apart on the drawn line. Press units open to make 2 Half Square Triangle blocks (HSTs). Repeat to make a total of 6 HSTs. Trim your HSTs to 4 1/2″ if needed.

Step 3. Sew 3 assorted HSTs together into a row with the top point to the right as shown.

Step 4. Sew the remaining 3 HSTs together with the top point to the left as shown. (You are making a mirror image of the unit in Step 3.)

Step 5. Sew the HST unit from Step 3 to the top of your Nine Patch block.

Step 6. Sew a 4 1/2″ background square to the left end of the HST unit from Step 4. Then sew the HST strip to the right side of the Nine Patch block.

Step 7. Layer a background 2 1/2″ square RST on the end of the brown 2 1/2″ x 16 1/2″ rectangle. Draw a diagonal line from the top left corner to the opposite corner. Sew on the line. Trim away the waste piece 1/4″ beyond the sewing line. Open and press.

Step 8. Layer a background 2 1/2″ square on the other end of the brown 2 1/2″ x 16 1/2″ rectangle. Draw a diagonal line from the top left corner to the opposite corner. Sew on the line. Trim away the waste piece 1/4″ beyond the sewing line. Open and press.

Step 9. Layer a background 2 1/2″ square RST on the end of a brown 2 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ rectangle. Draw a diagonal line from the bottom left corner to the opposite corner. Sew on the line. Trim away the waste pieces 1 /4″ beyond the sewing line. Open and press.

Step 10. Layer a background 1 1/2″ square RST on the end of a red 1 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ rectangle. Draw a diagonal line from the bottom left corner to the opposite corner. Sew on the line. Trim away the waste pieces 1/4″ beyond the sewing line. Open and press.

Step 11. Sew a background 1 1/4″ x 4 1/2″ to the Step 10 unit. Then sew a 2 1/2″ x 8 1/2″ rectangle to the bottom of the unit as shown.

Step 12. Sew the brown unit from Step 9 to the end of the unit from Step 11.

Step 13. Layer a brown 2 1/2″ square RST on the end of a background 2 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ rectangle. Draw a diagonal line from bottom left corner to the opposite corner. Sew on the line. Trim away the waste pieces 1 /4″ beyond the sewing line. Open and press. Then sew the unit on the right end of a background 2 1/2″ x 12 1/2″ rectangle.

Step 14. Sew the units from Steps 8, 12, and 13 together to make the turkey head, wattle, and neck.

Step 15. Sew the front of the turkey from Step 14 to the back of the turkey from Step 6.

Voila! A plump and yummy Talking Turkey block for you to enjoy! Happy Thanksgiving to you!

As per our Copyright for Quilters post last week, I give you permission to use my original Talking Turkey quilt block for personal and commercial use, as long as you provide proper attribution that I am the designer of the Talking Turkey quilt block.

Add a narrow border, quilt and bind for a little wall or table quilt.

Enjoy!

Until next Thursday —

Eat. Sew. Laugh. Repeat.

Always,

Tricia @VRD