Hive 5 April Block- Ohio Star

 Happy April Hive Mates!!

My name is Katy and I am from Cincinnati, Ohio.  I am a nurse, wife, mother, quilter, reader, beginning gardener, learner, teacher, charcutarie-lover, and reluctant exerciser.  Every time, I'll choose color over monotone, bacon over cake, and fantasy/fiction over biography.  I have two girls (4 and 5) and our house is filled with dress-up, color, craft supplies, Legos, and dolls (and ALL the accessories). Our house never looks like its ready for a magazine photo shoot; in fact, I call our house the "I spy house" because there are tiny little toys, dolls, and happy surprises everywhere.  I kind of love walking around our house and seeing the little doll spoon on the window sill, the dragon figurine tucked underneath the couch cushion, and the "fairy house" made out of all the junk my kids stole out of the recycling bin (although I will be asking them to move THAT off the kitchen floor to someplace less likely to get stepped on).  My husband and I love to travel, especially internationally (COVID has cancelled now two trips on us; one to Ireland and one to Spain.  We cannot wait to get traveling again!) and I love to collect art and knick-knacks and treasures from all over the world.  

Like everyone else, the COVID lifestyle has hit me hard.  I'm ready for spring and summer so my family and I can get out and about and meet with friends and family and just maybe share a meal.  

So with summer picnics in mind, I chose the "Ohio Star" block for my block this month with a summer feel.  I want to make a picnic blanket for all these wonderful outings I have planned this year! (Can you believe I've lived in Ohio most of my life and never made an Ohio Star quilt? We are fixing that situation today!)

Fabric Color Palette

For the color palette, I am choosing "Watermelon Colors" of PINKS AND GREENS.  Here are some inspiration photos I grabbed off of Pinterest.

And here are some fabrics I grabbed from my stash (did I pick out every fabric from my stash I thought would work and stuff them into a tiny box? Yes. Yes, I did.  Enjoy.)

Fabric Style- For the Ohio Star

• As you can see, I've chosen to stick with BRIGHTS, PRINTS, and FUN.  
• You can also see that I love fussy cut-able fabrics like those from Heather Ross or Sarah Jane or Alison Glass or Tula Pink or Citrus and Mint, or a million other designers. 
• I'm not super into batiks, or licensed character prints or photographic/super realistic-looking prints.  

You will need ONE 4 1/2 square of a fussy cut fun print.  (if you don't have a fussy cut, choose a fun fabric that you love).  I tried a few squares with a light colored background fussy cut for the center and i didn't like how they looked.  so please stick with brights/colors.

For the center, color 1 and color 2 you can choose ANY combo of watermelon colors you would like.

***Please make sure your color choices make you think of summer, rather than Christmas***

Fabric- For the low volume background

• For the low volume areas, please choose low volume that has good contrast with your colored fabrics, white or off white or super light grey background.  
• Low volumes can have color, black and white, white on white, etc.  They can be "busier" low volumes (see examples in my photos) so long as there is really good contrast between your bright star and the background.
• I would prefer that the low volume choices all be different, so if you can't do this let me know and I can send you some fabrics to use for your corners. 
• If you can, do your best to stick with the Pink and Green color scheme even in the colors of the low volumes (but you use your best judgement as to what works!).  
• You can see from my choices that prints are preferred, and fun is preferred. :)

Cutting & Amount of Fabric

Here are the exact fabrics you need:  

One 4 1/2 inch BRIGHT, FUSSY CUT, ADORABLE, MAKES YOU SMILE square for the center

One 5 1/2 square BRIGHT color 1

Two 5 1/2 squares BRIGHT color 2

One 5 1/2 square LOW VOLUME

Four different LOW VOLUME 4 1/2 squares for corners.

Block Construction

Lets start with making the Quarter Square Triangles (QSTs)

1.  Start by making half square triangles out of your 5 1/2 squares using the two at a time method.  Match the low volume with color 2 right sides together, and match color 1 with color 2 right sides together.  Draw a diagonal line from corner to corner and sew a quarter inch to each side of the line.  Once that is done, cut on your drawn line.  Press seems to color 2 side. 

2.  To make the QSTs, match the different HSTs you have right sides together and repeat the process of sewing 1/4 inch on either side of the diagonal.  See the refresher graphic below.  Also, be sure that the "color 2" are opposite each other before you sew (lol ask me how I know).  After sewing, cut along the diagonal and iron.  I'm not fussed about how your press your seems so do what your heart desires.  

Trim your QSTs to 4 1/2 square.

Now, let's lay out the rest of the block

3.  Lay out your block and put your 9 patch together row by row.  

***at this point I pressed my seams open just to cut down on bulk, but you do you :)

4.  One last press and you're done!  Give yourself a pat on the back and admire your hard work!

I can't seem to stop making these; they are so quick, easy, and fun.  I made one block in about the time it took me to watch an episode of WandaVision.  

I also got my 5 year old on board!  She's been picking out her own fabric combos and sewing some blocks to be part of this quilt!  This is her first time really helping me with a real quilt and I couldn't be more excited to share this creative process with her!!

I can't wait to see all the beautiful summery blocks you guys create!  Thanks in advance!

-Katy @queen_city_quilts