Celestial Star SAL - Month 5 - Mermaid Tails May 01 2018 1 Comment

I hope some of you had the opportunity to see this quilt in person in the Red Thread Studio booth at Paducah in April.  Jen had it quilted and added the binding during the week before the show. Her entire booth looked amazing.

May is time for MERMAID TAILS or maybe we should call it Mermaid Tales.  There are so many tales about mermaids these days.  The children are fascinated with this beautiful dreamy creature.  I designed a mermaid for the Row by Row experience a few years ago when the theme was water.  This past week I had a surprise visit from my brother along with nine members of his family including five grandchildren.  The children loved the mermaid quilt, even the boys.  If there were time, I'm sure they each could have invented a story, a tale, to go along with this dreamy lady. 

Our Color Burst this month has mirrored mermaid tails in the final set of Four-Pointed Stars.  The mermaid cut of fabric is from the Twin Seahorses print.  The mermaid makes a few great cuts for this project, but the tail cut we are using today is my favorite. 

You will be receiving a quarter yard of the Pink on Pink fabric for this Color Burst, the only place in the quilt where this pink fabric is utilized, unless you choose to use it in your Starbursts. I think this fabric would make a fantastic background for appliqué.

TIPS FOR TODAY:

• It is important to press, not iron, your work as you complete each task.  After basting your fabric to the paper pieces, be sure to press each piece.  This will sharpen the fold line, making it easier to take a smaller "bite" of fabric when sewing them together.  If the pieces tend to curl immediately after you press them, quickly hold the piece down with your hand for just a moment or two.  When cool, they will be flat. 
• Wings. I hope they are going well for you after last month's introduction.  Don't hesitate to ask any questions if you are having difficulty. At first, they are quite daunting.  But once you get a few done, they will go smoothly. 
• Although this tip is unrelated to our project, it can be most helpful when cutting hexies that are not fussy cut.  The photograph shows how I lined them up right next to each other so that I can get the most out of my fat quarter.  They will have to be traced and cut individually, but there is very little waste. These are 3/4 inch hexies for another new project.

DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS FOR MONTH 5 - MERMAID TAILS

The exact placement for cutting each motif WITH SEAM ALLOWANCE INCLUDED is outlined below. Be careful when cutting; CUT ONLY AROUND THE DESIGNATED MOTIF.

Placements have often been selected specifically for you to match motifs, often on both sides of the piece. When basting fabric to the papers, pay attention to the following: 

(1) Center Octagon is cut from the Peacock Circle fabric.  You will notice that when I cut this piece, I had the grey extended plumes/points directed toward the center of one side.  I later thought it may have been better to have those plumes/points directed toward a pointed corner of the octagon; this way, the plume would point toward the center of the quilt, as the other octagon motifs do.  However, I chose not to rip it out; I do a lot of changing by ripping out pieces and will only do so when I'm emphatic about making the change.  Take a look at your fabric through the viewer and decide for yourself. Cut one.

IMPORTANT NOTE: CUTTING LINE HAS BEEN MARKED WITH MARKER AND FOLD LINE HAS BEEN DRAWN IN PENCIL, TO ILLUSTRATE THE POINT. DO NOT USE MARKER FOR CUTTING LINE AND DO NOT MARK YOUR FOLD LINE.

(2) The first set of Four-Pointed Stars is cut from the Pink on Pink fabric.  Notice there is a dark filled in circle near the center of the piece and notice how the bottom point of the piece (thin end) almost touches a slightly larger darker filled in circle.  The top of the piece fold line sits just above a tiny diamond.

Cut sixteen.  Sew them together in pairs.  Sew the pairs together leaving one opening in your circle. Then sew your circle around the center octagon as shown in Month #1.

IMPORTANT NOTE: CUTTING LINE HAS BEEN MARKED WITH MARKER AND FOLD LINE HAS BEEN DRAWN IN PENCIL, TO ILLUSTRATE THE POINT. DO NOT USE MARKER FOR CUTTING LINE AND DO NOT MARK YOUR FOLD LINE.

(3) The Custom Jewel is cut from the center of a swirl of peacock tails from the Peacock Circle fabric.  This is my very favorite cut of all our fabrics.  The colors in the swirl are majestic.  Notice how well the pink in this piece goes so well with the cuts in (2) above.  This circular center has four points of which there are two sets of matching opposing points.  The points which are more like a large flower plume are situated top to bottom, barely fitting within the fold lines.  Cut eight.

IMPORTANT NOTE: CUTTING LINE HAS BEEN MARKED WITH MARKER AND FOLD LINE HAS BEEN DRAWN IN PENCIL, TO ILLUSTRATE THE POINT. DO NOT USE MARKER FOR CUTTING LINE AND DO NOT MARK YOUR FOLD LINE.

(4) The final set of Four-Pointed Stars are cut from the Twin Seahorse fabric.  The motif to cut is the Mermaid Tail, hence the name of this Color Burst. You will be cutting mirror images of her tail.  Notice how the entire tail is within the fold line, the tips of her finger are right along the fold line and you will see a portion of her arm within the cut.  When the opposing pieces are put together, her upper thighs from each piece will meet together perfectly. Cut eight of a left facing tail and eight of a right facing tail.

IMPORTANT NOTE: CUTTING LINE HAS BEEN MARKED WITH MARKER AND FOLD LINE HAS BEEN DRAWN IN PENCIL, TO ILLUSTRATE THE POINT. DO NOT USE MARKER FOR CUTTING LINE AND DO NOT MARK YOUR FOLD LINE.

(5) The Kite Point is cut from the Pink Medallion fabric.  Notice how the bottom (wide) point sets on the edge of a white symmetrical "leaf" and the corners to either side of this set to the top of a thin gold "leaf."  Cut eight.

IMPORTANT NOTE: CUTTING LINE HAS BEEN MARKED WITH MARKER AND FOLD LINE HAS BEEN DRAWN IN PENCIL, TO ILLUSTRATE THE POINT. DO NOT USE MARKER FOR CUTTING LINE AND DO NOT MARK YOUR FOLD LINE.

(6) And, remember to add your striped wing points at this time so that your COLOR BURST can fly!

I hope you are all keeping up with our monthly series.  I am currently receiving a BOM and have received three monthly packages without my having started any of it.  I look at these projects, patterns and fabric as "purchasing the dream of what it can be." Those dreams really do come true.

Keep posting or start posting your pictures on our Celestial Star SAL Facebook page and Instagram page with #CelestialStarSAL. You may be next month's lucky prize winner!