Celestial Star SAL - Month 8 - Mermaid Circle August 01 2018 1 Comment

I'm late! I'm late! I'm late!

For a very important date.

No time to say hello, good-bye.

I'm late! I'm late! I'm late!

Sorry to be late, but I unexpectedly spent a whole week in the hospital.  My issue is all fixed up for now.  And as usual, the food was terrible, and the people were wonderful.

So, here we are, Month 8 - MERMAID CIRCLE.  I really enjoyed playing with the mermaid shape in different ways.  This time, I split the center octagon into eight kites to get spinning mermaids.  FOR THOSE OF YOU RECEIVING THE MONTHLY FABRIC AND PAPER PIECE PACKS, WE SENT EXTRA KITES ALONG WITH THE OCTAGON PAPER PIECE IN THE EVENT YOU WOULD RATHER NOT PIECE YOUR CENTER.

TIPS: 

• You might have noticed when ironing your basted pieces that they curl. I have been just holding them flat for a moment. But if you turn off your steam, you may not have any curling at all.
• We will be attempting something new today with the center octagon being split into eight kites (I will show pictures later).  Any time you are sewing numerous points together, when you have even numbers of identical sizes, sew each half together separately, keeping the points tightly together at the center.  When sewing the two halves together, they will meet at a center point much more easily.  When you have an uneven number of pieces or if the sizes of the pieces vary, try to divide them into the closest to halves as you can and this will still help to create the perfect center. 

DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS FOR MONTH 8 - MERMAID CIRCLE, PIECED

This month's Color Burst is named after the center Octagon which is pieced from eight mermaid motifs from the Seahorse Twins fabric.

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 for you to match motifs, often on both sides of the piece. When cutting and basting fabrics to papers, PAY ATTENTION TO THE FOLLOWING:

(1) The Center Octagon is divided into eight identical Kites and is cut from the mermaids in the Seahorse Twins fabric.  Notice how her fingers point towards a corner.  And notice the portion of her hair encompassed within the Kite shape. It's important to see her face and partial body creating synchronized swimmers. Cut eight identical pieces.

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. 

Here you will see that I have pieced the two halves of the Octagon separately, with all four points matching in the center of each half.  This picture shows the same concept with different fabrics than we are using this month.

Now, piece the two halves together.  I start sewing at the center of one side, sewing toward the outside edge.  Repeat with other side.

(2) The first set of Four-Pointed Stars are cut from the Blue on Blue fabric.  The wide end is centered around an on-point square.  The FOLD LINE on the thin end stops at the point of an elongated diamond shape.  Cut sixteen and sew them together in pairs.  See how each piece matches up with its neighbor.

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 Blue Medallion fabric.  The Jewel encompasses the entire orange burst, with the bottom tip touching the FOLD LINE. 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 second set of Four-Pointed Stars are also cut from the Blue Medallion fabric.  The small point centers a column of dots.  The FOLD LINE of the wide end cuts through a portion of two orange flowers centered.  Cut sixteen and sew them together in pairs.

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 is cut from the Twin Peacock fabric.  Each piece is exactly the same on both sides.  Notice how the FOLD LINE at the wide end cuts through the bluebird.  Notice where the orange circle hits the FOLD LINE at the narrow point.  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) Don't forget those wings. Don't you sometimes wish you had wings to fly?

Remember to post your progress on Instagram or Facebook using #CelestialStarSAL.  Even if you are working on earlier Color Bursts or are just getting started, please post. You may even win a prize.