Like most who participated in Blockheads 5, I was so excited to learn of this SAL. With all my favorite fabric designers and quilting artists involved, I knew it was going to be a fun ride. Before starting, as I was pulling my fabrics I knew I wanted to do something a bit different with it. I did some research from the past years of Blockheads and noticed hardly anyone was using Ruby Star Society fabrics–ah ha! That was the first big stroke of inspiration, I decided I would participate and host #Blockheads5RSSEdition on my feed in hopes my fellow RSS mega fans would sew along with me–and it worked! If you check the hashtag now you will see 100s of posts of the beautiful Blockheads blocks created in the kitschy and novelty Ruby Star lines! 

I had so much fun sewing along with Blockheads and while I missed a few blocks I ended up with a project I am really proud of….and another on the way. I grew as a quilter working my way through these blocks, there is no doubt about that. I also tried new methods and concepts I had never tried before. I wanted to take a moment to share the 5 blocks that really pushed my creative boundaries. I ended up using two different fabric pulls/concepts for each group so as we walk through the blocks you will see a big visual shift! So without further ado–-let’s dive in! 

Super Scrappy Star Designed by Corey Yoder (Group 1 - Block 4)

This block was really special to me because this was my very first time making a Flying Geese unit. Maybe I forgot to mention, I am pretty new to quilting and I am completely self (and Youtube) taught. 

Somehow, flying geese had just not come up yet in my quilting journey. Even after participating in many swaps and quilting bees! I remember after finishing this block feeling like I had definitely earned a metaphoric merit badge. As with all new things, it seems a bit intimidating at first. Then, you watch a few Youtube videos and take a few practice swings and TA-DA you have gained a new skill! It was so exciting for me! 

Here I present my Super Scrappy Star! Pretend it's in a little frame that says “Baby’s First Flying Geese Unit.”

Candy Striped Holly Star - Designed by Sarah Thomas (Group 1 - Block 9)

When you look at my block you might be thinking “what does this have to do with holly?” Well, you’d be right to ask that question. In the block’s design Sarah included an applique shape for a holly leaf, as adorable as it was, I knew I didn’t really want a holiday themed block in whatever project I was going to use these blocks to create. So, I opted to use my Accuquilt appliqué die and cut one of my favorite shapes–the daisy!

I just love how it turned out. I decided to get a bit playful with selvedge which was a bit of a challenge with the FPP portion of this block, after a bit of trial and error I got it to work! Be sure to read Sarah's post for more info and inspiration for this block and to see what it looks like without any appliqué !

I love this block so much because it gave me the confidence to play with these blocks. I knew there were a lot of blocks coming and I knew to be creatively fulfilled I would have to find myself in each block and inject bits of myself into it. This block gave me that license.

Shimmer Star - Designed by April Rosenthal (Group 2 - Block 3)

Here comes that big visual shift I was warning you about above! I had pretty well worked myself into a corner using only gold, pinks and bright blue colorways as it related to my stash. Up to this point I had gone pretty scrappy and I was mixing and matching different collections and when Group 2 started I knew I wanted something a bit more structured and cohesive.

I absolutely loved this block because it's when I knew I had chosen the perfect collection (To & Fro by Rashida Coleman-Hale.) To & Fro really allowed me to practice one of my favorite techniques, Fussy Cutting!

April delivered us a treat with this block design, its absolutely fabulous and works so well for a fussy cutting approach. Additionally, this block marked the moment that I knew I had made the right choice of switching colorways, which I actually felt a bit nervous about.

For the rest of the Blockheads series I ended up going on a real fussy cutting expedition and I found so much joy in the process!

I also continued to play with selvage throughout the rest of the project, trying to incorporate it clever ways...this block continued to build my excitement for that endeavor also.

Check out this informative tutorial hosted by the lady who made Blockheads 5 happen, Anna Dineen

Radiant Star - Designed by Brigitte Heitland (Group 2 - Block 14)

This is hands down my favorite concoction of my Blockheads creations! I am so thankful to Brigette Heitland for this wonderful design, it was very inspiring to me! I remember vividly, it was a Sunday and my husband had taken my kids fishing and camping for the weekend and I woke up in the mood try something really hard, maybe because of all the free time I knew I would have that day. This block took me several hours and lots of seam ripping.

The block is pieced using FPP. Inspiration struck when I saw the city girls were about the same size as the center units of the block! I knew I needed my cool and confident city girls as the focal point of this block….but how was I going to accomplish this? 

Well, I ended up going in the reverse order when working on each unit. So, the instructions have you starting with outer pieces of the FPP unit and then inside diamond was last to be added. I knew if I wanted my girls to be placed perfectly I had to start with that inside diamond shape….so that is what I did. After some experimentation, I got it to work perfectly.

I want to mention this would not work with all FPP units, they are designed the way they are for a reason so, I wouldn’t recommend walking into any FPP block and changing the rules all willy nilly…but in this case it worked out. I have done a lot of FPP so I was feeling pretty confident to change the sewing order on the sheet.

It was a big challenge for sure, to get the placement of each of the city girls to be just right. 

When I “finished” I felt like the block was just missing something. There was a bit of negative space in the very center of the block that just didn’t feel right to me and once all the gals were placed the block had a very circular visual feel…so I decided to appliqué the circle into the middle. By this point in the Blockheads 5 story, I was feeling very comfortable making game time decisions that made the block designs better fit my vision and this was one game time decision I was so happy I made, I feel like it is the icing on the cake of this block!

Here is another informative tutorial hosted by Anna for this block.

Tipsy Star - Designed by Kimberly Kight (Group 2 - Block 26)

For my final Blockheads 5 highlight I have to go with the Tipsy Star design by Kim Kight. This block made me giddy the first time I saw it. I was really excited to work on it. In the quilting world you see beautiful and awe inspiring designs and projects all the time but there was just something really original about this design…it feels really different, dare I say even a bit “weird.” I like different. I like weird.

 

I also had the pleasure of hosting the video tutorial for this block. Another thing I am very new to is being on camera.

After 15+ years behind the camera it can be very intimidating and daunting to move to the other side. My love for this block and for Kim definitely helped me push through! You can watch the video tutorial on our Youtube channel or in the player below! I hope you enjoy!

In Retrospect and More Information about Blockheads

I can't believe how much I learned this year participating in this incredible sew-along. I missed a few blocks (admittedly) but I was still able to get a great finished project out of my group 2 blocks. I am also working on a layout for my group 1 blocks (literally daydreaming while I am writing this article, it seems I have fallen in love with the color scheme all over again!) 

It's never to late to join in on the Blockheads fun! There is an entire section of our blog dedicated to Blockheads 5 and archive pages for Blockheads 1-4, just check our Inspriation and Resources page! Gorgeous patterns from our gifted and talented designers are just a few clicks away! Be advised that some of the previous years of Blockheads have different block sizes, so they might need to be worked into a project a bit differently.

Thank you for reading along! We have so much more fun content coming and hopefully some things that can inspire your final layout!

Free Download Links for Blocks Listed Above

1. Super Scrappy Star Designed by Corey Yoder (Coriander Quilts)
2. Candy Stripped Holly Star by Sarah Thomas (Sariditty)
3. Shimmer Star by April Rosenthal (Prairie Grass Patterns)
4. Radiant Star by Brigette Heitland (Zen Chic)
5. Tipsy Star by Kimberly Kight (Ruby Star Society)

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