Making a Lone Star block isn't as hard as it looks.

I recently took a Lone Star (Prairie Star) class at the Chicago International Quilt Show. Nancy Brenan Daniel , a internationally known quilter, taught the class. She showed us that there is a way to make the star block without diamonds!

As with any new pattern, there were many steps to learn. We learned to layout our design, cut the strips that make up the diamonds in the star, sew them together in a staggered fashion, cut them at a 45 degree angle (that's what makes the diamonds), sew the new strips together to make the star points, sew the points together to make the star and finally sew in the background pieces to complete the block.

It was a 3 hour class and I completed 4 out of the 8 star points. When buying the materials for the class, I went out of my color comfort zone and chose a more earth-toned palette with orange, yellow, green and brown. Brown is my least favorite color. Actually, I usually say I hate brown. I put it away for awhile, but finally finished it. It turned out nicely. Take a look at it here. I donated it to a fundraiser auction at Lewis University and later found out than one of my friends won it. I'm so happy to know it where it went and to hear that she loves it.

If you're looking to learn a new technique, I think the Lone Star would be a great place to start. It is such a striking design and is easier than it looks.

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